South Kensington Museum

Move to South Kensington

By February 1854, discussions were underway to transfer the museum to Brompton on the edge of central London. There, as a legacy of the Great Exhibition, Prince Albert was planning a group of institutions for the improvement of industry by the study and application of the arts and sciences. Dubbed "Albertopolis" by the British press, the project included what eventually became the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and Imperial College London. Given the run-down nature of Brompton, Cole persuaded the authorities to rename the area South Kensington to make it more attractive to potential visitors. In 1855, the German architect Gottfried Semper produced a design for the South Kensington site, but it was rejected as too expensive. In 1857 the museum, which included scientific displays, did move to South Kensington where, at the suggestion of Prince Albert, it was re-named the South Kensington Museum.