Museum of London

Monday, July 14













(source)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_London

As usual, the group assembled in the courtyard by 9am to receive the schedule for the day and directions. As we all scurried to the Waterloo tube station, we became separated into 2 or 3 groups going to the Museum of London. When we all arrived at the museum, we were met by Jon Cotton, who is the Senior Curator for the "London before London Gallery" (dealing in Prehistory). Our group was wisked away down a flight of steps, outside of the museum, and into an attached small presentation room. There, Jon presented a slide show of the museum, but specifically that of "The London Before London Gallery."

He started out by saying the museum was built in the 1970s, and said it is relatively "new" to London standards. Jon added that libraries are statutory, meaning they are required by law, and that museums are not. And that the museum was first housed in Kensington Palace, which I thought was rather interesting. But I guess that it had to be put somewhere, after all.

Jon said there are three sites, or branches, of the museum throughout London. The main site is the Museum of London near the Barbicon Centre. The second site is the Museum in Docklands (http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/English/YourVisit/MiD+Large+Map.htm), and the third is the Museum of London Archeology Service (MoLAS). All three fall under the umbrella of the Museum of London. (http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/YourVisit/MOLMAP.htm).
Jon reiterated that he is in charge of the Prehistory section of the museum, and that it dates from 600,000-700,000 prior years up to the Romans. The museums major marketing line is "world's largest urban history collection, from Roman times forward. This statement falls in line with the National Curriculum of early settlers, Romans and Saxons.

The visitor demographics was discussed next. Jon stated that overall, a large population of museum visitors include tourists, foreign and British. However, more and more Londoners are coming in. The statistical breakdown is as follows:

- 400,000 visitors per year (50% Londoners and students)
- 10 to 15% other British visitors
- 40 to 30% foreigners

Interestingly enough, there are no foreign language informational panels in the museum; only English signage.

Furthermore, three areas of visitor focus was discussed. These included, 1. 19th Century London, Victorian-Age, Dickens, etc.; 2. Tudor and Stuart London, Shakespeare, etc.; and 3. Roman, Londinium -the Roman capital of England. And once again, John reiterated his responsibilities in Prehistory, which is before written records That Prehistory is up to, but not including the Romans.

He stated that they want to change from the old stereotypical image of the cavemen using Raquel Welch, or other popular British stars with a big club and animal pelts. He included several slides of the aforementioned individuals. Next a slide of Rick Mears was shown, as well as the famous "Iceman" discovered on the Italian/Austrian Alps, with its copper axe dating back to approximately 3000 B.C. Also, slides of prehistoric pottery dating back to the "Iceman" was shown, one with finger indentations notably by a woman.

From here, Jon described, in depth, the theme of "Landscape" while showing slides of Stonehenge, Seahenge, and then a map of the Thames, the London landmark. He then segued into found objects from the Thames, noting them as personal religious ceremonial objects and the river was a connection to the divine or departed. Some of the items mentioned included Hindu figurines, bones, candles, crucifixes, and other things in plastic bags.

A discription of the "London Before London Gallery" was described as being very panel-oriented, with reconstructed scenes and interactive areas. A straight-forward design scheme was carried out, using straight lines to keep the exhibit design continuous and cohesive. There are three major design areas noticeable in the exhibit that focus on landscape and design, a river wall that runs through the gallery, and plints (or display cases). All of the incorporated design elements work very well together to create a fluid transition of the viewer.

During the design, Jon said that the designers, as well as himself, looked at the spirituality of the people and decided to incorporate quotes and poems on the panels. The blue wall, previously indicated as the river wall, displays all of the items that were drudged out of the Thames. Together, the three major design elements truly enhance the viewing and ambiance for the viewer. I do believe, and I told Jon before leaving, that the "London Before London Gallery was far superior to the other current displays. He seemed pleased that I said that and mentioned that the Roman Gallery was the next scheduled improvement to come.

Overall, the presentation and self-walking tour was very enjoyable!

Following the tour, I had lunch with a few members in the group at the Museum Cafe, and then joined Elizabeth to St. Paul's Cathedral crypt. It was very interesting to see so many memorial and markers for famous and heroic men and women. After the crypt, we decided to climb up to the Whispering Gallery to look-out to the Cathedral floor below. We then decided to keep climbing higher to the next level, the Golden Gallery, looked around, then up to the Balland and Latern section, which is the top of the Cathedral which took us outside to experience a magnificent view of the Thames and the city. The climb to the upper level was quite narrow. And as we started to make a decent, the audio-fire alarm went off. So everyone was herded quickly as possible out of the building. Needless to say, our legs where really shaking when we got back down to the ground level outside. We both agreed that it was kind of a once in a lifetime moment to have climbed to the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral. It was 1,151 steps to the top. It really did take our breath away, since we were huffing and puffing.

We then decided that it would be much better on our legs to take the double-decker bus back to Waterloo station, that I saw a another double-decker bus stopped in the middle of the street with two police cars with their lights flashing, with a severely cracked front windshield. I thought, "WOW I'm glad we weren't on that bus!"