The British Museum Reading Room, designed by Sydney Smirke is situated in the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum. It used to be the main reading room of the British Library untill in 1997 it moved to the new British Library building at St Pancras. The Reading Room's domed roof is metal framed, and the surface that makes up the ceiling is a type of papier-mâché.

It is a stunning room and well worth viewing. You may have to wait a couple years though as a temporary exhibition entitled 'The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army' is currently in place with a new floor covering the existing reading desks. It will revert to its former use in 2012.