THINGS TO SEE

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

Visit the Horniman Museum

1. For a slice of Arts & Crafts architecture

Charles Harrison Townsend (1851 – 1928) was one of the leading architects of the Arts & Crafts movement.

Originating in Britain in the latter half of the 19th Century, this movement in the decorative and fine arts flourished in Europe and North America between 1880 and 1920. It took a robust anti-industrial stance and was a social and artistic movement, using traditional craftsmanship with medieval, romantic, or folk flourishes.

The Horniman Museum is a splendid example of the Arts & Crafts style. The facade is made of soft Doulting Stone, embellished with intricate carvings, including leafy trees thought to represent the Tree of Knowledge.  

2. To see the famous Horniman Museum walrus

Taxidermy and natural history were two passions of the Victorians. Birds, cats, squirrels; any animal you care to name. If it stood still for long enough, they stuffed it.

King and prince amongst taxidermists were William and Edward Hart, a father and son team from Christchurch in southern England. Take these owls, for example, frozen in expressions of curiosity for eternity. But pride of place is given to the Horniman Museum walrus. The size of a small car, it looks down on you from an ‘iceberg’ in the centre of the exhibition hall.

Brought back from Canada by the explorer James Henry Hubbard, he was first exhibited in London in 1886. Frederick Horniman took a fancy to him – the walrus that is, not the explorer – and bought him for the Horniman Museum.

What I love about this walrus is that it is ever so slightly wrong.

Taxidermists assembled it from skin alone, not having a clue what a walrus looked like. Unaware that a walrus is deeply wrinkled, they stuffed it to the limit. The result resembles an overinflated balloon with tusks. Whilst you are here, don’t miss the merman, displayed in a case at the far end of the exhibition hall.

Mermen are the mythical male equivalents of mermaids. However, for many years they were believed to be real creatures living in the oceans of Asia. The ‘mermen’ brought to Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries by sailors were quickly exposed as fakes, an unholy marriage of the dried-up head and torso of a monkey and a fishtail. 

3. To take a global musical journey

The upstairs space of the Horniman Museum houses an extensive collection of musical instruments from around the world.

Why not go to a wedding in Uzbekistan or the Rio Carnival? Or find out more about the role of music in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism or a funeral in West Cameroon?

Closer to home, the museum displays the collection and archive from Boosey & Hawkes, once Britain’s largest maker of musical instruments. At the company’s peak in the 1960s, its London factory churned out over 1000 instruments a week. 

4. For panoramic views of the London skyline

From Hampstead’s Parliament Hill to the Sky Garden, London is not short of places to take in the views.

For one of the best viewpoints over London, head to the bandstand at the Horniman Museum. On a clear day, you can see the City skyline in all its glory.

5. For nature trails and gardens

The Horniman Museum is set in 16 acres of gardens, meadows and nature trails.

Sit for a while by the sunken garden, which is a riot of colour. Also known as the Dye Garden, this was built in 1936 in the Arts & Crafts style and showcases dozens of dye plants, grouped according to the colour they produce.

Along the southern side of the sunken garden is the Medicinal Garden.  Whilst the scientific claims for the healing properties of some of these species displayed here are dubious, others are more established.

Take for example foxglove, from which digoxin, used to treat heart conditions originates. Or the humble broad bean, which is a rich source of levodopa, used to treat Parkinson”s Disease.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking