Trafalgar Square and British Museum Done by Olga

Trafalgar Square and British Museum Done by: Olga Solodilova, 212 group

Trafalgar Square • Trafalgar Square is a landmark in central London that often used for a wide range of activities including: special events and celebrations like the Royal Wedding, Olympics One Year to Go, St Patrick's Day and Chinese New Year; filming and photography; and rallies and demonstrations. • The square is rich in history and provides a platform for new artistic performances and events.

• The square was originally called Charing. Later it became known as Charing Cross, after a memorial cross on the square. The nearby underground station - aka 'tube' - is still named Charing Cross.

History • From the 13 th century on the area was the site of the King's Royal Hawks and later the Royal Mews. In 1812 an architect John Nash started to redevelop the area. Nash had the terrain cleared but he died before his plans were realized. The new design for the square was finally implemented between 1840 and 1845 under supervision of Sir Charles Barry, who is best known for his Houses of Parliament.

Nelson's Column • At the center of the square is the tall Nelson's Column which was built to commemorate the victory of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson over the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21 st of October 1805. • The Corinthian column was built in 1842 and is approximately 170 ft or 52 meters high (including the base). On top of the column stands an 18 ft (5. 5 meter) tall statue of Lord Nelson, created by Edmund Hodges. At the base of the column are four huge lions modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer.

National Gallery • Trafalgar square also contains a large number of statues and two fountains by Sir Edwin Lutyens, added in 1939. The square is surrounded by many great buildings. On the north side is the National Gallery, built between 1834 and 1838. On the east side the square is bordered by the Canada House, completed in 1827. • Opposite the Canada House is the South Africa House, which opened in 1933.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields • At the north-east corner is the St. Martin-in-the. Fields parish church. The church was built in 1721 by James Gibbs and was used as a model for many churches, especially in the United States. It is the fourth church at this site, the first was built in the 13 th century.

British Museum • The British Museum was founded in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all 'studious and curious persons'. Visitor numbers have grown from around 5, 000 a year in the eighteenth century to nearly 6 million today.

History • The origins of the British Museum lie in the will of the physician, naturalist and collector, Sir Hans Sloane (1660– 1753). • Sloane collected more than 71, 000 objects which he wanted to be preserved intact after his death. So he left the whole collection to King George II. • The gift was accepted and on 7 June 1753, an Act of Parliament established the British Museum.

• The British Museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759. It was first housed in a seventeenth-century mansion, Montagu House, in Bloomsbury on the site of today's building. Entry was free and given to ‘all studious and curious Persons’.

The nineteenth century: expansion and discovery • In the early part of the nineteenth century there were a number of high profile acquisitions. These included the Rosetta Stone (1802), the Townley collection of classical sculpture (1805), and the Parthenon sculptures (1816).

• To make more room for the increasing collections held by the Museum, the natural history collections were moved to a new building in South Kensington in the 1880 s. This became the Natural History Museum.

• The Museum was involved in much excavation abroad. Its Assyrian collections formed the basis for the understanding of cuneiform (an ancient Middle Eastern script). In the same way the Rosetta Stone had resulted in the unlocking of Egyptian hieroglyphic script (a symbol -based script). • A key figure during this period was Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826– 97). Appointed to the Museum in 1851, he was the first person to be responsible for British and medieval material.

The twentieth century: providing a public service • The twentieth century saw a great expansion in public services. • By the 1970 s, there was an active programme of gallery refurbishments and an education service. These included the Duveen Gallery, built to house the Parthenon Sculptures. Duveen Gallery

• The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, built in the space vacated by the library, reflects the most recent public expansion at the Museum. • The Museum celebrated its 250 th anniversary in 2003 with the restoration of the King's Library, the Museum's oldest room and the launch of a new permanent exhibition Enlightenment: Discovering the world in the eighteenth century.

The twenty-first century: the Museum's recent history • During the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Museum has continued to expand its public facilities with the opening of four new permanent galleries. • • Chinese ceramics Clocks and watches Europe AD 1050– 1540 The Tomb-chapel of Nebamun: Ancient Egyptian life and death • The Museum is now looking forward to its next major building project, the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre.