The Secret Room of Treasures

Venue: The British Library (http://www.bl.uk/)

Oyster: Kings Cross St. Pancras

Did you know there’s an amazing and FREE collection of historical/ musical/ literary wonders in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery of the British Library? I went the other day and my bookish jaw dropped at what they have in there – original Shakespeare editions, Austen’s writing desk, Oscar Wilde snippets.

If these legends don’t strike a chord with you, there’s also a shrine to the Beatles, with original lyrics, poetry, pictures and records – much more of a tribute to the greatest ever band than the drivel the X Factor gang offered up a couple of weeks ago. There are also original manuscripts from Mozart and Beethoven, historical documents of major significance and even a segment of the Magna Carta. The cherry on top of these carefully preserved, air-sealed delights are pages from Leonardo Di Vinci’s notebooks. See the full list here: 
http://www.bl.uk/treasures/treasuresinfull.html.

Don’t be put off by the room where this collection is housed: it’s surprisingly small, with low ceilings and a rather claustrophobic feel. But the genius and creativity contained there are worthy of a much grander chamber, with gold gilt display boxes, plush red carpets and marble walls stretching to the sky. Even then visitors would be unprepared for the sheer wonder of the hallowed artefacts waiting in the cases…