Families and museums

Victorian places to see with your family

Places linked to the facts on this site. Opening times, prices and what’s on display change, so check with each place before you go. We don’t say what is on show, only what history happened there.

Jump to: London | Bristol and the west | Royal homes | For museums and teachers

London

The V&A, Exhibition Road

The museum was founded in 1852 and moved to its home on Exhibition Road in 1857. V&A: Building the Museum For over 40 years it was called the South Kensington Museum. Then it was renamed after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. V&A: Building the Museum

After the exhibition, experts chose 244 objects, which were bought for the Government School of Design. They became part of the V&A’s founding collections when it opened in 1857. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851 The museum’s refreshment rooms were the first of their kind in the world. V&A: Building the Museum

Hyde Park

Over six million visitors came to the Great Exhibition in London’s Hyde Park during its five and a half months in 1851. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851

Crystal Palace, Sydenham

The Crystal Palace was rebuilt at Sydenham, and Victoria and Albert opened it there on 10 June 1854. It was destroyed by fire in 1936. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851

Kensington Palace

She was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom

St Thomas’ Hospital

The Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas’ Hospital in London opened in 1860. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Florence Nightingale

The Thames Tunnel

He was resident engineer on the Thames Tunnel, under his father, when work began in 1825. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Bristol and the west

One of Brunel’s designs was used for the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge in Bristol (1830–63). Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

His first notable railway works were the Box Tunnel and the Maidenhead Railway Bridge. His last were the Chepstow and Saltash (Royal Albert) bridges. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

His three ships, the Great Western (1837), Great Britain (1843) and Great Eastern (1858), were each the largest in the world when launched. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Royal homes

Two royal homes were built in this period: Osborne, on the Isle of Wight, and Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, relations with Peel Victoria called Osborne “our island home”, but she was happiest at Balmoral. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, relations with Peel

She was buried beside Prince Albert in the mausoleum at Frogmore, near Windsor. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, last years

For museums, libraries and teachers

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