The Ashmolean Museum

The Ashmolean: A True English Treasure

The Ashmolean Museum can be found on the campus of Oxford University right in Oxford city centre and is one of the treasures that England holds dear and has done for some time. Built between 1678 and 1683 and founded in 1683, the Ashmolean is actually the oldest museum in the UK today, and is also the oldest museum in the world that is located on a university campus. However, when you look beyond this fact, you will see a world of art wonders open up before your eyes.

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, to give it its full name, is currently the home of some of the greatest works of art known and preserved in the modern world. It is this very fact that keeps visitors coming back year after year.

The building itself is rumoured to have been designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren but there is no evidence to substantiate this claim at all. The architecture is reminiscent of Wren and has the same atmosphere of reverence of the majority of his other famous buildings. It is certainly attractive and extremely interesting, whether you are seeing it for the first or thousandth time. What is known though is that it was purpose built to provide a secure home for the art collection of Elias Ashmole, who then gave it to the university in turn.

The works of art that are currently housed within the Ashmolean Museum are simply stunning. You will find art by the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Picasso and Turner within and can happily spend a day browsing around. It is open all year round so you can visit these works whenever you like. It has also recently undergone a brand new redevelopment program so it can bring more priceless art to Oxford and visitors that attend the museum. It is definitely worth a visit but you will find that you go back again and again!