british museum

the british museum was the first public museum in europe, and rapidly outgrew its first home here in montagu house. this massive replacement was built in sections around the old house between 1823-52 by robert smirke in a neo grecian style, with the colonnaded south front almost last in the 1840s. the design seems to have been conceived by smirke as a whole at the start, showing knowledge of schinkel's berlin altes museum ,also begun in 1823.