In this section
Press releases
- Plans approved to create new London Museum and regenerate Smithfield
- From DJ sets to late-night cinema Museum of London announces blockbuster festival weekends to close London Wall
- fabric to become world’s first nightclub-in-residence in a Museum
- Major new Museum of London Docklands exhibition uncovers London’s 700 year history of public executions
- 15-year-old Londoner takes over city bus stops as winner announced of Museum of London, BBC 100 & TfL poetry competition
- Museum of London unveils Greatest Hits mural to celebrate 45 years at London Wall
- Museum of London marks 100 days to closure with free event and giveaways for visitors
- Museum of London raises a further £7 million towards its new home at West Smithfield
- Museum of London celebrates 45 years at London Wall as it commences countdown to closure
- Sunil Gupta’s ‘Pretended’ Family Relationships photo series acquired by the Museum of London
- Putin’s Happy – Museum of London acquires Jeremy Deller film revealing a divided country and a city full of protest
- The Museum of London celebrates city's sporting hero with new display on Harry Kane
- The Museum of London presents 'Grime Stories: from the corner to the mainstream', opening 17 June 2022
- Joe Corré, Jordan and Richard Boon to appear in an uncensored, live Punk.London debate
- 300 year old love message embroidered in human hair to go on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London begins countdown to West Smithfield relocation
- Douglas Gilmore appointed Managing Director of Museum of London Docklands
- New research to shed fresh light on the impact of industrialisation
- The Prince of Wales becomes Museum of London Patron
- The Clash’s Paul Simonon’s famous Fender Precision bass to go on display
- Behind the Scenes of the Museum of London
- Stanton Williams and Asif Khan to design new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- 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
- Museum of London acquires extremely rare plate that belonged to Samuel Pepys
- The story of the Krios of Sierra Leone to be told in the Museum of London Docklands’ latest display
- Museum of London to host The Clash: London Calling exclusive free exhibit of over 100 personal items
- The largest ever Bronze Age hoard in London has been discovered
- Designs for Museum of London’s new West Smithfield home revealed
- Smithfield Street Party
- Museum of London hopes to acquire both the Trump Baby Blimp and the Sadiq Khan Blimp as part of their permanent collection
- Secret Rivers
- Beasts of London
- Recently acquired panorama goes on display for the first time at the Museum of London
- Museum of London appoints leading names to Board of Governors
- Earliest skull ever mudlarked from the Thames to go on display at the Museum of London
- Museum of London acquires beautiful panorama of lost Houses of Parliament
- Bengali arts and culture on show at the Museum of London Docklands family festival.
- Bonus Levels: Artist Lawrence Lek invites viewers to re-imagine future London
- Young Londoners to take over Museum of London this March
- The Museum of London hopes to acquire Whitechapel 'fatberg'
- Treasured children’s author Jacqueline Wilson’s latest book Wave Me Goodbye inspires family day at the Museum of London Docklands
- The City is Ours: A Tale of New Cities
- Adventures in Peter Pan’s Neverland at Museum of London Docklands
- Photography of Londoners and their pastimes on show at Museum of London
- Tracking London’s most talked about topics and emojis
- London Nights: Museum of London unveils the city at night in major photography exhibition
- Museum of London Docklands celebrates Chinese New Year this February half term
- Statement on 20 May 2017
- Whitechapel’s famous monster fatberg is coming to the Museum of London
- Museum of London Docklands to showcase rare Roman sarcophagus in first public display
- Malcolm Reading Consultants appointed to run West Smithfield International Design Competition
- 8,000 years of human history on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- An Idea for a Future London open call winner announced
- Five Museum of London apprentices appointed
- London Visions: Hypothetical scenarios of a future London
- “Reputational whitewashing” investigated in latest display at the Museum of London Docklands.
- Rare George Cross medal goes on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London displays recently acquired Sutherland drawings in new exhibition of Blitz artwork
- What does the future hold for London and cities around the world?
- Mayor of London and City of London Corporation pledge support for new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- Smithfield street party: Museum of London celebrates 150 years of Smithfield markets
- Museum of London uses Minecraft to recreate the Great Fire of 1666
- Museum of London releases third and final Great Fire 1666 Minecraft map
- Taste not waste: Be inspired by unique recipes using your leftover food for a more sustainable future London
- Museum of London opens most theatrical exhibition ever to mark 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
- Museum of London acquires 100 menswear items worn by townscape consultant Francis Golding
- Votes for Women programme
- Technology replacing jobs won’t halt our working spirit
- Rare Victoria Cross with mysterious story to go on display at the Museum of London
- New display at the Museum of London traces the capital’s obsession with ice skating
- Rare tools give insight into working lives of Roman Londoners at the Museum of London
- New display reveals complex history of British Army’s West India Regiments
- Historic vessels Knocker White and Varlet set sail to new home at Trinity Buoy Wharf
- Missing Bake Off? Take your taste buds back in time with 17th century gingerbread
- Paddington returns to Museum of London
- Learn how to code like a pro and celebrate digital technology at the Museum of London’s free family festival
- 17th century fire engine restored for Great Fire exhibition
- Museum of London boosts Great Fire collections with mysterious manuscript
- Major new gallery at Museum of London Docklands explores history of the world's largest docks
- Sir Edward Lister joins Museum of London Board of Governors
- West Smithfield Design Competition shortlist announced
- Museum of London bolsters its art collections
- West Smithfield International Design Competition launched
- Another record-breaking year for the Museum of London
- After dark at The Night Museum
- New display about the life of ‘The Royal African’ and the slave trade
- Statue of Robert Milligan joins Museum of London collection
- Our statement on Fabric
- People of Punk bring the year of celebration to an end
- Tunnel: the archaeology of Crossrail
- Museum of London to make 5,000 stories from the capital available to the public for the first time
- The Museum of London Docklands announces major exhibition with public call out to find iconic pieces of fashion history
- Trump Baby Blimp undergoes test inflation
- Museum of London Docklands launches the Dodger family trail, based on BAFTA-winning BBC TV series, Dodger
- Museum of London Docklands announces Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture
- Young Londoners push for a more sustainable city in Museum of London report
- Museum of London Docklands announces street party to mark its 20th anniversary, with Vanity Milan, star of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, to headline
- Museum of London formally appoints Sir Robert McAlpine as Construction Management Company on Smithfield project
- Rare Festival of Britain sculpture discovered in London garden will join Museum of London collection
- Jennifer Francis appointed Director of External Affairs at Museum of London
- Museum of London announces acquisition of major sports collecting project, including Wimbledon oral histories
- Coats worn by Princess Diana and Dot Cotton to go on display as part of a major new exhibition
- Bridget Banton and Samir Patel join Museum of London Board of Governors
- Museum of London issues public call for iconic signs from across the capital
- First witness to the Great Fire of London uncovered
- Opening Friday 13 October – Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners shaped global style at Museum of London Docklands
- Foundation stone unveiled for the new London Museum as principal construction works begin
- New research finds Black women of African descent more likely to die of medieval plague
- Rare tie discovered in charity shop goes on display in London fashion exhibition
- Museum of London Docklands launches new display in collaboration with Mind and Taking Shape Association
- Acclaimed Fashion City exhibition extended to 7 July 2024 with free student ticket offer for April and May
Museum of London sites to reopen 19 May with extensions of Dub London: Bassline of a City and Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery
28 April 2021
- Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands to reopen to the public on 19 May 2021
- Dub London: Bassline of a City free exhibit at the Museum of London will be extended until 5 September 2021
- Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery free major exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands will be extended until 22 August 2021
- The Krios of Sierra Leone free display at the Museum of London Docklands will be extended until 4 July 2021
- Mudlarks free children’s gallery at the Museum of London Docklands will reopen after refurbishment featuring new elements and a new pre-bookings system on Friday 21 May
- Both sites remain free to enter but ticketed and timed entry must now be booked in advance. Tickets available at www.museumoflondon.org.uk
- General opening hours for both sites will be 10am – 5pm Wednesday to Sunday. For May half term and the summer holidays both sites will be open seven days a week from 10am-5pm.
After five months of temporary closure, the Museum of London and the Museum of London Docklands will open their doors on Wednesday 19 May 2021 and welcome visitors once again.
The Museum of London is pleased to announce that the exclusive display, Dub London: Bassline of a City, celebrating dub reggae music and culture in the capital will be extended until 5 September 2021. The display not only explores the music’s influence but its wider cultural and social impact including the origins of the record shop as a community space, the continuing role of sound systems at events like Notting Hill Carnival and the religious, political and spiritual themes that form the pulse of dub culture and music.
The reopening also means that Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery at the Museum of London Docklands will be extended until 22 August 2021. This free major exhibition explores the largest Bronze Age hoard ever discovered in London with all 453 tools, weapons and other objects unearthed and on display to the public for the very first time. Starting with the moment of discovery, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey back through time to explore the mysteries, myths and realities surrounding the hoard’s burial.
Reopening the Museum of London Docklands also includes the extension of the The Krios of Sierra Leone display at the Museum of London Docklands until 4 July 2021. The Krios of Sierra Leone explores the unique and largely untold history, heritage and culture of the Krio people of Sierra Leone by highlighting the architecture, language, lifestyle and traditions of the Krio community. From its origins in transatlantic slavery through to the involvement of prominent abolitionists, the story of the Krio ties into the wider themes of the museum’s London, Sugar & Slavery gallery where the display is located.
Finally, we’re pleased to share that the very popular Mudlarks children’s gallery will reopen after over a year of closure on Friday 21 May. The gallery has been refurbished and a new toddler area has been created to welcome our youngest visitors. Features include new interactive elements that introduce the stories of the docks in hands-on and stimulating ways. For more information on how to pre-book your free timed entry to Mudlarks visit the Museum of London Docklands website here.
Keeping both visitors and staff safe is the museum’s top priority and measures first introduced upon re-opening in August 2020 will continue to be in place including timed ticket slots for entry. Visitors to each museum will be required to book a free ticket online, in advance, for a time slot of their choosing. These tickets are now available to book through 5 September 2021 from www.museumoflondon.org.uk.
Both museums will be open from 10am – 5pm Wednesday to Sunday. From 31 May – 4 June and 23 July – 5 September only, both sites will be open seven days a week from 10am-5pm for May half-term and the summer holidays respectively, depending on government guidance.
For more information on opening hours, safety measures in place and what will be open on site please visit the Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands safety measures pages.
The museum’s comprehensive digital offer, which has so far delivered family-friendly online content such as Museum of Fundon and the Great Fire of London: Live Stream as well as online displays and collections such as The Clash: London Calling Smartify tour, Disease X, Votes for Women and Windrush Stories, will continue for those who are unable to attend.
Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, said: “After a year of restrictions and closures, it seems we as a society have never been more aware of just how necessary culture is and how much museums matter. It’s fundamental to our wellbeing and it’s part of who we are. Our teams have been busy behind the scenes readying our sites to safely welcome our visitors once again. From Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery at the Museum of London Docklands to Dub London: Bassline of a City at the Museum of London this will most certainly be the summer to visit us and we cannot wait to welcome everyone who does. It has been too long!”
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Notes for editors
For more press information please contact [email protected]
About the Museum of London
The Museum of London tells the ever-changing story of this great world city and its people, from 450,000 BC to the present day. Our galleries, exhibitions, displays and activities seek to inspire a passion for London and provide a sense of the vibrancy that makes the city such a unique place.
The Museum of London is on the move. We want to tell the extraordinary story of London and Londoners in a new museum in West Smithfield, which itself is a deeply fascinating and historic area. We want to engage Londoners with their city and its history and display many more objects from our rich collection. Further information about the move and plans so far: http://museum.london/ #NewMuseum
You can explore the Museum of London with collections online – home to 90,000 objects with more being added. www.museumoflondon.org.uk
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 people who lived and worked in London’s docks, its maritime and trading history, the city’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the changing landscape of the Docklands area.
You can explore the Museum of London Docklands with collections online – home to 90,000 objects with more added regularly.