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Press releases
- The Clash’s Paul Simonon’s famous Fender Precision bass to go on display
- Museum of London acquires ensemble inspired by the creativity of the Windrush generation
- Feeding Black: Community, Power & Place opening 16 July at Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London acquires NHS sign from ZSL London Zoo’s Giraffe House as part of Collecting COVID
- Museum of London sites set to reopen 19 May with extensions of Dub London: Bassline of a City and Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery
- Museum of London acquires Mayor of Lambeth’s homemade ceremonial chain as part of Collecting COVID project
- Museum of London acquires ‘viral’ Tweets for Collecting COVID
- Weavers’ Company donate £100,000 to the Museum of London’s move to Smithfield
- Museum of London receives Trump Baby blimp ahead of the Presidential Inauguration
- Museum of London to collect COVID dreams
- Arsenal’s captain donates Black Lives Matter shirt to the Museum of London
- Dub London: Bassline of a City opening 2 October at the Museum of London
- Public statement October 2020
- London Sugar & Slavery gallery
- New major exhibition Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery opens 11 September at the Museum of London Docklands
- Robert Milligan statue statement
- Museum of London sites to reopen 6 August with four-week extension of The Clash: London Calling display
- Public statement
- Museum of London releases first ever recorded soundscapes of London alongside new recordings of London in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Design concepts for new museum at West Smithfield revealed
- The Museum of London collects shared experiences of Ramadan in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Unheard oral histories are released by the Museum of London to mark Windrush Day
- Collecting Covid: the Museum of London seeks to mark unprecedented pandemic for the future
- Millicent Fawcett’s ‘Steadfastness and Courage’ brooch to go on permanent display for the first time
- Museum of London submits plans to create a new world-class cultural destination in West Smithfield
- King Charles I’s execution vest to go on display in new major exhibition
- Museum of London to celebrate Dub Reggae and its influence on the capital
- East End bastion Syd’s coffee stall to be donated to the Museum of London
- Free exhibit celebrating the making of The Clash’s ground-breaking album ‘London Calling’ now open
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- Smithfield Street Party
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- Beasts of London
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- Museum of London releases third and final Great Fire 1666 Minecraft map
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- Museum of London uses Minecraft to recreate the Great Fire of 1666
- Rare tools give insight into working lives of Roman Londoners at the Museum of London
- Museum of London opens most theatrical exhibition ever to mark 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
- New display at the Museum of London traces the capital’s obsession with ice skating
- Historic vessels Knocker White and Varlet set sail to new home at Trinity Buoy Wharf
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- After dark at The Night Museum
- New display about the life of ‘The Royal African’ and the slave trade
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- Tunnel: the archaeology of Crossrail
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- Behind the Scenes of the Museum of London
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- Another record-breaking year for the Museum of London
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- West Smithfield Design Competition shortlist announced
- Stanton Williams and Asif Khan to design new Museum of London at West Smithfield
Historic vessels Knocker White and Varlet set sail to new home at Trinity Buoy Wharf
14 November 2016
Two historic vessels, acquired by the Museum of London Docklands in the 1980s, are moving to a new home under new ownership.
The vessels, Knocker White and Varlet, will be relocating to Trinity Buoy Wharf where they will be repaired and restored, put on public display and could even be part of future river festivals and apprenticeship schemes. Their move comes as part of the museum’s rationalisation of its floating vessel collection; two have been transferred in recent years (one to a local group and one to the National Trust) and Knocker White and Varlet are the last ones to be rehomed.
Following guidelines set out by the Museums Association and National Historic Ships UK, a new owner was found and their future secured. Both vessels will be moved overnight (on Monday 14 November) in a complex operation with each move potentially taking up to seven hours depending on the tides.
Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, who will be present during the move to say farewell, said:
“We’re really pleased these two historic vessels, which have been part of our collection for 30 years, have found a great and appropriate new home. The team at Trinity Buoy Wharf are extremely well placed to care for and make the most of Varlet and Knocker White as part of their vibrant creative programme. I am looking forward to seeing them in their new environment contributing to the story of London’s Port in a more powerful way.”
Eric Reynolds, Founding Director of Urban Space Management, said:
“We are very pleased to be able to add to the preservation of London’s maritime heritage. At Trinity Buoy Wharf we have Faradays experimental lighthouse, a fine lightship, and an example of the type of Thames lighter that would have been rowed on the tide as far up river as Brentford. The river Thames was the commercial mainspring of London until the docks closed in the early 1970s and we are proud to be able to be able to show some of the traditional craft that kept goods moving on this great river”.
Vessel details:
Knocker White (due to be moved on14 November) was built for Harrisions (London) Lighterage Ltd in 1924 by T.Van Duijvendijk at Scheepswerk Lekkerkek, Netherlands. She was launched on 23rd May 1924 and named Carnrock. In 1962 she was sold to W E White and Sons and was renamed Knocker White. She was bought by the Museum of London circa 1985.
Varlet (due to be moved on 14th as above) is a Jubilee Class Tug built in 1937 by James Pollock and Co. Ltd, Faversham for the London Lighterage Company Vokins and Co. She worked in the West India and Royal Docks and on the River Lea. She remained in service until the early 1980s. Varlet was secured for preservation by the Museum of London on 5th August 1986.
-ENDS-
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About The Museum of London Docklands
The Museum of London Docklands is located at West India Quay in east London. Opened in 2003, this grade one listed converted Georgian sugar warehouse specifically tells the story of the port, river and city – focusing on trade, migration and commerce in London.
The museums are open daily 10am – 6pm and are FREE to all, and you can explore the Museum of London with collections online – home to 90,000 objects with more being added. www.museumoflondon.org.uk
About Trinity Buoy Wharf
Trinity Buoy Wharf is a vibrant creative centre as well as a historic site attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year. http://www.urbanspace.com/projects/trinity-buoy-wharf