11 Of The Best Museums In East London

When we first moved to East London we already knew about the hip bar scene, the world-famous Olympic Park and the art movement but what we didn’t know about was the amount of quality museums in the area. Even though we have been in London for almost 20 years we had no idea that there were so many museums in East London. We have visited all the famous museums of West London like the Natural History Museum, The Science Museum and The V&A Museum but never visited any in our own area. We soon changed that. So you don’t make the same mistake we have compiled a list of the 11 of the best museums in East London.

11 Of The Best Museums In East London

Ragged School Museum

The Ragged School Museum opened in 1990 in the former premises of the former Dr Barnardo’s Copperfield Road Ragged School. The school opened in 1877 to help the children of Mile End get an education and was the largest of its kind at the time. It closed in 1908 when more state schools were open.

The museum was founded to make the history of the Ragged Schools and the history of the Victorian East End accessible to all. Within the museum, an authentic Victorian Classroom has been set up where each year some 16,000 children experience a school lesson as it would have been taught more than 100 years ago. Poor kids! As well as the classroom there is a Victorian Kitchen and hands displays. This is a museum where you can sit at the school desks, use the tin bath and experience what life was like for the Victorian poor of the East End of London.

Ragged School Museum Information:

Opening Times: The museum is open between 10am and 5pm every Wednesday and Thursday, and between 2pm and 5pm on the first Sunday of each month.

Admission Costs: General admission to the museum is free; charges apply for schools and group talks. All our holiday activities are free.

Nearest Tube: Mile End

Jack The Ripper Museum

It is not surprising that there is a museum dedicated to London’s most famous serial killer. This museum is dedicated to the history of East London in the 1880s, providing a serious examination of the crimes of Jack the Ripper within the social context of the period. Uniquely, this museum looks at the killer from the victim’s perspective.

Jack The Ripper was never caught and the police closed the case after 4 years but that has never stopped the public’s fascination with the case. As the years went by more and more people took interest in the case and elaborate conspiracy theories emerged. However, this is not a Victorian gothic fiction tale, these poor women did die horribly. The women who were unfortunate enough to meet Jack the Ripper on a dark night in 1888 were real people. All lived in the East End and walked the same streets that visitors to the Jack the Ripper Museum stroll through today. The Jack the Ripper Museum is as much about the victims, as it is about the crimes and the suspects.

Jack The Ripper Museum Information:

Opening Times: 09:30 – 18:30

Admission Costs: Museum Only – Adults £10, Children £8.

Nearest Tube: Tower Hill or Aldgate East.

19 Princelet Street

London wouldn’t be London without immigrants. In all the cities we have visited over the years no city feels like a World City like London. In 2017 a survey revealed that 300 languages are spoken in London on a regular basis. 19 Princelet Street has to be one of the most unique museums in London. It is set in a historic building right in the heart of the East End but its shabby doors are rarely open to the public.

Beyond are secrets and suitcases, poems and potatoes, threads of history linking to today’s debates over migration, minorities and multiculturalism. Founded as the first museum of immigration and diversity in Europe, 19 Princelet Street attracts visitors from around the globe.

19 Princelet Street Information:

Opening Times: Visits are by arrangement, for groups. Get some friends together, explore the streets of Spitalfields, and book a private tour. We are raising funds so the building will open permanently in future.

Admission Costs: Donation

Nearest Tube: Aldgate East

Museum of London Docklands

The Museum of London Docklands has 10 free permanent galleries showcasing the history of London’s famous docklands area. With themes like Trade Expansion, London Sugar and Slavery, City River and Sailor Town the museum highlights how London acquired its wealth and became a major city in the world.

The museum itself is housed in an old warehouse at West India Docks. Opened in 1802, the West India Docks were London’s first enclosed dock system, built away from the open river on the Isle of Dogs.

Museum of London Docklands Information:

Opening Times: 10:00 – 18:00

Admission Costs: Free

Nearest Tube: West India Quay DLR

Dennis Severs House

Do you like the idea of a time machine? Well Dennis Severs House is your next best thing. The house is a time capsule that captures an intimate look of the lives of a family of Huguenot silk-weavers from 1724 to the dawn of the 20th Century.

As you follow the families history and fortunes around the house the sights, sounds and smells take you into their lives. It was Dennis Severs’ intention that as you enter his house it is as if you have passed through the surface of a painting, exploring with your senses and imagination a meticulously crafted 18th Century world.

Dennis Severs House Information:

Opening Times: Every Sunday afternoon 12pm-4pm, Monday (following the 1st and 3rd Sundays) 12pm-2pm and 6-9pm

Admission Costs: £8 (Sun), £5 (Mon lunch time), £12 (Mon Candlelight Tours – booking essential)

Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street

Royal London Hospital Museum

If medical history is your thing then the Royal London Hospital Museum has to be on your hit list if you are visiting East London Museums. The Royal London Hospital has cared for the community of East London since 1740, and the archive and museum collections document the hospital from its earliest days, as well as some of the fascinating patients, nurses and doctors who have passed through its doors.

Visit the museum to discover the hospitals history in modern medicine and discover some of the hospitals famous patients that the hospital helped over the years.

Royal London Hospital Museum Information:

Opening Times: 10am-4.30pm Tue-Fri; opening times are subject change at short notice, ring before making a special visit

Admission Costs: Free but donations welcome.

Nearest Tube: Whitechapel

V&A Museum Of Childhood

The V&A Museum Of Childhood is probably one of the best museums in all of London. If nostalgia is your thing then you must visit this place. It is the largest institution of its kind in the world and its mission is to hold in trust the nation’s childhood collections.

From old teddy bears to Star Wars toys the museum has an amazing collection of children’s artifacts that give a snapshot of the time when the children played with them. The joy comes when you get to your era and rediscover the toys you played with when you were a child.

V&A Museum Of Childhood Information: 

Opening Times: 10:00 – 17:45

Admission Costs: Free

Nearest Tube: Bethnal Green

One museum to keep an eye on:

Geffrye Museum

At the moment the Geffrye Museum is closed for a two-year development, reopening in early 2020. Although the main museum building and period gardens are closed, there are still plenty of reasons to come to the Geffrye. Throughout closure we will run a programme of events and activities in our front gardens. The restored almshouse is also open for tours on certain dates throughout the year.

The Geffrye explores the home and the way people live. From furniture to appliances the museum have collections going back 400 years highlighting the fashions and trends of each era. It is like walking through time as you go into each room.

Geffrye Museum Information: 

Opening Times: Front garden opening hours – Monday – Friday 07:30 – 17:00.

Admission Costs: Free

Nearest Tube: Old Street

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History

This is a museum like no other. If the weird and wonderful is your kind of thing then this is the museum for you. With exhibits like two-headed animals and eight legged lambs on show you will leave this place more confused than when you went in. To help you get over the strangeness you can pop to the bar to steady your nerves.

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities Information:

Opening Times: The Museum is Open Wednesday – Sunday 12pm -22:30pm

Admission Costs: £6

Nearest Tube: Bethnal Green

Museum Of London

Learn about the history of London in this world class museum. From its early settlers to Romans, from Norman invaders to the multicultural hub that it is today. The Museum of London has fantastic permanent exhibitions and innovative temporary ones.

Museum Of London Information:

Opening Times: 10:00 – 18:00

Admission Costs: Free

Nearest Tube: Barbican

Museum Of Happiness

What a brilliant idea for a museum. With all the doom and gloom in the world we could all do with a bit of laughter in our lives and the museum of happiness is the perfect place to get it. The Museum of Happiness is a new non-profit on a mission to make the science and art of happiness fun and accessible for everyone!

The Museum of Happiness is a non-profit organisation that provides an experiential adventure, where people of all ages and backgrounds can learn more about the essence of happiness and well-being.

Through a variety of interactive experiences, workshops and events, they offer science-based techniques that people can implement in their everyday lives.

Museum Of Happiness Information:

Opening Times: The Museum is operated by a small team so they aren’t open around the clock. Instead they have a schedule of events, classes and tours that you can book onto. Many of these are low-cost or donation-based.

Admission Costs: Many events are Free or donation based.

Nearest Tube: Camden Town (Yes, it is more North London but we just had to include it!)

Have we left out your favourite East London Museum? Then please let us know why we should include it and we will add it to the list!

If you liked this post check out our post on our favourite parks in East London:

#LoveYourTravels

*Some Images are from the creative commons.