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The red brick and terracotta of the V&A across the pool in the John Madejski Garden, reflected in the water
THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSEUM OF DESIGN · SOUTH KENSINGTON

The Victoria and Albert Museum

The largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design in the world, born from the profits of the Great Exhibition, with more than two million objects and free entry.

Photo: Christinagrabelusshaikh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What you are looking at

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The Victoria and Albert Museum

What you are looking at

South Kensington

A painted and gilded relief of figures playing instruments, in a carved frame on a gallery wall at the V&A
A painted and gilded relief of figures playing instruments, in a carved frame on a gallery wall at the V&AMike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  1. 1
    The Cast CourtsTwo great halls of plaster casts of famous sculptures and monuments, including Trajan's Column in two halves.
  2. 2
    The Raphael CartoonsSeven designs for tapestries, among the great treasures of the Renaissance.
  3. 3
    Fashion and textilesFive centuries of dress, from court clothes to couture.
  4. 4
    Asian collectionsStrong holdings of ceramics and metalwork, and a large Islamic art collection.
  5. 5
    The courtyard and cafesThe first museum cafe in the world, in the Gamble Room and its neighbours.
The sight in full

Reading the place

The sight in full

What it is

The Victoria and Albert Museum, known as the V&A, is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, with a permanent collection of nearly three million objects. It spans 5,000 years, from ancient history to the present day, and it includes works from Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Its Islamic art collection is among the largest in the Western world, and its collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture is the largest outside Italy.

A gilt table clock with Roman numerals in a glass case beside a glass flask at the V&A
A gilt table clock with Roman numerals in a glass case beside a glass flask at the V&AMike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Like other national museums in the UK, it is free to enter. The South Kensington site is the original and the biggest, covering many acres with more than 145 galleries, so it is easy to feel overwhelmed. It is best seen by theme, not by room number.

From the Great Exhibition

The museum began as the Government School of Design in 1832, set up because the government feared that poor art education was hurting British industry. In 1852 Henry Cole became its head and set out to reach the whole public, not only artisans. Prince Albert supported him, and Cole used a parliamentary grant to buy objects from the Great Exhibition of 1851, which gave the new Museum of Manufactures its first treasures.

Two small plaques set in red brick on the museum's wall, one to a faithful dog named Tycho and one to a dog called Jim
Two small plaques set in red brick on the museum's wall, one to a faithful dog named Tycho and one to a dog called JimMike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Prince Albert had plans for a group of institutions on the edge of central London, funded by the profits of the Great Exhibition, which the press called Albertopolis. Cole persuaded the authorities to rename the area from Brompton to South Kensington to make it more attractive, and in 1857 the museum moved there. Soon it became the first in the world to offer visitors a refreshment room.

The building

The first buildings on the site were iron sheds nicknamed the Brompton Boilers, which were later taken down and rebuilt in east London as the Bethnal Green branch. The museum then grew in stages, with courtyards and galleries added through the Victorian period. The great facade on Cromwell Road, with a central tower topped by a crown, was added in the early twentieth century and gives the museum its present face.

An alcove in a V&A gallery hung with old paintings and a small group of objects in a case
An alcove in a V&A gallery hung with old paintings and a small group of objects in a caseMike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Inside, a series of Victorian galleries opens one into the next in a way that suits wandering. The museum's Italian Renaissance galleries and its Cast Courts have the scale of cathedral naves, and the central garden courtyard provides a place to sit in the middle of the day.

What to look for

The Cast Courts hold plaster reproductions of great sculptures and monuments from across Europe, made in the nineteenth century when travel was hard, including a copy of Trajan's Column cut into two pieces to fit under the roof. They are among the most striking rooms in London. The Raphael Cartoons, seven large designs for tapestries for the Sistine Chapel, are on loan from the Royal Collection and hang in their own gallery.

The red brick and terracotta front of a V&A building above its garden, with scaffolding at the right
The red brick and terracotta front of a V&A building above its garden, with scaffolding at the rightMike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The fashion galleries trace five centuries of dress, and the jewellery gallery is dazzling. The East Asian collections are particularly strong in ceramics and metalwork. The museum also holds prints, drawings, photographs, furniture, glass and medieval objects, more than most visitors expect from a museum of design.

A museum of making

A cloister of red brick arches round the pool in the John Madejski Garden at the V&A
A cloister of red brick arches round the pool in the John Madejski Garden at the V&ACeri Thomas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

What sets the V&A apart from museums of fine art is its interest in how things are made and used. A chair, a teapot, a dress and a poster each get the same attention as a painting. Many of the objects were bought or commissioned in the nineteenth century as models for designers and manufacturers to study, which was the original purpose of the museum, and the habit of looking closely at craft has stayed.

That is why a visit can be so varied. A single afternoon might take you from a medieval stained-glass window to a Japanese kimono, an Indian carpet, a Renaissance bronze and a pair of modern trainers. The museum also holds the national collections of theatre and performance, photography and the art of the book, and its temporary exhibitions often cover fashion, pop music or film, which draw a younger crowd.

Visitors sitting at the edge of the shallow pool in the museum's courtyard, in front of the red brick arches
Visitors sitting at the edge of the shallow pool in the museum's courtyard, in front of the red brick archesA J Paxton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Look out for the small rooms. The jewellery gallery, the silver rooms and the glass galleries are quiet, and each could occupy an hour. The seats in the galleries are well placed for a pause, and the cafes and courtyard are never far away. Bring comfortable shoes, because the galleries cover a great deal of ground and the floors change level more often than the signs suggest.

Other sites

The V&A is a family of museums spread across the country. In London, the Young V&A in Bethnal Green is the children's museum, and the V&A East in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a newer branch. There is also a branch in Dundee, in Scotland. The South Kensington site is the one most visitors mean when they say the V&A.

The V&A's central garden, a lawn and a shallow round pool in front of the museum's red brick buildings
The V&A's central garden, a lawn and a shallow round pool in front of the museum's red brick buildingsDiliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Because there is so much, give yourself a theme. Choose fashion, or Asia, or the Cast Courts, and see them well. The museum has seats and cafes throughout, and you can break the visit in the garden courtyard.

Planning your visit

Entry to the permanent collection is free, with charges for major exhibitions, and the details are in Booking Ahead. The museum is a few minutes' walk from South Kensington station, along the pedestrian tunnel that also serves the Natural History Museum.

A walkway round the pool in the V&A courtyard, with the brick front of the museum behind and the lawn in front
A walkway round the pool in the V&A courtyard, with the brick front of the museum behind and the lawn in frontBryn Holmes, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Next door is the Natural History Museum, and the two make a good pairing for a day in South Kensington. Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens lie a short walk north, past the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall, both products of the same Victorian idea.

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