If your Instagram is anything like mine, it has been flooded with people visiting Sir John Sloane’s Museum in London.
The rave reviews caught my attention so I made sure to visit instagram’s latest darling on my next visit to London.
The museum’s sudden online popularity has resulted in long lines outside the building- it’s not equipped to fit waiting crowds in its foyer so make sure to bring an umbrella if it seems rainy! Three guesses how I found that one out!
I visited on a Saturday afternoon, and while the line stretched down the block, it moved fairly quickly and I gained entry after about 30 minutes. The rainy day may have played a role in shooing off prospective visitors, but keep in mind that the museum only allows 90 visitors at a time.
With the exception of guided tours, entry to this museum is free and walk-in only.
Immediately before entering, visitors must fit their personal bags into a plastic bag provided by the museum. If your personal items are too big for this 375mm x 450mm + 75mm deep plastic bag, you must utilize the bag check.
It sounds annoying, I know, but I realized almost immediately that the tight hallways packed with plaster sculptures and vases is absolutely not the right environment for a backpack.
Every corner of every room and every inch of every wall is absolutely covered in antiquities. Even without a bag, I was very nervous to move around in some of these areas, particularly the open gallery above the sarcophagus which was very popular to photograph.
There are so many items to observe and explore, I’d recommend downloading the Bloomberg Connects app for a free guide to the museum. Make sure you bring headphones to listen to the audio commentary.
Since I didn’t have the wifi to download the app, I mostly wandered through the halls, occasionally asking a staff member questions about the museum. Everyone I spoke to seemed exceptionally passionate about the museum, which made all of their insights a delight to listen to.
The museum was formally the home of Sir John Sloane who was a wealthy architect who used his home to live in, entertain guests, and house his increasingly large collection of antiquities and sculptures.
Upon acquiring the Sarcophagus of Seti- arguably the highlight of the collection, Sir Sloane held a three-day party with a guest list of 890 people. I can only imagine the atmosphere of that party.
These days, the collection has been turned over to a board of trustees acting on behalf of England and Sloane’s own wishes- to preserve the collection as much as possible. Interestingly, this generosity was almost entirely fueled by Sir Sloane’s hatred of his own son, who he was determined to disinherit.
For those as nosy as I am- Sir Sloane’s son, George, was a known gambler with an uncontrollable temper who feuded with his parents for much of his life. He attempted to extort money from them, wrote hit pieces about his father’s work in the paper, abused his wife and children, and just all around seemed like a bad guy.
You can kind of see where Sir Sloane was coming from when he went to such drastic lengths to keep this collection out of the hands of his son.
As a whole, it’s always interesting to see such an eclectic collection in the environment of a personal home, even if that home happens to belong to a famous architect.
Those who have visited Boston may find similarities to the Elizabeth Stewart Gardener Museum- though I think the interior garden in that particular museum is a huge point in their favor.
As for the Sir John Sloane Museum, the collection heavily features plaster casts of sculptures, which I am personally not a huge fan of here was some modern art on display, in temporary exhibits to give some variety and it was nice to see the original rooms of the building, and it was fun to imagine the parties that were once hosted in these halls. The sarcophagus, admittedly, was exceptionally cool, but other than that, I didn’t find myself particularly interested in any of the other pieces.
It did at times feel like walking through the house of a wealthy hoarder, and I spent a lot of time being very careful with my personal space to avoid knocking anything over.
Overall, I feel like this museum is worth a visit only for the novelty of it being in a domestic home or if you’re a particularly big fan of plaster casts. I was a little overwhelmed by the volume of the collection and I wish the collection was a little more cohesive!
On the other hand, it’s free to visit- the only thing you’re spending on a visit to this museum is your time (but try beat the line).
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