Back in December of 2022 (which, believe it or not, is well over a year ago!) The Museum of London shut for good, after hosting a weekend-long closing party. The following month, the staff got hard to work at the monumental task of moving every single object from the original site to their new home. And today, the team achieved a milestone that brings them one step closer to The London Museum’s opening: they’ve packed up half of the museum’s London Wall galleries – they’re halfway there!
Now, this mightn’t seem like a huge landmark. After all, how often do you celebrate being halfway done with a task at work? But consider this: staff have to decant 10,000 objects. Along the way they must barcode, audit, digitise and pack up each object individually. That’s no easy task. And it’s expected to take them two years, all to pack up the museum’s existing displays!
Okay, but you still might be asking yourself – why is it taking them quite so long? Keep in mind that many of these pieces are historic and fragile. And that’s before we even get to the huge variety in types of objects.
Staff have to deal with everything, “from small, delicate archaeological glass to the large-scale objects like the 2012 Olympic Cauldron, Selfridges lift and Victorian Walk”. Not such an easy task after all, is it?
It’s actually rather a fascinating process. Put it this way: remember the last time you moved? Well imagine if your house was an entire museum, and every single item was a precious piece of history that had to be preserved!
Take a look behind the scenes here:
The New London Museum
The work to unpack the galleries is part of the museum’s journey to a bigger and better site in Smithfield, where big plans are in the works. The museum will open under a new name: ‘The London Museum’, with an increased capacity for visitors and space to display a far larger selection of its 7 million strong collection. The new museum will also operate extended opening hours, with late-night sessions for evening museum visits and early hours for those who are already up and raring to go.
Fret not, though, because much of the museum’s collection is available to explore online. Currently, 90,000 pieces from the collection can be viewed, with more being added all the time. Additionally, the sister site in Canary Wharf remains open while The London Museum relocates. This museum is also receiving a slightly altered identity in keeping with The London Museum’s new name. It will become known as the London Museum Docklands.
The London Museum is expected to open in Smithfield in 2026.
