Musaeum Tradescantianum

Last updated

Tradescant's Ark Tradescant's Ark.jpg
Tradescant's Ark

The Musaeum Tradescantianum was the first museum open to the public to be established in England. Located in South Lambeth, London, it comprised a collection of curiosities assembled by John Tradescant the elder and his son in a building called The Ark, [1] and a botanical collection in the grounds of the building. Turret House, the family home, was demolished in 1881 and the estate has been redeveloped; the house stood on the site of the present Tradescant Road and Walberswick Street, off South Lambeth Road.

Contents

Tradescant divided the exhibits into natural objects (naturalia) and manmade objects (artificialia). [2] The first account of the collection, by Peter Mundy, is from 1634. [3] After the death of the younger Tradescant and his wife, the collection passed into the hands of the wealthy collector Elias Ashmole, who in 1691 gave it to Oxford University as the nucleus of the newly founded Ashmolean Museum. [4]

The Tradescant collection is the earliest major English cabinet of curiosities. Other famous collections in Europe preceded it, for example Emperor Rudolf II's Kunst- und Wunderkammer was well established at Prague by the end of the 16th century. In 2015 the Garden Museum received a £3.5 million Heritage Lottery grant to recreate a part of the original Ark with loans from the Ashmolean Museum [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashmolean Museum</span> University Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, England

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambeth Palace</span> Archbishop of Canterburys London residence

Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, 400 yards south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Ashmole</span> English antiquarian, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and alchemist

Elias Ashmole was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brixton Market</span> Street market in south London

Brixton Market comprises a street market in the centre of Brixton, south London, and the adjacent covered market areas in nearby arcades Reliance Arcade, Market Row and Granville Arcade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of curiosities</span> Collection of notable objects

Cabinets of curiosities, also known as wonder-rooms, were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, the classic cabinets of curiosities emerged in the sixteenth century. The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture. Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history, geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art, and antiquities. In addition to the most famous and best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe formed collections that were precursors to museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden Museum</span> Museum in London, formerly the church of St Mary-at-Lambeth

The Garden Museum in London is Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens. The museum re-opened in 2017 after an 18-month redevelopment project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouseion</span> Hellenistic educational and philosophical institution

The Mouseionof Alexandria, which arguably included the Library of Alexandria, was an institution said to have been founded by Ptolemy I Soter and his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Originally, the word mouseion meant any place that was dedicated to the Muses, often related to the study of music or poetry, but later associated with sites of learning such as Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of English Rural Life</span> Agricultural museum in Reading, England

The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as The MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Redlands Road to the rear of the institution's London Road Campus near to the centre of Reading in southern England. The location was formerly known as East Thorpe House and then St Andrew's Hall. It is an accredited museum and accredited archive as recognised by Arts Council England and the National Archives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens</span> Museum in Sunderland, England

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of gliding flight. The exhibit was discovered in Eppleton quarry. The museum has a Designated Collection of national importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avenue House</span>

Avenue House is a large Victorian mansion situated on East End Road in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambeth Road</span> Road in Lambeth, London

Lambeth Road is a road in Lambeth and Southwark, London running between Lambeth Bridge over the River Thames at the western end and St George's Circus at the eastern end. The road is designated the A3203. The borough boundary runs along it from the intersection with King Edward's Walk to Kennington Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tradescant the Elder</span> English botanist (1570–1638)

John Tradescant the Elder, father of John Tradescant the Younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She had been baptised on 22 August 1586 and was the daughter of Jeames Day, also of Meopham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tradescant the Younger</span> British botanist (1608–1662)

John Tradescant the Younger, son of John Tradescant the Elder, was a botanist and gardener. The standard author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he described.

Events from the year 1656 in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseferry Road</span> Street in London, England

Horseferry Road is a street in the City of Westminster in central London running between Millbank and Greycoat Place. It is perhaps best known as the site of City of Westminster Magistrates' Court. The ubiquity of the magistrates' court in newspaper crime reports means that the road name has wide recognition in the UK. Other notable institutions which are or have been located on Horseferry Road include Broadwood and Sons, the Gas Light and Coke Company, British Standards Institution, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Burberry Group, the Environment Agency headquarters in Horseferry House, the National Probation Service, the Department for Transport and Channel 4. The Marsham Street Home Office building backs on to this road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ragged School Museum</span> Museum in Tower Hamlets, London, England

The Ragged School Museum is a museum in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The museum was opened in 1990 in the premises of the former Dr Barnardo's Copperfield Road Ragged School. The school opened in 1877 to serve the children of Mile End with a basic education. It was the largest of its kind at the time. It closed in 1908 when sufficient government/London County Council schools had been established to take over the work. At its height the school had more than 1,000 pupils on weekdays, and 2,400 Sunday school attendees. The team continued to organise events for the local community even after the school closed. The building saw later use as a factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashby's Mill</span> Brixton Windmill

Ashby's Mill, often referred to as Brixton Windmill, is a restored grade II* listed tower mill at Brixton in the London Borough of Lambeth. The mill was in Surrey when built and has been preserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertford Museum</span> Local museum in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England

Hertford Museum is a local museum in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Freemasonry</span> Museum in London, England

Museum of Freemasonry, based at Freemasons’ Hall, London, is a fully accredited museum since 2009, with a designated outstanding collection of national importance since 2007 and registered charitable trust since 1996. The facility encompasses a museum, library, and archive.

Lorna Rosemary Nicholson was a British co-founder of the Museum of Garden History in London. She and her husband discovered the tomb of two men who had been Royal gardners, plant collectors and the founders of the first museum in England. Two years later she heard that the church where they were buried was to be demolished. They started a campaign that restored the church and transformed the site into the first museum of gardening which is located near the houses of parliament and the garden is free to visitors.

References

  1. https://www.ashmolean.org/history-ashmolean
  2. "Musaeum Tradescantianum", Ashmolean Museum
  3. "The Tradescant Collection", Ashmolean Museum
  4. Tradescant family
  5. "Garden Museum awarded grant of £3.5million by Heritage Lottery Fund | Heritage Lottery Fund". www.hlf.org.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2015.

51°28′42″N0°07′23″W / 51.4784°N 0.1231°W / 51.4784; -0.1231