Museum of London Docklands

Housed in a 200-year-old former storage warehouse, the Museum of London Docklands tells the story of the Thames 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.

Booked for 40-minute slots at a fee of £3, the recently revamped Mudlarks Gallery for accompanied under-8s features an impressive themed soft play area.