A must see for fans of exquisite architecture, Sir John Soane’s Museum is dedicated to beautiful buildings and structures around the world, both ancient and modern. From ancient Egypt to modern England, the museum houses more that 20,000 architectural sketches and designs in honor of John Soane, architect for the Bank of England.
Originally, three houses were bought by John Soane for space to work on his architectural designs and collections. He demolished the buildings, rebuilding them to be repurposed as a workspace. Once he finished designing the exterior, he set about designing the interior, decorating the walls with many of his own architectural creations. He was constantly changing the interior as he developed new ideas.
While John Soane was still living, his house was made into a museum due to a Private Act of Parliament, in which which it was stipulated that everything in John Soane’s house must remain the same after his death. But the act of Parliament was not made for the purpose of preserving the museum, but for the purpose of keeping Soane’s son from inheriting anything of his. His lifelong feud with his problem child led him to seek an act of Parliament that would “reverse the fundamental laws of hereditary succession". In 1833, according to Soane’s request, the Soane Museum Act was made, handing his museum over to a board of trustees instead of his son. The museum has been preserved almost as it was in his own day since his death.