Opened in 1881, the museum facade uses terracotta tiles which were resistant to the soot of Victorian London. The largest of the famous dinosaur skeletons in the central hall is a diplodocus.
Much of the collection was inherited from the Museum of Patents (est 1858) and includes early locomotives such as Stephenson’s Rocket and Puffing Billy, and the first jet engine.
The British Museum began from the collection of naturalist Sir Hans Sloane which he left to the nation on his death in 1753. Now it houses 7 million objects including more than 100 Egyptian mummies.
One of the biggest objects in the maritime museum is Prince Frederick’s lavish state barge, built in 1732 for the son of George II, and used by royalty to travel along the Thames until 1849.
The Bankside Power Station was built as a ‘cathedral of power’ in 1963, but closed in 1981. It reopened as one of Europe’s finest modern art galleries in 2000. The Turbine Hall is 35m high.
Tate Britain is built on the site of the 19th century Millbank Prison. Between 1816 and 1868, this is where thousands of convicts began their journey to the penal colonies of Australia.
The gallery opened in 1824 to exhibit 38 paintings purchased by the government. The UK national collection is relatively small because unlike in Europe, the monarch’s collection was not nationalised.
The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative art and design and holds 4.5 million objects. Henry Cole, the museum’s first director, printed the world’s first Christmas card in 1843.
One of the gallery’s most famous pictures is the Chandos portrait, which is said to be of William Shakespeare by his friend Richard Burbage. But some dispute its provenance.
