BES Assignment Two: The Museum of London

BES

Assignment Two

The Museum of London

There are over 240 museums in the city of London. Each of these museums is unique in their own way, as they contribute to the diversity and magnificence London has to offer. Perhaps one of the most interesting museums is The Museum of London itself. The museum is located in the residential and cultural centre of the Barbican. It is a few minutes’ walk north of the glorious St. Paul Cathedral. The museum was opened in 1976 as part of the Barbican Estate. The museum contains collections previously held by the Corporation at the Guildhall and also items from other collections, including the London Museums. The Museum of London features nine galleries all free of charge. The galleries explore London from prehistoric times to present day. Some of the galleries featured include; London before London, Roman London, Medieval London, War, Plague, and fire, and more.

Since being in London I have had the opportunity to visit a variety of museums. The Museum of London is one of my favorites because it is so unique as compared to other museums. Not only are the contents within the museums distinctive so is the building. The building seemed more contemporary as compared to many of the other museums. It fit in well with the architecture within the area. As we approached the museum there hung an enormous sign with the name ‘The Museum of London’. We entered the museum through a lower entrance and then proceed to take an escalator to the upper level. Once on the top level we walked around a brick roundabout and into the upper entrance of the museum. Upon entering the museum was a cute café as well as a gift shop. I was surprised by the amount of people at the museum on a Sunday afternoon. There were many people enjoying tea at the museum’s café, as well as many people within the galleries. The atmosphere at the museum was very inviting, and informational.  One thing I really enjoyed about the museum of London was the layout. The galleries are featured in chronological order making going through the exhibits easy to understand. The contents and artifacts within the galleries are also clearly labeled with descriptive easy to understand markers.

My favorite galleries throughout the Museum of London were the War, Plague, Fire, and World City’s to Present Day galleries. The War, Plague, Fire gallery tells the story of London from Elizabeth times. After the great fire of 1666 a significant part of London was destroyed. There are many theories as to how the fire originally started. One of the more popular theories is that the fire started in Pudding Lane in a baker’s shop. After the devastation it took close to 50 years to rebuild the city. During this period, London expanded beyond the bounds of the city wall and began its great transformation into the world class city it is today. I really enjoyed this gallery as I find this particular event in history interesting. It is hard to believe how much of the city was destroyed from a single fire, and yet restore to the city it is today. My favorite part of the Fire gallery was the mini movie that was showing. It gave insight into the disaster and brought out the rest of the artifacts and contents within the gallery. I also really enjoyed the modern day gallery as it was interesting to see how the city began to transform throughout the gallery. It was also interesting to learn about London as a city today. They also had a special section dedicated to the summer Olympics which was neat to see. I learned that they Olympics have been in London twice before. It was cool to see how many counties have joined then games since they first originated, as well as the sports played and dress worn. Overall I enjoyed my experience at the Museum of London. I thought it was a fun and interesting way to learn about London. It is definitely a great museum to begin any London experience at in order to get the ultimate feel for the city.