Location: Clerkenwell
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10 Museums in Clerkenwell That You Shouldn't Miss
The crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, Camden Market…in London, history collides with art, fashion, food, and good British ale. A perfect day is different for everyone: culture aficionados shouldn't miss the Tate Modern and the Royal Opera House. If you love fashion, Oxford Street has shopping galore. For foodies, cream tea at Harrod’s or crispy fish from a proper chippy offers classic London flavor. Music and book buffs will love seeing Abbey Road and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (at 221B Baker Street, of course).
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1. The Charterhouse
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 258 reviews
The Charterhouse has been living the nation’s history since 1348. Founded as a medieval monastery of the Carthusian order, the site became a Tudor mansion, a boys’ school, and an almshouse, which it remains to this day. We provide accommodation for over 40 individuals known as ‘Brothers’ who form part of the community alongside staff, private and commercial tenants, and residents of the Infirmary. Our historic and peaceful 7 acre site is an inspiring location for filming and private events. In late January 2017 we opened our doors to the public for the first time in our 660 year history as part of the Revealing the Charterhouse project. Come and discover our fascinating story revealed through our new museum and learning programme; explore the site during a paid tour; and relax with tea and homemade cake in the café next door. We look forward to welcoming you.
Reviewed By lemonadepocket
Took a garden tour with the new head gardener and one of the Brothers (residents) of The Charterhouse. How I could have lived in London all my life and not known about this site, I don't know. We booked the garden tour in January and the whole season is sold out, so unless you can catch one of their unguided open garden evenings, you have to plan ahead. The small gardens are beautifully planted with lush borders and trees and plants of special interest. The additional historical notes pointed out by Brother Tim were an added bonus. After the tour, there is a small gift shop selling attractive souvenirs, including 'Behind Walls' containing glorious photographs of the development of the gardens. They also sell sweet pea seeds, a great way to take a memory home with you! This tour, together with the trip to the free museum has whetted our appetite to find out more. We will be booking to take a tour of the inside of the buildings with one of the Brothers. Book this! You will be amazed at what has been hiding in plain sight!
2. Lesley Craze Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Lesley Craze Gallery is an internationally recognised showcase for contemporary jewellery, metalwork and textiles. We represent both british and international makers in our London gallery.
3. The Museum of the Order of St John
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 164 reviews
The Museum tells the unique and fascinating story of an ancient religious military Order, from its origins caring for sick pilgrims in eleventh century Jerusalem, through to its modern-day role with St John Ambulance, the international first aid charity.
Reviewed By 285rachaelc - London, United Kingdom
What a fabulous free museum. Nice and informative displays covering the full range of history from the Knights on Jerusalem through to their time in Rhodes and Malta, not forgetting London itself, and how the the Order moved into providing first aid training when the industrial revolution saw an increase in injuries. The museum also houses a Caravaggio painting (due his connections with the Order during his time in Malta). We took the Saturday afternoon tour (80 minutes) which was excellent - very informative and enabled us to views upstairs rooms that are usually closed and the Priory Church and its Norman crypt just across the road - well worth the suggested donation of £5. Clean toilets and a small shop too. A really enjoyable afternoon visit. Can't believe it took 20 years of living in London to get round to visiting!
4. The Postal Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,102 reviews
*REOPENING 20 MAY* The Postal Museum in London reveals Britain's remarkable social and communications history through the eyes of its iconic service. Take a ride on Mail Rail and experience 15 minutes of immersive underground exploration on our miniature trains, now adapted to enhance safety.
Reviewed By doc2rV - London, United Kingdom
It was a rainy day. We imagined we might spend an hour or so here but were fascinated and engrossed for much longer than that. We went on the mail train ride first and I would recommend doing this, as it must be taken within an hour of the ticket entry time, but then you can meander through the museum at your leisure. The 15 minute train ride shows the underground journey taken by mail sacks east and west of the Mount Pleasant sorting station. There are also exhibits to see after the ride, for example how mail was transferred to and from overground trains without them having to stop. The postal museum itself is across the road from the entrance to the train ride. You can fortify yourself with a snack at the museum cafe, which provides a good range of toasted sandwiches, soup, cakes etc. We were pleasantly impressed with our lunch at the cafe. The museum itself will appeal to all ages and provides lots of fun activities for children. We were there on a quiet day so despite our grey hair, couldn’t resist the temptation to try on the various postie hats, play with glove puppets, design a stamp and try sorting letters on the moving carriage simulator. As you would expect, the museum presents the history of the mail in great detail with wonderful examples of early postal services and reminds us just how vulnerable mail deliverers could be - whether from highwaymen or pirate ships or more recently the great train robbery. There are poignant sections too, demonstrating the effects of war on the post and telephone services, and showcasing the importance of letters to troops far from home. You can have a go at trying to differentiate between genuine and fake postage stamps (harder than it sounds!) There are clips of old films from the British Film Institute, including the lovely Telephone Fairy and the Night Train. Even if you no longer use ‘snail mail’ - and what an unfair name that is - do visit this little gem of a museum. The exhibits are absorbing, the helpful staff are smiley and the cafe is good too.
5. Society of Genealogists
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
We are partially opening from May 18, 2021. On Tuesdays from 11am to 4pm, from Tuesday 18 May. On one Saturday each month from 11 am to 4 pm, starting with 22 May and 19 June. You must book in advance. We will be keeping to a maximum of 20 people each day. However, a large number of our records are online to help you build your family tree. As the National Family History Centre, we store and index family stories and documents from all over the UK, aiming to keep them safe and make them as available as possible to everyone. You will find links on our website home page to take you to all our online records and to our Library. There's also help pages to get you started, if you need them. If you are already a Member of the Society, our website also has lots of tutorials and advice plus numbers for you to call for extra help.
6. Islington Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 13 reviews
Reviewed By Jannerbloke - Devon, United Kingdom
Exceedingly well kept and important local history collections. Drawn originally by the artworks based on vandalised images from library books, the Halliwell and Orion stuff was alone worth the visit but the Walter Sickert Family Collection and more so the the Holloway Prison relics and documents provided very real and depressing images of Victorian and subsequent incarceration.
7. Andrew Mummery Gallery
A commercial gallery specializing in contemporary works by young and emerging artists.
8. The Blue Gallery
The Blue Gallery features contemporary paintings and photographs. A popular exhibit is the collaboration with NASA to display large format images taken from the Hubble space telescope.
9. London Metropolitan Archives
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 5 reviews
