Working History
This collection reflects the historic trade and industry of the city through tools and workshop treasures, from clocks to wheelwrights to ballet shoe-making
Blogs-And-Stories

British-Bangladeshis & the East End rag trade: A personal story
How Asma Begum’s parents travelled from Bangladesh in the 1960s to build a life in London’s East End

In search of East End food on Roman Road
Where pie and mash meets biryani and dal puri

How Moss Bros transformed with London’s fashion industry
Moss Bros is one of the longest-surviving Jewish-founded firms in London fashion

Why fashion manufacturing moved away from London
From the 1940s onwards, here’s why many London-based fashion makers struggled to retain their base in the capital

Bartering at Billingsgate Fish Market
Art for memories: Ahead of their move to Dagenham, the fishmongers of Billingsgate Market have many stories to tell

5 things about Smithfield Market you might not know
What connects London’s iconic Smithfield Market to the Sydney Opera House?

The queen’s chatelaine bag
Tracing the origins of three royal accessories with Medieval roots

What connects Elias Lindo & the Hanukkah lamp?
A 17th-century Jewish broker in London brings together objects from the collections of two museums in the most fascinating way

London is open and always has been
15 objects from our collections, each showing that London is, and has always been, open to the wider world


Untold stories: London docks' hidden multicultural past
Here’s how we’re missing a crucial piece of the life in London’s docklands

The 1889 London dockers’ & tailors’ strikes
When workers from two key local industries – tailoring and the docks – fought for better pay and working conditions


Food rationing & wartime trading at Sainsbury’s
From food rationing to setting up emergency shops, here’s how Sainsbury’s operated during First & Second World Wars

Women in Indian indentured labour
A third of indentured labourers were women. Here’s a peek into their story

From fish market to red carpet: London's changing docks
London’s Docklands have gone through huge change in the last 70 years

Hidden gems of London Docklands archives
From clandestine wine tastings to a female police force, what went on at London’s Docklands