One of three major museums on Kensington’s Cromwell Road, the Natural History Museum holds some 80 million specimens spanning five core collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology.
At a glance
Alfred Waterhouse’s terracotta building on Cromwell Road opened on 18 April 1881 to house the natural history collections of the British Museum, and became a fully independent museum in 1963. Entry is free, though some exhibitions require a separate ticket.
History
The collections go back to Sir Hans Sloane, whose bequest of 1753 founded the British Museum. As the natural history departments outgrew Bloomsbury, a new building was planned in South Kensington: Francis Fowke drew the first design, and after his death Alfred Waterhouse redesigned it in a Romanesque style. It opened on 18 April 1881 as the British Museum (Natural History), with Richard Owen, who coined the word “dinosaur”, as its first superintendent, and became a separate museum in 1963.
What you see
Waterhouse clad the whole building in terracotta moulded with animals and plants, living species on the west side and extinct ones on the east. The central Hintze Hall is a cathedral-like nave with a painted ceiling of plant panels; since 2017 it has been dominated by Hope, the 25-metre skeleton of a blue whale, which took the place of the Diplodocus cast known as Dippy. A marble statue of Charles Darwin sits on the main staircase. Among the other highlights are the dinosaur gallery, the Stegosaurus in the Earth Hall and the section of a giant sequoia on the upper floor.
Cultural significance
The museum stands as a major research and educational institution, preserving specimens critical to understanding evolutionary history, biodiversity and paleontology. Its collections support scientific study and public understanding of natural sciences.
Key facts
- Address: Cromwell Rd, Kensington, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
- Coordinates: 51.49652419516191, -0.17608702182769775
- Official website: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
- Phone: +44 20 7942 5000
- Collections: some 80 million specimens across five disciplines
- Architect: Alfred Waterhouse; opened 18 April 1881
Practical information
General admission is free. Some exhibition rooms may require a separate ticket for access. Opening hours and current exhibition details are available on the official website.
Getting there
The museum is located on Cromwell Road in Kensington, London. It sits alongside the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, forming a cultural cluster accessible by public transport and local buses serving the area.
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