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Museum of London

London and its Londoners

Every month we bring to you a thematic selection of some amazing stories from our collection.

In this section

This month's theme is London's people.

  • Kitty Lord, dancer, Famous londoners, london celebrities, london profiles

    Kitty Lord: the ‘eccentric’ English dancer who travelled the world

    Not much is known of eccentric dancer Kitty Lord, who headlined on stages ranging from Italy and France, to Brazil, and London, of course, back in the early 1900s. We try and trace the life and career of this fascinating performer through bills, programmes, photos, a serendipitous museum visit and some detective work.

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  • A woman depicted as a Roman laureate female, possibly a Muse, on one of a pair of miniature bracelet plaques made of gold. It is possible that the 18th century recipient of the plaques was named after the Muse and that the figure depicted is a delicate reference to the classical antecedents of her name. (ID no.: C1705)

    The Roman princess of Spitalfields

    Senior Curator Dr Rebecca Redfern first became interested in the intriguing Spitalfields Princess as she was excavated in 1999. Since then, as a student recording the excavation on VHS to now being responsible for her care, this is a fascinating and endearing story that spans two decades!

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  • Michael Collins in London in 1921. (Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons )

    The mystery of Michael Collins’ signature

    Did you know that one of Ireland's most famous revolutionaries became radicalised in London? Portrayed by the media of his day as a dangerous gunman and a romantic playboy, Michael Collins, the IRA leader, learned it all while living in London.

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  • Ethel Smyth was a well-known composer who joined the Women's Social and Political Union in 1910. Queer women in history

    Critiqued, arrested, knighted: Dame Ethel Smyth

    Composer, Suffragette, Activist. With a sheepdog at her side, and a bottle of fine red wine close at hand, Dame Ethel Smyth can seriously be considered to be a top contender for “most interesting dinner party guest” among the figures represented in the Museum of London’s galleries.

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  • Girls playing hopscotch in the street. Henry Grant, c. 1955. ID number HG1609/45

    Memories of London

    A teddy bear. A tin of Jamaican ackees. A milk bottle. Inanimate objects that tell stories and hold clues to a life. Read on to discover what memories these collection objects elicited for three Londoners affected by dementia who took part in our Memories of London programme.

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  • Foo Ying Yoe and her daughter, Yua Haw cheongsam

    Foo Ying’s cheongsams: from India to London

    Four traditional Chinese cheongsams tell the story of a family’s journey across China, India, Yemen and finally to London.

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  • William Ansah Sessarakoo by John Faber Jr Mid 18th century. © National Portrait Gallery, London. NPG D9199

    William Sessarakoo: the Royal African

    Explore an extraordinary story about the first days of the slave trade, and one man’s journey from African prince through slavery into London high society.

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  • theatrical portrait plate with engraving of the actor O. Smith as Guy Fawkes, 1844-56.

    The symbolism of Guy Fawkes: criminal to revolutionary

    We take a look at how, over several centuries, the representation of Guy Fawkes has evolved from being a notorious criminal to a symbol of resistance.

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  • Lucy Woollett and as an artist I call myself Lady Lucy.

    Portraits connecting people: an interview with Lady Lucy

    Artist Lady Lucy spent two months at the beginning of our City Now City Future season painting watercolour portraits of museum visitors. Each of them agreed to pay for their portrait with a favour, done for someone else. Lucy explains how she hopes to create a network of generosity spreading across the city.

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  • Objects found in the pockets of Francis Golding's clothes. ID no. 2016.40/21

    The hidden biography of the Francis Golding collection

    If the clothes you are wearing right now were acquired by a collection, what information about you and your life could be gathered from them? As the curator examined and catalogued your garments, what would they find?

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  • Tattoo artist Claudia de Sabe in her Seven Doors Tattoo studio. Image © Kate Berry.

    Under the skin of Tattoo London

    For our 2016 Tattoo London exhibition, we commissioned body art from four tattooists from around the capital. Meet those artists and learn more about the development of London's tattoo culture in this series of photographic portraits by Kate Berry.

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  • charlie-phillips-panel.jpg

    Photographing black Britain: Charlie Phillips

    Look through the lens of Charlie Phillips, a ground-breaking photographer who captured street life for over thirty years. First in a series on photographers who documented the lives of black Londoners in North Kensington.

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  • Margaret White – training in Leigh swimming pool, 1961 (Courtesy of Margaret White-Wrixon)

    Forgotten Thames champions

    In 2013, when Caitlin Davies started research for her book 'Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the River Thames', she thought it would be quite a short book. After all, how many people would want to swim in the Thames?

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  • neil-kenlock-panel.jpg

    Photographing black Britain: Neil Kenlock & Armet Francis

    Let's explore the radical work of photographers Neil Kenlock and Armet Francis. Second in our series on documenting the changing lives of black Londoners.

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  • roger-mayne-panel.jpg

    Photographing black Britain: Roger Mayne, Henry Grant

    Photographers Roger Mayne and Henry Grant brought an outsider's perspective to North Kensington, fascinated by the community they found there. Final part of our series on documenting the changing lives of black Londoners.

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  • Johnny Smythe in his RAF uniform

    From Sierra Leone to Stalag Luft I: Remembering Johnny Smythe

    One of the first black airmen in the Royal Air Force. The man in charge of the historic voyage of the SS Windrush. A Krio who said that his skin colour saved his life when he was captured by the Nazis. By any measure, Johnny Smythe led an extraordinary life.

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  • Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, 1877 Collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

    How Bazalgette built London's first super-sewer

    28 March is the birth anniversary of Joseph Bazalgette, the Victorian engineer who masterminded London's modern sewer system. Learn how Bazalgette helped clear the city's streets of poo, and how you're still benefiting from his genius every time you flush.

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  • Christabel Pankhurst, c. 1909 Watercolour portrait of Christabel Pankhurst.

    Christabel Pankhurst, Suffragette icon

    We remember the struggle for female suffrage, and the women who fought for it. June Purvis, author of 'Christabel Pankhurst: A Biography', speaks to us about this iconic campaigner and her role in securing Votes for Women.

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  • Emily Wilding Davison, c. 1908 Emily is depicted in the portrait wearing her graduation robes, having studied at both Holloway (now Royal Holloway) college and St Hugh's Hall, Oxford.

    'That malignant Suffragette': remembering Emily Davison

    The campaign for Votes for Women would not have been won in 1918 without the struggles and sacrifices of hundreds of brave Suffragettes. Today, we focus on just one: Emily Wilding Davison.

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  • Christina Broom – Mrs Albert Broom

    Meet Christina Broom

    In 1903, Christina Broom propelled herself into the field of photography as a business venture to support her family. Rising from self-taught novice, she emerged as a pioneer for women press photographers in the UK.

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  • German-born gay Jewish man world-renowned milliner, Otto Lucas

    The life and legacy of master milliner Otto Lucas

    As a German-born gay Jewish man, Otto Lucas found himself away from his homeland and stranded in London in the 1930s. Nonetheless, he established himself as a world-renowned milliner, and his legacy lives on through the pieces we have in our collection.

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