Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in the City of Westminster on Marylebone Road. It opened at this site in 1884 after moving from Baker Street, where it had been since 1835. The building houses galleries of lifelike wax figures of famous people and characters. It is now run by Merlin Entertainments and has branches in several countries. The museum began with Marie Tussaud’s collection of wax models made in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Her first sculpture, of Voltaire, dates from 1777 when she was still a teenager. The museum is famous for the Chamber of Horrors, which has drawn visitors since the 1840s. It displays waxworks of historical figures and notorious criminals alongside stars of stage and screen. Charles Dickens called it one of London’s most popular entertainments in the 19th century. The gallery once held about 400 figures, many lost to fire in 1925 and bombing in the 1940s. Surviving casts allow older models to be recreated, including those made by Tussaud herself. A self-portrait from 1842 still greets visitors at the entrance. Inside, visitors walk through themed zones with figures of kings, queens, politicians and entertainers. The history exhibit shows some of the earliest waxworks, such as Madame du Barry from 1765. Newer galleries feature modern celebrities and fictional characters. Outside, the busy Marylebone Road setting contrasts with the quiet galleries within. The museum remains a place where history and popular culture meet in wax.