Museum of London, London

The Museum of London is a museum along London Wall, the street in the City of London. As its name suggests, the museum documents and celebrates everything related London, from prehistoric times to present day. Its location overlooks remains of the city wall built by the Romans around their settlement of Londonium, which today is known variously as the City of London, the Square Mile and the Financial District.

The Museum of London opened its doors in 1976. Before that, there was already another museum called London Museum, which dates back to 1912. When the Museum of London was opened, part of the collection of the London Museum was added to it.

The Museum of London was designed so that visitors go through the museum on one route, starting from the prehistoric period and graduates to present times. They pass through galleries exhibiting artifacts, models, pictures and diagrams showing the various archaeological discoveries made, and how London developed its social and cultural life.

Tracery from Merton Priory, circa late 1300s, Museum of London
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tracery_from_Merton_Priory,_in_the_Museum_of_London.jpg
Author: Mike Peel


Visitors to the Museum of London can see fragments of the London Wall which is just outside the museum. The 1666 Great Fire of London is also covered, and an entire gallery is devoted to how London developed following the fire.

The Museum of London underwent a £20 million redevelopment between 2008 to 2010, the biggest since it opened, transforming and updating many of its existing galleries and adding another four new ones. Among the exhibits include a debtors prison cell and an Art Deco lift from Selfridges department store.

How to reach Museum of London

To reach the museum, take the Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line or Metropolitan Line to the Barbican Tube Station, or take the Central Line to the St Paul's Tube Station.

The Museum of London is located at London Wall. It is open daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is free. The museum is closed on 24 to 26 December yearly.

List of Museums in London