Architecture

In 1754 the British Museum acquired Montagu House in Bloomsbury, and it remains on this site today.

The first Montagu House was built around 1676 for Ralph, Duke of Montagu by architect Robert Hooke (1635-1703). It was damaged by fire in 1686 and restored by French architect, 'Puget', in the French style. In its time it was considered to be one of the finest buildings in London.

By the start of the nineteenth century, Montagu House could no longer contain the Museum's vastly increased collection and the trustees set up a Buildings Committee in 1802 to plan for expansion. The first extension, the Townley Gallery, was constructed 1804-8 to provide space for the classical sculpture collection of Charles Townley and for Egyptian antiquities. The architect was George Saunders (c.1762-1839). Built in the Palladian style, it was located in the space currently occupied by the southern section of the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. It was demolished in 1842-6 to make way for the Smirke building.

The core of today's building, including the great south front, was designed in 1823 by Sir Robert Smirke (1780-1867) in Greek Revival style, but not completed until 1852. Its construction was prompted by King George IV's  gift to the nation of his father’s library, known since as the King's Library.

The new building was a quadrangle, built in the garden to the north of Montagu House. The southern wing eventually replaced the old building.

Additional galleries for classical sculpture and Assyrian antiquities, and residences for staff, were added to the west wing. The east wing, the King's Library, was completed in 1827.

Robert Smirke withdrew from the work in 1845, handing over completion of the project to his younger brother Sydney who was responsible for the Front Hall, the completion of the main (central) section of the south front and colonnade, the forecourt and the railings.

In 1852 the proposal was put forward that Robert Smirke's empty quadrangle be occupied by a new building to house the library. The initial concept came from Sir Antonio Panizzi, then Keeper of Printed Books, later Principal Librarian. Sydney Smirke (1798-1877) was the architect. Work on the construction of the Reading Room, a circular domed reading area surrounded by rectangular bookstacks, took place in 1854-7.

The White Wing

The White Wing, facing Montague Street, was constructed 1882-5, designed by architect Sir John Taylor (1833-1912). The Museum had again been looking to expand and a bequest made by William White (who died in 1823) became available after the death of his widow.

King Edward VII's galleries

King Edward VII's galleries were designed by Sir John Burnet (1859-1939), in the Beaux Arts style. They face Montague Place to the north and were intended as the first phase of an expansion of the Museum which aimed to replace all surrounding properties, the freeholds of which had been purchased from the Bedford Estates in 1894-5. However, protection orders on surrounding buildings mean that the scheme can now never be completed. The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII in 1907 and the building was opened by King George V and Queen Mary in 1914.

The Parthenon galleries

The construction of a new gallery for the Parthenon Sculptures was funded by Sir Joseph (later Lord) Duveen in 1931. The architect was the American, John Russell Pope (1874-1937) architect of the National Gallery in Washington. The gallery was completed in 1939 but, because of damage during the Second World War, it was not opened until 1962.

The New Wing

The New Wing was constructed in 1975-78 with a formal opening in 1980. The intention was to provide public facilities (exhibition gallery, restaurant, etc) and offices but, because of cuts in government spending, only half the scheme was completed. The architect, Sir Colin St John Wilson, also built the British Library at St Pancras.

The Great Court

The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, designed by architect Lord Foster of Thames Bank, was opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 6 December 2000. Following the departure to St Pancras of the Museum's library departments in 1998, now the British Library, the bookstacks surrounding Sydney Smirke's round Reading Room were dismantled and a new floor constructed across the courtyard. This was then roofed over to provide the largest covered square in Europe. The Reading Room was restored to its 1857 decorative scheme and new facilities (Clore Education Centre, Sainsbury African Galleries, Ford Young Visitors Centre, BP and Stevenson Lecture Theatres) constructed below. The scheme also created new access to other galleries.

Image: The British Museum facade (south front). Photographed in 1857 by Roger Fenton.