About
The British Optical Association Museum, housed within the College of Optometrists, holds the world's finest collection of spectacles, optical instruments, and related material. This extraordinary specialist collection traces the history of vision correction and optical science from medieval times to the present day.
Highlights include ancient magnifying lenses, elaborately decorated 18th-century spectacles, early microscopes and telescopes, opticians' testing equipment, advertising materials, and curiosities like spy glasses and opera glasses.
The collection includes rare items such as medieval reading stones, ornate lorgnettes worn by Georgian society, Victorian pince-nez, and examples of early contact lenses. Visitors discover how spectacles evolved from luxury items for scholars to everyday necessities, how lens-grinding techniques developed, and how eye testing became a scientific profession.
The museum also houses portraits of notable opticians, trade cards, shop fittings from historic optician's shops, and an extensive library of optical texts.
This hidden gem appeals to anyone interested in the history of medicine, technology, fashion, or social history.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- MUST book in advance - museum only open by appointment
- Contact museum well ahead of your visit to arrange access
- Excellent for anyone interested in medical history or the history of technology
- The collection is world-class despite being little known
- Curator-led visits provide fascinating insights
- Perfect for optometry students and professionals
- Located on same street as Benjamin Franklin House - easy to combine visits
Highlights
Medieval Reading Stones
Early magnifying lenses from the medieval period, among the earliest vision aids. These polished rock crystal or glass hemispheres were placed on manuscripts to magnify text - the precursors to spectacles.
18th Century Spectacles Collection
Exquisite examples of Georgian spectacles in elaborately decorated cases. These luxury items feature tortoiseshell, silver, and gold frames with innovative bridge designs and demonstrate spectacles as status symbols.
Benjamin Franklin's Bifocals
Examples of early bifocal lenses, following Franklin's invention in the 1780s. These revolutionary lenses combined distance and reading corrections in one pair of spectacles.
Optical Testing Equipment
Historic eye-testing instruments including early trial lens sets, ophthalmoscopes, retinoscopes, and refraction equipment showing how eye examination evolved from guesswork to scientific precision.
Collections
The museum holds over 30,000 items spanning seven centuries.
Collections include spectacles from 16th century to present (over 2,500 pairs), optical instruments (microscopes, telescopes, magnifiers), eye testing and examination equipment, contact lenses and low vision aids, opticians' trade equipment, advertising and trade materials, portraits and photographs of opticians, optical texts and manuscripts, and decorative optical items.
The collection is particularly strong in British material but includes important international items.
Explore the diverse collections housed in this museum.
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.
Nearby Museums (5 within 6 miles)
National Portrait Gallery
London — ~4 min walk (0.2 mi)
Household Cavalry Museum
London — ~5 min walk (0.3 mi)