Ashmolean Museum‘s history is as interesting as the items and artifacts it holds. It lays claim to Britain’s First Museum and was named after Elias Ashmole, an aficionado of antiquities who studied at the University of Oxford while posted to the military

The collection began modestly in the 1620s with a handful of portraits and curiosities displayed in a small room on the upper floor. In 1636 and 1657, Archbishop Laud and Ralph Freke added notable collections of coins and medals, later installed in a strong room of their own and now incorporated into the Ashmolean coin collection.

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My family went to Oxford to visit Pitt Rivers Museums and Oxford University Museum of Natural History.  While there, and as it was so close, we also went to Britain’s First Museum Ashmolean Museum (next blog).

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