About
The Museum of London chronicles the fascinating story of the capital from prehistoric times to the present day, making it the world's largest urban history museum. Moving to its new home at Smithfield in central London, the museum will transform the historic market buildings into spectacular galleries telling London's extraordinary story.
Established in 1976 through the merger of the Guildhall Museum and the London Museum, the institution has become the definitive resource for understanding London's evolution from Roman settlement to global megacity. The museum's unique position as the custodian of London's archaeological archive gives it unparalleled insight into the city's development, with finds from major excavations continuously adding to the collection.
With over six million objects spanning 2,000 years, the museum holds internationally significant collections including Roman and medieval archaeology, Victorian decorative arts, suffragette memorabilia, and the iconic Lord Mayor's Coach. The galleries feature remarkable artifacts from Roman London (Londinium), medieval trade guilds, the Great Fire of 1666, Victorian industry, wartime London, and contemporary city life. Interactive displays, reconstructed period rooms, and immersive experiences bring London's diverse communities and defining moments vividly to life.
The museum's new Smithfield location will offer greatly expanded gallery space, improved accessibility, and enhanced facilities when it opens. Free admission to permanent galleries ensures this vital cultural resource remains accessible to all visitors seeking to understand the city's remarkable history and ongoing transformation.
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Annual Visitors (2019)
250,000
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
💡 Weekday mornings (10:00-12:00) typically offer the quietest experience
💡 Visitor Tips
- The museum is currently relocating to its new Smithfield home, scheduled to open by late 2026. Check the official website before visiting to confirm current opening status, temporary displays, or alternative viewing arrangements during the transition period.
- When the new museum opens, arrive early on weekdays (within 30 minutes of opening) for the quietest experience. The new larger galleries will accommodate more visitors but popular exhibits like the Lord Mayor's Coach will still attract crowds.
- Plan to spend at least 2-3 hours to explore the main galleries chronologically from prehistoric times to the present. The extensive collection spans 2,000 years, so prioritize periods or themes that most interest you if time is limited.
- Free guided tours and gallery talks will be offered at the new venue - check the daily schedule at the information desk on arrival. These provide excellent context and highlight objects you might otherwise miss in the extensive collection.
- The new Smithfield location will have significantly improved accessibility, café facilities, and gallery space compared to the former venue. Take advantage of seating areas throughout to rest between galleries - the new museum will be extensive.
- Photography is permitted for personal use (no flash) in most galleries. The Lord Mayor's Coach, Cheapside Hoard, and Victorian Walk are particularly photogenic. Some temporary exhibitions may restrict photography - check signage.
- The museum shop will offer excellent books on London history, replicas of collection objects, and unique gifts. The new venue will have expanded retail space with a wider range of London-themed merchandise and publications.
- The new Smithfield venue is excellently connected by public transport via Farringdon station (Elizabeth Line, Thameslink, Underground). Avoid driving as parking is limited and expensive in central London - public transport is far more convenient.
Highlights
The Lord Mayor's Coach
This magnificent gilded coach, built in 1757, is one of London's most iconic objects and still used annually for the Lord Mayor's Show. Weighing over three tonnes and decorated with elaborate painted panels depicting allegorical scenes, the coach represents the grandeur and civic pride of Georgian London.
The coach's ornate decoration includes paintings by Giovanni Battista Cipriani showing the Genius of the City of London, alongside intricate gilded carvings of sea creatures and cherubs.
Despite its age, this remarkable vehicle continues to carry the Lord Mayor through the City streets each November, making it both a museum treasure and a living tradition. The coach's survival and continued use offer a unique tangible link to centuries of London civic ceremony and pageantry.
Roman Wall Painting from Southwark
Discovered during excavations in Southwark in 2003, this vibrant 2nd-century AD wall painting is one of the finest examples of Roman interior decoration found in Britain. The fresco features rich reds, yellows, and greens in geometric patterns that would have adorned a wealthy Roman Londoner's home nearly 2,000 years ago.
The remarkable preservation of the pigments provides extraordinary insight into the sophistication and luxury of Roman domestic life in Londinium.
Chemical analysis has revealed the use of expensive imported pigments, suggesting the home's owner was a person of considerable wealth and status. This stunning fragment transforms our understanding of Roman London from a frontier outpost into a refined provincial city with connections across the empire.
Cheapside Hoard
Discovered by workmen in 1912, the Cheapside Hoard is the greatest treasure trove of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry ever found in Britain, containing nearly 500 pieces of exquisite Renaissance jewels, gemstones, and luxury goods. Dating from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the hoard includes Colombian emeralds, Indian diamonds, Byzantine cameos, and intricately crafted gold jewelry that showcase London's position as a global trading hub.
The collection was likely hidden by a jeweler during the Civil War period and never recovered.
Highlights include the magnificent 'Salamander Pendant' set with Colombian emeralds, elaborate hat badges, jeweled watches, and precious gem-encrusted pendants.
The hoard offers a dazzling window into luxury consumption and global trade networks in Shakespeare's London.
The Great Fire Experience
This immersive multimedia installation brings the catastrophic Great Fire of 1666 to vivid life through eyewitness accounts, period objects, and dramatic audiovisual elements. Visitors experience the terror and chaos as flames consumed medieval London over four days in September 1666, destroying 13,200 houses and 87 parish churches including Old St Paul's Cathedral.
The display features burned artifacts recovered from excavations, Samuel Pepys' firsthand diary accounts, and projections showing how the fire spread through the densely packed timber-built city.
Period fire-fighting equipment demonstrates the inadequate tools available to combat the blaze. The experience contextualizes the fire's devastating impact while explaining how it led to London's rebuilding with wider streets, brick construction, and improved fire regulations that transformed the capital.
Collections
The Museum of London cares for over six million objects documenting every period of the capital's history from 450,000 BC to the present day, making it the world's largest urban history collection. Archaeological material forms the core of the collection, with internationally important assemblages from Roman, Saxon, medieval, and post-medieval London excavations.
Significant strengths include Roman pottery and metalwork, medieval and Tudor domestic objects, 17th-century trade goods, Georgian and Victorian decorative arts, costume and textiles spanning five centuries, 20th-century social history, and contemporary collecting documenting modern London's diversity.
The museum also holds extensive photographic archives, oral histories, and documentary material.
Major named collections include the Cheapside Hoard of Renaissance jewelry, the Museum of London Archaeology archive, and nationally important holdings of suffragette material, wartime artifacts, and London trade guild regalia. The collection continues to grow through archaeological excavations, donations, and active contemporary collecting that documents London's ongoing evolution.
London Before London
This gallery takes visitors back to prehistoric times when the Thames valley was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, showcasing archaeological finds from 450,000 BC onwards. Displays feature flint tools, Bronze Age weapons, Iron Age Celtic artifacts, and evidence of early settlements along the Thames. Key objects include a Bronze Age timber causeway from Vauxhall and ritual deposits showing prehistoric Londoners' spiritual beliefs.
📍 Gallery 1
Roman London
Explore Londinium, the Roman city founded in AD 50 that became the provincial capital of Britannia. The gallery features spectacular mosaics, wall paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and everyday objects that reveal the sophistication of Roman urban life.
Highlights include the Spitalfields Roman lady's burial, military equipment, imported luxury goods, and evidence of London's multicultural population.
Interactive displays explain Roman technology, trade networks, and urban planning.
📍 Gallery 2
Medieval London
Discover London's transformation from Saxon trading town to medieval metropolis and major European city. The gallery displays pilgrim badges from shrines, Guild regalia, domestic pottery, clothing, weaponry, and architectural fragments from churches and palaces.
The Black Death, the Peasants' Revolt, and royal ceremonies feature prominently.
Finds from excavations of medieval London bridge and Baynard's Castle illuminate daily life, trade, and politics in the medieval capital.
📍 Gallery 3
War, Plague & Fire
This gallery chronicles London's traumatic 17th century through the Civil War, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666. Exhibits include Civil War armor and weapons, plague artifacts, burned objects from the Great Fire, and Christopher Wren's designs for rebuilding London. Contemporary accounts from diarists like Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn bring these catastrophic events to life, while archaeological evidence shows their physical impact on the city.
📍 Gallery 4
Expanding City 1660s-1850s
Trace London's growth from restored Stuart capital to the world's largest city and financial center during the Georgian and early Victorian periods. The gallery features the magnificent Cheapside Hoard, London-made luxury goods, scientific instruments, Vauxhall Gardens artifacts, and objects documenting slavery's abolition.
Period room settings show how different social classes lived, while displays on the Thames, coffeehouses, and the Georgian building boom explain the city's dramatic expansion.
📍 Gallery 5
Modern London
Experience London from the late Victorian era through the 20th century to the present day, including the Blitz, post-war immigration, Swinging Sixties, punk culture, and contemporary London's diversity. Highlights include suffragette material, wartime objects, 1960s fashion, Olympic memorabilia, and objects documenting London's multicultural communities.
The gallery addresses difficult topics including poverty, discrimination, and political protests alongside celebrations of London's cultural achievements and ongoing reinvention.
📍 Gallery 6
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.