Journal Entry 1: The British Museum

The British Museum is HUGE and so full of ‘stuff.’ Particularly, in the words of Peter ‘stolen stuff.’ Well, some of this stolen stuff I really enjoyed. Although it is the British Museum, which was established in 1753 to showcase the collection of Sir Hans Sloan, it now acts as a world cultural showcase. Sloan was a physician and naturalist who collected what we call now ‘antiques’ but he had a massive collection of texts and wanted to showcase it to the world and not have it broken up. He sold his collection to King George II. First meant to be a library, the British Museum started with collections of books, and eventually expanded to include more.

Undergone many remodelling, the British museum had to build extensions to be able to hold its ever growing collection.
Of particular interest to me was the great court, which I understand only looks the way it does thanks to HMQ Elizabeth II.


The great court surrounds the Round reading room from 1857. The roof is my favourite part of the Great Court, designed by Buro Happold, the tessellation of triangles is just awe-inspiring, remind me of how fascinated I used to be with tessellations and how my notebooks were covered with them while spacing out to the boring maths lectures of grade school.

Being at the British Museum when it first opened, or even during one of its many remodels, would have had the same effect on me as it has now. It’s just amazing, the history and the uniqueness of the items showcased. Probably being lower class back then, seeing others’ possessions would have been culturally refreshing, although I’m quite certain that through my mind would be complete and utter jealousy and then determination to make something of myself. Looking at all the books and just the columns that remind me of roman architecture, would have made me a very happy commoner, assuming I was not a victim of the plague or had I been able to afford stilts as to not walk on a batch of poo.