The Museum of London is less touristy and lies in the oldest part of the city.
Exhibits showcase the history of London from prehistoric times to the present.
Miniature dioramas depict the development of the dock areas by the Thames around 100 AD.
The museum places strong emphasis on archeological discoveries, such as these excavated Roman mosaic floors, pottery and other artifacts.
There are many examples of living quarters of the period to browse and explore.
The Museum abuts the remainders of the old Roman walls built around 200 AD.
If your tired of the crowds at the more touristed London attractions, The Museum Of London offers refuge and a fascinating day’s browse.
Cheers to you from old London where you can always find something new ~
Always fun to look at things from the past.
About as close as we can come to time travel. Love it!
Yes and I am a huge fan of miniatures and dioramas so I was quite happy with my day at the museum!
The museum in DC that is the most popular (and crowded) with children is the Museum of Natural History…with the dinosaurs. The opposite of miniatures, in a very big way.
I remember the Smithsonsian from when I was around 6. Loved all the dinos….
Roman artifacts were found off the Bowery in lower Manhattan, NY. The archaeology world was excited until someone proved that the Roman artifacts were from England. The English ships loaded their holds with ballast to keep their boats steady as they crossed the Atlantic. The ballast came from wherever they could dig it. Among the ballast were rocks, bricks, and (of course) a few Roman artifacts. Once reaching NY City they would dump their ballast in order to take on heavy cargo.
I heard of this a long time ago, but never in such detail. Fascinating isn’t it?
I wish I’d gone there when I was in London! I love dioramas, miniatures, and ruins. I did get to see a part of Hadrian’s Wall while in Europe. š
I am with you and love dioramas, miniatures and ruins. All three in one place? I am a happy tourist!
Yes! š
We were in London in March but didn’t visit here. Too bad. Maybe next time.
Just wanted to thank you again for your Amazon and GR review of my book. Very nice of you to do that!
Well, your book was well written and an engrossing read so I was happy to do so~
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. š
Hi Carrie.
Howdy, Frank!
I couldn’t resist. š
š
What a treat to see such beautiful photos of London today juxtapositioned with yesterday ! And how beautiful the jugs and bowls and artifacts are.. I’d be happy to have and to use them !!!!
The ancient Romans certainly did value beauty in their everyday lives!
Oh man this is so coolant what a wonderful bit of history. I think I would enjoy this much more than the tourist trap museums. Great shots.
Have been to London a far amount, been never been here before. Loved it and it is true, in London there is always something new! As for the typo, I think coolant is an excellent new adjective~
sorry typos-my keyboard can not spell or punctuate today
Never met a typo I didn’t love and this when is very coolant! This is new cool lingo for me~
I have nominated you for the Dragon Loyalty Award. If interested click on this link for the rules. https://tessacandoit.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/dragons-loyalty-award-for-bloggers/
Awwww, you are so thoughtful and so very appreciated. Thank you for you kindness and be well Tessa! <3
You are welcome!
Londinium!
Laughing……perfect! Sister city to Herculinium.
Wow, the water reflections created for those dioramas are so convincing! I keep scrolling up to look at that again and am wondering how the creator accomplished this! Love the lush, green grounds that The Museum of London is located at as well. ~Lynn
Yes, and finding bits of the wall intact was wonderful too. This part of the old city was heavily bombed during ww2~
Thanks for the ‘heads up, Cindy. Might just follow up soon š
If you do, I hope you post on it. There was so much more I obviously couldn’t cover…
I always like to see the miniature cities that represent the old time etc. They are fun to look at small details. Good suggestion for the place to go in London.
Yes, miniatures fascinate me too. It is like looking at our own lives in miniature scale. Like looking down on towns from an airplane~
Of all the things I saw in London, the Roman ruins may have been the best. Close, anyway. It happened that London was my first experience of real history, and it was just breathtaking to realize that our two-centuries-plus as a country would make so many people around the world laugh. When I got to Germany, I stayed in a town that was celebrating its founding — in 1100 and something. It’s just amazing. The miniatures are so much fun, too. I loved making dioramas in school.
Yes, although life in the Americas is clearly ancient, we have petryglyphs and fossils to look at, okay and some truly ancient living trees, not intact portions of whole cities, aqueducts, roads, walls, and staying in old buildings built in the 1200’s and such is a real thrill for me too. Glad to have encountered a fellow enthusiast.
I haven’t been to London, but hey – gotta love a quiet piece of hectic away from the hectic life of today.
Yes, life today is too hectic, unless you live at The Holler and find mooing cows hectic! š š
What a find! I didn’t know about that when I was in London, but it surely makes a lot of sense to get away from the madd(en)ing crowd and see something as unusual and interesting as that Good on yer!
Well thank you Cynthia. I learned about this is the most sophisticated and intelliegent one can learn anything whilst traveling. I asked a cab driver. š
A great tip for travel to London.
Thanks to my cabbie…… š
Those are marvelous reconstructions of London across time, thank you Cindy āŗ
I was pretty fascinated by the whole walk through the history of London concept~
Those dioramas are cool! And if they want to redo my living room to look like the fourth photo, I’m fine with that. š
Yeah, me too! I’d even settle for faux ancient Roman tiles! š
Fascinating post Cindy, thank you!
Thank you more for appreciating it!
Thank you more for appreciating it my friend~
Nice post Cindy š
MIl grazi!
Had I known you were up up the Smoke I could have popped over to see you. I like the Museum of London
I do too. I found it to be so creative and immersive, not just pottery shards and such but whole reconstructed home sites, and diorama towns, etc. Loved it!
We’re good at that over here. But my best experience? China. Banpo neolithic village. Remains of the first house identified with internal walls. First house ever with the Chinese upturned eaves. There was a burial urn, in the place where it was left, with a child’s skeleton in it. Date? About 400 BC.
Still wish we could have met.
Would have loved to have met up. We will be there again though and I will let you know. We want to go out on the Orkneys. I have seen the photos of China’s neolithic cities and would love to actually see them, also want to see Petra, but waiting for things to quiet down a bit first.
Ein wunderbarer Einblick in diese Zeit, danke Cindy…
Ich liebe die Geschichte des alten Europa. Wir haben keine ahnliche Geschichte in Amerika. Ich freue mich, Sie meine Freundin genossen~
Ah, you are in or have been in London. Another refuge is The Wetlands Centre in Barnes near where I grew up. Plenty of hides too to hide away from rain.
I was here in May and I am very sorry I missed this! You know how much I love wetland birds! Next time this will be first on the list. Thanks for cluing me in~
I’ll try and do a post but it was a rainy day when we went but saw a godwit and lots of herons! Better in the winter for more migratory birds though but still a beautiful spot by the river, near Hammersmith Bridge.
I would love to see the post!!
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This looks fascinating. Thanks for sharing, Cindy
Thank you for your thoughtful, kindness Judith. Much appreciated!
The shot with the juxtaposition of the old and new is striking.
Thank you for noticing that!!!! š
A great post Cindy. Those ancient tiles are extraordinary! š A friend in London keeps asking me to visit. She has a flat in Carcassonne which I look after while she is in London. However, this may just entice… š
Go! You will love it. so much to see and do, and it is such a vibrant multi-cultural city, a crossroads really. I love the energy.
I shall put it on the list. The list for if I ever decide to go outside my beloved France! š
I’m kinda skeptical about that!! š š
Alas, it is where I belong and that means everything! š š x
I always recommend people going to London visit it, its wonderful! Also a similar one in Barcelona – The Museu d’HistĆ²ria de la Ciutat (Museum of the history of the city) is fabulous too.
Ha! We will be back in Barcelona in May and now I have something new and interesting to visit, thanks entirely to you! Thank you~
It’s interesting to see something from so long ago. No such luck here in the States.
We have petroglyphs, old Anatazi ruins, and living trees that are thousands of years old, but we do not have Roman, Punic, Greek, and all the other ancient ruins that Europe has, which is one of the many reasons visiting Europe is so fascinating.
Such detail. These certainly put my 7th grade diorama to shame. What history those bits of brick have seen. If only they could talk.
And this is just what I think about when I stay in an old charming Inn that was built in say, the 1300’s! If only the walls could talk!
When I built my house I was in to watching shows about renovating old homes. They always wanted to know: what was the original wall color etc. So I took photos as I built my house before during and after and plan to leave the photos and blueprints with the house. I hope that doesn’t take the wonder out of it a hundred years from now.
Wow, amazing. And the fact that any of that wall still remains after all this time is mind boggling! Thanks for sharing! š
Particularly considering this old part of the city was bombed so heavily in WWII!
Exactly! š
That’s nicely done. Makes me feel quite nostalgic. š
Cracking up……your just a tad older then Graham, than I imagined you to be! š
You’ll have to speak up. š
…thank you for highlighting this fascinating place for us
Thank you more for appreciating it & cheers to you~
Beautiful details through your lens, Cindy! What an amazing miniature collection that preserves and tells history. Thank you for the wonderful tour. š
The dioramas were extensive and fascinating. I marveled at the the stories told by the reconstructions, and the amount of time and skill put into creating them!
Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos from this excellent museum!
Thank you much more for such kind appreciation!
Looks great and new to me! Always love these museums that bring the past to life in such tangible ways.
Yes, pottery shard in a glass case don’t do it forr met. Reconstructed ancient cities do! <3
This post brought back memories, Cindy. When I was a little kid my mother took me to Madurodam in the Netherlands, a miniature city that we could walk through – the buildings about knee high. I never forgot the utter fascination. Your photos of the Museum of London miniatures sparked that childlike excitement. Looks like a place I’d enjoy š
I have heard of the Madurodam and would so love to got visit. I have seen photos. I too am in love with all things miniature, wheter it be railroads, towns, houses, anything. They stimulate so many regions of the brain simultaneously and provide so much more comprehensible data then a flat photo or a textual explanation, but then I am a visual learner. Much visit someday soon! Thank you for reminding me~
Enjoy seeing the miniature cities – can’t imagine how much patience it took to create them.
I know, but it would be fun patience!
Magnificent post dear Cindy!Gorgeous photos,incredible sharpness!Thanks for stirring up sweet memories š Happy Sunday <3 xxx
Happy Sunday my friend and so pleased it brought up good memories for you! <3
Best way to tour anywhere is always seeing the less visited places. Like the bits of the old Roman wall.
Yes we followed it around and got lots of pics and discoverd all sorts of surprises, graves and gardens and, tower parts, fascinating!
So hard to realize such ancient ruins still exist! In the U.S., we often don’t value old things, seeming to prefer tearing them down and building anew. Not that “new” is suspect, just that sometimes, old holds educational promise. Love those mosaic floors!
Yes, ancient artifacts provide this sense of continuity of human kind over the ages which is comforting and fascinating at the same time~
I really enjoyed the Museum of London exhibits you shared, Cindy. I feel these authentic representations of the past are intriguing and fascinating. I love the details in each setting and period. You caught each so well. This reminds me of historic dollhouses, which include claw footed ceramic bath tubs and Victorian furniture. This may seem silly but miniature railroad enthusiasts make gorgeous dioramas and the examples of the museum also reminded me of those. š
I love the world of miniatures and historic dollhouses are fascinating. If you ever go to Victoria BC, visit the exhibit in The Empress Hotel, and Queen Victoria’s Dollhouse in Winsdor. They are simply amazing! Cheers to you Robin~
You got me with this one. For the amount of time I’ve spent in and around London, I missed this and shame on me. Unfortunately, for all the time I’ve spent in London, Tom has never been. He always finds all the museums. We have an ambitious trip planned out and we so hope it’s not just a fantasy. We wish to return to Germany, Belgium, London and then include Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For now, going out to dinner and perhaps theater would be a real treat as long as we could do it together.
Your trip and dinner/theatre both sound wonderful. I do hope you do both and soon. Hugs to you Sheri and very best to Tom~ <3
Cindy – We do a lot of praying and asking God’s will to be done. It’s been a long time since we’ve had more than a doctor’s appointment for an outing and those really don’t count. If we could get Tom over the constant terrible pain and able to walk again not to mention the ability to breath without the nebulizer, that in itself would be cause for celebration.
Fantastic! Thanks for the tip! We were recently at the National Museum in Copenhagen and had the same experience – very interesting museum, not too many people!
That is a fabulous museum, and yes, no museum in much fun with crowds. We were once in the Ufuzzi in mid-winter by ourselves. Heaven~
Amazing history!
It is. The oldest wooden structure is somewhere in the UK if I remember correctly~
Many thnaks for sharing, Cindy. Lovely!
Melinda
So pleased you enjoyed and have a great week!
How wonderful it would be to have such ancient walls in your backyard. I liked those pictures best of all!
Yes, I would love to have Roman or Punic or Greek walls at The Holler! š
I’d love to see this museum. I never thought of London existing that far back!
It is old, old, old. Think of Stonehenge.
I love miniatures and history. What a beautiful blend of the two. Aren’t those Roman walls something. Great shot showing the shiny glass towers behind the ancient walls. Oh how I want to go traveling . Great fun, Cindy.
I loved the juxtaposition of the very sleek and modern with the absolute opposite, although I do agree with Prince Charles when he argues the old has more character than the new.
It sure does. Wonderful character, rich in texture and the history itself lends an air to it as well. I must get back to London one day.
As an Australian any thing older than two hundred years is mind-blowing. But I have seen the London museum and it would have been fascinating to me anyhow. I thank you for the photos.
Thank you more for the appreciation and we are the same in the US, ancient walls and towns are novel and remarkable to us as well!
I love London, haven’t been there in over 10 years, but remember it so vividly. Great city for vacation and sightseeing. Great pictures Cindy
It is a wonderful city with endless amounts of interesting things to do and see.
Great Blog! So nice to be able to “travel” with you! Light and Love, Shona
I love having you along! <3
Wow, I live in the UK and have never been to that museum. It’s just a question of persuading me to deal with British Rail and all of its idiosyncrasies. If only I could teleport direct to the museum from the south coast.
That museum demonstrates a remarkable level of sophistication and building skills all that time back in history. Thanks for the tour, Cindy. You make an excellent museum guide š
I like the teleporting idea! I would like to be a ‘Night at the Museum’ only! I like the idea of everything coming to life and mucking around with no stiff staff present.
That sounds just like a potential episode for Doctor Who! Yes, the staff in museums can be very stiff and unsmiling. In fact, they can look quite disapproving at times.
The stiffest museum staffers I have even seen were in Russia. They went after my husband, which gave me the perfect opportunity to take some surreptitious photos of The Amber Room. Laughing……
PS- I will never ride a British train again without thinking of “The Girl on the Train!” Maybe if you peeked in gardens and windows like she did, it would distract you!
Oh I do. Cindy. It’s the getting on a train in the first place that’s the problem. Too many cancellations or trains running late, thus too much time sitting on station platforms with lots of people in bad moods. Then there’s the thing of actually getting a seat once you’re on the train. The last one I travelled on only had four carriages and we were jammed in like sardines, standing up, shoulder to shoulder, with a load of language students shouting their heads off. I pretended not to care and read a book to distract me from claustrophobia and feeling faint, while seething inside because there was a teenager sitting on a seat right next to me, not offering to give it up to me, let alone the real olds. …There, now I’ve had my rant. I envy that girl on the train who got to look at the view. That being said, so far, my journeys to the Isle of Wight to see my daughter and grandchildren have been fairly pain-free. There’s even a quaint old-fashioned train (retired from London) that runs from the station where the ferry docks. It’s really great fun this train, as it has long seats lengthways down the train and you sit facing each other. People are very friendly on the island and have decent good manners i.e. such as giving up seats to the elderly!
I missed the Isle of Wight twice. The third time will be the charm, I hope. There is probably nothing worse than a massively crowded train, tube or subway. Crowded airplanes are no fun either. Transport is always the most consistently awful part of travel so you have my sincerest sympathies. Now having said this, I must say Swiss trains through The Alps were a lovely way to sightsee. No crowds either…..Enjoy your holiday!
Es un museo muy interesante. Me gustan las huellas que dejaron los romanos y siempre se aprende del pasado. š
Los Romanos construyeron cosas por todas partes no? Bueno, excepto por supuesto para las Americas , Africa, Australia y la Antartida. Bueno, ellos no construyen cosas en todas partes, solo en Europa! Pero no es menos impresionante! š š
SĆ, el Imperio Romano fue en Europa, pero la influencia de su cultura ha llegado a los otros continentes. Me gustan los museos etnolĆ³gicos porque nos enseƱan muchas cosas. š
That is so cool! What a fun post. Thanks Cindy. Hugs!
Hugs back to you and glad you enjoyed!
Fascinating. I went into an original building in Shrewsbury, and I was shocked at how tiny and dark it was. The ceilings were very low. Even on a sunny day, the kitchen was pitch black.
Yes they were short back then! We’d be giants if we teleported back in time…..which I know you will probably do so I am just warning you. Please do report back and let me know how the food is.
I’d probably catch small pox or the plague. Or dysentary or typhoid. My immunities would be all out of whack.
What a history..amazing!
It is remarkable isn’t it!
Absolutely… š
The history looks yummy, & the pics are awesome!
I don’t know if the food actually was yummy back then though, see above comment to Brenda….This is what happens to me when I diet! š š
Thanks for the tip, Cindy. I had never heard of The Museum of London until now. It does look like a refreshing break from the usual tourist spots. Wonderful photographs!
Thanks Elisa, I hope you go and tell me what you think!
History is fascinating and this museum looks as though it has presented it in a very interesting way. Thanks for the tour Cindy
Thanks for coming along Pauline!
Looks like an interesting place to visit. History learned through traveling is so much more interesting since you are at the place where it happened.
Yes, good point, because all your senses are involved.
Gosh – your trip to the UK was much more interesting than mine. Next time I go to London this museum will be first on the list. Wonderful blog.
I do think you will enjoy it immensely and the walk around the old Roman wall was super interesting as well, as it meandered through the financial district, weaving in an out of all this very modern architecture.
One more wee look at your marvellous post and a big thank you for liking my older Winter post š xxx
Cheers to you Doda and the pleasure was all mine! <3
Very awesome photos! Definitely on my “to do list!”
Oh good, and please let me know what you think~
If I ever go I will!
Cindy, the remnants of the old Roman wall are intriguing.
Blessings ~ Wendy
Yes, most intriguing, there were grave stones here and there, herb gardens in the turrets, and glass skyscrapers abutting parts of it. Surreal~
Fascinating! š
Very pleased you enjoyed!
Exciting historical pictures, Cindy that trigger one’s imagination and make one wonder how life was lived back then, “upstairs and downstairs”. Thanks for sharing! š
It is fascinating to see it reconstructed isn’t it! Glad you enjoyed Meggie & cheers to you~
Are you in London now or was that just your closing comment? Have you seen the movie sequels The Hobbit? There is a little town in the movie, which looks just like these replica maquette you have here. Thank you for taking us to the museum. š
Hi Fae, we were in London in May, and yes loved The Hobbit and I bet they modeled the town after the dioramas. Good thinking as usual and thanks for going with me to the museum!
I am so glad you shared this. I love this type of history and am going to add this to our list when we visit Europe!
Wonderful! Please let me know about your experience. There was so much more in exhibit here and it was all fun & creative~
Looks awesome!
What a dreamy place. Must have been fun to research and make all those dioramas – better than viewing a time line and images. Cool find! (And of course the wall!)
Yes, visuals are super important to me too. Love everything miniaturized so you can can see the whole sweep of things. The wall really was interesting, meandering through the financial district, next to skyscrapers and cottage gardens!
Hi Cuz….., thanks for the tour of “old” London town. Seems, even then, that it was quite the place. I been blue & I been down, just not in old London town. Vacation was the cause….., 10 days in the hospital, severe pancreatitis ended up in the ER in NJ, followed by another ER trip when arriving home….not me, me darlin’ wife this time. She had gall bladder surgery, followed by an obstructed bowel due to meds from the surgery. Poor girl is finally starting to revive from all that. Did I ever tell you just how much I really dislike hospitals??? š Are you home now, or out and about again? š
HooOOOOooowwwwWWWWLLLLLsssss! Haven’t been there yet…about time I did by the looks of it! I have a week’s annual leave coming up on the 14th so I will add it to my list of things to do in London š The list is getting longer all the time!! š
Museums are very interesting places and you captured some great pictures, I especially like the outside shot of the crumbling wall.
Very nicely photographed and it includes everything
echt super schƶn, liebe Cindy, schƶnes Wochenende wĆ¼nsche ich
Vielen dank mein Freund und Froliche Wochenende! <3
danke gleichfalls
We visited the museum more than a decade ago. I think it was relatively new.
Oscar
Yes built in the late 60’s/ early 70’s if memory serves, part of the Barbicon redevelopment restoring areas heavily damaged by bombing during the war.
This is awesome ~ the idea of living back a few hundred years has long excited me. The experiences in old Europe and experiencing the tough life, but also I imagine a very fulfilling life is something I’d love to do – and this is what makes museums (and books) such a treasure. I have just started reading a book about the American west 200 years ago to transport be back to those days…but it is life on a port city in Europe that piques my interest. Cheers ~
Non-fiction books about the American west are one of my favorite genres. I suck ’em up like candy. What book are you reading pray tell? I like histories of the Native Americans, Pioneers, explorers, homesteaders etc. There is a remarkable series of books consisting of narrative diaries of early pioneer women heading west and writing of their experiences. It is in the women’s own words and it is an amazing time travel experience to read it, since you enjoy this as I do. You may want to check it out when you finish your book. Here is a post I did about the first book in the series:
http://cindyknoke.com/2012/10/08/covered-wagon-women-diaries-and-letters-from-the-western-trails-1840-1849-by-kenneth-l-holmes/
Thank you Cindy ~ I love this review of yours, and the excerpt you have on this post is just the reason, these people really lived. I am now reading Dee Brown’s American West.
All of your photos are absolutely stunning!
You are very kind and most appreciated! Thank you~
We used to live in the Barbican, just round the corner from the Museum. About a week ago, I was going through very old photos and found one of my grandparents all dressed up as guests at George V Coronation. There is a note on the photo written by my father to say that the dress my grandmother is wearing is at the London Museum! I don’t know if it is on display, though. I will have to go and see.
Oh you do have to go! They have this fascinating exhibit about London from it’s inception to modern days. It focuses on fashion, social trends, tastes etc. If your grandmother’s dress is in the exhibit, it would be quite thrilling for you! Please let me know what you find!
I was at the museum of London a few weeks ago! These are amazing pics!
How serendiptous! It is pretty amazing isn’t it? One could do a lot of posts on the different exhibits.
Absolutely! I have to keep going back because there’s so much to see. Hope you enjoyed your trip.
Reblogged this on Voices and Visions.
You are the essence of thoughtfulness my friend~ <3
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More from Early London
So kind and so appreciated!
Cool! Thanks. We lived in London for 18 months (in the 70s) and never saw this.
It is all due to the wisdom of a London cabbie!
Cindy: I hope you know, Ging & I live vicariously through you and your artsy adventurous life!!! lol What great pics!! Sharing these now. š xoxoxo
Well, good because I live vicariously through you two, so it is only fair!
I can’t believe I’ve never been here, this is the type of museum my family love, I must look it up. Have you been to the Royal Geographical Society in London, great photo displays and a nice quiet cafe.
No I haven’t, but it sounds fascinating. This is one of the great things about London, there is always something new to see! I will need to visit when we are next there~
Love this Cindy– I’m a huge fan of dioramas– and historical museums. Fun post!
So glad because I am too!
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You are very kind & most appreciated!
I love your photos ,Cindy. š
I love you Ranu!
Very near where I work – I’ve walked by those Roman walls and the little garden in your last photo many times. Nice to know you were there too and enjoyed it!
That is so cool! It is indeed a very small world!
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I am so sorry I missed this!
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/58/88/48/588848f1ea4a36161a9492646b9223ac.jpg
I am really enjoying your beautiful photo’s! Thank you for sharing them!
Thank you more for appreciating them!