National Museums of the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
There are a number of National Museum
s in the United Kingdom
, which are owned and operated by the state. The national museums of the UK are funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) of the United Kingdom government, and are all located in England
. There are 14 national museums, all established by Acts of Parliament, as well as another eight which are sponsored by the DCMS.
In addition, there are national museums in Scotland
, Wales
and Northern Ireland
, which are supported by the devolved legislatures. National museums in Scotland are funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department
, in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government
, and in Northern Ireland by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
of the Northern Ireland Executive
.
Free entrance is standard practice in all UK National Museums, although some exhibits do require an admission fee to view. Several of the museums have more than one location throughout the UK.
National museum
A national museum is a museum maintained by a nation.The following is a list of national museums:-Australia:*Australian National Aviation Museum*Australian National Maritime Museum*, Sydney*Australian War Memorial*Museum Victoria...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which are owned and operated by the state. The national museums of the UK are funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
(DCMS) of the United Kingdom government, and are all located in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. There are 14 national museums, all established by Acts of Parliament, as well as another eight which are sponsored by the DCMS.
In addition, there are national museums in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, which are supported by the devolved legislatures. National museums in Scotland are funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department
Scottish Executive Education Department
The Scottish Government Education Directorates were a group of the civil service directorates in the Scottish Government. The Directorates were entitled Children, Young People and Social Care; Schools; and Lifelong Learning. They were responsible for education in Scotland; social work care for...
, in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
, and in Northern Ireland by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
of the Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
.
Free entrance is standard practice in all UK National Museums, although some exhibits do require an admission fee to view. Several of the museums have more than one location throughout the UK.
National museums established by Act of Parliament
- British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London - Imperial War MuseumImperial War MuseumImperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London, Cambridge and Manchester - Museum of LondonMuseum of LondonThe Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
, London - National Gallery, LondonNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
- National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, London - National Museums LiverpoolNational Museums LiverpoolNational Museums Liverpool, previously known as National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All museums and galleries in this group have free admission...
, Liverpool - National Museum of Science and IndustryNational Museum of Science and IndustryThe National Museum of Science and Industry is a collection of British museums, comprising:* The Science Museum, incorporating the Science Museum Library and the Wellcome collections of the history of medicine at South Kensington in London....
, London, York, Bradford, and Shildon, County Durham - National Portrait Gallery, London
- Natural History MuseumNatural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, London - Royal ArmouriesRoyal ArmouriesThe Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
, Leeds, London and Portsmouth - Sir John Soane's Museum, London
- TateTate-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, London, Liverpool and St. Ives, Cornwall - Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London - Wallace CollectionWallace CollectionThe Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
, London
Sponsored museums
- Design MuseumDesign MuseumDesign Museum is a museum by the River Thames near Tower Bridge in central London, England. The museum covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. It was founded in 1989 and claims to be the first museum of modern design...
, London - Geffrye MuseumGeffrye MuseumFounded in 1914, the Geffrye Museum is a museum specialising in the history of the English domestic interior. Named after Sir Robert Geffrye, former Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers' Company, it is located on Kingsland Road in London...
, London - Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
- Museum of Science and Industry in ManchesterMuseum of Science and Industry in ManchesterThe Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England, is a large museum devoted to the development of science, technology, and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields...
, Manchester - National Coal Mining Museum for EnglandNational Coal Mining Museum for EnglandThe National Coal Mining Museum for England is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1988 as the Yorkshire Mining Museum and was granted national status in 1995.-History:...
, Overton, West Yorkshire - National Football MuseumNational Football MuseumThe National Football Museum was a museum in Preston, Lancashire, England founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of association football memorabilia. It was built outside Deepdale, which as of 2010 is the oldest continuously used football league ground in the world...
, Preston, Lancashire - People's History MuseumPeople's History MuseumThe People's History Museum in Manchester, England is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in the UK...
, Manchester - Tyne and Wear MuseumsTyne and Wear MuseumsTyne & Wear Archives & Museums is a regional group of United Kingdom national museums located across the Tyne and Wear area of north-east England. They have been administered by a joint board of local authorities since the abolition of the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan County Council...
National Museums in Northern Ireland
- Ulster MuseumUlster MuseumThe Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
- Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
- Ulster American Folk ParkUlster American Folk ParkThe Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum in Castletown, just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Park explores the historical link between Ulster and America, focusing particularly on the lifestyle and experiences of those immigrants who sailed from Ulster to America...
- Armagh County MuseumArmagh County MuseumThe Armagh County Museum is a museum in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Located on the Mall, the museum is one of the national museums of Northern Ireland...
See also
- List of museums in England
- List of museums in Scotland
- List of museums in Wales
- List of museums in Northern Ireland