Fan Museum

The Fan Museum stands in Greenwich’s Croom’s Hill, inside two 18th-century listed houses within the World Heritage Site. Built in 1721, the buildings sit beside an orangery with painted walls, a Japanese-style garden laid out in fan shapes, a pond and a small stream. The site mixes historic architecture with carefully planned outdoor spaces. Inside, the museum holds more than six thousand fans and related objects, the oldest from the 11th century. Its European collection from the 18th and 19th centuries is especially strong, though not all pieces are shown at once for conservation reasons. Visitors can see a fan fitted with an ear trumpet and another that hides a repair kit in its sticks. Classes in fan-making take place here, and a reference library is available to consult. Beyond the displays, the museum’s garden offers a quiet place to walk among the fan-shaped flower beds. The orangery walls carry large murals that add colour to the rooms. The whole site feels removed from the city’s noise, yet it remains close to Greenwich’s main attractions.