The Horniman Museum and Gardens brings global collections, natural history, music, and a wide landscape together in Forest Hill. The museum’s handsome stone façade looks out onto gardens with long views across London, while its own history now includes a more critical reading of colonial collecting.
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The view across the gardens opens beyond the museum, but the building’s collections bring the world into Forest Hill. Frederick Horniman first opened his collection to visitors in 1890; the purpose-built museum followed in 1901.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The Surrey House Museum opened in 1890.
- The purpose-built museum opened in 1901.
- The museum identifies and critically reinterprets its colonial collecting legacy.
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