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South Kensington
offers a fascinating combination of fashionable modern London
life and stately, grandiloquent Victorian architecture.
A dazzling array of boutiques and restaurants is set amidst
the great landmarks of the Science Museum, Natural History
Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Albert
Hall, and the Albert Memorial . The museums have been used
as elegant back-drops for events such as London Fashion
Week, and outdoor exhibitions.
The South Kensington museums were founded after the Great
Exhibition of 1851. Under the direct inspiration of Prince
Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, the Exhibition consisted
of a vast and wonderful conglomeration of artefacts from
all over the British Empire and the world. These were put
on show in a huge crystal palace built in Hyde Park, which
was visited by millions of people over several months. The
collection of art, crafts and scientific discoveries subsequently
formed the basis of the various museums’ collections.
The Royal Albert Hall, opened in 1871, has a long and rich
history as one of the world’s leading entertainment
venues. The internationally renowned Promenade Concerts
take place there every year.
The Albert Memorial was unveiled by Queen Victoria in 1876
as a memorial to her late much-lamented husband.
A more recent addition to the cultural life of South Kensington,
The Serpentine Gallery situated in the heart of Kensington
Gardens in a 1934 tea pavilion, was founded in 1970 by the
Arts Council of Great Britain. Today the Gallery attracts
over 400,000 visitors a year and is one of London's most
loved places for seeing modern and contemporary art and
architecture.
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