Port and river collection overview

The Port and River collection comes from three main sources.

• The Port of London Authority Museum, housed at Cutler Street warehouses in the City of London. This collection was acquired by the London Museum in 1972-3.
• Material collected by Museum Of London’s ‘Department of Working History’ during the 1970s and 1980s, the period which saw the closure  of  London’s historic docks and the disappearance of traditional working activities in Docklands.
• Material collected more recently by Museum Of London Docklands staff.

The material collected during the 1970s and 1980s concentrates on trades and working life. This was originally part of a London-wide collecting initiative and the non-port and river material now forms Museum Of London’s working history collection.

Museum Of London Docklands’ aim for future collecting is to enhance its holdings of material related to contemporary life and communities in Docklands.