London is home to 15 national museums, which have an international profile and dominate the sector in terms of size of collections, resources and visitor numbers.
It is also home to 11 of the 62 museums (nearly 20%) holding Designated collections. The Designation scheme was launched by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in 1997 to identify and celebrate the pre-eminent collections of national and international importance held in England’s non-national museums.
London’s local authority museum services run 46 venues in 26 London boroughs. Many of these services have built up particular expertise in the areas of access, social inclusion and audience diversification through working in partnership with people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, and through building links with local community groups and schools.
The capital’s 162 independent museums comprise a mix of small, medium sized and larger museums and galleries. Amongst these are many specialist collections, including those at historic houses and museums of famous people and companies. Examples include: Chelsea Physic Garden, one of Europe’s oldest botanic gardens; Dr Johnson’s House and the Old Operating Theatre Museum, which has the oldest surviving purpose built operating theatre.
The nine university museums hold specialist collections with an academic slant. Important examples include the York Gate Collections at the Royal Academy of Music and University College London’s Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Recently, there has been a shift towards attracting the general public as well as academic researchers.
London also has 11 Ministry of Defence, and three Royal collections. There are six English Heritage and seven National Trust historic properties in London. One example is English Heritage’s Kenwood House and its art collections.
Regional Hubs are consortia of regional museums and they are at the heart of the vision for museums in England, as outlined in the groundbreaking report Renaissance in the Regions. The London Museums Hub consists of the Museum of London, the Horniman Museum, the Geffrye Museum and London’s Transport Museum. Central government funding assists the Hub to act as a leader in delivering improved museum services to a wider constituency than ever before. To find out more about Renaissance in the Regions click here