London Museums - Geffrye Museum

The Geffrye Museum is a museum located in Eastern London and is dedicated totally to British textiles, paintings, furniture and decorative arts. The museum features all the drastic changes that have been a part of the English domestic interiors. The museum houses items and designs dating back from 1600 till the present day. How is it different from the other museums in London? The Geffrye Museum lays stress on the middle class furniture and interior rather than the usual aristocratic and royal commissions which could be witnessed in other museums of decorative arts. The Geffrye Museum is located on the Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London, England and it is a non-departmental public body. The museum as the name suggests is named after Sir Robert Geffrye who was the Master of the Ironmongers’ Company and the former Lord Mayor of London.

There are no entrance charges as the entry to the museum is absolutely free. The Geffrye Museum has a comprehensive reference library, furniture trade archive, eleven period rooms, walled herb garden, and front gardens. The furniture records are open to all, from enthusiasts to professionals.

The museum also holds various programmes, workshops, drama, music and seminars at its period gardens which include both the herb and the front gardens. These exhibitions carry all through the year and are theme based. The “Christmas Past” exhibition is the favourite amongst the crowd. In this exhibition the period rooms are decorated according to the Christmas theme so as to reflect upon the 400 years of Christmas Traditions in English households.

Museum History
The Geffrye Museum is established inside the premises of the former almshouses of the Ironmongers’ Company. The museum is surrounded by several gardens which make the ambience of the museum completely serene. Although the museum is situated in the East London which is a pretty busy place but still the area maintains peaceful tranquility.

The Geffrye Museum first opened to the public in 1914. The museum became an independent charitable trust in the year 1991 and since then the trust has done enormous work including revamping of period rooms and buildings. The trust also opened a new extension in the year 1998. The Geffrye Museum focuses on the urban London middle class. The class is not lavish and rich as the aristocrats and gentry but, it is well off to have a relaxed house with great furnishings and objet d'art. By the end of 19th century however, the middle class strata had expanded drastically. Businessmen and manufacturers too were included other than the architects, journalists and accountants.

Period Rooms
The collections are displayed in accordance to the time and fashion of particular century in its 11 different period rooms. These rooms depict various changing styles and how the urban middle class transformed at several levels of the British history. These period rooms represent living rooms which were known as parlours before and as drawing rooms now and throw a light upon various examples of textiles, furniture and decorative styles used in a particular period.

Timings and Prices
There is no charge or admission fee to the Geffrye Museum and gardens. The museum is open on Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00 pm BST and on Sunday and Bank holidays from 12:00pm to 5:00pm BST. The museum gardens are open from 1st April to 31st October every year during the museum hours. The museum shop remains open during the museum hours. The museum remains close on Good Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the New Year’s Day every year. The museum also remains close on all Mondays unless it’s a Bank Holiday. The museum has an in house restaurant which remains open from 10:00am to 4:45 pm BST.

If you are travelling by the London Underground then the nearest tube station is the Old Street Tube Station in Hackney. The museum is a 10 minutes walk from the station. Earlier the Shoreditch Tube station which has now been closed was the nearest tube station. Hoxton tube station is under construction and by early 2010 will be completed. The station would be situated right next to the east of the Geffrye Museum.

London Museums And Art Gallery

The Horniman Museum was setup in the year 1901 by Fredrick Horniman in South London. The museum is located in Forest Hill in South London. The museum is believed to have been commissioned in the year 1898; however it only opened to the public in 1901. The Horniman Museum is designed by the great designer Charles Harrison Townsend in a most exquisite arts and crafts style. The museum has been a non-departmental public body ever since it opened. The museum is owned and administrated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Also one very surprising fact about the museum is that the museum is constituted as a company and registered as charity under the British Law. This is amongst the most visited London Museums in the city.

History of the Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum was founded by a great man called Fredrick John Horniman. Fredrick was a Victorian tea trader by profession. When he had first opened the museum, the museum only contained Fredrick’s collection of cultural artifacts, natural history and musical instruments. The museum like the name suggests is named after its found Frederick Horniman. Soon as a decade passed, in around 1911, another building was added to the west wing of the museum compound. The new building was also designed by Charles Harrison Townsend. The building was donated by Frederick Horniman’s son itself, Emslie Horniman. The Horniman Museum was closed in the year 1999 and underwent a drastic refurbishment. The museum re-opened to public on 14th June 2002. The Horniman Museum has also been awarded with the Chartermark National Award 2008 for Excellence Customer Service in public sector.

 

Places to be explored at the Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum is also listed as a grade II conservatory in England. The place has a mini zoo and an aquarium which kids find very entertaining. Has a collection of musical instruments from literally from A to Z of instruments. From an Accordion to a Zuria Pepa Hornpipe, it has more than 650 different musical instruments from all over the world.

•    Natural History Gallery – Contains 250,000 objects related to natural history
•    Music Gallery – Over 8,000 musical instruments
•    Art Museums and Art Gallery- Holds 90,000 objects on Anthropology
•    Gardens - The gardens received Best Parks of the South East England region in 2005 award. Received Green Flag (Green Flag is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales) in 2007 for the fifth continuous year
•    Miniature Zoo- A popular attraction amongst the kids
•    Museum Aquarium- The Aquarium was opened in July 2006 and displays fish and oceanic objects including living displays of London pondlife, British seashore, South American rainforest and Fijian reef etc
•    Bandstand- Established in the year 1912 bandstand is a famous tourists attractions in London.

Museum Timings
Museum
The Museum is open all days of the year except from 24th to 26th December. The opening hours of the museum are 10:30 am to 5:30 pm BST all days of the week.
Garden
The Gardens are open all days of the year except for the Christmas Day. The gardens open its gates from 7:30 am to the sunset on Monday to Saturday and from 8:00am to sunset on Sundays.
Library
The Horniman Library as for now only runs on appointment basis as they believe that by that they can better anticipate your needs.

Entrance Free
There is no entrance charge or fee to the Horniman Museum or the Gardens. However, you might have to pay for some of the major temporary exhibitions being held at the museum premises.

Travelling to the museum
The Forest Hill is the nearest station and the Horniman Museum is a just a short walk from the station. You can take the rail to the Forest Hill station which just takes around 13 minutes from the London Bridge. There also other direct trains from Clapham Junction and London Victoria stations.
If you plan to travel by bus there are many buses that stop right outside the museum gates. Some of them are P4, 176, 185, 197 and 356.

The museum has transformed into a place for everyone with its latest renovation from 1999 to 2002. . In the Horniman Museum one can enjoy exploring the cultural and natural world.

National Gallery

The 9th largest metropolitan in the world – London, is the capital city of United Kingdom. The city has a rich cultural heritage. city attracts millions of tourists every year and is globally renowned for its numerous tourist attractions. The capital of United Kingdom is a multi ethnic city and thus there are several festivals and events celebrated in the city throughout the year.

The city has been an essential part of several movements in the history. Founded by the great Romans, England is well known for its glorious history, art and culture and thus you can also find numerous museums and galleries in London. National Gallery is one of the most reputed and popular amongst the tourists and the Londoners as well. Founded in the year 1824, National Gallery displays a rich cultural collection of more than 2300 paintings. Located in the area of Trafalgar Square, the gallery is easily accessible from Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus tube stations. Like several other galleries in United Kingdom, the entry at National Gallery is also free of charge. The collection at the gallery is extremely encyclopedic and attractive. It displays the most significant developments in Contemporary western paintings. Earlier, almost all the art works at National Gallery were on permanent exhibitions but, now it’s not the case. The collection includes masterpieces by several European artists. Exhibitions are organized at the National Gallery very often. Here are some of the current exhibitions going on at the National Gallery:

• Picasso: Challenging the Past ( 25th Feb – 7th June 2009)
  The exhibition will be held from 25th Feb – 7th June 2009 at Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery. The admission to the exhibition has a nominal charge.
• Picasso’s Prints : ( 25th Feb – 7th June 2009)
  The Picasso’s Prints will be displayed in the room 1 of National Gallery. The entry for all the visitors is free.
• Take One Picture: an exhibition of work by primary schools ( 27th April – 12th July 2009)
  It will be held in the room C and no entry free will be charged.
• Corot to Monet: A fresh look at landscape from the collection (8th July – 20 September 2009) Corot to Monet is an exhibition that beautifully illustrates the development of landscape painting in open air. The visitors will not be charged any admission fee.

The National Gallery opens at 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. throughout the week. Guided tours of National Galleries are available in the gallery. These tours are guided by some of the best and the most experienced guides of the gallery. They help you to explore almost every part and collection of the gallery. Tours are also specially designed for the families and children. Although these tours are extremely beneficial for the first time visitors but, you can also explore the treasures of this gallery yourself. You can also savor the delights of various luscious cuisines at the ‘Best British Restaurant’, The National Café and The Espresso Bar located in the National Gallery. Spectacular and stylish shops are also sited at the National Gallery, where you can shop some of the best individual collections. Level O, Sainsbury Wing, Level 2 Portico and Level 0, Main Building are some of the shops located at National Gallery.

Tate Modern – Truly Incomparable

London is amongst the largest metropolitans of the world. UK is home to several renowned museums and galleries. Every year these museums attract millions of tourists. Entry is free at almost all these museums and galleries but, there are charges for some of the special exhibitions.

Amongst all the museums and galleries Tate Modern Art Gallery attracts the maximum tourists every year. Tate Modern is London’s National Museum and is famous for its exceptional collections of international contemporary art. Tate Liverpool, Tate Modern, Tate St Ives and Tate Britain are a part of the group of museums commonly known as Tate. Opened in the year 2000, it is sited at the former Power Station at Bank side and is easily accessible from Blackfriars and Southwark London underground. This spectacular museum organizes several exhibitions, events etc and displays exceptional art works. The museum is also renowned to showcase collections embracing photography. There are two ways to enter the museum – River Entrance and Holland Street from Turbine Hall. Several facilities such as concessionary tickets for disables, stools for sitting, telephones, rest rooms, lifts and baby care rooms are available in the museum. Tate Modern also offers the services of private tour, meal packages, Tate to Tate tours, exhibitions introductory Lecture, free guide tours, multimedia guides etc. Works of famous artists such as Dali, Picasso, Bacon and many more are displayed in the gallery.

In the recent past the works such as Roni Horn aka Roni Horn, Rodchenko and Popova: Defining Constructivism, Paintings from 1980’s, Nicholas Holobo, The Unilever Series: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and many more were exhibited in the museum. Some of the upcoming events and exhibitions are listed below:

• Level 2 Gallery: Stutter ( 23rd April – 16 August )
In this exhibition you can explore a wide variety of artistic practices. Will Stuart, Michael Riedel, Dominique Petitgand, Anna Barham, Sven Augustijnen and Michelangelo Pistoletto are the artists of the Stutter. The exhibition will be held at the Level 2 Gallery from Sunday to Thursdays (10.00 – 18.00).

• Futurism ( 12 June – 20 September 2009)
An art movement – Futurism was launched by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who was an Italian poet. It celebrates the contemporary worlds of technology and industry. This dramatic art movement can be seen in the Tate Modern from 12th June – 20 September 2009 from 10.00 – 18.00 (Sunday to Thursday).

• Per Kirkeby ( 17 June – 6 September 2009)
An exhibition consisting of paintings on canvas and hardboards, blackboards, paper, brick structures and bronze sculptures by the renowned Danish artist – Per Kirkeby can be explored at the museum from Sunday to Thursday ( 10.00 – 18.00) from 17th June till 6 September 2009.

You can also relish delicious meals and drinks at the Espresso bar at the level 4 of the Tate Modern Gallery. The snacks and sandwiches at Espresso are outstanding. It is open from 10.15 – 18.00 from Sunday to Thursday.