Our history

Originally The Museum of London was created as an amalgamation of two other museums that came before it. The Guildhall Museum, founded in 1826 and The London Museum, established in 1912. Following the Second World War the museums amalgamated to form the Museum of London as you may know us.

1826

The Guildhall Museum opens in the City of London originally as part of the Guildhall Library and has a strong archaeology focus. Its first acquisition was a fragment of Roman mosaic from Tower Street in the City of London. It later moved to new premises in 1872.

1912

The original London Museum opens with a collection focused on modern objects, paintings, and costumes. Originally based at Kensington Palace near Hyde Park, and then later in 1814 relocates to Lancaster House in the West End.

  • A group of people, dressed in early 20th-century clothing, are viewing an exhibition in a gallery. A child stands in the foreground while adults examine sculptures and framed artworks behind a rope barrier.

    Inauguration of The London Museum.

  • Guildhall Museum with vaulted ceilings displays framed artworks on red panels. Visitors in 19th-century attire are viewing the pieces. The room has an ornate design with arches and large windows.

    An early exhibition at Guildhall Museum.

  • Black and white image of a cityscape featuring modernist buildings, with three tall tower blocks and the London Museum in the foreground.

    Aerial view of London Museum Spaces in 1976.

  • A black-and-white photo of a glass-walled museum exhibit. Visitors are seen inside viewing displays. Large text on the back wall reads "Museum of Minerals." Spaces in the museum are well lit.

    The foyer at London Museum Spaces in 1976.

  • A brick-walled underground structure with arched doorways and covered equipment. Construction materials and protective coverings are visible.

    London Museum at Smithfield, construction underway.

1940s

The museums close during the second world war. The London Museum reopens in 1951 in Kensington Palace. The Guildhall Museum reopens in 1955 in the Royal Exchange, a site of commerce in the City of London.

1965

The Museum of London Act amalgamates the collections. A new board of governors is appointed to represent the funding authorities – the government, the Corporation of London,and the Greater London Council.

1976

The new Museum of London at 150 London Wall, a stone's throw from the Barbican, is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in a new building is designed by architects Powell & Moya.

1986

A second Museum of London Act expands the museum’s functions and alters the funding framework, following the abolition of the Greater London Council.

“London is a roost for every bird”

Benjamin Franklin

1992

Mortimer Wheeler House, a former warehouse in Hackney, becomes the museum’s main store and subsequently its archaeological hub.

2003

The Museum of London Docklands opens in a Grade I listed warehouse at Canary Wharf, not far from the river Thames.

2022

The Museum of London at London Wall closed in December 2022 to prepare for the move to a new museum at West Smithfield, opening in 2026.

2024

We launched our new brand as London Museum and introduced our iconic London pigeon. Wondering why a pigeon? Read our story.

2026

Our new museum will open at Smithfield in 2026. Find out about what we are doing with these historic buildings in Farringdon to re-imagine what it means to be a museum in the 21st century. Tell me more about the Smithfield project.

Still curious?

Learn more about the museum’s history in The Treasury of London’s Past by Francis Sheppard, published by the Museum of London in 1991.

More about us