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EmbankmentSomerset House
Somerset House is a magnificent building just east of Waterloo Brdge on the Embankment. It was built in 1776 in the classical style, for the former "Navy Office", who in turn vacated it for the staff of the Inland Revenue. The Tax collectors left a few years ago and now the building has been fully restored by the Somerset House Trust and is the setting for exhibitions and art collections, the Gilbert Collection and the Hermitage Rooms (which house a semi-permanent exhibition of paintings and objects d'art from the Hermitage Rooms in St Petersburg) , and a restaurant, plus a magical ice rink in the winter months in the great Courtyard.
The Gilbert Collection was bequeathed to the nation by Sir Arthur Gilbert in 1996 and is a spectacular collection of gold and silver objects d'art not to be missed by any visitor.
Skating in Somerset House courtyard - photo by SW Nearest Tube station: Temple |
