Young V&A
 | |
  Location within Greater London | |
| Established | 1872 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bethnal Green London, E2 United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°31′44″N 0°03′18″W / 51.528889°N 0.055°W |
| Visitors | 406,101 (2017)[1] |
| Director | Rhian Harris |
| Public transit access |  Bethnal Green Cambridge Heath |
| Website | www |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 27 September 1973 |
| Reference no. | 1357777 |
| Area | 1.5 acres (6,100 m2), 145 galleries |
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.
History
The museum was founded in 1872[2] as the Bethnal Green Museum. The iron structure reused a prefabricated building from Albertopolis which was replaced with some early sections of the modern V&A complex. The exterior of the building was designed by James William Wild in red brick in a Rundbogenstil (round-arched) style very similar to that in contemporary Germany.
The building was used to display a variety of collections at different times, including the works which can now be seen at the Wallace Collection. In the 1920s, it began to focus on services for children, and in 1974 the director of the V&A, Sir Roy Strong, defined it as a specialist museum of childhood.
Of all the branches, the Bethnal Green Museum has the largest collection of childhood objects in the United Kingdom.
The mission of the museum is "To enable everyone, especially the young, to explore and enjoy the designed world, in particular objects made for and made by children." It has extensive collections of toys, childhood equipment and costumes, and stages a programme of temporary exhibitions.
The museum closed in October 2005 for the second phase of extensive renovations, costing £4.7 million. It reopened on 9 December 2006[3] with changes including a new front entrance, gallery, displays and café.
Inside the museum is a cast iron statue by John Bell (1811–1896). It came originally from the Great Exhibition of 1851. "The Eagle slayer" shows a marksman shooting at an eagle which has slain the lamb that lies at his feet.[4]
The museum is a Grade II listed building.[5]
Transport connections
| Service | Station/Stop | Stop Letter | Lines/Routes served | Distance from V&A Museum of Childhood |
|---|---|---|---|---|
London Buses 
|
Bethnal Green Station  |
Stop A | 106, 254, 309, 388, D3, D6 | |
| Stop B | 8, 309, D6 | |||
| Stop D | 8, 388, D3 | |||
| Old Ford Road |
Stop G | 106, 254, 388, D6 | ||
| London Underground |
Bethnal Green |  |
||
| London Overground
|
Cambridge Heath | London Overground | 400 metres walk[6] |
See also
- Anthony Burton (former director)
References
- ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art41998
- ^ http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art41998
- ^ accessed 8 August 2009
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=United+Kingdom+(Cambridge+Heath+(London)+Rail+Station)&daddr=V%26A+Museum+of+Childhood&geocode=FcxQEgMdSiD__yGN544aq6qNOw%3BFfBEEgMdiSb__yHdyIVwB94bVw&hl=en&mra=pd&dirflg=w&sll=51.526238,-0.055764&sspn=0.056604,0.169086&ie=UTF8&z=17 Walking directions to V&A Museum of Childhood from Cambridge Heath (London) railway station
External links
  | This article relating to a museum in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Museums established in 1872
- Children's museums in the United Kingdom
- History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Toy museums in England
- Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Grade II* listed museum buildings
- Museums in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Doll museums
- History of childhood
- Bethnal Green
- Childhood in England
- British museum stubs