Gallery access
Medieval London Gallery
11.30am - 3.30pm (Mon-Fri) & 10am-6pm (Sat & Sun)
The gallery is on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible.
The Museum of London and Becket2020 are currently closed. Subscribe to our enewsletter for all the latest updates on when the museum will reopen.
2020 marks an important dual anniversary for the extraordinary figure of Thomas Becket. It will be 850 years since his dramatic murder on the 29th December 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral, and 800 years since his body was moved on the 7th July 1220 from a tomb in the crypt of the cathedral into a glittering shrine.
While St Thomas Becket is an internationally renowned figure, his connections to London are rather less well-known. For over 300 years, Londoners flocked to Becket's shrine in Canterbury often returning with a pewter badge as a keepsake. Hundreds of these pilgrim souvenirs have been recovered from London excavations and mudlarking activity along the Thames and the museum holds the largest collection in the country.
The Museum of London will use some of its pilgrim badges, which is the largest in the country, to illustrate St Thomas Becket’s extraordinary life and his connections to the capital. Undertake your own mini-pilgrimage through the museum’s Medieval London Gallery as you discover more about Thomas Becket the man and his early life in London, his exile and murder, the impact of his death and rise in miracle cures and finally, Becket’s shrine and the Jubilee of the Martyrdom in 1220.
The display will be part of a year-long programme of events entitled Becket2020, which will be developed by partners from across the UK as a platform to commemorate the remarkable life and death of St Thomas Becket.
Medieval London Gallery
The gallery is on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible.
Join us in the galleries with Senior Curator, Hazel Forsyth, to learn about the new display of fascinating medieval pilgrim badges to commemorate the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket
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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!