Charterhouse are delighted that they are once again able to invite you to join one of the Brothers for a tour with a full history of the site.
Throughout March 2021, Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) will celebrate Women’s History Month with a series of online events exploring the links that our collections and sites have to women’s histories and how these stories are told.
From its origins in transatlantic slavery through to the involvement of prominent abolitionists, the story of the Krio ties in to the wider themes of the gallery and is central not just to the story of the museum’s building and the surrounding docks but to the story of London itself.
Explore the history of Greenwich with curators, conservators, storytellers, storekeepers and mudlarks.
Meet the animals who have shaped London's history. Step into a tour through London’s history, narrated by the animals who once lived here. Beasts of London explores the fascinating role animals have played in shaping the capital. Be guided through time, from the Roman era through Medieval London and right up to present day, narrated by the beasts themselves.
On 1 April 2018, the Royal Air Force will be celebrating its 100th birthday. To mark this occasion, they want to reflect on their history and achievements. They also want to celebrate the work the RAF is currently doing and look forward to the next 100 years.
A part of Whitechapel's famous monster fatberg will go on display at the Museum of London in early 2018.
Uncover the secrets, scandals and history of London’s Theatreland and the ever-changing entertainment industry at London Transport Museum’s Friday Late which takes place on the evening of 14 July in the heart of Covent Garden.
An LGBT+ tour of the Tower of London by night that explores power, politics and sexuality at key moments in the Tower’s history. For age 16yrs+
From her first public appearances in 1981, Diana, Princess of Wales, captivated the world’s attention as a princess, as a trendsetter and as a patron and advocate of charities. Twenty years on from her death, a new exhibition and temporary garden celebrating her life will be opened at Kensington Palace, her home for over 15 years.
The Museum of London’s latest display, Skating on Ice, looks at the popular seasonal pastime of ice skating which, in London, dates back to at least the 12th century. The first known account by William FitzStephen describes locals strapping animal bones to their feet to play on a patch of ice at Moorfields in 1173.
Opening on Friday 16 December, the display tracks the advancements in ice skate designs, highlights changing fashions, and demonstrates how skating on London’s frozen lakes and ponds became an annual, if sometimes dangerous, winter tradition.
The most popular lake during the 19th century was the Serpentine in Hyde Park, attracting up to 10,000 skaters each day. A 1839 oil painting from the museum’s collection by J. Baber depicts a typically festive scene from these times, with stalls hiring out skates and selling food and drink, as well as ‘Icemen’ on standby to rescue skaters when accidents occurred.
One such tragedy happened in Regent’s Park on 15 January 1867, when around 500 revellers were enjoying an afternoon of skating on the frozen ornamental pond. The ice suddenly shattered and scores of skaters disappeared into the deep waters below. Sketches on display from the Illustrated London News in 1867 show the rescue operation to recover the 40 bodies of those who had drowned, the majority of whom were young men in their teens and early twenties.
From the 1920s until the Second World War, the number of indoor and man-made rinks then rose dramatically, including a temporary ice rink installed on the roof of Selfridge’s in 1924. As the pastime ingrained itself in London society, fashionable ice skating outfits were on the rise. A navy blue gabardine skirt suit on show from the department store Fortnum & Mason demonstrates the height of sophisticated skating fashion in the late 1930s.
The enduring popularity of the sport can be seen by the evolution of the ice skates on display; a pair of flattened and polished post-medieval animal bone skates, a pair of Victorian racing skates known as Fen Runners, a pair of women’s ankle boots from the early 1900s said to be convertible for ice skating, and a pair of ice skates from the late 1930s used almost weekly by Londoner Christina Greenberry at Streatham Ice Arena.
Skating on Ice will be on display in Show Space at the Museum of London from 16 December 2016 – 8 February 2017.
