Museum Listings

Explore Southwark's unique collections and many and varied attractions. Discover the gruesome goings on in the London Dungeon and investigate England’s maritime heritage.

Museums1

FASHION AND TEXTILE MUSEUM 83 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3XF Tel: 020 7403 0222
SE1 London Bridge, Tower Hill London Bridge 17 21 35 40 42 43 47 48 78 133 141 149 188 343 381 521 705 RV1
Founded by fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, the Fashion and Textile Museum opened in 2003, and is the UK's first museum dedicated to contemporary fashion and textiles. It aims to showcase the changes in all areas of fashion and textile design, with three major exhibitions a year, plus education projects such as a graduate study programme, and community workshops. The permanent collection includes works by Biba, Ossie Clark, Bill Gibb, Jean Muir, Christian Dior and Bellville Sassoon, along with 3,000 original garments donated by FTM founder, Zandra Rhodes.
www.ftmlondon.org

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM Lambeth Road SE1 Tel: 020 7416 5000
Elephant & Castle Elephant & Castle 3 12 45 63 68 159 168 171 172 176 188
The Imperial War Museum examines the role of Britain and the Commonwealth in conflicts since 1914. Experience the smells, sights and sounds of a first world war trench, or life in one of London’s air-raid shelters. New additions to the galleries include The Secret War about espionage and undercover operations and the Holocaust Exhibition, an award winning permanent exhibition, located on two floors of the museum. It is based on testimonies of survivors who tell their stories chronologically. It is a very intense experience and it is advisable not to take children. The displays of work by war artists is part of the largest collection of 20th century British art outside the Tate Modern.
www.iwm.org.uk

WINSTON CHURCHILL’S BRITAIN AT WAR MUSEUM 64-66 Tooley Street SE1 Tel: 020 7403 3171
London Bridge London Bridge 21 35 40 47 P3 P11
Amazing special effects including sound and smells recreate the atmosphere of wartime Britain and the Blitz. Share the excitement and anxiety of the evacuees as they wait to be transported to their new homes. Keep up to date with the wartime news in the underground cinema, experience an air raid shelter and try on a gas mask as part of an exciting and educational experience.
For more information visit the website:
www.britainatwar.co.uk

CUMING MUSEUM 155-157 Walworth Road SE17 Tel: 020 75252163
Elephant & Castle Elephant & Castle 12 35 40 45 68 68A 171 176 P3
The Cuming Museum houses one of London’s finest local collections. It includes objects illustrating Southwark’s history from the Romans to the present day, as well as others from around the world. The collections were founded in 1782 when Richard Cuming was given some fossils and an old coin for his fifth birthday. It started him, and eventually his son, on a lifetime of collecting, which has been described as ‘the British Museum in miniature’.
www.southwark.gov.uk/DiscoverSouthwark/Museums/TheCumingMuseum/

BRAMAH TEA AND COFFEE MUSEUM 40 Southwark Street SE1 Tel: 020 7403 5650
Nearest Tube: London Bridge, Southwark
Bermondsey, Tower Hill London Bridge 47 188 P11
Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum stands in an area that was once at the heart of London’s tea trade. The museum brings to life the story of the world’s most famous drinks, and you can try them out in the café!
www.bramahmuseum.co.uk

DESIGN MUSEUM 28 Shad Thames, Butler’s Wharf SE1 Tel: 020 7403 6933
London Bridge, Bermondsey, Tower Hill London Bridge 47 188 P11
The Design Museum is dedicated to contemporary design. Set in a beautifully converted 1930s warehouse, the permanent collection is devoted to design for mass production. The review collection holds state of the art innovations from around the world. There are a series of temporary exhibitions featuring design and designers.
www.designmuseum.org

THE CLINK MUSEUM 1 Clink Street, SE1 Tel: 020 7378 1558
London Bridge London Bridge
Built by the Bishops of Winchester to keep control of medieval Bankside, the Clink prison was destroyed in 1780. The exhibition occupies the site and tells its story.
www.clink.co.uk

OLD OPERATING THEATRE MUSEUM AND HERB GARRET 9a St Thomas Street SE1 Tel: 020 7955 4791
London Bridge London Bridge 21 35 40 47 P3
This museum has many exhibits illustrating the history of medicine at St Thomas’ and Guy’s hospitals, two of London’s pioneering hospitals. Housed in the church tower that was part of St Thomas’ Hospital, the Operating Theatre used to perform surgery without anaesthetic! The Herb Garret in the roof of the building was used to store and mix herbs for medicines.
There is a website at www.thegarret.org.uk

NATURE PARK AND PUMPHOUSE MUSEUM SE16 Tel: 020 7231 2976
Rotherhithe, Bermondsey 47 188 225 P11
The Pumphouse Museum collection reflects the work of the dockyards and wharfs. The wharfs and associated industries were an important part of Rotherhithe’s economy. The grain trade was prominent in the wharf near Church Stairs along with mills and biscuit makers. The wharfs near the Museum were used by the timber trade. The Pumphouse was used to regulate the water in Lavender Pond, keeping the timber damp to prevent cracking.

VINOPOLIS 1 Bank End, London
London Bridge London Bridge 17, 21, 22a, 35, 45, 47, 48, 63, 133.
All the pleasures of wine under one roof. Vinopolis, City of Wine, is for anyone and everyone who enjoys wine. The attractions include an interactive tour, restaurant, wine bar, art gallery, wine store, wine club and courses. Entrance ticket includes five free tastings from over 200 selected wines and access to the Hess collection, the contemporary art collection of one of the world’s great wine producers. Call Ticketmaster hotline for information: 0870 444 4777 or book online.
www.vinopolis.co.uk

Museums2

TOWER BRIDGE EXHIBITION Tower Bridge SE1, Telephone: 020 7403 3761
London Bridge, Tower Hill, Bermondsey London Bridge 1 42 47 78 188 199 P11
The Tower Bridge Exhibition introduces you to the colourful history and construction of one of London’s most famous landmarks. The stone clad towers and high level Walkways offer panoramic views across the London sky line, with sights of some of the Capital's finest architecture. Discover how and why the bridge was built through videos and interactive displays, then visit the Victorian Engine Rooms to see the original engines that used to power the Bridge.
www.towerbridge.org.uk

THE LONDON DUNGEON 28-24 Tooley Street SE1 020 7403 7221
London Bridge London Bridge 21 35 40 47 P3 P11
The London Dungeon is a museum with a difference! Dedicated to showing the more gruesome side of European history, its exhibits illustrate the grisly punishments handed down by tyrannical kings and queens. Execution and torture are frighteningly brought to life through special effects, multi-media displays and actors. This museum is not for the squeamish!
www.thedungeons.com

HMS BELFAST Morgans Lane off Tooley Street SE1 020 7940 6300
London Bridge London Bridge 21 35 40 47 P3 P11
HMS Belfast is the last remaining big gun cruiser and has been preserved as a floating museum. The ship gives a fascinating glimpse of life at sea and in the British Navy in the mid 20th century. Launched in 1938, HMS Belfast went almost straight into action in the Second World War, and later saw service in the Korean War. She was retired from the Navy in 1965.
www.iwm.org.uk

GOLDEN HINDE St Mary Overie Dock Cathedral Street SE1 020 7403 0123
London Bridge London Bridge 21 35 40 47 P3 P11
The Golden Hinde is a full size reconstruction of Sir Francis Drake’s famous ship. It is a unique opportunity to look at life on board a 16th century ship, which was once home to 60 people! It was in The Golden Hinde that Drake circumnavigated the globe and claimed California for Queen Elizabeth I. He returned to London 3 years after setting out from Plymouth and was knighted aboard the ship.
www.goldenhinde.co.uk

LONDON FIRE BRIGADE MUSEUM 94a Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 0EG 020 7587 2894
Borough or Southwark
By appointment only. Weekdays 10.30am to 12.30pm, 2.00pm to 5.30pm.
Old fire-fighting appliances and the history of fire-fighting from 1666 arouse the visitor’s admiration for the courage and sheer organisational skills of fire-fighters past and present. Located in the London Fire Brigades Training Centre, all visits are by guided tour.
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/about_us/our_history/visit_our_museum.asp

Please check opening times and prices before you visit