The working life of Museum of London

Many of you will be aware that the Museum of London is undergoing a huge redevelopment and some spectacular new galleries will open in May 2010. However, although many of the Museum of London employees have seen how the redevelopment is going, the web team didn’t get a chance to see the latest developments.

So we decided to have a bit of an adventurer last Friday afternoon after the builders had ‘shut up shop’. Yes, we finally went to see the new galleries and I managed to sneak my handy camera in with me and took a few photos to share with you.

I must warn you that I am no professional photographer and my very slim digital camera does not deal well with poor lighting, but the photos below will still give you an insight into some of the fascinating things that await your visits in May.

The head of communications, Antony Robbins, gave us an excellent tour. We explored the new Galleries of Modern London, starting with checking out some really cool chill-out areas where visitors can surf the net and perhaps even sneak in a coffee or two!

What looked like a ghostly figure shrouded beneath plastic appeared to watch us as we made our way through the galleries. I found that we are being very eco-friendly and have recycled many of our display cases from the previous galleries.

I was much taken with one of the exhibits of an 18th century printing press that spews reams and reams of papers, notices, and posters on to over 20 plasma screens to show the 18th century version of the white heat of technology. Wow, I thought, I can’t wait to see this in action!

I finally discovered what the back of the glass display cases look like (they actually look like the back of normal cases to me!), and I was able to look up closely into what the inside of the Wellclose prison was like in its original form. I didn’t have time to read all the names and see all the pictures etched on the walls, but it was fascinating none the less.

For the first time ever, Museum of London will have display cases under the floor and I was told that the glass will be bullet proof (no, please don’t bring your gun in to check!).

I ‘accidentally’ stumbled into the power room behind the gallery and decided to take a photo as I was already there.

The pleasure garden was next and how pretty and peaceful it was! One of my colleagues was playing around with the different sounds that would be played in the background and I could have just stayed there for a very long time. There were real trees in the middle, and the garden has the ability to change from day to night, with the music reflecting the different mood.

We were lucky to see the Selfridges lift all lit up and my colleagues and I marvelled at the detail.

We toured the galleries that had maps and interactives, and what I thought were sails but weren’t sails at all (it was just sheets to protect the new galleries from dust and keep it private from visitors visiting the galleries on the upper floors). It turned out that we were keeping the development sites very clean because I even saw a very happy, smiling ‘Mr Henry’, vacuum cleaner.

I was interested to learn that an unexploded insidious bomb recovered in the early 1940s in the East End will loom large on top of a glass case. You and I will have to find out by visiting the gallery when it opens exactly what this looks like.

I found out that the largest glass case in the gallery will host the Tom Hunter ghetto (recreation of groups of streets in Hackney, home to squatters, including Tom himself) and that there will be an interactive river Thames (it was not installed fully yet so I couldn’t really get my hands on it and test the interactivity, all in the line of duty of course).

We were unable to see some parts of the gallery but as I did not want to disappoint you, my colleague and I raised the zip up a little and I took the photo of the Lord Mayor’s Coach (which you can see below).

The timeline for ‘a London year’ had not been installed yet but Antony did suggest that the web team may want to buy a year and I said that as soon as he gives us a pay rise, we would be more than happy to contribute. I’m sure we can expect a pay rise very soon. (If you haven’t yet bought a year, and wish to do so, why not visit our website at www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/SupportUs/Year-of-London-History/availableyears.htm for more information)

The Clore Centre was the last thing we saw. It opened recently and has hosted many events already. In the Centre, I’ve learned that learning continues, even if you go to the toilets!

Photographs of developments

Below are thumbnail images showing parts of the things I saw on my tour. Click on each image to see the full, larger image:

On Saturday 20th June, there is an exiting chance to discover what post-medieval cemeteries can tell us about life in the past.  Meet the archaeologists and osteologists involved in the excavation and analysis of the cemeteries and skeletal populations from 18th-19th century London.

Talks will discuss the evidence gathered from St Marylebone, Westminster and Old Church, Chelsea. This will demonstrate what can be learnt about the lifestyle, diet and diseases of past popluations.

Alongside osteologists, there will also be an opportunity take part in the examination of human remains and learn how the study of a skeleton can provide information about age, sex and disease.

For more information visit http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/studyday

Happy New Year to all our readers from the Museum of London!

late events

Just to let everyone know that the ‘late’ events are not happening in January at all, but the next late events are on Thursday 5 February 2009, 6-9pm

Museum of London: Write Queer London
Join us for an evening of smart talk, wise words and music in celebration of London’s Queer history.

Museum of London Docklands: LandFall
Celebrate the opening of LandFall, our new exhibition, with an evening of poetry and live chamber music and voice.

Need something to do?

If you are looking to do something in the coming weeks, why not visit the Museum of London or the Museum of London Docklands?

At Museum of London
We have an exhibition in the Museum of London foyer called ‘Homeless in the Capital’, until 22 February 2009

Video and audio interviews, twenty-four hour diaries, poetry, art and personal belongings all offer insights into the everyday lives of people who are or have been homeless in central London. More about Homeless in the Capital

At Museum of London Docklands
A new exhibition at Museum of London called ‘LandFall’, from 6 February until 31 May 2009

Explore the Atlantic Ocean as natural phenomenon and transporter of dreams and peoples in this new exhibition. More about LandFall

Snap up London for £15!

Become a new Friend of Museum of London between 9 December 2008 and 28 February 2009 and get London: The Illustrated History half price! More about Friends offer

Wishing you all a great 2009!

Some of you may remember from my last blog that I mentioned that the Museum of London websites were changing inline with our rebranding to bring together our  venues and values, with new names and logos. We have now completed phase one of redesigning and moving around content on our websites. You can check out our striking new logos and our redesigned websites at:

• www.museumoflondon.org.uk
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archaeology

In phase two and three, we will be auditing all our websites, holding audience evaluations to find out what our visitors think, and planning and implementing the migration of all our websites into one single site. This will involve analysis of our current website structures and planning the future architecture and redesigning of all the templates within our websites, including our microsites.

We would love to find out what you think of the websites and how it might develop in the future. So tell us what you think of the sites and the new ‘tabs’ that combine all our three venues together by sending me your comments to: webmanager@museumoflondon.org.uk.

Please note that we are aware some things may not display properly or some links may be broken, but please bear with us while we go through this transition period.

Thank you for all your continued support.

Smoking was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and pipe and cigar smoking had become popular by the 19th century. Tobacco use continued to rise and the first mass produced cigarettes were introduced in the 1880s. Evidence of smoking is often demonstrated on archaeological sites in the form of clay pipes. These disposable items were easy to make and the different types and manufactures markings can provide valuable dating information.

Recent analysis of over 700 skeletons from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, who died between 1843 and 1854, has demonstrated how evidence of smoking can also be observed in the bones of past populations.

 Fifty eight adult skeletons (58/268: 21.6%) displayed wear patterns to the surfaces of the teeth. These were often smooth, rounded grooves resulting from long term pipe smoking. In many cases a circular hole or ‘pipe notch’ was clearly visable when the upper and lower jaws were closed. Thirty two of the individuals with pipe notches also showed a brown coloured staining to the inside of the teeth. Pipe notches were found on a number of young adults. These may have developed over several years suggesting that smoking could have been taken up at a younger age. Adult smokers were also found to be more likely associated with lesions to the inside surfaces of the ribs, possibly the result of lung disease resulting from smoking.

This evidence may help provide information about how smoking affected the health of an individual and if it made more susceptible to other diseases and the infections compared to non smokers. If smoking was more commonplace amongst the Victorian working class, this may be used as an indicator of status and possibly gender. This may also help better our understanding and awareness of smoking in the modern world that is reported to kill 5.4 million people each year (World Health Organisation 2008).

A year on from the smoking ban, the museum of London looks into the history of smoking in London and life in the captial since the ban with a new exhibition ‘ The Big Smoke’. More information can be found at the following link…

www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/AboutUs/Newsroom/Archived08/The+Big+Smoke.htm (link updated 8 February 2010)

A display of stunning photographs of the self-governing Maroon community in Jamaica are on show at Museum in Docklands until 31 August as part of the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery’s rolling community exhibition space.

The display of over 50 photographs in a montage and a short film draws attention to the forgotten story of the Maroons who refused to be enslaved, survived in remote parts of the Caribbean islands and helped destabilise the plantation system.

The project is the brainchild of hip hop photographer, Jennie Baptiste, who guided a group of six young Londoners who call themselves the Linx, teaching them research, communications and photography skills. The group of 14 to 19 year olds then researched the history of African resistance to slavery and visited the Maroons in the town of Accompong in the Jamaican mountains to take the photographs.

Linx member and 19 year old art student, Asia Bharj, said:

‘Never in my life did I think I would be part of this amazing project, being with the Linx I overcame personal challenges which allowed me to grow mentally and to become a better person.’

Don’t miss out – the display closes on August 31!  There’s information on how to plan your visit to the Museum in Docklands or find out more about the community exhibition in our newsroom article, Journey to Accompong.  Entry to the display is free, but there is a charge for entry to the Museum in Docklands itself.

Watch it at this link: Victorian London, Jack the Ripper, Museum in Docklands video.

There are more videos at the Museum in Dockland’s Jack the Ripper and the East End exhibition playlist.

You can also view (and buy) images of Victorian London at the Jack The Ripper & The East End section of the Museum of London print site or find out more about the exhibition at the Museum in Docklands.

If you’re in London before November 2, 2008 then watch to the end of the video for a discount code for 20% off the full ticket price for the exhibition.

Did you know that road traffic accidents in London kill less than 1 person each day, while smoking cigarettes kills 1 Londoner every hour? Or that cigarette butts account for 40% of the litter on London’s streets? Despite these bleak statistics 2 million Londoners regularly light up to enjoy a cigarette.

One year on from the smoking ban, The Big Smoke looks at the history of smoking in London and life in the capital since the ban.

Curator Meriel Jeater says, ‘London has been a centre of the tobacco trade and consumption for 400 years and this topical display will look at how attitudes to smoking have altered over this time. The recent ban on smoking in public places is causing widespread changes and this display will showcase Londoners’ opinions on the ban and how it is affecting their city.

For some people the new legislation is the final prompt they needed to quit smoking. For others it is ruining their businesses. We want to know what Londoners think.’

You can visit ‘The Big Smoke’ at the Museum of London until 21 September 2008.  Entry is free.

Find out more at The Big Smoke article in our newsroom.

Mandela in London, 1962
Nelson Mandela will be celebrating his 90th birthday on 18 July 2008. To honour this occasion Museum of London remembers his first visit to London in June 1962 in a small photographic display that opens on 20 June 2008. The collection of 17 striking black and white photographs show a youthful Mandela in London – these were some of his last days of freedom.

This was Mandela’s first trip to the capital and it was to be his last for more than 30 years. Mandela returned to South Africa in August and was arrested and later imprisoned for 22 years.

Curator Cathy Ross says: ‘These photos are terrifically evocative: not only a reminder of London’s role in the anti-apartheid struggle during the 1960s, but also of Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary story. Despite being a wanted man, his optimism and warmth really shine through.’

You can view ‘Mandela in London, 1962′ for free at the Museum of London, London Wall, EC2Y 5HN, until 3 August 2008

Find out more in our newsroom article, Mandela in London, 1962.

Jelena Bekvalac, Research Osteologist at the Museum of London, writes:

“The forthcoming Skeletons exhibition to be held at Wellcome from July to September will be the culmination of many months of planning and collaboration between the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology at the Museum of London and the Wellcome Collection. The premise of the exhibition is to give an insight as to what is buried beneath the streets of London and what valuable information can be learnt from analysing the skeletal remains of past inhabitants of London.

London has throughout its long history been developed and rebuilt causing destruction and disturbance of its material history. In the last thirty years or so, such building developments have precipitated archaeological investigations. During these excavations in many instances skeletal human remains are revealed, some of which have been retained for their scientific research value.

The skeletons in the exhibition are all from such developments that have taken place and have been retained as part of the research collection that is curated and archived at the museum. They cannot be returned to their original cemeteries for reburial, as those sites have been built upon. With a very few exceptions the remains are anonymous. Where we do know the names of a few of them who died in the 18th and 19th centuries it has proved impossible to trace any living descendants. The skeletal remains are treated with great respect and the idea of the exhibition is not that it is to see the skeletons of these people as curiosities but as significant repositories of information that can assist many fields of research including that of modern day medics and clinicians.”