The Wallace Collection
Saturday 26 September
Continuing on from picking up my Visa BRP and new student ID, I had booked an appointment (Covid-19 style) to visit the Wallace Collection and walked from the UCL main campus. A small house museum in the middle of a very London neighbourhood (think Annie’s house in the Parent Trap) with a private park across the road. In a picturesque setting, the house was a comfort after the surprisingly cold wind blowing around the city. Inside reminded me of the grand houses I once visited in Savannah, Georgia. With portraits and paintings above and parquet floors with gilded furniture, I probably spent more time in there than most people have ever in the house. The craftsmanship of the furniture around the room, and the variety of paintings were lovely to take in after just staring at my wall for 14 days. The most surprising aspect of the museum was the main floor armoury- this held arms, weapons, and military uniforms from Europe and South East Asia from the 18th century and others. The Iranian curved swords were the most impressive, with ivory and gilded beading on the hilts with inscriptions on the base of the blades.
For those planning a visit here are some things for the intrepid museum goer- A short walk back up to Regents Park, through the Marylebone high street, and close enough to the Tube for a nice jaunt, and saves the legs. I went ‘too hard’ on my first day out so I took the Tube back to my accommodation, but for a normal day, the museum is small enough that it won’t wear you out at all. For my first museum living in London, I would absolutely recommend it.
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