The Horniman Museum

A PHOTOGRAPH of the Horniman Museum in South London, founded in 1901 and renowned for being one of the strangest of its kind in the world. My grandmother lived just around the corner from the building at Forest Hill and as a child I used to visit the place regularly and, in later years, take my own children there. It was always a fascinating place for me and I would spend hours staring at the weird masks and Egyptian caskets.

The collection was assembled by the tea trader, Frederick John Horniman (1835–1906), who donated the museum's 15-acre grounds to local people. A one-time curator at the museum was Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854–1918), one of the founders of the Golden Dawn. Horniman's daughter, Annie (1860–1937), was also a member of the group.

They used to have a torture chair there back in the 1970s, but it was taken down into the basement. It even had thumbscrews, but I think it must have frightened people a little too much. My favourite exhibition pieces, apart from the mummies and the masks, were the beautiful Apostle clock, the collection of tea paraphernalia from around the world and the enormous stuffed walrus. If the weather was good, we used to visit Horniman Gardens and sit beside the bandstand (which has a tea room directly underneath).

I would certainly recommend the old place to those of you intending to visit London in the future.