British Museum Largest museum of the UK. Founded in 1753, it opened in London in 1759. Rapid additions led to the construction of the present buildings (1823-47). In 1881 the Natural History Museum was transferred to South Kensington. The museum began with the purchase of Hans Sloane's library and art collection, and the subsequent acquisition of the Cottonian, Harleian, and other libraries. It was first housed at Montagu House in Bloomsbury. Its present buildings were designed by Robert Smirke, with later extensions in the circular reading room 1857, and the north wing or Edward VII galleries 1914.

Victoria and Albert Museum Museum of decorative arts in South Kensington, London, founded 1852. It houses prints, paintings, and temporary exhibitions, as well as one of the largest collections of decorative arts in the world. Originally called the Museum of Ornamental Art, it had developed from the Museum of Manufacturers at Marlborough House, which had been founded in the aftermath of the Great Exhibition of 1851. In 1857 it became part of the South Kensington Museum, and was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum 1899. The museum was inspired by Prince Albert and Henry Cole (1808-1882), English industrial designer and writer on decorative arts. He selected the museum's first acquisitions and became its first director. In 1990 the Nehru Indian Gallery was opened, displaying a selection of the museum's Indian collection. This derives ultimately from the East India Company's Museum, acquired 1858.

Natural History Museum British museum containing departments of zoology, entomology, geology, mineralogy, palaeontology, and botany. Based in London from 1856, the museum is housed in a building designed by Alfred Waterhouse and erected 1873-80 in South Kensington, London; it has no administrative connection with the British Museum. In 1985 the Natural History Museum was merged with the Geological Museum.

Science Museum British museum of science and technology in South Kensington, London. Founded in 1853 as the National Museum of Science and Industry, it houses exhibits from all areas of science.

National Gallery London art gallery housing the British national collection of pictures by artists no longer living, founded 1824. Its collection covers all major pre- 20th-century periods and schools, but it is unique in its collection of Italian Gothic and Renaissance works, which is more comprehensive than any other collection outside Italy. In 1824, Parliament voted £57,000 for the purchase of 38 pictures from the collection of John Julius Angerstein (1735-1823), a wealthy merchant, plus £3,000 for the maintenance of the building in Pall Mall, London, where they were housed. The present building in Trafalgar Square was designed by William Wilkins and opened 1838: there have been several extensions, including the Sainsbury Wing, designed by US architect Robert Venturi, which opened July 1991.

National Portrait Gallery London art gallery containing portraits of distinguished British men and women. It was founded 1856 and moved to its present building in St Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square, in 1896. In addition to paintings, there are drawings, cartoons, sculptures, and photographs on display. Overall the collection has over 8,000 original paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and photographs of noted figures from Tudor times onwards, together with an archive and reference library. The two criteria for the admission of a portrait are the fame of the sitter and its authenticity as a contemporary likeness. Thus the collection ranges very widely in artistic quality, including portraits by such major artists as Holbein, Hilliard, Rubens, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Millais, Sickert, Augustus John, David Hockney, and Elizabeth Frink. The main collection is organized in chronological order from the Tudors onwards. Within this framework it is composed round major historic themes such as, for example, the Civil War (17th century), the growth of the British Empire (18th century), and Constitutional and Social Reform (19th century). Up to six special exhibitions are mounted each year and there is a continuing programme of public lectures.

Tate Gallery Art gallery in London, housing British art from the late 16th century and international art from 1810. Endowed by the sugar merchant Henry Tate (1819-1899), it was opened 1897. The Tate Gallery has unique collections of the work of J M W Turner and William Blake, also one of the best collections of Pre- Raphaelite painting. More recently the Tate Gallery has begun to form a major collection of modern British prints and an archive of modern British art. The Clore Gallery extension for Turner paintings was opened 1987. A Liverpool branch of the Tate Gallery opened 1988, and the St Ives extension 1993. History of the gallery Sir Henry Tate financed the building of the gallery on the site of Jeremy Bentham's `Model´ Penitentiary, and it was opened by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). The new gallery housed the Tate gift of 65 British paintings, the collection purchased under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest, the Vernon Collection, bequeathed 1847, and the Watts gift. Sir Henry Tate made possible the addition, in 1899, of eight further galleries; and in 1910, through Joseph Duveen senior, the wing to house the Turner bequest of 1856 (which had been in the possession of the National Gallery) was opened. His son, Lord Duveen, gave additional galleries 1926 and a large sculpture hall, opened 1937. In 1977 a new extension opened making available 50% more space for showing the permanent collections, and including a large and well-equipped conservation department. The nucleus of the collection of modern foreign art was established by the bequest of Sir Hugh Lane 1915, and the endowment by Samuel Courtauld 1923. The Tate Gallery's collections have been greatly enhanced by many other bequests and gifts, and an effort has been made since World War II, in spite of limitations of finance and space, to clarify and extend its two separate functions as the National Collection of Modern Art and the National Collection of Historical British Painting.

Inns of Court Four private legal societies in London, England: Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers (advocates in the English legal system) must belong to one of the Inns of Court. The main function of each Inn is the education, government, and protection of its members. Each is under the administration of a body of Benchers (judges and senior barristers).