The Victoria and Albert Museum Facts: Popularly known as the V&A museum, it’s located right opposite the Museum of Natural history. It’s one of the popular free museums in London.
The museum is named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. It was built in 1852 at South Kensington, London. This museum has a collection of arts belonging to various cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa, which can be traced back to 5,000 years as well as the recent ones. This museum like other museums is a non-departmental public body that is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport.
The museum has holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewelry, furniture, sculpture, medieval objects, prints, photographs and many other things. It has the largest collection of post-classical sculpture and the holdings of Italian Renaissance items. In 1973 the museum became the first museum to present a rock concert. The Victoria and Albert Museum also runs the Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green.
Victoria and Albert Museum London
The architectural style of the museum is inspired by the Italian Renaissance and materials like terracotta, brick and mosaic have been used. The main entrance of the museum is made of iron doors and they have six panels that depict the various collections in the museum. The Green Dining Room was inspired from the Elizabethan period and The Centre Refreshment Room was built as per the Renaissance style. The tower above the main entrance is influenced by the Gothic style of architecture.
The museum has undergone changes during the Victorian era, the Edwardian era and the post-war period. The museum is said to have survived the Second World War with some little damage. The collections of the museum are divided into four major heads/departments namely; Asia; Furniture, Textiles and Fashion; Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics and Glass and Word and Image. These departments are further classified into sixteen display areas.
Victoria and Albert Museum Timings:
10.00am- 17.45pm (daily)
10.00 to 22.00 Fridays (selected galleries remain open after 18.00)
Closing commences 10 minutes before time stated
The museum is closed between 24 – 26 December
Nearest tube station to V&A in South Kensington. Just get down at the tube station and follow signs to the museum.
England Trains – Information on getting and reading your train ticket, the high speed, and regional train system; a link of train schedules.
More Info On- Albert Memorial London, British Museum, Museums in London, Natural History Museum