The Exhibition Road Cultural Quarter covers a large area of south west London and spans two Borough Councils, South Kensington and Westminster. Today it serves as a world class cultural and educational centre, containing many museums, archives, and educational institutions, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, Imperial College, and the Royal Albert Hall.

The area developed as a direct result of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which took place in a part of Hyde Park just to the north east of the site. Prince Albert, who served as President to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, wanted to use the momentum from the success of the exhibition to develop an area of London to include both Schools of Art and Science as well as museums. With part of the £186,000 profit made from the exhibition the Royal Commissioners for the Exhibition bought the Kensington Gore Estate and other lands to the south to develop upon.

One of the Commissioners, Henry Cole, christened the new area "South Kensington," but the area was also given the nickname "Albertopolis" due to it being born from Prince Albert's vision. The Prince's association with the area was further consolidated after his death in 1861 when Queen Victoria decided to erect a monument in his honour in Kensington Gardens, and also the renaming the concert venue for the area from the Hall of Arts and Science to the Royal Albert Hall.

 

All of the above mentioned iconic structures and organisations will be looked at in detail in Albertopolis: the Development of South Kensington & the Exhibition Road Cultural Quarter.  The exhibition will offer you the chance to see historic aerial photographs and maps of the area, architects' drawings and models, manuscripts and more unusual objects associated with the institutions.

Through Albertopolis you will be able to learn more about the history of the institutions in the area and also their future plans.  Discover some of the controversies which have arisen during the planning of the area and join in the debate for yourself. Educational activities and podcasts will also be available, therefore please come back to visit Albertopolis at the end of the year when the complete exhibition will go live.

 

Extracts from the exhibition