Sailortown: 1840–1850

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian London in a recreation of a Wapping street.

  • A collection of family images depicting the free-to-visit permanent galleries of the London Museum Docklands, the paid for Mudlarks family gallery and the shop.

    The Animal Emporium would've housed exotic animals from all over the world, brought over by sailors.

  • A collection of images depicting visitors enjoying themselves in the free-to-visit permanent galleries of the London Museum Docklands as well as its outdoor areas, café and shop.

    Shops and pubs in sailortowns kept sailors busy and their pockets empty.

Wapping, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford and Greenwich. At some point, all these towns catered to ship’s crews, giving them the nickname ‘sailortowns’. This gallery is a recreation of Ratcliffe Highway – infamous for drinking, vice and crime.

Ship crews arrived in sailortowns and hung around for a few days or weeks, waiting for a ship home. They had often just been paid, so they were out to enjoy themselves. The towns were full of pubs, wild animal shops and pawnbrokers for sailors to spend their money in.

You can step into the Three Mariners, which was one of 36 pubs in the area at that time. This tiny, dark pub would've been packed. Drunken brawls were common, fuelled by huge amounts of beer and gin. Heavy furniture was even nailed down to stop it being thrown during fights.

Look out for some surprises as you walk along the cobbled streets.

Next gallery: First Port of Empire

Sailortown is open 10am – 5pm every day at London Museum Docklands.

Please note that we'll start closing up the galleries at around 4.40pm.

There's lots to see, so we recommend you spend at least 15 minutes in the Sailortown gallery.

It's the fifth gallery on our recommended route and you'll find it on the Second Floor.

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