Greenwich is a Royal Borough located in south-east London. At the heart of this exciting borough, filled with parks and libraries and the like, is the beautiful National Maritime Museum.
The museum was first opened in the spring of 1937, and is arguably the largest maritime museum in the world. It is found in Greenwich Park, providing for a picturesque and regal view from the park itself, or better, from the observatory situated at the top of the hill. It was established and approved as part of the Royal Museums Greenwich by the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, in 2012.
The National Maritime Museum contains imperative historical information about Britain’s nautical accomplishments, including maritime paintings, ship models, weapons, photographs and scientific, navigational and astronomical devices. The museum’s portrait collection is second to that of the National Portrait Gallery. In fact, there are upwards of 2 and a half million historical items in the museum.
The museum also contains the the Caird Library and Archive – the world’s largest historical maritime reference library – with books dating all the way back to the 15th century. The library contains over 100,000 books. These books cover topics ranging from astronomy to the first and second world wars. One of the most popular collections in the library is the Lord-MacQuitty collection about the Titanic, containing survivors’ statements and, most significantly, a gold-pocket watch belonging to Robert Douglas Norman, a victim of the Titanic, that was recovered along with his body.
The National Maritime Museum was closed around Christmastime, but has now re-opened. I would encourage for all those who are reading this to go take a look at the incredible museum.
