British Optical Association Museum
What Visitors Say
Many thanks to Dr. Neil Handley, PhD, AMA, FRSA, curator of the British Optical Association Museum, for his warm hospitality. This museum, the world’s oldest dedicated to the vision sciences, was founded in 1901 and houses an impressive collection of over 28,000 notable objects. These include historical visual aids, spectacle frames and lenses, diagnostic equipment, vision tests, and models of eye diseases. The museum is open to the public and offers guided tours, which must be booked in advance. Dr. Handley is also the author of "CULT EYEWEAR: The World’s Enduring Classics", an essential reference for eyewear enthusiasts. Experiencing a guided tour led by him and exploring the fascinating curiosities of optometry is, without a doubt, a true privilege. Thank you
Wonderful tour of this interesting and quirky museum! Many thanks to Neil the curator, who showed us around and shared many wonderful stories and anecdotes!
Visited during Open House. Really interesting museum with engaging displays, and enthusiastic, knowledgeable volunteers. A real gem in London. Otherwise bookable by appointment. Thank you!
A sight to see in London. It is a heaven for puns and wordplay - but if you have an interest in the eye and the history of optometry this is the place to have a look at. I suggest you book the guided tour as the exhibit is very dense and you can easy overlook something. Remember to call in advance to book a tour.
There are thousands of historical optician artefacts with their great stories and interesting facts packed in this tiny hidden gem, conveniently located in central london. Our tour of the museum was arranged on the email request with Neil. He was quite passionate and knowledgeable about the field and every artefact in the museum. It's a great place to visit for anyone with curiousity about this topic.
Highlights
Spectacles Through the Centuries
A chronological wall of frames—rivet spectacles, pince-nez, lorgnettes, quizzing glasses—shows how fashion, materials and optics evolved together.Match frame styles to social settings: courtly lorgnettes vs. industrial-age steel spectacles.
Main study cases
Testing Vision: Charts & Instruments
From Snellen letters to bespoke optotypes and early optometers, the kit that turned ‘how well can you see?’ into a measurable number.Try reading a non-Latin optotype—testing without language was an early accessibility breakthrough.
Optometry instruments section
Inside the Consulting Room
Trial lens sets, cross-cylinders and retinoscopes reveal the hands-on craft behind spectacle prescriptions before automated refractors.Weigh an antique trial frame in the mind’s hand—patients once wore these for long test runs.
Reconstructed practice displays
Optical Toys & 3-D Vision
Stereoscopes, anaglyphs and novelty lenses show how entertainment drove public appetite for optical science.View paired photographs that ‘jump’ into depth: 19th-century VR, no batteries required.
Stereoscopy & amusements
Opening Hours
Fun Facts
Founded in 1901, it is among the oldest museums dedicated to eye care and vision science, with a collection now numbering tens of thousands of objects.
Snellen’s 1860s letter chart sparked a wave of alternative ‘optotypes’—numbers, pictures and tumbling E’s—so clinicians could test non-readers and non-Latin alphabets.
Stereoscopy’s Victorian boom created a mass market for optical hardware—many domestic parlours owned a viewer long before they owned a camera.
