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Museum of London Docklands
Museum of London
- Our London Wall museum is now closed to visitors, but is still available for venue hire and private events.
  The new museum coming in 2026 will be situated at the heart of the capital’s historic Smithfield area next to Farringdon.
  
  Until then, the fun continues at our Docklands museum!
  What's on at Docklands
- Venue hire
West Smithfield
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Discover London Through History
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Music

East London and the popularity of gospel choirs

The Jubilee Singers sang for Queen Victoria in 1873, but gospel choirs became popular only in the 1960s. Now they often sing with icons like Madonna.

Behind the Scenes

Rare books: What makes them special and how to care for them

What makes a book rare? Tips on identifying special books, storage and safe handling techniques to preserve these literary artefacts.

Fashion

Music icons, Soho fashion streets & the Swinging 60s

From The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, and from Carnaby Street to West End, here’s how music and fashion were intrinsically linked in 1960s’ London.

Londoners

Disability: A child’s perspective from 1950s’ London

These photos of disabled children in specialist schools in 1950s’ London attempt to fill a crucial gap in documenting our history.
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London's Queer Objects

Inspired by our in-gallery Queer City tours led by visitor host Andrew Millar, we've launched an online mini-series exploring 5 objects from our collection that are connected to London's rich queer history.

In this section

From boundary-breaking Suffragettes to Roman emperors, explore the LGBTQ+ heritage of London.

Hadrian & Antinous

Our first stop? We're off to the Roman gallery to hear about the relationship between Hadrian and Antinous.
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Wilgefortis

How was a medieval pilgrim badge of Jesus Christ mistaken for a female saint, Wilgefortis? Find out in episode two.
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Ganymede & Jack Catch

In a cabinet in the museum's Expanding City gallery you'll find a small, rather peculiar sketch, called Ganymede & Jack Catch. Discover why this sketch is kept here and the story it tells in episode three.
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Ethel Smyth

You might already be familiar with Ethel Smyth as the composer of the song 'The March of the Women'. However, there is so much more to the life of this pioneering and passionate suffragette. Watch episode four to find out more.
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Tom Daley

In our final instalment of the London's Queer Objects series, we dive deep into the history of a small piece of clothing that had a huge impact on the LGBTQ+ and the sports communities worldwide: Tom Daley's Swimming Trunks.
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Discover more about London's queer history

Gay Pride Discover

Hidden Pride: London's LGBT history

Looking through our collection for signs of the long struggle for gay rights.

Roman Emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous.

Were the Romans gay? LGBTQ Londinium

Recent Roman scholarship reveals same-sex love in Roman London.

Small images from the Night Flowers series.

Night Flowers: stunning portraits of London's queer club scene

An interview with photographer Damien Frost about his astonishing portraits of London's queer nightlife

Small shot of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern print.

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern: charting an iconic LGBTQ venue

A two-metre wide hand-drawn map shows the queer history of South London.