The Museum of London was opened in 1976 and chronicles the history of the city from prehistoric times up until the First World War. It’s housed in an uninspiring-looking 70s, flat-roofed building that is overlooked by towering glass office buildings, but inside the Museum is open, with a lot of space and is easy to get around.

The layout of the museum leads you through the story they are telling, starting in the first gallery called London before London and taking you on through Roman, Dark Age, Medieval, Tudor, 18th Century, Victorian and a few other periods in London’s development.

The exhibits from various periods feature everything from clothes, weapons, coins, paintings, maps, full scale mock-ups of buildings, furniture and original items like the French made Unic taxi on the right which was used as a London taxi from 1908 to 1922.

At the time motor cabs were thought to be better because horse-drawn cabs were dumping 2000 tons of manure of the streets every day, little did they know. There are also constantly running film clips from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and some interesting photography from around the same period.

As well as their permanent exhibitions there are also special ones throughout the year, the latest being Belonging: Voices of London’s Refugees which started on 27 October and runs until 25 February 2007.

It uses interviews, photographs and possessions to tell refugees stories. One from Afghanistan says ‘I thought of London as an English city. I had imagined that it would be a city that a majority or ninety percent should be white people. But, when I started to explore the city, it appeared that you can find people from all around the world here. I was surprised. It’s a cosmopolitan city. Now, I think that fifty per cent of the population of London are foreigners.’ He’s probably right.

Location

The Museum of London is at the corner of Aldersgate Street and London Wall, the site of the defensive wall built by the Romans parts of which are in the grounds of the museum. It’s in the heart of the financial district close to the Barbican art centre.

Admission and hours

Admission is free and its open Mon to Sat: 10am-5.50pm, Sun: 12pm-5.50pm and closed closed 24-26 December and 1 January. It seems quite popular with school trips, there were a few groups in when I was there. The nearest tube stations are St Paul’s or Barbican.