Sir John Soane`s Museum Is A House Museum Of Neo-classical Architect, John Soane Editorial Photo

It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane`s projects, and a large collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and antiquities that he acquired over many years. The museum was established during Soane`s own lifetime by a Private Act of Parliament in 1833, which took effect on his death in 1837. Soane engaged in this lengthy parliamentary campaign in order to disinherit his son, whom he disliked intensely. The act stipulated that on Soane`s death his house and collections would pass into the care of a Board of Trustees, acting on behalf of the nation, and that they would be preserved as nearly as possible exactly in the state they were at his death. The museum`s trustees remained completely independent, relying only on Soane`s original endowment, until 1947. Since then, the museum has received an annual Grant-in-Aid from the British Government via the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.