Introduction to Royal Albert Memorial Museum

 The beautiful museum has been a feature in Exeter for over 150 years, with it's stunning façade of local stone.  Although there had been calls for a museum for some time, it didn't gain momentum until it was decided it should be a memorial to Prince Albert following his death.  It was extended several times and then more recently a new gallery, entrance and courtyard were added.


The building originally included a library, college and art school but over time, these moved out.  The museum had quickly become overwhelmed with the collections.  Many remain on site but a significant proportion are stored at the Ark in Marsh Barton.  Like many museums, they can only display a tiny proportion of their items at any one time.

It's a stunning building with a grand front entrance that leads into a stunning lobby with a grand staircase.  On the first landing of the staircase, halfway up, there is a statue of Prince Albert.  When I visited, the statue was looking very festive for Christmas.  

The museum is a mix of modern and old spaces.  Sladen's Study on the first floor is a beautiful old fashioned museum space with ornate wooden display cabinets, full of books and annotated samples.  It's a beautiful room but also a little overwhelming.  I think you could spend hours in there looking at everything.  I loved the twist provided by Steffen Dam, where he had produced glass jars featuring imaginary sea forms that look real and completely at home in Sladen's Study.

Let's go back a little though.  The museum has good facilities with toilets, a shop and cafe.  There are also lockers available that cost a pound, near the entrance.  A corridor adjacent to the grand staircase takes you through to the rear of the building where there is a second staircase and a lift.  The garden entrance is on the first floor at the back of the building.

The main temporary exhibitions are on the first floor.  The paid exhibition is reached near the top of the grand staircase and it is here that you will pay for entrance.  Don't worry, on arrival you will be given a map that shows all the current information.

On the first floor, galleries 21 and 22 hold the main paid exhibition with 20 holding the current art exhibition.  The small temporary exhibition, 'what do you collect?' is a single display cabinet in gallery 11, Finders Keepers on the first floor.  On the ground floor, gallery 8 features the viewpoints which show a small sample of items from the stores as well as a view in to the store.  When I visited there was supposed to be a film on view in the courtyard, but this was not available, which was a shame.

On the ground floor the focus is local history.  Beginning with gallery 2, the geology of the region is explored with rocks and minerals from Devon on display.  Moving in to gallery 3, we move on to the archaeology of Devon including Roman and Medieval Exeter and then the Tudors and Stuarts.  The next room continues in this theme and includes Georgian and Victorian items.  I had reached my limit by the time I reached these galleries, so just browsed the items.  There were many beautiful things to look at.

Upstairs, there is a fair bit of space dedicated to natural history.  Sladen's study includes starfish and urchins, gallery 17 hosts a startling array of birds, gallery 18 features a swarm of insects.  Beyond this there are a number of animals in gallery 11, Finders Keepers, including a Polar Bear.  There are also a few in the courtyard.  Probably the most attention grabbing are those in gallery 10, case studies.  There you will find a giraffe, elephant and tiger.

In gallery 10, you will also find a few other iconic objects.  Gallery 11 also features so many other items highlighting different collections, and collectors, held by the museum.

Galleries 12 and 13 feature world cultures.  I really want to do a deep dive in these galleries next time I visit.  There were so many beautiful and interesting things to look at.  So many cultures to explore.  Gallery 12 looks at Africa, Asia and the Pacific while Gallery 13 looks at the Americas.  Gallery 15 continues with the ancient civilizations of Iraq, Iran, Cyprus and Egypt as well as the Romans and Greeks.  Off of this room is a small room with an Egyptian mummy and other objects.

There is also access to a section of roman wall and a viewing platform but these were closed.  I hope they are open next time I visit.

So what do I think of the museum?  Fascinating, absorbing and overwhelming.  It would be impossible to take it all in with one visit.  I walked round it all but I took in less and less as I went.  What really struck me was the quality of the items exhibited.  The displays were very beautifully put together.  Fascinating and photogenic.  Art was sprinkled around too, adding interesting notes.  Its a beautiful museum.  

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