Kingston Museum celebrates its 120th birthday

The museum was unveiled by the Earl of Rosebery on 31st October, 1904 but it was originally feared the museum would not open.

Despite being in the plans with the public library, the library’s cost meant no funding was left for the museum’s development. However, renowned industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie provided additional financial support to ensure the project was completed. Now, the museum continues to be a thriving cultural hub and a jewel in the borough’s heritage, with three permanent exhibitions: Ancient Origins, Town of Kings and Eadward Muybridge.

outside Korea right here to the Royal Borough of Kingston.

“It is a fitting celebration of the huge contribution our Korean communities make to life in the borough and highlights the central importance of Kimchi and Kimjang in Korean culture and traditions, signified by its UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status.”

The exhibition on Muybridge - a pioneering photographer who was born and died in Kingston - has a Hollywood fan in Academy Award-winning actor Gary Oldman, who became the champion for the Muybridge collection earlier this month.

Open to everyone, the space also has a selection of temporary exhibitions, the free and popular digital guide on the four community-led trails (available in Hong Kong, Korean, Tamil, and

Ukrainian), and a museum audio trail. A new exhibition, K-Woman: Celebrating Korean Female Artists, opened on 22nd November. There are also Quirky Kingston tours, run by local resident and Kingston Tour Guides Chair Julian McCarthy, which are packed with interesting titbits for curious visitors.

For more information and opening times, visit kingstonheritage.org.uk.