2015-05-26
2124
The British Museum
Sir Hans Sloane was a great collector. He filled his house with rare books and pictures, precious stones, stuffed animals, birds and butterflies, and ancient remains from all over the world. There had never been a collection quite like it, and visitors were amazed by what they saw.
When Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753, his will let the King buy the whole collection for just £ 20,000 so that it could belong to the nation for ever. This was the start of the British Museum.
It took thirty years and thousands of tons of stone to complete the building and the forty-four massive columns which decorate the front. The building of the British Museum was finished in 1948.
The British Museum started as a museum which collected everything. At first it was particularly famous for its natural history collection and its vast library of books.
Three stuffed giraffes used to stand at the top of the stairs in old Montagu house.
In the 1880s all the museum's stuffed animals and birds were moved to the new Natural History museum at South Kensington.
Children today are sometimes surprised not to find any dinosaurs in the museum... but there are plenty of other ancient and marvellous things to look at.
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