Oxford Photo Gallery - Ashmolean Museum

Britain has no shortage of grand museums, and many of them don't charge admission fees so everyone can see it! The Ashmolean is Britain's first public museum, with its origins from 1682 when Elias Ashmole gifted his collection to the University of Oxford, which included botanical, geological, zoological, and man-made specimens. This collection was combined with the university's and the original museum opened in 1683, allowing public access which was controversial at the time. The current museum took its form in 1908 when the it moved to Beaumont Street with more archaeological acquisitions from the further reaches of Europe and the British Empire. The lower ground floor galleries include money, textiles, writing, and more. The museum has the largest collection of medieval Islamic embroideries in the world. Elsewhere, they have no shortage of artifacts from the ancient world. The David and Margita Wheeler Gallery features an exhibition about 18th century British collectors' love for Italian art. Children from the upper classes used to travel to Italy for a year or more as part of their education. This Grand Tour was a rite of passage. During these trips, they commissioned paintings, collected items, and brought these souvenirs home to display in their fancy homes.