Ben Melham — a cultural sector consultant based in the UK — has smashed the world record for most museums visited in 24 hours.
Melham visited 42 museums across Central London on Friday 25 October 2024. He stopped off at venues including the British Museum, the V&A, the Bank of England Museum and the Royal Academy.
The previous world record was 33 museums which were visited across Delhi in India in January 2024 by brothers Swaroop Dawrani and Sujoy Kumar Mitra.
Ben's new attempt was officially ratified by Guinness World Records (GWR) six weeks after the attempt on 11 December 2024. He was awarded the certification of the record at the Natural History Museum in London.
Speaking to maxwell museums, Melham — who is Director of Mortice Consulting, a heritage and culture solutions provider — said he embarked on the attempt “to raise awareness of the diversity of museums available.”
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His stops ranged from the huge galleries of the British capital — such as the National Gallery — to small, hidden gems like the Bow Street Police Museum. He made it to all the venues on foot and on kick scooter.
Planning was the biggest challenge, he revealed, especially the “challenging rules” GWR had set him. These included the museums needing to be open to the public at the time of the visit, which meant in reality every venue needed to be visited in an 11 hour window instead of 24. He was also told he could only travel around the city on public transport or by walking, and that there would need to be in-person witnesses throughout the attempt.
"I had to develop a detailed route that would provide the greatest opportunity to visit as many museums of all sizes as possible, and this plan went through many variations,” Melham told me.
At the end, Melham said he was “exhausted but elated”, and he paid tribute to the “kind, supportive and encouraging” staff at all the 42 museums.
“It makes me proud of the museum sector and the vital role it plays within the communities they serve.”
A detailed documentation pack of photographic, video, GPS, records, statements and other data was submitted to GWR to ratify the official World Record Status.
He's now embarking on a second record attempt sanctioned by GWR: the most museums visited in a single year. He has until October 2025 to break that one.
All the London museums to break the world record
1. Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
2. The Fusiliers Museum
3. The Royal Armouries
4. The Tower of London
5. London Mithraeum
6. The Bank of England Museum
7. The Guildhall Art Gallery
8. The Museum of Methodism
9. The Barbican Art Gallery
10. The Charterhouse Museum
11. Museum of the Order of St John
12. Islington Museum
13. The Postal Museum
14. The Charles Dickens Museum
15. The Foundling Museum
16. The Canal Museum
17. The British Library
18. People’s Museum Somers Town
19. The Wellcome Collection
20. Grant Museum of Zoology
21. Petrie Museum
22. The Cartoon Museum
23. The British Museum
24. The Camera Museum
25. Sir John Soane’s Museum
26. The Hunterian Museum
27. The Museum of Freemasonry
28. The Bow Street Police Museum
29. The London Transport Museum
30. The Courtauld Gallery
31. British Optical Association Museum
32. Benjamin Franklin House
35. The Household Cavalry Museum
36. Churchill War Rooms (Imperial War Museums)
37. Royal College of Music Museum
38. The Science Museum
39. The Clockmakers’ Museum
40. The Natural History Museum
41. The Victoria & Albert Museum
42. The Royal Academy of Arts