Barbican or St Pauls

The Museum of London is open daily 10am to 5:50pm. Admission is FREE.

0870 444 3852

The Museum of London, with over a million objects, is the world’s largest city history museum. Like a time machine, it takes you on a journey from pre-historic times to the 21st century, replaying major events in the history of London.

The journey starts in 450,000BC in the London Before London exhibition, which explores the story of the Thames Valley and the people who lived there. London was nothing but heathland and marshes, the local population would fit on a double decker bus and the river Thames was central to everything. In the middle of the gallery, a spectacular ‘River Wall’ features over 300 objects dredged from its depths.

Next is the Roman Gallery, which contains hundreds of tools, pottery and glass dating from AD50 to AD410, when the Romans built their city of Londinium and constructed a road network connecting it with the rest of Britannia. Reconstructed rooms and models show how people lived, worked and were entertained.

The Medieval Gallery takes you through the next thousand years. Discover the Anglo-Saxon settlement, Viking raids, the Norman Conquest and the dramatic results of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. View the brooches, belts, horse harnesses and leather shoes – some with ridiculously pointed toes, which were high fashion in the 1380s. They make this one of the UK’s leading galleries for studying medieval costume and popular style.

A pair of Pre-Reformation Painted Screens

The Tudor exhibition shows London expanding beyond the bounds of the Roman city wall and, through the enterprise of trading companies, its transformation into a world-class city. Rich displays of artefacts and documents bring the key events of the period to life. These include the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the palace-building of Henry VIII, the Civil Wars, the execution of King Charles I and finally in the Great Fire Experience, you can hear the story of the disaster that befell London in September 1666.

Listen to our story of the History of London, from ancient beginnings to a modern prosperous city

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