Museums - Archive Articles

Bank of England is giving away Christmas tree baubles filled with shredded banknotes

Later this month, the Bank of England will be giving away Christmas Tree baubles filled with shredded banknotes.

The Queen’s Gallery next to Buckingham Palace is to become The King’s Gallery

The Queen's Gallery, which displays artworks from the Royal Collection, is to be renamed, although indications earlier this year were that it would stick with the name given when it first opened.

Former apprentice returns to complete the London Museum’s new copper clad roof

The conversion of the old Smithfield market buildings into the new London Museum reached a milestone when the final piece of a huge copper-clad roof was installed by a former apprentice who worked on the original building back in the 1960s.

Walthamstow’s Vestry House Museum is to close for two years

You have just a couple of weeks to visit Walthamsow's Vestry House Museum before it closes for two years of renovation works.

The full guide to London’s museum memberships as Christmas presents

If you want to give something this Christmas that your recipient can use all year round, rather than socks and fragrances… give them membership to a museum or gallery they love.

Original beauty unveiled as English Heritage removes Instagram-like filter from Kenwood House portrait

An aristocratic lady from the 17th century who was considered quite beautiful seems to have fallen from favour after she died, as someone had applied an "Instagram" filter to the painting to enhance her looks.

This weekend is “Museum Shop Sunday”

This coming Sunday is an annual day for people to consider shopping at a Museum. Not for the artefacts but in the gift shop.

Pollock’s Toy Museum popping up in Leadenhall Market

The much loved and currently homeless Pollock's Toy Museum is getting a temporary home this Christmas, in the City of London's Victorian Leadenhall Market.

Ink and Friendship: Exploring the Dickens-Collins connection at the Charles Dickens Museum

An exhibition that's the first to explore one of the great literary friendships between Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, has opened at the museum dedicated to the author of A Christmas Carol.

Call for entries to the National Portrait Gallery’s longstanding painting competition

The National Portrait Gallery has announced the return of its annual painting competition, the Portrait Award, with support from new headline sponsor, Herbert Smith Freehills.

Redevelopment of Hackney Museum opens for public consultation

Hackney Museum has opened a consultation on plans to redevelop the museum after it secured funding for an upgrade project.

Tickets Alert: Out of hours Titanosaur tours at the Natural History Museum

If you want to get up close and personal with the largest dinosaur on display but prefer to avoid the crowds, then the Natural History Museum offers early morning visits.

Tickets Alert: Visit the Fan Museum when it’s lit by candles

A small museum in Greenwich that you've probably never visited will be a bit more interesting to visit in December when candles illuminate it.

The lost brutal reviews of Charles Dickens’s novels by his best friend Wilkie Collins

After he died, one of Charles Dickens's best friends was revealed to have written a series of devastating critiques of his friend's stories, but these reviews haven't been seen since they were sold at auction in 1890.

Tickets Alert: Handel Hendrix House to open late on Fridays

Handel Hendrix House, the museum once home to both Handel and Jimi Hendrix, is to start opening late on Fridays for candlelit, music-filled evenings.

From meat market to museum – the London Museum’s new Foundation Stone unveiled

Progress on converting Smithfield's old Victorian meat market into the new London Museum has taken a step forward with the unveiling of the building's Foundation Stone.

Moco Museum gets approval to open Marble Arch museum of modern art

A new museum will be opening in Marble Arch next year, as the Amsterdam based Moco Museum (Modern Contemporary Museum) has taken a lease on three floors of an Oxford Street building.

For a few weeks only: British Museum displays a fragile 1,500 year old Chinese scroll

A large but also very fragile document that can only be seen for a few weeks each year will be displayed next week at the British Museum.

Alexander Fleming Museum celebrates 30th anniversary: From nappy storage to medical milestone

A small museum in Paddington that celebrates the man who accidentally discovered penicillin is marking its 30th anniversary this month.

Unveiling the hidden chapter: Charles Dickens Museum marks 200 years since Dickens’s time as a child labourer

This autumn will mark 200 years since Charles Dickens, as a twelve year old boy was forced to leave school and do something that he never spoke of, although it laid the foundations for much of his writings as an adult.

The London Museum wants your old signs

When it opens in 2026, the new London Museum wants to have a space filled with old London signs and is now asking the public for donations.

Watford Museum will be closing in October for two years

Watford Museum will be closing in October for a couple of years as it prepares to move to a new home, as the current building is considered unsuitable to house its growing local history collection.

London could be about to get a new museum of modern art at Marble Arch

A new museum could be opening in Marble Arch, as the Amsterdam based Moco Museum (Modern Contemporary Museum) has taken a lease on three floors of an Oxford Street building.

Will Gompertz to take over as Director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum

Will Gompertz, who is currently Artistic Director at the Barbican and was for many years, the BBC’s Arts Editor has been named as the new director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum.