Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.
Front façade of the museum in January 2006
An 1881 plan showing the original arrangement of the museum. (Link to current floor plans).
The Natural History Museum, shown in wide-angle view here, has an ornate terracotta facade by Gibbs and Canning typical of high Victorian architecture. The terracotta mouldings represent the past and present diversity of nature.
The Comic News reporting on the movement to South Kensington in 1863
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of around 8.8 million, and its metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea and has been a major settlement for nearly two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. In the 19th century, London grew rapidly, becoming the world's largest city at the time, as it expanded and absorbed the neighbouring county of Middlesex, and parts of Surrey and Kent. In 1965 it was combined with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire to create the administrative area of Greater London, which is governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.
Image: London Skyline (125508655)
Image: London Eye at sunset 2013 07 19
Image: London, Trafalgar Square, Nelson's Column 2016 4851
Image: St Paul dome