Added: 12/25/2005 |
The Greenwich Museum maritime collection reflects historyHere we`ll tell the history of Greenwich - the architecture, surroundings and the cultural, Museum maritime and scientific developments . The National Maritime Museum or NMM was formally established in 1934 and opened to the public by King George VI on 27 April 1937. It includes the 17th-century Queen's House and, from the 1950s, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
There is also a small museum at Cotehele Quay on the Tamar, Cornwall, with the National Trust sailing barge Shamrock, and the 'Valhalla' ships' figurehead collection on Tresco.
The collections comprise about 2.48 million items, many on loan to museums elsewhere in Britain. The public galleries at Greenwich display a thematically arranged selection and the remainder are accessible for public interest and research in various ways. The majority of the Museum maritime small-boat collection is on display at the new National Maritime Museum, Cornwall.
Entry to all Museum sites at Greenwich is free but charges are made for some special exhibitions.
After its foundation in 1910, the Society for Nautical Research (SNR) independently developed the aim of founding a 'national naval and nautical museum'. In 1927-28, following a public appeal organised by the Society, one of its wealthy members Sir James Caird, purchased the A.G.H. Macpherson Collection of maritime prints - over 11,000 items - with this in view. He also purchased the ship models from the training ship Mercury, with many other items being bought by him or otherwise donated.
The Museum's first Director from 1934 to his death was Professor Sir Geoffrey Callender, formerly Professor of History at the Royal Naval College, who was also both Secretary and Treasurer of the SNR and the main intellectual and organizational force behind the Museum's creation.
All the Museum buildings have subsequently been upgraded at various times and a full modern redevelopment of the main galleries, centring on what is now the Neptune Court, was completed 1999.
The Museum maritime has the most important holdings in the world on the history of Britain at sea, including maritime art (both British and 17th-century Dutch), cartography, manuscripts including official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, time-keeping and astronomy (based at the Observatory), and in many other categories.
Its British portraits collection is only exceeded in size by the National Portrait Gallery and its holdings related to Nelson and Cook, among many other individuals, are unrivalled. It has the world's largest Museum maritime historical reference library, including books dating back to the 15th century.
The Museum is also unique in the architectural importance of its main buildings, the Queen's House in particular being the keystone of the historic park-and-palace landscape of 'Maritime Greenwich', which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Flamsteed House (1675-76), the original part of the Observatory, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was the first purpose-built scientific research facility in Britain.
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