Horniman Museum
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Horniman_Museum".

Front of the main building
Front of the main building

The Horniman Museum is a museum in Forest Hill, South London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style.[1]

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History

The museum was founded by Victorian tea trader Frederick John Horniman and contained his collection of natural history, cultural artefacts and musical instruments.

In 1911 an additional building was donated by Frederick Horniman's son Emslie Horniman. In 1999 the museum was closed for redevelopment, and it re-opened in 14 June 2002.

CUE building

The CUE Building
The CUE Building
Museum main gallery
Museum main gallery
The conservatory
The conservatory

The Horniman Museum contains the CUE (Centre for Understanding the Environment) building. This opened in 1996 and was designed by local architects Archetype. The building has a grass roof and was constructed from sustainable materials. It also incorporates passive ventilation.

Collections

The Horniman specialises in anthropology, natural history and musical instruments and has a collection of 350,000 objects. The ethnography and music collections have Designated status. One of its most famous exhibits is the large collection of stuffed animals. It also has an aquarium noted for its unique layout.

The Horniman Museum is a Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

On four floors, the museum has a wide range of themed galleries and 'highlit' objects:

  • First floor
    • Natural history balcony
      • Apostle clock, England
  • Ground floor
    • Main entrance, shop & cafe
      • Sand painting, America
    • 'Hands on base'
    • Textile display
    • Balcony gallery
    • Natural history gallery
      • Walrus, Canada
    • Conservatory
    • CUE building with library
  • Lower ground floor
    • Music gallery
      • French horn, England
      • Carlton drum kit, England
    • Centenary gallery
      • Torture chair
      • Kali, India
    • Temporary exhibition gallery
    • African worlds gallery
      • Benin plaques, Nigeria
      • Ijele mask, Nigeria
      • Coffin lid, Egypt
  • Basement floor

Gardens

The bandstand from 1912
The bandstand from 1912

The museum is set in 16 acres (65,000 m²) of gardens which include the following features:

  • A Grade II listed conservatory
  • A bandstand from 1912
  • A small animal enclosure
  • A nature trail
  • A ornamental garden

Photo galleries

References

  1. ^ Horniman Museum and Gardens accessed 02/01/08

External links

Coordinates: 51°26′26, N°0′03

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