Museum of London Docklands

Housed in a warehouse built 200 years ago to store sugar, coffee and rum, the museum tells the story of the Thames and its port and the people from all over the world who settled there. Thousands of objects and pictures – many rescued during the 1970s and 1980s when containerisation and competition forced London’s port to move downstream – trace the area’s history, from the arrival of the Romans to the rise of Canary Wharf. Historic photographs and printed material from the Port of London Authority Archive show the vast scale of the docks at the turn of the twentieth century and workshop reconstructions illustrate the many traditional port trades, now mostly lost. Metropolitan Fire Brigade footage and captured Nazi footage documents the impact of the Blitz on the area and oral testimonies explore the port’s role in secret wartime projects. The Mudlarks gallery for accompanied under-8s includes a water play area (aprons provided) and a soft play zone. The Museum of London Docklands will be closed between July 9 and September 16 2012.