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The Gateway of Montagu House, the old British Museum, in 1778. By Michael Angelo Rooker.
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View of the garden front of Montagu House, 1728.
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View of the new building attached to Montagu House for the British Museum. Illustration to the Gentleman's Magazine, 1810.
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Robert Smirke’s design for the new quadrangle, 1823, showing the south elevation of the North Wing.
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The Townley Gallery, part of the old British Museum. Watercolour by George Scharf, 1827.
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Laying the foundations of the Lycian Room (now Room 15) of the British Museum. Watercolour by George Scharf, 1845.
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Entrance to the old British Museum, Montagu House. Watercolour by George Scharf, 1845.
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Staircase of the old British Museum in Montagu House. Watercolour by George Scharf, 1845.
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View of the British Museum from Great Russell Street. Lithograph, 1853.
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The colonnade and façade were finished in the 1850s. Photograph by Roger Fenton, 1855.
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The Reading Room under construction. Photograph by William Lake Price, 1855.
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Bird’s eye view of the Reading Room.
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The Weston Hall was designed by Sydney Smirke in 1845. Painting by L W Collman.
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Construction of the King Edward VII galleries began in 1907, designed by Sir John Burnet. Painting by Frank Lishman, 1910.
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Postcard with a view of the Museum from Great Russell Street, 1905. Note the newly planted plane trees.
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The King’s Library (now the Enlightenment Gallery). Photograph by Donald Macbeth c. 1910.
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This photograph shows the King Edward VII galleries being opened by George V and Queen Mary in 1914.
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In 1941 the Coin Room and upper western galleries were destroyed by fire following an air raid during the Blitz.
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In the 1950s, building works repaired damage done to the book stacks during the Second World War.
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Postcard showing an aerial view of the British Museum, looking north, c. 1930s.
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Postcard: the colonnade (centre), King's Library (top left), King Edward VII Gallery (top right), Reading Room (bottom left) and Large Elgin Room (bottom right), c. 1930s.
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Photograph showing the demolition of the book stacks in preparation of the building of the Great Court, 1998.
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The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court opened in 2000, designed by Norman Foster.
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Construction of the Great Court roof, which consists of 3,312 glass panels.
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The finished Great Court, 2000.
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The Enlightenment Gallery reopened after four years’ restoration work in 2003.
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Construction of the basement level of the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, 2012.
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The World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened in 2014.
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The new purpose-built Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery is part of the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre.
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The World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre also includes state-of-the-art conservation studios, laboratories and collections storage.
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#MuseumOfTheFuture
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