The Victoria and Albert in South Kensington, London, originated in the Great Exhibition of 1851, pioneered by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
The Great exhibition was the world's first international trade fair and was intended to showcase Britain's achievements in manufacturing. However, the design of British goods did not shine in comparison with the products from other countries and colonies, particularly from Asia - something that didn't go down all that well, as you can imagine.
So government funds were allocated to purchase examples of good design from the rest of the world and eventually a permanent, designated building was allocated in Brompton, soon called South Kensington to reflect the prestige of nearby Kensington Palace.
That's a bit of history.
I was delighted to find that Jan and Ray had seated me next to Pam, the lady I got friendly with on the trip to Battersea Power Station so we spent a long time catching up on life through the journey there.
We were very lucky with the weather. It was sunny and not too hot which made the drive very pleasant despite the heavy traffic and stop-start-ness once we hit London. There were a number of children on the coach - it's still the summer holidays, of course. They were extremely well behaved.
The coach dropped us on Exhibition Road, right outside the three museums. I'd already decided that I was going to focus on the V&A; most of the children(and their adults) headed off towards the Science Museum!
This was on the corner of Exhibition Road and the Cromwell Road. Last time I was here, it was a sunken skating rink so I was a bit surprised but it was a very pleasant space to just sit and get my bearings.
That, by the way, is not an authentic dinosaur skeleton, of course, but the passing children loved it.
You could get into the Natural History museum from this little green space and, I think, also to the V&A under the road but I went back up to the road because I wanted to see the buildings.
The very impressive entrance on Cromwell Road. It was one of the last parts of the building to be completed as from the 1850s the parts of the whole thing were built as funding became available so it was all a bit piecemeal.
A competition was launched to create an appropriately impressive entrance and it was finally built between 1911 and 1915.
Once in, the whole thing is very, very impressive. There's a soaring, marble entrance hall with a most amazing glass sculpture hanging from the domed roof and the six floors of galleries all pivot off the entrance hall.
It's really huge and there's no way one could cover even a quarter of what's there properly in the time I had.
So I bought myself a guide book and found my way to the John Madejski Garden, a very attractive courtyard in the centre, grabbed myself a coffee and sat down to browse the book, the idea being to decide which galleries I wanted to 'do'.
The Garden has a delightful, shallow paddling pool, quite a big one, and children were having a wonderful time in it. Knowledgeable parent had brought swimwear and towels for their children. The others hovered anxiously at the side calling 'Don't get too wet . . . ' etc.
So I decided to visit the Medieval and Renaissance, the Raphael cartoons, the Jewellery, the Contemporary Glass and the Architecture Galleries. Random decisions based on what caught my eye really.
Apologies for some of the photos - the lighting was very variable and I am no photographer.
A plaster plaque
In the flesh I thought this was lovely but, from the angle I caught, she does look a touch sneery and 'toffee nosed', doesn't she?
I loved the smooth lines and simplicity.
A very posh pulpit with steps on both sides which looks pretty precarious. Maybe there was a rope on the outside then.
The detail on this was absolutely stunning and I spent ages just looking and taking in all the details.
This poor lady died in childbirth at just 21.
Plaster pillars from the Cast Court Gallery, a reproduction or 'cast' of national monuments and notable sculptures.
They were very impressive and so nice to know that there was no looting of treasures from other countries, not in this Gallery anyway!
Closer up . . .
And in detail.
These casts enabled students and scholars to study these treasures in great detail.
This is Sir Paul Pindar's house, an outstanding survivor of a timber-built house built before the Great Fire of 1666 in around 1599
How about this for a front door, eh!
A baby's lace cap . . .
. . . and swaddling bands. The outer bands, judging by the quality of the lace.
I took in a few tapestries going from one gallery to another. This is just a close up to see the detail.
Rather beautiful floor tiles - on the floor, covered in glass, so one could walk over them.
A view of the Medieval and Renaissance Gallery.
The Glass and Contemporary Glass Galleries were lovely but there was so much reflection, the photos didn't come out all that well. I rather loved this head, intended to be viewed on all sides.
There was a staircase leading to a sort of mezzanine and the bannisters were glass and absolutely stunning . . .
. . . an went on along the mezzanine. Not part of the exhibition really, just lovely!
And, finally, in the Raphael cartoon gallery. It isn't one of the cartoons - they are a set of seven full scale designs for tapestries painted by Raphael, commissioned by the Pope in 1515. They portray the lives of St Peter and St Paul and are considered among the greatest treasures in the museum.
They belongs to the Royal Collection and have been on loan since 1865.
I wonder if Charles will ever want them back again!!
This was at one end and was the only thing I got a half decent photo of because of the protective low lighting. It is the Altarpiece of St George and portrays the life of St George. It dates from the first quarter of the fifteenth century which I find totally awesome.
The journey home was very slow. Maybe the driver knew something as he took us a very long way round and we were about half an hour late but I'm not complaining - it is such a privilege to be able to sit in comfort and let someone else do all the hard work. I'm not saying I actually fell asleep on the way home, but . . . well, maybe. And Pam certainly did.
I want to go back. It's a trip that is repeated every year, I gather, and is always a sell out. There's one in the October half term and that is already fully booked, so I will have to keep my eyes open for 2025. There's a lot more I want to see in the V&A and I didn't even touch the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum.
Basically, it was brilliant.
And yes, I got a couple of fridge magnets to add to my collection.
I probably won't post tomorrow evening after my day at RHS, Wisley but will be back with another photo heavy offering on Saturday evening.
