Galleries
Our 11 permanent galleries tell the stories of London’s Docklands, the River Thames, and London’s past as one of the world’s great trading cities.
The galleries tell the story of the local communities in the East London riverside, making this the real museum for London’s East End. They include the award-winning London Sugar Slavery gallery, which explores London’s part in the system of slave labour that transported Africans to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations.
No other part of London has seen more dramatic and controversial change. In the 18th century, life was focused on the river. In the 19th century the area became the world’s largest docks complex. In the 20th century the old docks were swept away, to be replaced by Canary Wharf’s current landscape of high-rise offices. How has this history of change affected the people who lived here? The galleries explore all this and more.
Click on the gallery names on the left to find out more.
Our most impressive permanent exhibit is our building. The Museum of Docklands is housed in a listed early-19th-century sugar warehouse. Click here to find out more about Number 1 warehouse.
