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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.