Alfred Waterhouse and The Natural History Museum

by Mark Girouard

Explores the history of the design and building of The Natural History Museum in London. It traces the development of the design, describes the influences of the key personalities involved and highlights the features of the building.

Genres: History

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1981

About the author

Mark Girouard FSA was a British architectural historian who was an authority on the country house, and Elizabethan and Victorian architecture.

Reviews

[Jaq Greenspon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, but really needs an update. The style of writing could be much more dramatic and engaging. As it is, there’s a lot of information but not a lot of context.

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated overview of the men responsible for building the Natural History Museum (chiefly Richard Owen, the first curator, and Alfred Waterhouse, architect) and the process of building it. The text can be read in an hour or two, but Waterhouse's sketches and watercolours - he originally wanted to be an artist before becoming an architect - are worth lingering over.