FREE daily See our new opening hours Plan your visit For families For schools Collections
Menu
  • Museum of London
    • Permanent galleries
      • London Before London
      • Roman London
      • Medieval London gallery
      • War, Plague & Fire
      • Expanding City gallery
      • People's City Gallery
      • World City
      • The London 2012 Cauldron
    • What's on
      • Exhibitions and displays
      • Walks
      • Talks
      • Workshops
      • Tours
    • Plan your visit
      • Find us
      • Museum accessibility
      • Eating and drinking
      • Floor plan
      • Shop
      • Group visits
  • Museum of London Docklands
    • Permanent galleries
      • No. 1 Warehouse
      • Trade Expansion
      • London, Sugar & Slavery
      • City and River
      • Sailortown
      • First Port of Empire
      • Warehouse of the World
      • Docklands at War
      • New Port, New City
      • Mudlarks children's gallery
    • What's on
      • Exhibitions and displays
      • Walks
      • Talks
      • Workshops
      • Free events
      • Havering Hoard
    • Plan your visit
      • Find us
      • Museum accessibility
      • Eating and drinking
      • Floor plan
      • Shop
      • Group visits
  • West Smithfield
  • Discover

    Discover London Through History

    View all
    A lead alloy curse associated image Roman

    Victims of the dark arts in Roman London

    Learn about Londinium’s deepest grooves, digging up the victims of dark magic and deadly curses.

    Belsize-Park-Lisa-Randisi-discover-image.jpg Londoners

    Hackney caught on camera

    How can experimental photography teach us more about our communities? A Museum of London project in Hackney offers beautiful reflections of how Londoners see their home.

    Havering Hoard selection of objects associated image Behind the scenes

    Havering Hoard: Why so many axes?

    Discover why the inconspicuous axe was such an important tool during the Bronze Age.

    'Police out of Brixton' leaflet, 1981 associated image Black History

    From Brixton 1981 to BLM 2020: reflections on Black uprisings

    Exploring the ‘Brixton Riots’ oral history collection to discuss contemporary experiences of London uprisings against racism.

  • Shop
  • Support us

    Support us

    • School children looking at objects

      Reach every London schoolchild

    • Paddington Bear being cleaned by a conservator

      Celebrate the London collection

    • West Smithfield aerial visual - landing page image

      A new museum for London

      • Donate
      • Memberships
      • Corporate partnerships
      • Volunteer
  • For families
  • For schools
  • Collections
Museum of London Docklands
  • Permanent galleries
  • What's on
  • Plan your visit

City and River

1800-1840

First Port of Empire

1840-1880

Permanent galleries

Sailortown

1840-1850

Explore the dark alleyways of London’s Sailortown

An immersive display recreates the atmosphere of Sailortown. This ramshackle London district, close to the docks, centred around Wapping, Shadwell and Ratcliffe.

  • Ship Chandlers, Sailortown, Docklands
  • Enter the dark alleyways of the Dockland
  • The Three Mariners pub in Sailortown, behind the print-selling shop.
  • The Three Mariners pub in the reconstructed Sailortown at the Museum of London Docklands.
  • Animal Emporium.jpg

Not to be missed on your visit

View slideshow

Ship Chandlers, Sailortown, Docklands

Discover a forgotten way of life

The winding streets of Sailortown were packed with everything a ship and its crew needed - from rope-makers and shipchandlers to lodging houses and brothels.

Enter the dark alleyways of the Dockland's Sailortown.

Explore the dark alleyways

Sailortown evokes the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian London. The twisting passages have many secrets and surprises to discover.

The Three Mariners pub in Sailortown, behind the print-selling shop.

Find the Stationer & Printer

Long, dull sea voyages made sailors eager to buy reading material. Stationers would sell or trade books, newspapers, and prints of popular naval heroes and infamous pirates.

The Three Mariners pub in the reconstructed Sailortown at the Museum of London Docklands.

Step inside the Three Mariners pub

This seedy sailors' tavern echoes with the voices and music of its rough, hard-drinking customers.

Animal Emporium.jpg

Peer into the windows of the Animal Emporium

Sailors from across the world came to London, bringing with them exotic souvenirs and animals. See how many rare creatures you can spot in the Animal Emporium.

Gallery access

The gallery is open during the museum's normal hours:

11.30am - 3.30pm (Mon-Fri) & 10am-6pm (Sat & Sun)

The gallery is on the second floor and can be accessed by lift. It has some uneven floors.

Free entry, timed ticket

Sailortown also of interest

Docks-Sailortown-also.jpg

Family visits

Discover our free resources for children's visits

Families page

Docklandstour-also-interest.jpg

Take a free tour

Free tours through the highlights of each gallery run daily

Plan your visit

Return of the last contingent, vintage image

Social history collection

The Museum of London has extensive records of the working history of the port

Discover the collection

Museum of London

MapContact

Museum of London Docklands

MapContact
  • About us
  • Friends membership
  • Donate
  • Volunteer
  • Jobs
  • Families
  • Schools
  • Universities
  • News room
  • Venue hire
  • Supporting London museums
  • Group visits

Museum of London registered charity number 1139250

  • Accessibility
  • Legal
  • Copyright
  • Museum of London Privacy Notice
  • Cookies policy
  • Follow us on Twitter for news, views and conversation about London

  • Join us on Facebook and share your views on current London issues

  • Browse our YouTube videos of teaching resources, London history, fashion and more

  • See objects from our collection, snapshots of events and share your visits to us on Instagram

Update from the Museum of London Docklands

Following the recent Government announcement of a national lockdown, the Museum of London and the Museum of London Docklands will continue to be closed to the public.

The health and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and community is of utmost importance to us and we will closely review the advice from the Government and Public Health England as to when we can reopen.

While the museum buildings may be closed, we’re still open online with loads of content to keep you entertained. Check our website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @MuseumOfLondon for all the latest news. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you back soon!