Heath Robinson Museum

The Heath Robinson Museum stands in Pinner, a quiet corner of northwest London. It sits beside Pinner Memorial Park, close to Pinner tube station on the Metropolitan line. The building was designed as a permanent home for the work of William Heath Robinson, a well-known artist, illustrator, humorist and social commentator who lived from 1872 to 1944. In October 2016 the museum was opened by children’s writer Michael Rosen in a ceremony attended by hundreds of local people. It was the first London museum built from scratch in more than forty years. The museum exists because the William Heath Robinson Trust was formed in 1992 after Heath Robinson’s daughter Joan died. Her husband wanted his work kept in public hands, and the Trust began with about 500 original artworks plus letters, books and ephemera. In 2015 the Trust bought another 400 important works with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund, bringing the total to nearly 1,000 pieces. Two galleries show a permanent display of his career and changing exhibitions every three months. Visitors find two galleries inside the museum. One gallery keeps Heath Robinson’s drawings, prints and illustrated books on permanent view. The other hosts special exhibitions that change every quarter, each with a different theme. Outside, Pinner Memorial Park offers a calm setting beside the building. The park is easy to reach from Pinner tube station, making the museum a peaceful place to explore the artist’s life and legacy.