Apart from the beautiful serene which is mixed with ancient and modern times, the UK has a lot of history dating back to many eras and centuries of leadership, war, development and so on which you should learn about when visiting the UK and what better way to do that than to visit the many historic museums in the museums. I for one know that, apart from looking for a cheap hotel near me in the UK, I also go out to look for the best historic museums in the UK, through which I have been able to compile a list of seven historic museums you must visit while in the UK out of over 200 museums in the region. These museums will introduce you to the way and life of the British, its past, struggles, achievements, challenges and a little bit of what they hope for the future.
Here are 7 historic museums you must visit in the UK
Museum of London
Built on the London wall and is a five-minute walk away from St Paul’s Cathedral is the Museum of London. The Museum, which is located in the barbican region of London, is a house for over five million items gotten from different countries around the world, which are either historical, cultural or scientific. That is why the museum is dubbed the world’s largest urban history collection.
With a tour around the museum, you get to see artefacts from Roman London, the Victorian era, debtors prison, and learn about the great fire of 1666, the social life of the British dating back to the 18th century, the black plague and the World City, which is a gallery that tells the tale of London from 1950 to the present day.
Imperial War Museum
One of the things I enjoyed in the UK apart from the cheap hotel near me was the history of war times which was well documented in the Imperial War Museum in London. If you are someone who loves to know the events that took place during wartime and the things used during the war, then you have to visit the Imperial War Museum. The Museum has five branches which mostly focus on the contribution of Great Britain and its people made during the First World War. Although there are documented events of the second world war and recent conflicts, it majorly depicts that of the first.
The museum has videos of the war and the military at the front, official and private documents of the war, audio recordings of the events that happened during the world and you get to see war artifacts like weapons, aircraft, tools, and military automobiles used during that time. You get to tour through the cabinet war rooms, which is an underground command center used during the war.
London Transport Museum
The London transport museum has documentation of about 200 years of the evolution of transport in the UK. The museum shows the history of transportation in the UK, starting from centuries ago to our present day.
The museum shows the evolution of transportation in the UK, starting from carriages, to buses, trains, tubes, and trams up to the present day of electronic trains, BRT buses, aeroplanes etc.
York Castle Museum
Located on the site of York Castle, in York, North Yorkshire, England, the York Castle Museum, first built by Williams a conqueror, is a place which depicts the everyday life of the English people as far back as 400 years ago. The building is an 18th-century prison for females and debtors which was turned into a museum that centers mainly on two street scenery which is the Victorian Kirkgate and Edward York.
You get to see the prison where Dick Turpin, Luddite, Elizabeth Boardingham and others were kept, along with the serene of the Rowntree Snicket, Kirkgate, Dr Kirk’s collection, and other special items.
Museum of Liverpool
The Museum of Liverpool tells the story and history of the people of Liverpool and the City itself in four different themes, which are The Great Port, The Global City, The People’s Republic and Wondrous Place.
You get to learn of the Loin locomotive train, which was used as a luggage train in the 1830s between the Liverpool and Manchester railway, which is the major historical item at the great port gallery. The history of commercialization in the city, the diversity of the people in the city, and the story of the King Regiment, among other things.
National Portrait Gallery
Opened in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery is said to be the first-ever portrait gallery in the world. It is located at St Martin’s place in London and has a collection of portraits of people who have made history and are in the history books. The items in the gallery range from sculptures, pictures, paintings and caricatures of the said historical person.
These portraits are dated back to ancient times. You get to know and see what the most significant person in history looks like.
Tower of London
The Tower of London offers the history of the great British Empire through the exploration of its building. The structure tells the tale of the royal family, the beheading of Henry VIII, two out of six wives, the crown jewel, the bloody tower, their imprisonments in the tower and how power-hungry the monarchs of old were.
If you want to learn about the history of the UK, but don’t know where to start, try visiting these seven museums which are the places to be.
