The British Museum holds in trust for the nation and the world a collection of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures. Housed in one of Britain's architectural landmarks, the collection is one of the finest in existence, spanning two million years of human history. Access to the collections is free.
The British Museum was founded in 1753 to promote universal understanding through the arts, natural history and science in a public museum. Since its foundation, the British Museum has been guided by three important principles: that the collections are held in perpetuity in their entireties; that they are widely available to all who seek to enjoy and learn from them and that they are curated by full-time specialists. In looking towards 2003, the 250th anniversary of its founding the British Museum will preserve these distinctive commitments to access, scholarship and care of the collections, whilst redefining them for the new millennium.
The British Museum's international standing and its key role in the display of the world's and nation's heritage make it one of the most-visited public buildings in London, contributing to its cultural and economic life. London's largest covered public square, the Great Court has changed the face of Bloomsbury as a cultural quarter.
As a social enterprise the British Museum has exceptional reach. It creates a context in which cultures can be seen, experienced and studied in depth or compared and contrasted across time and space to inspire and delight over five million visitors a year. Through its public, curatorial, exhibition and education programmes the Museum engages with the public to advance understanding of the collections and cultures they represent.
It's no surprise that the British Museum, one of the greatest museums in the world, tops the visitor charts. Founded in 1753, it is also the oldest museum in the world and its contents catalogue over two million years of world history and culture. With over 94 galleries and thousands of artefacts, the British Museum will intrigue and enlighten visitors from around the globe. The most famous exhibits include the Elgin Marbles - sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, Egyptian mummies and the Rosetta Stone. The Reading Room, which was recently incorporated into the Great Court (a stunning covered courtyard), has witnessed the likes of Karl Marx, Mahatma Ghandi and George Bernard Shaw working under its awe-inspiring dome. Admission is free and there are lots of events and special exhibitions taking place throughout the year.
The British Museum is one of the greatest museums of the world. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1753 and is now governed under the British Museum Act 1963. General management and control are vested in a Board of twenty-five Trustees (one appointed by the Sovereign, fifteen by the Prime Minister, four nominated by learned societies and five elected by the Trustees themselves.
The Museum is largely funded by a government grant-in-aid administered by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Additional income is also secured through sponsorship and a wide range of commercial and fund-raising activities. The British Museum Company is responsible for the sale of publications and fund-raising activities. The British Museum Company is responsible for the sale of publications and replicas and also operates a tour company, British Museum Traveller. There are a number of active supporters' groups including the British Museum Friends, and its Young Friends, Patrons Associates, the Townley Group, Caryatids, Friends of the Ancient Near East and Japanese Friends.
The Museum now holds national collections of antiquities; coins, medals and paper money; ethnography; and prints and drawings. Its natural history collections were transferred to South Kensington in the 1880s, becoming the Natural History Museum. The library collections (Printed Books, Manuscripts, Maps, Music and Stamps) became part of the British Library in 1973 and have now gone to a new building at St Pancras.
The main Museum buildings are in Bloomsbury. The core consists of buildings of a floor area of about 600,000 square feet, designed by Sir Robert and Sidney Smirke and erected between the 1820s and 1850s. Major subsequent additions totalling about 340,000 square feet consists of the Classical and Assyrian Sculpture Galleries (1850s-1870s), the White Wing (1884), the King Edward VII Building (1914), the Duveen Gallery (1939/62) and the New Wing (1979/80). With the departure of the British Library the Museum has embarked upon a programme of development leading up to its 250th birthday in 2003. The glass-covered Great Court, opened 7 December 2001 is the centrepiece of the project.
