86. Dr. Nick Merriman on how a community museum bagged the biggest museum prize in the world

This week we discover why in July, The Horniman,  a small museum in Forest Hill, South London, won the hugely coveted  Art Fund Museum of the Year Award. We talk to Dr. Nick Merriman, who’s been Chief Executive and Director of Content there since 2018.  Nick’s a widely published expert on museum studies and was director of the Manchester Museum since 2006, increasing visitor numbers to 450,000 a year.  He’s also been Chair of the International Council of Museums UK and Chair of the University Museums Group, amongst many other illustrious appointments. We find out what attracted him to this small but perfectly formed gem of a museum with its beautiful, extensive gardens overlooking London.  He tells us about the museum’s history, dating back to 1890 and founded by tea merchant Frederick Horniman, originally in his private home.  In 1901 it reopened as a purpose-built museum with its signature tower, that still houses the museum today.  The collections are gloriously quirky, comprising an aquarium, a mini farm, a butterfly house and around 350,000 objects including a big range of stuffed animals, musical instruments and numerous anthropological artefacts and curios.   For any of our listeners who’ve not yet been, there is something here for everyone – gorgeous garden walks, loads of imaginative, interactive fun for kids and enough fascinating exhibits to keep adults fascinated for hours.  We love it.