World Class Museums - why are they free to everyone?

I spent some of this afternoon examining the last set of report and accounts for our city museums and galleries (yes I lead a very sad life😂), and despite visitor numbers being healthy across the normal visitor traffic, and various special exhibitions bringing in extra footfall where donations were suggested, they barely broke even. I suspect this might be the case with a lot of provincial museums. You have to have something with some clout, like the Royal Armouries in Leeds or the Imperial War Museum in Manchester which are free to visit, but because they are definitive and impressive collections, will attract far more visitor who will be more inclined to donate.

The Royal Armouries started off as an overspill of exhibits from the London collection and there were a lot of dissenting voices against allowing it to happen at all. They said it wouldn’t take off outside London, but they were proved very wrong indeed. It became accessible to a lot of people for whom visiting London was just a bridge too far and has expanded to become a world class tourist attraction in its own right. That, and the Imperial War Museum gave the lie to the premise that if you move something out of London it is destined to fail.

I'm talking about the British museum, I doubt many overseas visitors visit the Fen Drainage Museum but I'm happy that we all pay the admission price regardless of our nationality to visit small local places.

Vintagewhine

It might surprise you to know that 8/9% of the artefacts in the British museum originate from the UK . Much of the collection dates back to our Colonial past and many of it's most celebrated artefacts are controversial because they have come from abroad eg Mausoleum of Halikanossus, bust of Rameses, Rosetta stone, Benin bronzes, Manqdala collection etc, etc.

Does that apply to all the local museums and small specialist museums like the Fen Drainage Museum at Prickwillow.

I volunteer at my local museum and almost everything in it relates to local people, local industries (beer making and flour milling) very little of its artifacts are even out of county.

When you consider how many little local and special museums there are. I am sure this figure only applies to the great national museums - and that is what you would expect.

Go into major museum anywhere in the world and most of its artifacts come from other countries, just as when you go to a zoo the majority of animals will also come from other countries. That is why the major museums (and zoos) are there to open our minds to great civilisations and their histories of long ago.

We visited the National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday and donated £10 by card. But all museums and art galleries should be free to all, apart from special exhibitions, just as they are at present. Poverty should be no barrier to viewing beautiful and inspiring things and foreign visitors are equally welcome in my view.

I would add: small provincial museums that don’t get vast subsidies from government or the Arts Council.

The other thing that occurred to me recently, after watching a YouTube video where a curator at the British Museum had unearthed some artefacts from their store room that illustrated some of the story of the Odyssey, presumably because of all the recent brouhaha following the recent epic movie. It was absolutely fascinating but it made me wonder, if the BM has this vast archive of material that no-one ever sees, how much of it goes on tour to smaller provincial museums who I’m sure would love to display even a small exhibition such as this that would connect people with certain events or stories from the past.

It might surprise you to know that 8/9% of the artefacts in the British museum originate from the UK . Much of the collection dates back to our Colonial past and many of it's most celebrated artefacts are controversial because they have come from abroad eg Mausoleum of Halikanossus, bust of Rameses, Rosetta stone, Benin bronzes, Manqdala collection etc, etc.

This could be a very interesting discussion about the purpose of our world class museums and galleries that would take it beyond the scope of the petty and parochial claim that overseas tourists should pay for entry.

I only know the extent of the work these institutions do by reading their annual reports.

I raised the point upthread that many of the UK’s world class institutions receive government grants-in-aid, not only museums and galleries. The Royal Opera House, the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, places that international tourists visit just as UK nationals enjoy events at La Scala or the Sydney Opera House. Both of those receive funding from their respective national governments. These are ticketed events but is anyone demanding that overseas visitors should pay more for their tickets?

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) serves as a massive magnet for international tourism, drawing theatre-goers from 74 to 87 different countries worldwide to its productions each year. The company sells between 1.5 million and 1.6 million tickets annually for its performances in the UK. It functions as the primary cultural anchor for its home town of Stratford-upon-Avon, which typically welcomes up to 6 million domestic and international visitors each year.

www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/our-impact

Transport for London and Network Rail both receive central government finding. Should we, for example, be charging visitors from overseas more to use the Tube and bus networks to get around London and the rail network to travel further afield in the UK?

Should we have a two-tier charging system for an international tourist sector that contributes over £30 billion a year to the UK economy?

Of course, the answer is no so why are museums being singled out?

To return to the original post…
When my children were young we lived far from London or anywhere cultural to visit and we had no money for holidays or treats. We did go to all the great London museums because they were free.
A generation later my grandchildren have all visited museums, galleries and exhibitions and enjoyed picnics in the royal parks because these are part of their birthright and affordable.

icanhandthemback

^The obvious followers of Farage who thinks that they have the right to insist on such ideas,^

That is highly insulting. I wouldn't support Farage if my life depended on it. Having a different opinion about such a thing as to who should pay to visit a museum does not make you "far right".

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I agree here too.

The obvious followers of Farage who thinks that they have the right to insist on such ideas,

That is highly insulting. I wouldn't support Farage if my life depended on it. Having a different opinion about such a thing as to who should pay to visit a museum does not make you "far right".

👍 Greyduster.

Yes, your post chimed with my thoughts too, and gave me the lead!

MartavTaurus

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I don't understand why you think posters overlook or fail to notice what is written by others. Most of us on here can read, and are well educated people. Everyone should be open to having their mind changed, but it doesn't mean they need a lecture with an imperative, like a command, Read it! Like me, several people might be conflicted on the subject anyway, and want to express their thoughts.

Sorry I’m getting properly muddled now - I was actually responding to this!

That was for MOnica.

👏👏👏

In my own life, I have had all sorts of ups and downs, times when it was a struggle to just put food on the table etc. Art and music are my mail pleasures and also lots of different museums. Through university the ability to visit museums and libraries free of charge, not only let me put more into my studies and widen my knowledge, but later as a teacher and lecturer in different places, I was still using those places myself, but used to take students to visit exhibitions , relating to the course. Much more importantly, in my view, I spent a lot of time telling students of all ages about what was available in their area and encouraging them to visit. Someone who is a close friend of mine to this day, I met on a course. She was really struggling as her husband had been killed in an accident and she was the sole person providing for her three children. She did any job that would provide money for her family and fit round the children being in school etc. But she then worked very hard for a degree, using libraries and free entrance to museums and galleries. There was no way she could, or would, take much needed money for her family to spend on herself. She gained a first class honours degree, became a senior lecturer in a university, and set a very good example to not only her own children, but others, teaching them that if it matters enough , there are ways to keep going.

Having one son, I very often took a friend or two with us on days out in the holiday, and because of my own interest in many things but especially music and art, I have introduced many young people to museums and galleries. Knowing so many people struggling to carry on, and in these days of less jobs available etc to have free entry to places is vital. I very much feel that those people who think others should pay, especially while they have the parochial attitude that just because a museum is in their area, that they are entitled. If you look in the majority of museums you will then see many items that are here because the british looted and took things from other countries, so they did not "belong" to britain anyway. The pernicious attitude that we need to divide and split up people instead of encouraging knowledge of the world by all, makes me definitely think of the Margaret Thatcher era , where those who had got more, and those without less or none. Those who want an entrance fee for all are no doubt those who actually can afford to pay it They have never obviously had to think whether you dare go to the museum or keep the money for the school shoes you need to buy for your child!!

As others have said I have been happy to put what I could afford into the box, and have visited the same museum, where on different occasions I have paid nothing, often put £5 in the box, and when I had funds sometimes put £20 in. I am talking about mostly 50 - 60 years ago as I am 81 now. I have never regretted time spent there, have learnt much. introduced children to them , been glad to take a friends little boy with my own. My son of 51 still remembers days out in the holidays where I would make a picnic and then we would go off to a museum or art gallery followed by a visit to a playground where he could let off steam and eat his picnic

So no I do not think we should be charging "foreigners and visitors" They will still be contributing to the economy by paying for accommodation and food. The obvious followers of Farage who thinks that they have the right to insist on such ideas, yet you never hear any of them apologizing for the many things that were basically stolen from other countries. I dont hear them offering to return them, nor admitting how they came to be here. Yet they still think they have the right to tell others who should pay and who should not. In any case even for those who could afford or wish to pay, the cost of having people issuing tickets and taking money would probably mean that the amount ending up in the museums coffers would be very small.

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I don't understand why you think posters overlook or fail to notice what is written by others. Most of us on here can read, and are well educated people. Everyone should be open to having their mind changed, but it doesn't mean they need a lecture with an imperative, like a command, Read it! Like me, several people might be conflicted on the subject anyway, and want to express their thoughts.

I'm sorry M0nica but I have certainly been to countries where the prices for residents are far less or free. Some of them are free on a certain day, some all the time.
As for being a "little Englander," noonehas suggested that anybody who isn't English has to pay, just whether they are residents. That is slightly different as we have lots of resident multi-nationals in the country. I think anybody who is living in the country has a vested interest to learn about their history and cultural artefacts. Some places I've been to allow free entry to those bits but charge everybody for special exhibitions which often include visiting artefacts.

Thank you, Elegran for highlighting some of the things I have written on this thread.

I wonder if people overlook the important international scientific work that goes on in institutions such as the Natural History Museum and the wide-reaching beneficial effects of that.

All institutions publish comprehensive annual reports and are very much worth reading. The aims and objectives of the NHM are truly impressive.

www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhm-www/about-us/reports-accounts/annual-report/NHM-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2025-26-Accessible.pdf

Notice its overall mission and vision:

Our mission is to create advocates for the planet.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. To achieve this, we will harness the powerful combination of our three key assets: our collection, our scientific research and our reach to a worldwide audience.

The planet isn’t just South Kensington during the summer holidays.

Read it. It might change a few parochial attitudes.

I agree. When at school I often visited museums and galleries which I could not have done if they were not free and I believe I benefited from doing so.

I don't think Government should subsidise Museums at all tbh. They could give a reduced rate to genuine UK residents.

But why are we letting in tourists for free when they could well afford to pay.

Museums should be self financing. They have a cushy life for far too long.

maybe you think England stops outside of the home counties.

Alas, so many people do!

What delusional bubble do you inhabit, vickymeldrew - it costs a small fortune to visit the capital and hotels and meals are not free either, or maybe you think England stops outside of the home counties

I’m conflicted on the subject of the return of cultural artefacts to their countries of origin. It’s not only a problem for museums in this country but all over the world and if we end up only displaying items that have been recovered on native soil that will not advance the educational value of museums in any way. I can fully understand and sympathise with why Greece wants its marbles back and Nigeria its bronzes, but once started, where do you stop. And there is little hope of Turkey getting its hands on the Troy treasures which Schliemann had taken back to Berlin where they were subsequently looted by the Russians who certainly have no intention of returning them, even on an “I’ll lend it to you for a bit” basis!

There is a lecture coming up at our city museum next month on this subject of repatriation that I’m very much hoping to get to.

The proportion of museum contents that was 'looted or stolen' is actually relatively small. Most museum stock is British based or, if from other countries, legally acquired. legally acquired.