WIE DAS BRITISCHE MUSEUM ENTWICKELT WURDE

The British Museum has a fascinating history that goes back centuries, and recently the institution took a look at how it all started in the beginning of 1753…

Das British Museum wurde gegründet, als Sir Hans Sloane starb und seine Sammlung England hinterließ. Sir Robert Bruce, Sir Thomas und Sir John Cotton hatten dem Staat wichtige Artefakte wie Kopien der Manga Carta und das Manuskript für Beowulf hinterlassen und sie waren ursprünglich in der Cotton Library untergebracht. Dies bildete die Grundlage für das British Museum, zusammen mit der Harley-Manuskriptsammlung, die ebenfalls eine Institution brauchte, in der sie landen konnte.

Im Juni 1754 wurde Montagu House als Gebäude für das Britische Museum ausgewählt, nachdem der Palace of Westminster und der Buckingham Palace als zu teuer erachtet wurden.

Montagu House was an estate owned by Ralph Montagu. Montagu was reportedly considered an “arrant knave” by Jonathan Swift, but the king liked him, and he later became a duke. The original Montagu House was damaged by a fire in 1686 and was subsequently rebuilt.

Once the collections at the British Museum kept expanding, the Townley Gallery was added in 1808. It was named after Charles Townley, a collector and a trustee of the British Museum, who had a large sculpture collection (and a great deal of that collection came to the British Museum after Townley’s death).

As the museum kept growing in the 1800s, other additions included George IV’s library, and a King’s Library building was also put into action by Sir Robert Smirke. It was constructed in what’s known as DzGreek Revivaldz style, which was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. This was a different architectural direction for the museum, the first museum building was done in a French architectural style, and the King’s Library is still considered the foundation of the British Museum today