ors of the house 164 feet long, 9
wide, 14 high. The architect is Mr. Scoles. Next to the oratory is the
South Kensington Museum, which was built upon the Kensington Gore estate,
[Picture: Oratory and Museum] purchased by the Royal Commissioners with
the surplus funds derived from the Exhibition of 1851. It was opened on
the 24th June, 1857, and is a result of the School of Design, founded at
Somerset House in 1838. It is the head-quarters of the Government
Department of Science and Art, previously deposited in Marlborough House,
which is under the management of Mr. Henry Cole. The collections are
temporarily placed in a range of boiler-roofed buildings, hence the term
"Brompton boilers" has been applied to them. There are specimens here of
ornamental art, an architectural, trade, and economical museum; a court
of modern sculpture, and the gallery of British Art, founded on the
munificent gift of Mr. John Sheepshanks. Mr. Sheepshanks having bestowed
on the nation a collection of 234 oil paintings, mostly by modern British
artists, and some drawings, etc., the whole formed by himself, including
some of the most popular works of Wilkie, Mulready, Sir Edwin Landseer,
Leslie, and other eminent artists of the English school. To these have
been since added, in several large rooms, the Turner Collection, and the
pictures from the Vernon Gallery; also the collection bequeathed to the
nation by the late Mr. Jacob Bell, and the pictures by British artists
removed from the National Gallery; all which are well lighted from the
roof. The objects of ornamental art consist of medieval furniture and
decoration, painted glass, plaster casts, electrotype copies,
photographs, engravings, and drawings, etc., the whole designed with the
view of aiding general education, and of diffusing among all classes
those principles of science and art which are calculated to advance the
individual interests of the country, and to elevate the character of the
people: facilities are afforded for taking copies of objects upon
application at the Art Library. The Educational collections formed by
the Government, which are in the central portion of the building,
comprise specimens of scientific instruments, objects of natural history,
models, casts, and a library; refreshment and waiting rooms are provided;
and there are lectures delivered in a building devoted to that purpose.
The admission, which is from ten till four, five or six, according to the