The London Library, founded in 1841, is the UK’s leading literary institution. With more than one million books and periodicals in over 50 languages, the collection includes works from the 16th century to the latest publications.
London Transport Museum
The collections at London Transport Museum comprise more than 450,000 objects which cover all aspects of public transport in London from 1800 to the present day.
London Fire Brigade Museum
It was the Great Fire of 1666 that defined the Capital as we see it today. With assorted fire-fighting paraphernalia, the most interesting element of this museum is seeing how the equipment has advanced over the centuries.
London Canal Museum
The London Canal Museum is housed in a former nineteenth-century ice warehouse used by Carlo Gatti for his famous ice cream, and it includes an exhibit on the history of the ice trade and ice cream.
Loughborough Bell Foundry Museum
An extensive range of exhibits and memorabilia tells the story of one of the oldest manufacturing industries in the world.
Leighton House Museum
Leighton House Museum is the former home and studio of the leading Victorian artist, Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). It is unique among the capital’s museums in combining an exceptional collection of Victorian art with the intimacy of a private home.
Madame Tussauds
The ultimate celebrity experience invites you to take the perfect photo with wax figures of the world’s most famous faces.
Marianne North Gallery
Open to the public since 1882, every available wall space is occupied by the botanical paintings of Marianne North, which are arranged according to the continent from which the plant is found. Together they form a breathtaking compendium of the world’s flora and fauna.
Leach Pottery, St Ives
Founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, the Leach Pottery is among the most respected and influential potteries in the world. Potters, students and apprentices, from across the world have come to the Leach Pottery to train and work in the studios. Today, the Leach Pottery Studio, Museum and Gallery continue developing Bernard Leach’s historic legacy.
Mark Dion Archaeology – Tate Thames Dig
In 1999, artist Mark Dion and a team of local volunteers combed the forehsore of the river in front of Tate Modern, and Tate Britain. The collection of material remains, the artefacts buried within the Thames tells the story of London’s rich industrial and cultural history.
Mary Rose
Step into the fateful day in 1545 when Mary Rose sank under the horrified gaze of Henry VIII. The decks are set out as they would have been in the 16th century and one end of the museum houses a display about the day-to-day lives of the ship’s crew.
Mechanical Music Musuem
The World of Mechanical Music is a living museum displaying the extraordinary variety of self-playing (mechanical) musical instruments and automata.
Kingston Museum
Kingston Museum holds a significant collection of Muybridge’s photographic work along with items of equipment such as the zoopraxiscope. The world famous terrier ‘Nipper’ who stars in the ‘His Masters Voice’ picture, painted by Francis Barraud, lived in Kingston upon Thames for the last years of his life and was buried there in 1895.
Museum of Fulham Palace
The historic house and garden of the Bishop of London since 704, now open to all to discover 1300 years of British history.
Kettle’s Yard
Between 1958 and 1973 Kettle’s Yard was the home of Jim and Helen Ede. In the 1920s and 30s Jim had been a curator at the Tate Gallery in London. At Kettle’s Yard Jim carefully positioned a remarkable collection of artworks alongside furniture, glass, ceramics and natural objects, with the aim of creating a harmonic whole.
Museum of Knots and Sailor’s Ropework
The Museum of Knots and Sailor’s Ropework is a small private museum with an unique collection of sailor’s ropework, both practical and decorative.
Museum of London
See here the history of London, from prehistoric times to the present, told through reconstructed interiors and street scenes, alongside displays of original artefacts found during the museum’s archaeological digs.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is popular with locals and tourists alike,” says Sharon. “Its whole approach is based on telling stories and it is not afraid of tackling difficult subjects such as sectarianism and domestic violence.
Museum of London Docklands
Housed in a historic warehouse, the Roman, Danish and Saxon history of the river and its docks is presented via exhibits and a series of videos.
Jerwood Gallery
The Jerwood Gallery is perched on the seafront in Hastings, an archetypally British seaside town. Inside, its walls display a number of this country’s most significant contributions to modern art, with an emphasis on works produced between the First World War and the 1960s. Collection highlights include paintings by such canonic artists as LS Lowry, Walter Sickert and Sir Stanley Spencer. These acclaimed pieces are shown alongside artists working today to enlivening effect: through the contrast, visitors simultaneously grasp the continued tradition of modern art in Britain as well as the changes in style that time has brought.
Museum of Methodism & Wesley’s Chapel
Wesley’s Chapel, City Road in London was built in 1778 by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. Onsite are the 18th century house in which Wesley lived in the last twelve years of his life as well as his grave, to the rear of the Chapel, where he was buried in 1791. The Museum of Methodism is located in the Chapel’s crypt; this charts the Methodist movement from its beginnings to the present day.
Museum of Transport
Greater Manchester’s delightful Museum of Transport has one of the largest collections of its kind in the country and is run by the volunteers of the Greater Manchester Transport Society.
Jeremy Cooper’s Collection of Artists’ Postcards
Of interest to students of art and deltiologists (collectors of postcards) alike, Jeremy Cooper’s extensively illustrated book provides the first critical study of the place of the humble postcard in the history of art. It spans more than a century, but has a particular focus on the contemporary artists who Cooper says have rediscovered, appropriated, redeployed or otherwise taken to the form, from Gilbert and George’s 1,000 or so “mail art” pieces and Adam Dant’s reworkings of Donald McGill’s saucy seaside postcards to David Shrigley’s more practical-minded 25 Postcards for Writing On.
Museum of Witchcraft
The Museum of Witchcraft is home to the largest collection of authentic witchcraft paraphernalia and artefacts in the world. This lively and eccentric collection illuminates a mysterious and fascinating element of England’s rich folk history.
Jeremy Benthams Head
Bentham was a British philosopher, jurist, and social reformer. He is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. On his death in 1832, Bentham left instructions for his body to be first dissected, and then to be permanently preserved as an “auto-icon” (or self-image), which would be his memorial. This was done, and the auto-icon is now on public display at University College London.
National Fruit Collection
The National Fruit Collection is one of the largest fruit collections in the world and includes over 3,500 named Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Bush fruit, Vine and Cob Nut cultivars. Located at Brogdale Farm, near Faversham (Kent), it is part of an international programme to protect plant genetic resources for the future.
National Gallery
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries.
James Watt Studio
See some of Watt’s remarkable inventions that have shaped the way we live today and learn why he was heralded the ‘greatest benefactor of the human race’. From steam power to tea services, explore the relationship between Watt’s steam engine and a new age of consumption.
National Maritime Museum
Experience the world’s largest maritime museum, filled with inspirational stories of exploration and endeavour at sea and packed to the gunwales with intriguing objects and fascinating galleries.
Irish Lace Museum
Set in the picturesque village of Bellanaleck, The Sheelin Lace Shop is a treasure trove of Antique Irish Lace items and other vintage textiles and clothing. Items for sale include antique wedding dresses, wedding veils, shawls, collars, bonnets, christening gowns, 1920s dresses, feather fans and headpieces.
National Museums Scotland
The National Museums Scotland hold collections of national and international importance, presenting and interpreting them for a broad audience.
International Slavery Museum
A fascinating museum that tells the history of the transatlantic slave trade through a narrative of resilience, survival and resistance. The fight for equality is continued by an active campaign against racism, discrimination and contemporary slavery.
National Slate Museum
The Llanberis Slate Museum tells the history and politics of this important natural resource.
National Trust
The National Trust is a conservation charity, protecting historic places and green spaces, and making them available for everyone.
Hunterian
Founded in 1807, The Hunterian is Scotland’s oldest public museum and home to one of the largest collections outside the National Museums.
Natural History Museum
Barbara Nicholson (1906-1978) illustrated a number of botanical books in addition to a series of educational posters that were commissioned by the Natural History Museum. These compositions showed the diverse range of British ecological communities which were not only very popular and informative and most importantly, scientifically accurate.
Household Cavalry Museum
Visit the cavalry that’s protected royalty from the people for 350 years. Dazzling displays of uniforms, weaponry and prized exhibits present a celebration and history of the British Army’s Senior Regiments, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, who perform the unique dual role of mounted bodyguard to Her Majesty The Queen on all State and Ceremonial occasions and as an armoured reconnaissance regiment in trouble spots and conflict zones around the world.
House of Marbles
Explore the 4000 year history of glass, learn how glass is made and view what craftsmen have made over the centuries.
New Art Centre
The New Art Centre features some of the world’s most remarkable pieces of modern art in the timeless surroundings of rolling Wiltshire countryside.
New London Architecture
A museum in the broader sense, this has regular exhibitions about the future of architecture and planning in London. Includes an incredible scale model of London in its lobby.
House for an Art Lover
The House for an Art Lover is a building constructed in 1989-96, based on a design of 1901 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh with his wife, Margaret MacDonald. The building is situated in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland. The House is still representative of the Mackintoshes, and the organisation running the facilities wishes to promote the Mackintoshes’ work. Today, the House for an Art Lover encourages interest in art, design, and architecture.
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery Shoe Collection
The collections at Northampton Museums include social history, fine and decorative art as well as 5000 items of military history, 35,000 geological specimens and 5000 items of leather. The shoe collection of 12,000 shoes, is the largest collection of shoe heritage in the world.
Novelty Automation
Novelty Automation is a home for arcade machines, with some guest machines made by kindred spirits.
Oriental Museum
The collections cover a huge area from North Africa to South East Asia.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
The Museum is an important centre for research and teaching, and is organised into Life Collections, Earth Collections, and Archival Collections.
Parliamentary Art Collection
The Parliamentary Art Collection is owned jointly by the House of Commons and the House of Lords and is administered by a committee in either house.
People’s History Museum
The People’s History Museum in Manchester is the national museum of democracy. The Museum aims to engage, inspire and inform diverse audiences by showing ‘There have always been ideas worth fighting for’.
Horniman Museum
A 25-foot Alaskan totem pole outside the main entrance gives a clue as to what’s in here: a wealth of quirky anthropological and natural history treasures. You can while away hours perusing the place, but the Grade II-listed natural history gallery possibly contains the most memorable: a comically over-stuffed walrus (the work of an over-zealous 1880s taxidermist).
Petrie Museum
With its 80,000 exhibits, the Petrie is bursting at its seams with items from the Nile valley dating back 5,000 years. On display are everyday Egyptian objects such as pots, bowls, jewellery, combs and tiles.
Historic Royal Palaces
This doll’s house was built in the 1780s for the daughters of George III. It contains furnishings they made and decorated themselves. The walls retain their green ‘amoeba’ pattern wallpaper; similar in colour to fragments found at the palace itself. The house was later given away to the children of the captain of the King’s ship.
Pimlico Underground Murals
The underpass at Pimlico Underground Station is decorated with murals, painted in the early 1970s, which depict artworks from the collection of Tate Britain, a short walk away from the station.
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum holds one of the world’s finest collections of anthropology and archaeology, from around the world and throughout human history.
Highgate Wood Cemetary
Opened in 1839, Highgate Wood Cemetary in London includes over 170,000 people in 53,000 graves – highlights include the grave of Karl Marx.
Pollocks Toy Museum
Pollock’s Toy Museum is an intriguing place where you can encounter toys from your own childhood.
Hepworth Wakefield
With over 1,600 square metres of light-filled gallery spaces, The Hepworth Wakefield is the largest purpose-built exhibition space outside London. The gallery brings together work from Wakefield’s art collection, exhibitions by internationally renowned artists as well as a significant collection of Barbara Hepworth’s work.
Powell-Cotton Museum
Extraordinary collection of natural history, ethnography and fine and decorative arts. Quex House, the Powell-Cotton family home, invites you into the lives of this remarkable family. You can also step back into the world of Victorian horticulture by exploring the beautiful gardens
Helicopter Museum
On 11 August 1986, the G-LYNX military helicopter set a speed record for helicopters over a 15 km and 25 km course by reaching 400.87 km per hour (249.09 mph), piloted by Trevor Egginton. G-LYNX is now on permanent display at The Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare.
Headhunters Barber Shop & Railway Museum
This is like taking a remarkable journey into the past bringing the golden age of the railway vividly to life. Visitors start their journey of discovery at the reconstructed Railway Booking Office where the ticket collector invites you to step on board and enjoy the evocative nostalgia associated with the railways which operated throughout Fermanagh and the border counties until their closure in 1957.
Red House
The only house commissioned, created and lived in by William Morris, founder of the Arts & Crafts movement, Red House is a building of extraordinary architectural and social significance
Guards Museum
The Guards Museum tells the story of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards and Welsh Guards – the five regiments that, together with the Household Cavalry, the Life Guards, and the Blues and Royals, make up the Household Division of the Army. The museum is mostly given over to displays of uniforms, pictures and regimental silver.
Great North Museum, Newcastle
The Great North Museum sells itself as “the world under one roof”, and it’s easy to see why. The dramatic entrance hall is decorated from floor to ceiling with animals and birds ranging from elephants to multi-coloured fish in aquariums, a graphic illustration of the wonder and diversity of the animal kingdom.
RIBA
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) was founded in 1834 is a professional body for architects in the UK and abroad. The RIBA Library collection includes over four million books, journals, photographs, drawings and archives.
Grant Museum of Zoology
The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 68,000 specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom. Founded in 1828 as a teaching collection, the Museum is packed full of skeletons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid.
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
At the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum the bard’s words are brought to life through objects such as his writing kit and audio clips of his poetry.
Gnome Reserve
Nestled amongst the stunning North Devon countryside, one finds a reserve populated by over a thousand gnomes! One might find them pausing in the meadow or fishing by the pond, and visitors too can temporarily add to the collection by sporting a gnome hat and fishing rod to make sure they blend in. For those seeking a more educational trip, the Gnome Reserve also features the Gnome Museum which displays the UK’s best collection of antique and historic gnomes.
Royal Academy of Music Museum
The academy’s museum boasts hundreds of different musical instruments.
Royal Air Force Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum tells the story of the Royal Air Force through its people and collections, with sites at Hendon in North London and Cosford in the Midlands. The Museum’s collections include over 200 military aircraft, from very early aircraft designs through to the latest modern day jets.
Glasgow Botanical Garden
Thomas Hopkirk, a distinguished Glasgow botanist, founded the Botanic Gardens in 1817. Three thousand plants were donated by Hopkirk as the nucleus of the collection. In 1842 the Gardens were opened to members of the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
RAMM is housed in a magnificent gothic revival building brought up to date by an almost complete refurbishment just two years ago. The collection numbers more than a million objects from every part of the globe, but particularly from Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
Glandford Shell Museum
The Shell Museum, Glandford, is the oldest purpose-built museum in Norfolk and houses the finest seashell collection in the UK. The Museum also contains fossils, birds’ eggs, agate ware, local archaeological finds and many more fascinating items.
Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom’s national museum of arms and armour, including artillery.
Gladstone Pottery Museum
Stoke-on-Trent is world famous for its pottery and no visit to the city would be complete without experiencing this unique museum. Discover how bone china tableware was made in the original workshops and giant bottle kilns of the former Gladstone China Works, now preserved as the last complete Victorian pottery factory in the country.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
From the Roxburgh Collection, ‘Tamarindus indica’ gouache on paper, unknown Indian Artist, c.1790s
Geffrye Museum
The Geffrye Museum is housed in an open courtyard of picturesque almshouses, slightly set back off the Kingsland Road to form a calm sanctuary removed from the frenetic nature of Shoreditch. This transporting character is continued indoors with the Geffrye’s collection of household goods and interiors arranged into eleven period rooms, each one detailing the customary living arrangement of a particular era. Visitors can quite literally step into the Hall of a house from 1630 and be stunned by the detailing of its wooden panelling before walking into a 1965 living room with its very different, though similarly signature, use of wood. The Museum continues its exploration of the household with a complimentary roster of changing exhibitions.
Royal Pavillion, Brighton Museum
A former royal residence, the extravagant pleasure palace was built as a seaside retreat for the Prince Regent in 1811.
Garden Museum
Housed in a restored church next door to Lambeth Palace, this museum records and celebrates gardening. Its permanent display includes a collection of antique tools and there are exhibits exploring how new species of flowers, shrubs and trees were imported to Britain in the days when the process entailed epic sea voyages.
Science Museum
The Science Museum was founded in 1857 and now holds a collection of over 300,000 items – from agriculture to computing and medical history.
Freud Museum
Step into the Freud Museum London and discover the world of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, who came here in 1938 after fleeing Nazi-occupied Vienna. Visit London’s most enchanting historic house museum and see Freud’s intriguing study, his iconic psychoanalytic couch and his large collection of classical antiquities.
Scotland’s Jute Museum Verdant Works
Scotland’s Jute Museum @ Verdant Works weaves the tale of jute with the life and work of old Dundee, from the incredible rise of the industry to its subsequent decline.
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Gallery has an outstanding collection of international post-war work and the most important and extensive collection of modern Scottish art.
Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum tells the story of London’s Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by philanthropist Thomas Coram as a home for babies at risk of abandonment. On admission to the Hospital, mothers were asked to leave a token with their baby as a means of identification. Ranging from pieces of embroidery to customised coins and jewellery, these everyday yet highly personal objects now form part of the Museum’s Collection.
Folk Archive
Folk Archive is a vibrant, visual account of contemporary popular British culture by the artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane, bringing together drawing, painting, film, performance, costume, decoration, political opinion and humour, and some astonishing objects.
Seamus Heaney Archive
Built around 1619 by Sir Baptist Jones, Bellaghy Bawn is a fortified house and bawn (the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house) Explore the history and background of the area that inspired Heaney’s poetry, including the library devoted to his work.
Fitzwilliam Museum
Located in Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam has an internationally renowned art collection with Constables, Monets, Picassos and Turners, ceramics, glass and other national crafts.
Shell Grotto
Welcome to the Shell Grotto where you’ll find 4.6 million shells, 70 ft. of winding underground passages leading to a rectangular chamber, 2,000 sq. ft. of mosaic and one big mystery.
Filmshop, Hackney
Three lists of the best films selected by the filmshop owner, Sebastian. Compiled by Abake.
Sherlock Holmes Museum
A privately run museum in London dedicated to the famous factional detective Sherlock Holmes.
Fan Museum
The Fan Museum is the only museum in the world devoted entirely to every aspect of fans and fan making. It is home to a collection of more than 3,500 predominantly antique fans from around the world dating from the 11th century to the present day.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
It’s stuffed with curios and is almost exactly as Soane left it when he died in 1837. Among the treasures are an Egyptian sarcophagus that Soane was so elated at acquiring that he partied for three days.
Snowshill Manor
Extraordinary treasures collected over a life time by Charles Wade. From tiny toys to Samurai armour, musical instruments to fine clocks, thousands of objects are laid out for you to see just as Mr Wade intended. You can discover his passion for craftsmanship, colour and design.
Special Collections at Chelsea College of Arts Library
The Special Collections at Chelsea College of Arts Library are used for teaching, learning, research and curating, and have a strong emphasis on modern and contemporary art.
Estorick Collection
The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is loacted in a Grade II listed Georgian building. The Collection is known internationally for its core of Futurist works, as well as figurative art and sculpture dating from 1890 to the 1950s.
Dylan Thomas Centre
Wales’ most famous poet is celebrated in this permanent exhibtion of Thomas’ life and work. The Centre is also the location for many literary events and the annual Dylan Thomas Festival.
Spitalfields Life
A collection of architectural details and wonders from Spitalfields, London.
Dufftown Whisky Museum
The Dufftown Whisky Museum in Scotland includes illicit stills as well as historical and contemporary tools and equipment used for whisky manufacture.
SS Great Britain, Bristol
The world’s first ocean-going liner was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in 1843. Engaging displays tell the story of a vessel that changed maritime history, as well as of its late-20th-century recovery and restoration.
Drawing Room Confessions
Drawing Room Confessions is a printed journal named after a parlour game played by Marcel Proust, the Surrealists and others. It is made of words and exchanges, with no images. Six different sections (The Egoist, The Blind Man, Two to Tango, Ekphrasis, Time Line and La Madeleine) comprise the Rules of the Game, which are the same in each issue. What changes are the players, or interviewers, who open each round of conversation with the featured artist and who come from a wide range of fields.
Dr Johnson’s House
Dr Johnson’s House is a charming 300-year-old townhouse, nestled amongst a maze of courts and alleys in the historic City of London and open to the public Mon – Sat. Samuel Johnson, the writer and wit, lived and worked here in the middle of the eighteenth century, compiling his monumental Dictionary of the English Language in the Garret.
St Bartholomew’s Museum
After a short video explaining the history of Bart’s and its founding in 1123, this museum offers a crash course in the changing face of London hospitals and how Bart’s developed.
Dog Collar Museum
The Dog Collar Museum at Leeds Castle is a unique collection dating back to the sixteenth century. It is the largest collection of its kind in the world and has over 130 collars on display. It was originally amassed by Mr and Mrs Hunt who donated over 60 collars to the castle in 1977 and has since been expanded upon through donations and purchases.
Stained Glass Museum
The Stained Glass Museum was established in the 1970s to rescue and preserve stained glass and now houses a national collection of British stained glass.
DJ Damo
DJ Damo is a London-based DJ known for his soul, funk and British music collection.
Design Museum
London’s Design Museum hosts a continually changing series of exhibitions which highlight the influence of design in its many guises: from product to graphic to architecture.
Dent-de-Leone
Dent-de-Leone is a small independent publisher located in London, distinctive for its collaboration directly with artists and designers to produce its books.
Strangers’ Hall
Originally the collection of Leonard Bolingbroke a local solicitor. The museum now has one of the largest domestic life collections in the country, encompassing everything from jelly moulds to jigsaw puzzles, from vacuum cleaners to Valentines.
Cuckooland
As well as having this unique collection of Cuckoo Clocks, Cuckooland also offers visitors the opportunity to view a large collection of Authentic Black Forest tools and machines as well as a Vintage Motorcycle Collection.
Crystal Palace Museum
A tiny local museum dedicated to the memory of the Crystal Palace exhibition centre.
Streetmuseum app
These amazing images are part of a series launched by the Museum of London’s Streetmuseum app which lets you walk side by side with Londoners from the 19th and 20th century.
Crime Museum
The present museum is in two rooms. The first contains an extensive collection of weapons, all of which have been used in murders or serious assaults in London, and displays items from famous cases, generally prior to 1900, such as Jack the Ripper and ‘Charlie Peace’.
Sutton House
Built in 1535 by a prominent courtier of Henry VIII, Sutton House retains much of the atmosphere of a Tudor. Discover oak-panelled rooms, original carved fireplaces and a charming courtyard.
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is part of the Tate network of galleries in England, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, having opened in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.
Coventry Transport Museum
Good museums combine great objects with great stories, and a perfect example is Coventry Transport Museum. The collections span 150 years, from the earliest bicycles to the world’s fastest car.
Compton Verney
Compton Verney has the largest collection of British folk art in the UK. The collection is extremely diverse and includes weathervanes, shop signs, paintings of prize animals, street scenes, furniture, agricultural implements, collage pictures and paintings by Alfred Wallis.
Combined Military Services Museum
Experience a journey through British military history beginning on brutal medieval battlefields, through the Crimean & Napoleonic Wars, into WW1 & WW2, right up to today’s conflicts.
Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum
Colman’s have been making fine quality mustards in Norfolk for 200 years and this tradition is celebrated in Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum, one of Norwich’s most popular and cherished heritage attractions. Housed in the historic Art Nouveau Royal Arcade near Norwich market, the shop is a careful replica of a Victorian trade premises.
The Homewood
This extraordinary early 20th-century country villa is a masterpiece of Modernist design, in the midst of a picturesque woodland garden not far from Esher in Surrey.
Clown Museum
The tiny rooms house pictures of great clowns, artefacts, including eggs marked with performers’ makeup, and the costume of Coco (Nicolai Poliakoff, 1900-1974), whose name is a synonym for clowning. There is a yearly service in the local church with ALL clowns!
The Knife
The Knife
On the 11th of July 2023, Mr and Mrs Boetti discover on the side of a walking trail between les Carroz d’Arraches and Samoens in the French Alps, a neatly folded pile of women clothing. They have not met anybody for more than two hours and intrigued by the idea that someone culd have left the trail, naked—and to go where?—the couple empty the pockets and only find a wallet. The full content of this wallet is represented on this scarf.
After having called the police and slightly shaken by the discovery, they return to Turin where they live. The first night, both of them have the same dream. They are in a bar somewhere in the midwest, in the States.. In their dream, a young woman seat at their table despite the place being rather empty. For Mrs Boetti she is blonde, for Mr Boetti, she is dark haired and reminds him of Pocahontas from the Disney movie. After what seems to be a slightly uncomfortable silence the young woman ask them if they would like to see something. They suddenly feel at ease and nod positively to her request to realise the content of her wallet is already spread across the table.
This is the story our friend Charlotte told us in what has become a detailed description of what was on the table that night. We have found or recreated each element to translate visually what had remained a story which haunted us for a while.
Åbäke
*This Scarf, co-published by Mapoésie and Dent-De-Leone is sometimes performed with the story of the objects represented.
Claire Ptak cookbooks
Violet bakery and café in East London is an irresistible destination for those with a sweet tooth. California native Claire Ptak worked as pastry chef at Chez Panisse, before moving to London and starting Violet in 2005. The exceptional flavours of the cakes, scones, cookies and muffins, are matched by their delicate looks thanks to Ptak’s keen sense of style. In addition to gleaning ideas from her work as a food stylist and writer, Ptak references her extensive archive of cookbooks. Her collection spans from classics like Silver Spoon to the just released Fern Varrow Cookbook with many more obscure titles filling the gap. The colour-coded library of over 500 books provides an indispensable resource for someone who is shaking up the status quo in baking.
Cinema Museum
The Cinema Museum was launched out of collector Ronald Grant’s affection for the cinema experience before the rise of the corporate multiplex. Admiring everything from the grand architecture to the theatricality of film posters, the excitement palpable in advertising materials to the fashion of staff uniforms, Grant amassed countless wonderful items as cinemas started to close in the 1960s and 70s. The resulting collection restores the exhiliration and charm that was once inherent to going to the pictures.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
Travel back in time and discover the history of The Potteries including the world’s greatest collection of Staffordshire ceramics, a World War II Spitfire, decorative arts and natural history.
Churchill Museum
Visit Churchill War Rooms, part of Imperial War Museums, to discover the original Cabinet War Rooms, the underground headquarters that sheltered Churchill and his wartime government during the Blitz. Explore the historic rooms that once buzzed with strategies and secrets, and also visit the interactive Churchill Museum. Churchill War Rooms is open daily 9.30am – 6pm (except 24, 25 December).
Type Archive
The Type Archive holds the National Typefounding Collection, purchased with grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Chatsworth House
A great house, in an even greater landscape, designed by Capability Brown. The man-made landscape and sculpture exhibitions are the highlights.
UK Embassy/Magna Carta
The longstanding relationship between the United Kingdom and Mexico is a vitally important partnership. We support a range of British interests in Mexico, working together through a number of bilateral programmes, including political, commercial and economic activities of interest to both countries.
Charleston Trust
Charleston is a seventeenth century Sussex farmhouse that, from 1916, was the home of the Bloomsbury Group which included artists, economists, art critics and writers.
University of Warwick Art Collection
A collection of 900 artworks instigated by architect Eugene Rosenberg.
Centre of Ceramic Art
York’s recently opened Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) is a brand new exhibition space with displays dedicated to the British Studio Ceramics movement. It showcases works from the largest collection of its kind in the UK which has largely been formed by donations from private collectors and is supported by a vast archive. CoCA’s collection continues to grow through gifts, bequests and purchases.
V&A Museum of Childhood
This Museum houses the national childhood collection.
Centre for Computing History
Located in Cambridge, The Centre for Computing History’s vision is to increase understanding of the social, cultural and historical impact of the computing revolution. It has a collection of more than 20,000 items and the gallery is full of working PCs, tablets, mainframes and games consoles spanning 50 years of history.
Cartoon Museum
This amusing and thought provoking little museum in the centre of London, displays and collects British cartoons, caricatures, comics and animations.
Caravan Gallery – General Postcards
The Caravan Gallery is an archive of postcards that has been on tour around the UK and abroad since its inception in 2000 and displays in non-traditional spaces. Its photographic archive is constantly expanding as it examines and explores themes and behaviour in Britain today.
Carmody Groarke
Carmody Groarke is a London-based architecture studio established by Kevin Carmody and Andrew Groarke. The studio focuses on process-led work of widely varying typologies (temporary pavilions to permanent memorials) in the UK and abroad for private, commercial and public clients.
Canna House Archive
Founded by John Lorne Campbell and his wife Margaret Fay Shaw, this collection reflects the couple’s passion for folklore and ancient culture and language, especially Gaelic.
Burrell Collection
In the heart of Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, this award-winning building houses a unique painting and sculpture collection in a beautiful woodland setting, ranging from Rodin, Degas and Cézanne, to important examples of late medieval art, Chinese and Islamic art, Ancient Civilizations and more.
Brunel Museum
The Thames Tunnel, the oldest tunnel in London, was the first tunnel to be dug under a river through soft earth. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is still in use today, as part of the London underground network. The museum is currently celebrating the two hundredth anniversary.
Bronte Parsonage Museum
The Brontë Parsonage Museum library contains the world’s most comprehensive collection of Brontë manuscripts, letters, early editions of the novels and poetry, and secondary material on the famous family and their work.
British Tattoo History Museum
The Tattoo Museum collection was amassed by British tattooist Lionel Ichner who displayed his early acquisitions in a display case at his tattoo shop from 1975. As the collection expanded through donations and Lionel’s further purchases, it was relocated to a larger space attached to the tattoo studio in Oxford and is managed by the Tattoo Club of Great Britain. In 2002, part of the collection was loaned to the National Maritime Museum for its Skin Deep exhibition.
British Postal Museum and Archive
The British Postal Museum and Archive will reopen its doors in 2016 at a new London location and purpose built site to house its historic collection. The galleries will explore themes such as the Post Office at war and the communications revolution, and the service’s role in turning points of national and international history.
British Museum
The British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. Founded in 1753, it was established after the naturalist Sir Hans Sloane bequeathed his collection of more than 71,000 objects to King George II and has grown ever since to house over 8 million items of British and global histories.
British Library
The British Library makes our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone, for research, inspiration and enjoyment. It contains over 150 million items from around the world, including over 14 million books. It is the national library of the UK and receives a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland to expand its impressive and considerable collection.
British Lawnmower Museum
The Lawnmower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding. Although deemed a madman & lunatic for making such a contraption he had to test his machine at night so no one would see him. Finally he advertised his invention as:- “Gentlemen may find my machine an amusing & healthy exercise plus do the work of 8 men.”
British Dental Association Museum
The British Dental Association Museum collection features lots of teeth, old dentists’ chairs and oral health posters.
Victoria & Alferd Museum
Victoria and Alferd museum, a not-for-profit institution founded by Prune Victoria and Ingalil Alferd. The collection is based on personal curiosity, an interest for mistakes and tautological anomalies.
British Council Collection
Since 1939 the British Council has been collecting works of art, craft and design to promote abroad the achievements of the UKs best artists, craft practitioners and designers abroad.
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects.
Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Collection explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future.
Wiener Library
The world’s oldest establishment dedicated to collecting information about the Holocaust.
William Morris Gallery
The William Morris Gallery is devoted to the life and legacy of William Morris: designer, craftsman, socialist.
World Rugby Museum
Wander round this evocative and interactive collection of oval-ball artefacts and memorabilia and view permanent exhibits showing how the sport has spread around the world from its roots in English public schools.
Writers Museum–Edinburgh
The Writers’ Museum celebrates the lives of three great Scottish writers – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson
ZSL London Zoo
The London Zoo is a major city zoo and research centre helping to conserve numerous species in naturalistic habitat.
Brick collection
This collection of bricks was given to me by Steve Jones who was Carl Andre’s assistant for more than eight years (1978–1986). I met him by accident in the Tempo Bar in New York. I agreed to take this collection of bricks back to the UK for Steve. In order to do this, I had to leave all the books I had bought at Strand (36kg) at his place. This is why, for me, they are not bricks but books I have not read yet.
Booth Museum of Natural History
Naturalist and collector Edward Thomas Booth founded the Booth Museum in 1874. The collection features over 300 dioramas displaying birds in their natural habitat along with a vast quanitity of butterflies, fossils, and bones.
Bodleian Library
This Bodleian Library is a commanding gothic building erected in 1602 as the main research library of the University of Oxford. Its rich history predates this building as the collection began circa 1320 and is still expanding today. It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and houses over twelve million printed items.
Bodelwyddan Castle
Bodelwyddan Castle is a mid-19th-century castle situated in Denbighshire parkland and is home to the National Portrait Gallery in Wales.
Black Cultural Archives
Thirty years ago, Len Garrison, a co-founder of Black Cultural Archives, asked the question ‘Where are our Heroes, Martyrs and Monuments?’. Founded in 1981, Black Cultural Archives began collecting materials which would seek to redress the historical imbalance of the representation of Black people in Britain. The aim to build a monument to collect, preserve and promote understanding of Black cultural heritage has been realised and at the heart of this aim is the collections. The community archive that was amassed over all these years was transformed in 2008 through a two-year project called ‘Documenting the Archive’, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This brought in professional archivists working closely with a large team of volunteers to catalogue our collections of books, objects, and archives. Our reference library currently contains around 6,000 books and independently published literature. We also acquired the Runnymede Collection Library which is one of the most important libraries on race relations in the country.
Black Country Living Museum
The Black Country Living Museum is a twenty six acre open-air, “living” museum that is set in the 1800s – the architecture, objects and costumes are all specific to the time period.
Bishopsgate Institute Library
Explore our world-renowned collections on London history, labour and socialist history, freethought and humanism, co-operation, and protest and campaigning.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s collection is of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local history and industrial history.
Big Pit National Coal Museum
The Big Pit National Coal Museum tells the stories of coal mining in Wales and offers an underground tour, 300ft below the earth’s surface.
Bede’s World
Bede’s World is a recreated Anglo-Saxon settlement from the 7th century and offers an insight into the monk known as the Venerable Bede. The museum reveals the surprisingly cosmopolitan life of the scientist and historian.
Beaulieu National Motor Museum
The Museum stands on land that was once a royal hunting lodge and the property of the Crown. In 1952, Edward, Lord Montagu opened Palace House and Gardens to the public for the first time – making Beaulieu among the first ‘stately homes’ to admit visitors. In 1972 the collection of John Douglas-Scott-Montagu was established as the National Motor Museum.
Beatles’ Childhood Homes
Part of The National Trust, the childhood homes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney reveal the musician’s humble beginnings and the places where the Beatles met, composed and rehearsed many of their earliest songs.
Beamish Open Air Museum
Inspired by the open air folk museums of Scandinavia, Dr. Frank Atkinson designed Beamish to showcase and explore the lives of everyday people living in the North East over the last two centuries.
Bath (The City of)
The city of Bath was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its stunning Georgian architecture and Roman Baths. The centre of the city is lined with elegant, honey coloured buildings built in Bath stone that people come from all corners of the world to marvel at.
Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is a unique experience that offers a remarkable insight into the work and outlook of one of Britain’s most important twentieth century artists. Sculptures in bronze, stone and wood are on display in the museum and garden, along with paintings, drawings and archive material.
Bank of England Museum
The Bank of England was founded in 1694. Housed within the Bank is a museum that explores its history and role in the economy through a diverse collection of objects including muskets, bars of gold and piggy banks.
Ballymoney Museum
This museum contains a permanent collection of artefacts detailing the rich history of the Ballmoney region in Northern Ireland over the past 9000 years. These include ancient archaeological treasures from the Mesolithic era, objects related to the 1798 Rebellion and the Corfield Camera Factory.
Bakelite Museum
The Museum is predominantly composed of Bakelite items from the inter-war and Art Deco period. Exhibits range from more ordinary of items such as toasters, telephones and radios, to the more extraordinary, including a Bakelite coffin and spy camera!
Avoncroft Museum
The Avoncroft Museum houses a diverse collection of materials that unpack the construction and technologies used in buildings in the Midlands. These include plans, photographs and architectural fragments . Since 1994, it has also housed the National Telephone Kiosk Collection which contains 32 types used from 1912 to the modern day.
Aughakillymaude Mummers Centre
Aughakillymaude’s Mummers Centre boasts an intricate display of detailed mumming sculptures of Ireland and abroad that recite nonsensical mumming rhymes, a photographic exhibition on mumming, a wickerman effigy and video documentary on mumming bonfire rituals. Groups/Schools can participate in straw craft and mask making workshops.
Ashmolean
Founded in 1683 by Elias Ashmole, the Ashmolean was Britain’s first public museum. The Museum was initially the home of a collection of miscellaneous manmade and natural specimens and curiosities from every corner of the world. The collection now includes international objects and artefacts from the Neolithic era to the present day.
Artangel Collection projects
The Artangel Collection is an initiative that brings outstanding film and video works, commissioned and produced by Artangel, to galleries and museums across the UK. The Artangel Collection has been developed in partnership with Tate, is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and uses public funding from Arts Council England.
Architectural Association Library
The collection in the AA Library, founded in 1862, contains 46,000 architectural volumes, including rare and early works, books, periodicals and journals.
Apsley House & Wellington Arch
A Georgian house packed with artworks collected and plundered by or gifted to the Duke of Wellington. The collection includes a Canova statue of Napoleon, a Wellington Arch and the Duke’s death mask.
Ancoats Peeps
Ancoats is a collection of walls on the edge of Manchester. Nestled within these walls are a series of brass eyepieces from which you can glimpse the past, present and future of a space.
Ampersand
The present publication crystallises the ever expanding collection of Ryan Gander and the stories of objects — artworks alongside coloured toilet paper. These short essays are an exploration of our surroundings, both normal and sublime.
American Museum in Britain
Founded in 1961 by four Americans, the collection features objects which testified to the rich heritage of the folk and decorative arts in America.
18 Stafford Terrace
From 1875, 18 Stafford Terrace was the home of Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne, his wife Marion, their two children and their live-in servants. The house gives an insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family, and also provides a rare example of what was known as an ‘Aesthetic interior’ or ‘House Beautiful’ style.
2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road is a unique modernist building designed by renowned architect Ernö Goldfinger in 1939. He lived in this Hampstead home with his wife and three children until he passed away in 1987.
19 Princelet Street
This small and beautiful London house, built in 1719, holds secrets and suitcases, even a tiny synagogue. Once a first home to refugees fleeing persecution, today a powerful museum of ideas: where threads of history connect the past with present global issues of minorities and migration.