Victoria and Albert Museum Audio Guide: A Director's War on Taste

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1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approximately)
Offered in: English and 1 more

The V&A holds more than 2.3 million objects, yet over 80% arrived through private hands, not royal decree. On this self-guided tour, you'll trace how individual taste, ambition and obsession shaped one of the world's great design collections – and how its founders tried, and often failed, to teach the British public what good design meant.

From the Cromwell Road steps, you'll meet the figures behind the Great Exhibition of 1851, spend time with William Morris's seven-and-a-half-metre Bullerswood Carpet, and see how Indian textiles redirected the museum's collecting strategy. From there: medieval jewellery, Tudor bronze, and the Ardabil Carpet, woven around 1540 for an Iranian royal shrine.

You'll also hear about Henry Cole's scandalous "Chamber of Horrors" of bad design, four bronze angels that spent decades on golf club gateposts, and a Yorkshire chair faked to look older. The tour ends in the Ceramic Staircase.

Bring comfortable shoes and a willingness to look closely.

What's Included

Directions to the starting point so that when you're in the right place, the tour will start
Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
App for Android and iOS
Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
Smartphone and headphones
Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
Food and drink
Transportation
An in-person guide

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

This tour starts at the Cromwell Road entrance to the V&A Museum. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Duration: 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approximately)
  • 1
    Victoria And Albert Museum

    You'll see the Victoria and Albert Museum, founded in 1852 and now holding some five million objects of art and design across its South Kensington galleries.

    1 hour • Admission ticket free

Additional info

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Supplied by VoiceMap Audio Tours

Tags

Private and Luxury
Private Sightseeing Tours
Audio Guides
Cultural Tours
Historical Tours
Art Tours
Walking Tours

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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