Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Gallery of the museum before renovation in 2023–24]] The university's Honour School of Natural Science started in 1850, but the facilities for teaching were scattered around the city of Oxford in the various colleges. The university's collection of anatomical and natural history specimens were similarly spread around the city. Regius Professor of Medicine, Sir Henry Acland, initiated the construction of the museum between 1855 and 1860, to bring together all the aspects of science around a central display area. The building was officially opened in 1860, although various departments had occupied their premises from as early as 1858. In 1858, Acland gave a lecture on the museum, setting…

The neo-Gothic building was designed by the Irish architects Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward, mostly Woodward. The museum's design was directly influenced by the writings of critic John Ruskin, who involved himself by making various suggestions to Woodward during construction. Construction by Lucas Brothers began in 1855, and the building was ready for occupancy in 1860. The adjoining building that houses the Pitt Rivers Museum was the work of Thomas Manly Deane, son of Thomas Newenham Deane. It was built between 1885 and 1886. On 12 January 1954 both the Natural History and adjoining Pitt Rivers museums were Grade I listed as being "one of the most significant and carefully…