The Marvel of the Victorian Cast Courts

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A call came in from Mrs R that my daughter had forgotten her white ankle socks and that if I did not get them to her school then she would get a uniform point against her.

I deliberated for a second about how minor this was, but the reaction of my wife and daughter to not doing it forced my hand. So off I went with socks in hand to Putney via my trusty bike. 

After delivering the socks I needed to make it somewhere in time to take a work call - where better than the V&A! Great WiFi.

After doing my thing, I had a bit of free time and so strode over to the Great Cast Courts section - the original Victorian place to go, where the world was brought to you.

Cast Courts, for those that do not know, contain cast and electrotype (cast injected with bronze) copies of many of the great artworks and architecture from around the world. For Victorians they were the height of modernity. They were open in 1873 at the V&A. They gave access to great works at a time where it was difficult to travel for most.

As I walked around, I was transported to places such as Florence and Michelangelo’s David. 


Pisa, for the Bronze doors of Pisa Cathedral (Bonanus of Pisa 1180).


And, for me, the most spectacular cast in the collection - Trajan’s Column (AD 106-113). The Roman emperor Trajan commissioned the original 35m high structure to commemorate the conquest of Dacia (now Romania). It took seven years to build and stood in Rome for 2000 years. Napoleon III then created a cast of this which the V&A eventually also copied in 1864.


Hidden gem alert - As I walked between the Cast Court sections there was an amazing mosaic floor that divided them. This could have been mistaken for a work by a master craftsmen but in actual fact it was produced in a women’s prison in Woking! Opus Criminale (Criminal Work).


What an amazing place to work from. I will definitely recommend it, if you are able. A short break here can transport you to a different time and place.

After I had got home, I was praised for getting the socks to the school. I praised the V&A for brining the art to me.  

A pointless errand was converted to worthwhile experience.




Location: London, UK

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