• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Archive
    • London Blogs
  • Blog
  • Travel
    • London Theater Tickets
    • Shopping
    • Tips
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Maps
    • Parks
    • Resources
    • Restaurants
    • Top 10 London
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Buildings
    • Food
    • London Books
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Pubs
  • Londonism
    • Reviews
    • Fun London
    • Iconic London
    • Life in London
    • London Realities
    • Moving to London
    • Politics
  • The Tube
  • London History
    • Great London Buildings
    • Great Londoners
  • Contact
  • Guidebooks
    • 101 London Travel Tips – Guidebook
    • 101 Free Things to do in London

Londontopia

The Website for People Who Love London

You are here: Home / Columns / Great London Buildings / Great London Buildings – The Tate Britain

Great London Buildings – The Tate Britain

Apr 27, 2017 By John Rabon

DSC05699

The primary building in the Tate art gallery network, the Tate Britain has long been one of the pillars of British art museums.  Early in its history, the Tate was known as the National Gallery of British Art from its opening in 1897 to 1932, when it became, simply, the Tate Gallery.  As the Tate network grew to include the Tate Modern and locations in Liverpool and St. Ives, the gallery rebranded as the Tate Britain in 2000.  As you might guess from the name, the Tate Britain focuses primarily on artwork of the United Kingdom and its collection ranged from the Tudor era to the present.

Prior to the Tate, the site of the gallery in Millbank was previously the Millbank Prison, which was torn down in 1890.  A year previous, industrialist Henry Tate, who has made his fortune in sugar production, offered his entire collection of British art to the county.  However, the National Gallery didn’t have room to house it and the decision was made to build a new gallery instead, which the National Gallery would run.  Architect Sidney R.J. Smith designed the building in a Neo-Classical style including the large entrance portico and a dome.  The firm of Higgs and Hill was responsible for the construction, which began in 1893.

The National Gallery of British Art then opened on 21 July 1897, though despite this officially name, it was still colloquially known as the Tate Gallery for its founder.  At the time, it had eight rooms and 245 pieces of artwork that dated back to 1790.  Its responsibilities changed for the first time in 1917 when it became the repository for British art dating back to 1500.   The gallery also doubled its size in the first 15 years, adding another seven rooms that were designed by W.H. Romaine-Walker to hold a bequest from Romanticist landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, who had given a collection of his works to the National Gallery in 1851.  Turner’s collection would eventually move to the Clore Gallery, built in 1987 by James Stirling.  The Tate Britain has expanded roughly fifteen times since 1897, and one such addition was the Duveen Sculpture Gallery designed by John Russell Pope, Romaine-Walker, and Gilbert Jenkins and was added in 1932.

That same year was when the gallery changed its name officially to the Tate Gallery and had added electric lighting to enable the Tate to remain open until 5 PM regardless of the weather.  The Tate had to endure flooding from the Thames and bombing during the London Blitz, but fortunately most of the art collections had been moved at the beginning of the war and a painting by Stanley Spencer that was too large to move had a protective wall built around it.  The Tate then broke free, becoming independent of the National Gallery in 1955. As part of the gallery’s expansion, it further added onto itself with the extension of the north-east corner in 1979, designed by Richard Llewelyn-Davies, and taking over part of an old military hospital, which would before the aforementioned Clore Gallery.  The building eventually earned Grade II listed status in 1970.

The Tate would go through another change in 2000, adopting the Tate Britain moniker due to its expansion into its satellite museums.  With the opening of the Tate Modern that same year, Tate Britain’s collection of modern art was transferred there.  The museum’s most recent renovation came in 2013 after it raised £45 million that added nine new galleries and was designed by Caruso St. John.  The balcony atrium under the dome also reopened after it had been closed to the public in the 1920s.  The Tate Britain also features a timeline-style “Walk Through British Art” and a “Spotlights” gallery that features some of the biggest stars from British art history, alternating regularly to let visitors get an in-depth look at each artist.

The Tate Britain is open Monday to Sunday from 8 AM to 6 PM.

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

close

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Great London Buildings, Museums

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Get the Anglotopia/Londontopia App

Our Advertisers

If you are a mobile gamer, you may want to take a look at UK’s new mobile casinos and slots reviewed by NewCasinoUK.

Join the London Forum

  • Mudlarking
  • MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN LONDON
  • What's Your Favorite Place in London?
  • Paddington Station

London Guide

  • Ten Cheap Things You Can Do in London on a Budget
  • Ten London Exhibitions to Look Forward to in 2023
  • London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
  • Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
  • London Guide: Our Favorite Restaurants in London – London Restaurant Recommendations for Americans – What’s Your Favorite?

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Support Londontopia

Search our Extensive Archive

Top 10 London

  • Ten Unusual Exhibits to See in London
  • London Pubs: Ten Thameside Pubs for a Pint and a View
  • Top 10 London: Ten More Things to Do Along the River Thames
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Shopping Centers in London
  • Museums of London: Ten Overlooked London Museums
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haggerston
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haringey
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Redbridge
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Hillingdon
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to Do in Canonbury

Recent Posts

  • V&A set to open first major UK exhibition on Renaissance sculptor Donatello
  • Ten National Trust Properties in London
  • What’s On in London Events for February 2023
  • Only Fools And Horses musical to close in West End after four years
  • Artist Ai Weiwei to launch first design-focused exhibition at London’s Design Museum
  • London Travel Alert: Staff at British Museum to walk out during half-term break
  • Poet Lemn Sissay ‘over the moon’ to receive Freedom of the City of London
  • English Heritage has unveiled six new blue plaques for London
  • National Portrait Gallery to reopen in June with two special exhibitions
  • Exploring The Cosmic House in London

Best Posts on Londontopia

  • 101 London Travel Tips
  • Top 100 London Attractions
  • How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to London
  • 10 Things NOT to do in London
  • Best London Guidebooks
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • London Lingo – A London Word Dictionary
  • Top 7 Tips for Doing London on the Cheap
  • Top 11 Myths American Believe about London
  • Guide to Eating in London
  • Best Times of Year to Travel to London
  • London Packing Tips
  • Top 11 Movies Set in London
  • Top Attractions off the Tourist Track
  • Top 5 Most Amazing London Hotels
  • Top 10 Hostels in London
  • Best Views in London Restuarants
  • London Taxi Ettiquette
  • Top 12 London Views
  • Great Fire of London
  • A Guide to Five of London’s Bridges
  • 10 Random Facts and Figures about Trafalgar Square
  • Top 100 British Slang Words

London Places to Explore

Bloomsbury Buckingham Palace Canary Wharf City of London Covent Garden Cutty Sark Greenwich Hampstead Hampton Court Palace Heathrow Houses of Parliament Hyde Park Imperial War Museum Islington Kensington Kensington Palace Leicester Square London London Eye London Transport Museum Museum of London National Gallery Notting Hill Piccadilly Circus Putney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Regent's Street Royal Academy Selfridges Somerset House Southbank Southwark St Pancras St Paul's Cathedral Tate Britain Tate Modern The City Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square V&A Wandsworth West End Westminster Westminster Abbey

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Recent Videos

Walk Around London Virtually Right Now – Watched Walker is the YouTube Channel We All Need Right Now

Jason Hawkes Shares a Beautiful Video of London From Above That We All Need Right now

London Tube: You’ve Got to Watch This Amazing Mesmerizing Animation That Shows the Real Geography of the London Underground

Video: The Basics of Crossrail – London’s New Underground Line

London History: The Place Where Old London Double Decker Buses Went to Die

London Video: A Look at the Great Smog of London

Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

What is Crossrail 2 and What is Its Current Status?

London Alert: Strike by London Underground workers to go ahead after last-minute talks fail

London Mayor hails Elizabeth line as direct routes and Sunday services begin

Elizabeth line fully opens and offers more direct journeys

Tube poet encourages writers to ‘bring who they are to the field’

Footer

About Londontopia

Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!

When We’re in London Next

We don’t currently have any travel plans to London but hope to visit at some point in 2021.

  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Copyright © 2023 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in