Georgian (1714 – 1830)
Explore objects, stories and blogs connected to life in Georgian London, when Britain was ruled by kings George I, II, III and IV.
Blogs-And-Stories
Six things you didn’t know about executions in London
London’s courts condemned more people to die than the rest of England, and six facts you may not know
Jack Sheppard: An 18th-century working class hero
How one young criminal became a working class hero by escaping London prisons four times.
Can you identify 3 mystery archaeological objects?
You may think you know what it looks like, but its purpose might surprise you
Thomas Rowlandson’s satirical London drawings
Laughing at life in the 18th and 19th century
Executions and death-penalty reforms in Britain
How 18th-century British reformers questioned capital punishment and the fight continues today
David Garrick: A theatre sensation
This innovative 18th-century actor had an influence on all aspects of British theatre
What were London’s pleasure gardens?
For dancing, drinking, glamour and debauchery, there was nothing quite like the pleasure garden
A big night out at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
Discover the exciting new entertainment on offer to Londoners in the 1700s and 1800s
Pleasurable relief: Toilets in 18th-century London
Curator Danielle Thom reveals the dark underside of the Georgian and Victorian Pleasure Gardens
Pleasure gardens: London’s early restaurants?
London’s thriving restaurant scene has roots in these hedonistic spaces of music and entertainment
Joseph Grimaldi: King of the clowns
Grimaldi’s extraordinary physical comedy changed the pantomime forever – but it came at a price
From avoiding the gallows, to leading a mutiny
What happened to convicts who were transported to penal colonies instead of being executed?
Who was Admiral Nelson?
Nelson's naval victories gave him national hero status and a permanent place in Trafalgar Square
Pleasure gardens: London’s first music venues
Handel at Vauxhall? Mozart at Ranelagh? For 18th-century music fans, these were the places to be
Ignatius Sancho: Writer and early Black voter
After gaining his freedom, this 18th-century writer became one of the first Black voters in Britain
Masquerades in London’s pleasure gardens
Put on your finest costume and join revellers on London’s fashionable 18th-century dancefloors
Strange & delightful dolls in our collection
Featuring headless puppets, the ever-stylish Sindy and a 300-year-old doll with human hair
Olaudah Equiano: Writer & abolitionist
A freed enslaved man whose life story drove the abolition of the British trade in enslaved Africans