The Fan Museum, which opened in 1991, is the world's first museum dedicated to the preservation and display of

hand fan A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is any broad, flat surface that is waved back-and-forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (suc ...

s. It is located within two

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

houses that were built in 1721 within the

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in southeast

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Along with the museum, there is an

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

decorated with murals, a Japanese-style garden with a fan-shaped

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

, a pond, and a stream.

Overview

The museum owns over 5,000 fans and other fan-related cultural materials as of 2018. The oldest fan in the collection dates from the 11th century and the collection of 18th and 19th-century European fans is extensive. The entire collection is not displayed permanently due to conservation concerns, but there is a permanent educational display which teaches about fan history, manufacturing processes, and the various forms of fan. Exhibits include a fan with a built-in

ear trumpet An ear trumpet is a tubular or funnel-shaped device which collects sound waves and leads them into the ear. They were used as hearing aids, resulting in a strengthening of the sound energy impact to the eardrum and thus improved hearing for a dea ...

and one with a repair kit built into the design. Fan-making classes are also held at the Fan Museum. The Fan Museum also contains a reference library. The Fan Museum is not publicly funded.

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

members receive a discount on admission.

References

External links

The Fan Museum website
{{Authority control 1991 establishments in England Museums established in 1991 Museums in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Fashion museums in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Grade II* listed museum buildings Ventilation fans

Overview

See also

References

Further reading

External links