The Museum of London Docklands (formerly known as Museum in Docklands), based in

West India Quay West India Quay is an area in the London Docklands, London, England. It is immediately to the north of the West India Docks and Canary Wharf. The warehouse at West India Quay was used to store imported goods from the West Indies, such as tea, sug ...

, explains the history of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, the growth of

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

and the docks historical link to the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

. The museum is part of the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

and is jointly funded by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

. The museum opened in 2003 in

grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

early-19th century

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

"low" sugar warehouses built in 1802 on the north side of

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Follow ...

, a short walk from

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...

Collections and exhibits

Much of the museum's collection is from the museum and archives of the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

, which became part of the port and river collections of the

in the 1970s. These were put into storage by the Museum of London in 1985. The museum includes videos presented by

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...

, and it houses a large collection of historical artifacts, models, and pictures in 12 galleries and a children's gallery (Mudlarks), arranged over two floors. Visitors are directed through the displays in chronological order. The periods covered range from the first port on the Thames in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times to the closure of the central London docks in the 1970s and subsequent transformation of the area with commercial and residential developments. The Museum of London Docklands has a lecture theatre and meeting rooms and hosts talks and events connected with the docks. Several workers who worked on the docks in the 1960s take part in these events, including one from the

Pentonville Five The Pentonville Five were five shop stewards who were imprisoned in July 1972 by the National Industrial Relations Court for refusing to obey a court order to stop picketing a container depot in East London. Their arrest and imprisonment led to the ...

. The reading room and

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

Study Centre house the archives. The museum acquired several historic vessels for preservation over its existence. Among these were the

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s ''

Knocker White ''Knocker White'' is a Dutch-built tugboat, currently preserved as a museum ship at Trinity Buoy Wharf. She was built in 1924 by T. van Duivendijk, Lekkerkerk, Netherlands for Harrisons Lighterage Company, under the name ''Cairnrock''. She was ...

'' and ''Varlet'', both acquired in 1986. By the 2010s the museum had decided to rationalise its collection of vessels, one was transferred to a local group, and another, the

Wey barge ''Perseverance IV'' is a preserved Wey barge, moored at Dapdune Wharf on the River Wey in Surrey, England. She was the final barge to leave that surviving main boatyard on the river. She did so in 1966 and is on the National Register of Hist ...

Perseverance IV ''Perseverance IV'' is a preserved Wey barge, moored at Dapdune Wharf on the River Wey in Surrey, England. She was the final barge to leave that surviving main boatyard on the river. She did so in 1966 and is on the National Register of Hist ...

'', to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The last two vessels, ''Knocker White'' and ''Varlet'', were transferred to

Trinity Buoy Wharf Trinity Buoy Wharf is the site of a lighthouse, by the confluence of the River Thames and Bow Creek on the Leamouth Peninsula, Poplar. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The lighthouse no longer functions, but is the home of v ...

in November 2016. In 2007, the museum celebrated the bicentenary of the

British abolition of slavery Slavery in Britain existed before the Roman occupation and until the 11th century, when the Norman conquest of England resulted in the gradual merger of the pre-conquest institution of slavery into serfdom, and all slaves were no longer recogn ...

by opening a £14 million

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

ed exhibition entitled ''London, Sugar, Slavery'' about the practice. In March 2016, the museum opened an exhibit relating to the building itself. The building was originally called No.1 Warehouse, and was built in 1802 during the expansion of

. In September, the museum displayed Dick Moore's

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

medal for bravery during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. In 2017, the museum opened an exhibit displaying archaeological findings discovered during

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

work. In 2020 it plans to put the

Havering hoard The Havering hoard is a hoard of 453 late Bronze-age (900 to 800 BCE) artefacts found at a site overlooking the River Thames in Rainham, London, in 2018. It is the largest bronze-age hoard to be found in London and the third-largest in the Unite ...

on display.

Gallery

File:West India Quay Andh.JPG,

with the museum in the background File:Museum in Docklands at night 2005-01-10.JPG, The Museum of London Docklands at night

Transport connections

References

External links

Official website of the Museum of London DocklandsOfficial website of the Museum of London
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Docklands

Museum of London Docklands The Museum of London Docklands (formerly known as Museum in Docklands), based in West India Quay, explains the history of the River Thames, the growth of Port of London and the docks historical link to the Atlantic slave trade. The museum is par ...

Museums in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Maritime museums in England Local museums in London Museum of London Group Port of London Transport museums in London Museums established in 2003

Commercial buildings in London Canary Wharf

Collections and exhibits

Gallery

Transport connections

See also

References

External links