Frederick Horniman’s shrine to learning and discovery is less than a mile from the centre of Dulwich. As well as housing a magnificent world-class collection, the Horniman Museum is also a magnificent building. So I visited recently as part of my tour of architectural sites in and around Dulwich.
From ancient remains of massive beasts (right) to collections of musical instruments from around the world (below left) the Horniman’s collection describes the experience of life on earth – and the sea – in all aspects. DOV has featured plenty of articles about the Horniman over the last few years, but here are the bare essentials of the place.
The museum was founded by Frederick Horniman (a tea trader and philanthropist) who’s collection of objects, specimens and artefacts ‘illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world’ from around 1860. His overarching mission was to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill’ and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.
His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Ceylon, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which ‘either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands’. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.
The collection grew so huge that the family’s former London Road residence became known as the Surrey House Museum and was freely thrown open to the general public on 24 December 1890.
But it was such a success that the building was closed and demolished. Charles Harrison Townsend was the architect commissioned to design the new museum and the foundations were laid between June and September 1898. When the building was completed in his determination to increase the popularity and utility of the museum, particularly with regards to learning and education Mr Horniman resolved to donate the museum, collections and adjoining grounds as a free gift to the people in perpetuity.
The Museum and Gardens were formally opened to the public on 29 June 1901. The Horniman family continued to take an active interest in the museum donating objects and large collections of books to the library and in 1912 Emslie Horniman generously donated money to build a new library and lecture theatre.
What strikes me about this building as a visitor is the very easy juxtaposition of the Victorian elements of the display. Traditional museum objects (such as stuffed apes and the now famous stuffed walrus) in display cases, housed in a charming vaulted room, are set alongside modern museum galleries, with large glass-fronted display cases, electronic interactive elements and spot lighting.
Yet wandering the galleries and bouncing between these very different spaces, it all seems to work.
The building too is an amalgamation of Victorian charm (galleries with balconies, arched doorways and even a steel and glass conservatory!) with modern style (glass doors, airy skylights, chrome fittings). These two seem to sit hand in hand very happily at the Horniman.
A radical overhaul of the building between 1999 and 2002 saw the creation of three new gallery spaces, a cafe, shop and event an education centre with grass growing on the roof!
They spent £13.4million on the project and doubled the available space for display and public programmes – and I think it was worth every penny. It’s a very happy melding of classic charm with the enthusiasm we all had for building projects in the new millennium. And while other cultural architecture projects which opened soon after 2000 might not all have been such huge successes, the Horniman in a building which will continue to be fit for purpose for many many years to come.
The museum runs a large programme of public activities including exhibitions, workshops, talks and courses and there’s loads for the family to do there. And they continue to try and make Frederick Horniman’s ideal of bringing the world to Forest Hill (and Forest Hill to the world) through their twitter feed – if you’re a tweeter you can follow them at @HornimanMuseum for updates about what’s on.
And there’s also an occasional feed from the Horniman’s Walrus at @HornimanWalrus who offers sporadic witticisms and sarcastic comments about visitors and other museum objects. (I doubt it’s written by the museum themselves, but it’s certainly worth a follow for a giggle!)
The Horniman Museum is open 10.30-17.30 daily and is free. (There is a small charge for the aquarium and some temporary exhibitions.)
Their current temporary exhibition about Bali closes on 8 January, but the next show, The Art of Harmony, opens on 26 March 2011.
Images: with thanks again to Ingrid. Some great pictures here. Cheers!
