Argh! Need to catch up... Open House Day

So lucky for us, we went out and about (but apparently veering off the official list) on Open House day which, of course, meant free (and busy but we lucked out there too).
First off we visited a windmill! On Wimbledon Common! And I wasn't even aware that there was a windmill in London. We also learned that some of Scouting for Boys (a dubious title if ever there was one) was written in the house attached to the windmill. So, that's even more exciting than the miles and miles we walked. We were greeted with beautiful weather though. Not too hot, not too cold and sunny as a summer's day. Lovely.

I just want to point out; this is a lovely pic.

'Scouting for Boys' meant something different in 1908

Criticism. A minor point. There was not enough learning. Also, many yummy mummys hanging out chatting whilst their kids got in my way. I like an interactive experience. Bloody kids. This doesn't seem to bother Sarah as much as it bothers me. 

The attic. 

A lady. She lived in the windmill. At some point people lived there. I don't know why she was so special that she got a model. What do I know. I pressed the button that said something about her living there. Got bored. Walked away. 

Models of mills. 

Graffiti. I wrote that we woz there, then. 

Shield. At The Wandsworth Museum.

Beer from Youngs Brewery.

It's a book! Sarah and I like books. Maybe she read the thing here?

After Sarah climbed up the rickety ladder into the attic (my acrophobia prevented me from doing that so seeing the picture of the attic was a first for me too) we walked, in the wrong direction which was quickly spotted by the super-aware Sarah, and walked and walked to a cafe and then onto the Wandsworth museum. Good times.

In the Wandsworth Museum we noted that museums tend to talk about the same 3 eras: Roman Times, The Victorian Times and the Second World War. Surely there's more to this world than those 3 eras?

Pics for Gardening and Florence

The church that is The Gardening Museum

A really creepy gnome

Implements of torture or gardening tools? You decide

I think torture

The Machine in Florence and the Machine? 

I like this picture a lot. That is all.

Some dude always gets in the way...

Some people whose names we do not know, I'm sure that they are lovely

Athena. Florence's pet owl. She kept this owl in her pocket. She may have been a great nurse but I think she was a peculiar lady. Who keeps owls in their pockets? As Sarah pointed out - she must have had very big pockets. 

This is Florence's uniform. Florence was born in Florence, Italy and was the first person to be named Florence. Also, we learned that alcohol abuse amongst the nurses was rife and a reason many of them were sent home (in disgrace). These facts are unrelated.

Crimea War... you can tell by the bandages that bandages were used

Florence and the Machine (a lawnmower, perhaps)

Sarah and I went to 2 museums this past weekend, and two things stood out: 

1, Sarah knows some really cool pubs 

2, The Gardening Museum is overpriced AND so is its shop. £4 for a badge! I don't think so. The frugal side of Sarah agrees. There were things in the Florence Nightingale Museum that were pretty cool and cheap that would probably have cost an arm and a leg in the Garden Museum (geddit?)

Anyway, check out the cool itinerary:

Pics to follow...

Itinerary: 20^th May

As the first outing as an ex-Lambeth employee, I thought this would provide an ideal opportunity to revisit the borough. Two factors may strike you:

-          Having served a five-year long apprenticeship studying the not-too-exciting subject of public sector accounting in what can be described as a “challenging” local authority, Sarah insists on returning to the borough within weeks of leaving the job.

-          Selfishness of motivation – no thought whatsoever to Vicky’s views on said borough, this is all about Sarah and her flawed desire to relive the Lambeth dream.

My sincere apologies if you feel shunted. However, this is going to be FUN. Plus our meeting point, Lambeth North, is on the Bakerloo line so I have tried to accommodate your needs in one respect at least.

Let’s meet at Lambeth North tube station at 1.30pm

Let’s pray for sunshine on the day, because we’re heading to The Garden Museum (Admission: £7.50[1] Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7LB http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/). I am not confident this will be enjoyable in the rain, being outside and all. If this situation does arise however, before focusing on Sarah’s misjudged decision to schedule outdoor visits when the probability of poor weather is extremely high[2], consider the following:

-          There is an indoor exhibition to view, won’t that be nice? (Let’s ignore the fact that it has added on at least a couple of quid to the admission price)

-          Plants like rain, even if we’re not so fond of it

-          Heightened justification for indoor booze session later on

-          Given the garden theme, I’m predicting an older demographic of visitor at this museum. They’ll feel the chill, damp etc. way more than us. Hurrah for that!

After the Garden Museum visit, having hopefully not frozen our arses off, it’s time for yet more medical history at The Florence Nightingale Museum (Admission: £5.80[3] 199 Westminster Bridge Road London, Greater London SE1 7UT http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/cms/). If this tells us anything we didn’t already know about the history of medicine I’d be surprised, but you never know!

Rest of the afternoon – you know the score. But remember the rule – not too silly! (Especially given my Boris Bike membership, things could get dangerous…)  

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[1] In terms of admission price, this establishment is really pushing it. It almost exceeds the pricing parameters of our exercise. Give it another year and it’ll be off the List. Although it may be necessary to adjust our rules for inflation.

[2] I have noticed that quite a lot of our visits involve being rained on (Museum of Immigration and Diversity anyone?), which is funny considering that museum-going is primarily an indoors activity.  

[3] Expensive trip, eh? No freebies today. Bummer. 

My last museum trip of my 20s (thanks for reminding me Sarah)

So, Sarah and I not only visited TWO museums this Saturday, but we also walked for miles (this might sound more tiresome than it actually was.)
For once, the English weather was on our side and it was with a spring in our step that we walked from Rotherhithe to London Bridge (via some pubs and the River so all was lovely).

First stop was Greenwich. This confused us poor non-DLR users as there are about 30 stops and 15 stations. This IS an exaggeration, but I don't care. Despite Greenwich being lovely, this made the day start off baffled and thus Greenwich stations are stupid. Finally met Sarah and strolled to The Fan Museum.  http://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/ 

What an odd place. The building was beautiful, made up of 2 town houses. We agreed that to a certain extent the building was the interesting bit of this trip.
I liked the gift shop more than Sarah did and bought my mum a fan for a tenner. I do think that this was rather expensive, but mum liked it so that's fine.

From here we walked to New Cross, stopping off at a revolutionary right-on cafe for a spot of coffee and a comfortable catch up.
I liked that you could choose a tea pot and take that to the counter (but I dislike tea so this is actually most unhelpful) and although it was pleasant enough, we agreed that the service was rather slow despite having 3 people behind the counter. It is this kind of socialism that makes the revolution never happen. Sarah discussed Soviet Russia and told me good news about her life. Well done Sazy... 

We made it to New Cross, got the train to Rotherhithe (for a NW Londoner, this all seemed adventurous and far away) where we alighted for the Brunel Museum http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk/.  I will confess here that I thought this was all about Isambard, but it wasn't.  It was about his Dad. When I got home and told my brother, he seemed to know all about it. Shows what watching the Discovery Channel can do for you. 

There are many pics to follow, but suffice it to say that although we could have stolen Champagne, we didn't. We are trustworthy young ladies with the highest of morals. 

The gift shop was rubbish, but Sarah observed that there are always, ALWAYS rainbow coloured erasers at these gift shops. This is true. Perhaps we should go into business manufacturing them. There is clearly a market for them. 

From here we went for lunch at a pub called The Mayflower. http://themayflowerrotherhithe.com/. What a lovely place! Very little and apparently near THE Mayflower (why isn't that in the USA? Sarah didn't know. If she doesn't know, I have no idea. Although, I guess it was ours originally). There was a lovely outside area that has decking over the Thames. You can hear the water sloshing and sploshing and I thought it was jolly good fun. We had a bottle of white wine, a glass of water and a tasty and inexpensive tuna and mayonnaise sandwich. Yum. 

We then walked via the Thames Path peering into people's apartments and discussing moving to a riverside flat. Hey, we can dream. We watched the sun set and Sarah took a pretty picture of some preening ducks. On a wooden thing. She may know what the wooden thing was. Anyway, it belongs to the ducks now. 

We ended the evening in a rather smashing pub listening to a random gig (first band on was excellent... whoever they were) http://www.thegladpub.com/ Made me want to be in some LA garage band, smoking weed and hanging out with guitarists.

All in all a brilliant last museum visit of my twenties. Thanks Sarah. 

As I say, pictures to follow. In the meantime here is Sarah's brilliant (as ever) itinerary:

Saturday 10^th March Itinerary

Today’s jaunt into the historical wonderland takes us to South-East London. Virgin territory in our quest to visit every non-obvious museum within a price range of £0 to £8 per visit.[i] 

Such an occasion would be noteworthy in its own right, but raising the hysteria levels further is the fact that this will be the last museum visit of your twenties. From here on after, you will look upon museums from the sage and considered perspective of a thirty-year-old. No more youthful naivety and ignorance for you. Rather, world weariness and lofty cynicism will shape your future museum view.[ii] It is an honour for me to be accompanying you on this momentous day.[iii]

To be brutally honest, the prospect of visiting either of today’s destinations is not filling me with sleep-disrupting levels of excitement. Reasons include, but are not restricted to the following:

a)      Not mad on fans

b)      Not mad on transport/engineering history[iv]

However, I am sure this only reflects a narrow-mindedness on my part, and I am ready for my preconceptions to be quashed by the mighty knowledge strongholds that are the Brunel and Fan Museums.[v] Plus, they both have gift shops – RESULT!

Let’s meet at Greenwich first. I don’t know about you, but today I will be navigating myself to the meeting point by way of the Moleskine-complete-with-AtoZ-notebook[vi]. Shall we say 12.30pm at Greenwich DLR (not Cutty Sark)?

The Fan Museum (opening hours: 11am-5pm) 12 Crooms Hill Greenwich, London SE10 8ER (Admission £4) http://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/

After a coffee (optional but probably necessary after staring at a load of fans), we will take a long-winded journey via tube, DLR[vii] and whatnot to the Brunel Museum.

The Brunel Museum (opening hours: 10am-5pm) Brunel Museum Railway Avenue Rotherhithe London, SE16 4LF (Admission £3) http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk/index.aspx

Afterwards, it’s beverage time![viii] Where we will chew the fat, bask in the post-museum visit memories and admire the Moleskine. Happy days. The Mayflower sounds like the best place and it’s super close!

---

[i] Obviously, this is subject to review in light of inflation and/or our drastically improved financial status. 

[ii] We could probably debate this point. Some would argue (I’m not naming names!) that world weariness and cynicism would not really represent a massive departure for you. But let’s keep the myth alive for the time being shall we? 

[iii] I’m assuming you’re not going to be doing some museum two-timing on me during the period 10^th to 22^nd March. If you do, I urge you to keep it a secret from me to avoid any hurt feelings / awkwardness / vengeance in future museum visits.

[iv] This is not an indictment of the Canal Museum. To be fair to it, they did the best with what they’ve got. I mean, it is clearly tempting to go with the ice-cream making theme if you’re thinking canals are not really everyone’s cup of tea. However, they do advertise themselves as the “Canal Museum” and should have remained true to the cause. In the process, it has managed to undermine the notion of transport being interesting for transport’s sake. The Brunel Museum must overturn this assumption.     

[v] I fancy that a “super museum” could be created by forging the combined strengths of these two establishments. I would call it the Frunel Museum and all visitors would wonder at the sheer audacity of its ambition to combine fans, tunnels and engines into a single museum. In your face, British Museum! (Note that unlike the “Canal Museum”, “Frunel” would not be presenting a false image of itself. Only awe.)

[vi] Really like this! It feels so nice against my cheek (face not bottom, I’m not weird!). It’s also quite a lot more stylish than my A to Z, and in addition it nicely offsets my grubby tractor bag look.

[vii] I hate the DLR. I don’t know why, but I hate it. Not a patch on a Moleskine, although this is probably not a meaningful comparison.

[viii] If this seems to be suggesting that beverage time is the best bit of the itinerary, this is not my intention. But I do like this bit A LOT. (Providing it doesn’t get too silly.) 

The Latest Itinerary

This is not in order...

But I'm sure that that won't matter. The text below is the most recent itinerary of Sarah and I a-visiting museums.
The Canal Museum was £4 but had an excellent gift shop that meant we walked away labelled as Deck Scrubber and Galley Slave. Useful for strangers to know.
I also purchased a miniature teapot for my mum. And some books. On second thought, maybe a gift shop is not such a great idea, it means we buy nonsense (though I do like a bit of nonsense).

The Grant Museum of Zoology was more dead stuff in jars. Sarah took pictures of a jar of dead moles, a Dugong, me touching a mammoth tusk (she told me to-I still take no responsibility), a porcupine fish and a skeleton of a gibbon. In the past, jarring of dead things seems to have been quite the thing. And they say the internet is a bad thing?

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology was a lot of pottery, a lute thing we could play and a picture of a dude that looked a LOT like Hitler. We found him. After his 'death' he became an archaeologist. Mystery solved.
Pics to follow.

Friday, 20^th January Itinerary

Woah, it’s a school day and we’re bunking off! RENEGADES. Well, not really. Given that it is likely we both followed the appropriate HR protocol with regards to the booking of annual leave, this day off is strictly above board.[1] However, we can still feel smug about all those suckers stuck at work while we revel in museum-related frivolity. Don’t expect a pressie from the gift shop, colleagues!   

Today, to mark the first museum visit of 2012, we are heading to not one, but two (possibly even three?) museums.

The first, the Canal Museum, did not feature in the early drafts of the 20^th January itinerary. Originally the intention was to visit St Bart’s Museum, a week-day only destination. However, when telephoning to schedule an appointment on Monday, I received the disappointing news that St Bart’s Museum lady was on annual leave for the rest of the week. As a result, the museum is closed on Friday. She added that the museum was heavily reliant on the goodwill of volunteers.

This crushing blow was tempered by three considerations:

a)     St Bart’s Museum lady likes to take annual leave when we do. What kind of nutter uses up annual leave in the middle of January? St Bart’s Museum lady and us pair, that’s who! Kindred spirits. 

b)     I was picking up quite a strong hint that they were short of volunteers, my dulcet Northern tones evidently made a positive impression on her. Some unpaid work opportunities there for the taking. 

c)      Despite St Bart’s museum lady insisting that bookings were not required for museum visits, it was quite clear that without a confirmation phone call we would have turned up to a closed shop. That would have totally mucked up the Plan. I was pleased with my foresight.

So, it’s off to see canal artefacts instead! Let’s meet at King’s Cross tube station at 12.30pm, outside the main[2] entrance on Euston Road.[3]

Canal Museum London Canal Museum, 12/13, New Wharf Road N1 9RT Admission: £4

After barging about[4], let’s stop for a coffee and jeer at people in suits. We’ll then head off to the Grant Museum of Zoology. Now, I haven’t called these guys,[5] so whether they’re open or not is anyone’s guess. However, this can only serve to add yet more excitement and anticipation on the day. [6]  

Grant Museum of Zoology, University College London, Gower St, WC1E www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology    Admission: free    

  

(Apparently the best exhibit in the Grant Museum is a DODO! Amazing. On the whole, I think there are going to be quite a few skeletons in this place. But surely this cannot be at a Hunterian proportion?)

Finally, and rather ambitiously, I have suggested that if we have time and feel inclined, we swing by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Why? Because it is FREE, it is NEARBY and I’ve made some additions to the LIST and some extra effort may be demanded of us to keep up speed.

Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology Malet Place, Camden, London WC1E 6BT www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie    Admission: free

After that, I suggest we find a pub in Fitzrovia (The Green Man? W1W 7EP[7]) for a beverage or two. I intend to drink in a measured fashion to avoid embarrassment and minimise discomfort the following day. I am entertaining two seventy-odd year-old women on Saturday, I need a strong constitution to handle the patience required of this situation.[8]

---

[1] My only real experience of “bunking off” occurred circa 1994 when my friend Imogen and I decided to spurn the authorities and skive Junior Orchestra. What hilarity! With our new-found freedom we stuck rigidly to the school vicinity and farted about in the infant playground. Afterwards, we went to Guides. 

[2] By “main” I mean Sarah’s main, this may or may not be the same main as understood by King’s Cross Station.

[3] I anticipate a hilarious episode here where we’re both waiting at different entrances brooding over the woeful situation that the other is late / abandoned them / disillusioned with museums etc. Let’s keep our phones on to minimise the turmoil.

[4] Geddit?

[5] Basically because Time Out implied that it wasn’t necessary and this did appear to be corroborated by the Museum’s own website.

[6] Note the inconsistency. On page 1, I referred to the fact that I like to stick to the Plan and that my day would be spoiled by an unexpected event such as arriving at a closed museum. By page 2 however, I’m suggesting that I embrace uncertainty, which brings only excitement to me, notwithstanding the potential closure of the museum. Messed up.

[7] Was this a place we used to frequent at 311? If so, happy memories / fuzzy recollection!  

[8] I would like to stress that I do know these women (they’re not randoms) – one is Granny, the other is Granny’s friend, Madge. They’re travelling down from Scotland for the weekend. Together, the three of us have shared some “challenging” afternoons in the past and I would like to buck the trend. I am not incredibly optimistic about this happening.   

The List...

This is 'The List'...

Victoria and Sarah’s Museum List

1. Benjamin Franklin House COMPLETED
This creaky old London home of the US politician and scientist focuses on the scientific discoveries he made while living here between 1757 and 1775.
Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven St, WC2 SNF (7839 2006/www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org). Charing Cross tube/rail.

2. The British Dental Association Museum COMPLETED
FREE
The history of British dentistry (don’t scoff, Americans). Features lots of teeth, plus old dentists’ chairs and oral health posters.
The British Dental Association Museum, 64 Wimpole St, W1G 8YS (www.bda.org/museum). Regent's Park tube.

3. Dr Johnson’s House COMPLETED

Although the museum takes up all four floors of the house in which Johnson wrote his 'Dictionary', it’s the atmosphere that intrigues here – and the exhibits largely consist of old furniture, portraits of Johnson and Boswell, and the occasional case of ephemera (letters, spectacles etc). There’s also a short, hammy biographical video on the second floor. Kids can dress up from a selection of Georgian costumes on the top floor.
Best exhibit A rather random brick from the Great Wall of China on the landing.
Dr Johnson’s House, 17 Gough Square, EC4 (7353 3745/www.drjohnsonshouse.org). Chancery Lane tube. 11-5 Mon-Fri

4. Florence Nightingale Museum
An advocate of free healthcare, Florence Nightingale raised nursing to a professional level for women and started her own training school for nurses at St Thomas’. Appalled by the conditions the wounded experienced in the Crimean War, she helped to develop new hospitals in the Victorian era, for which she was the first woman to receive the Order of Merit in 1907. Her possessions, letters and portraits are on display here.
Best exhibit To bring Florence’s legacy up to date, there are talks from St Thomas’ current nurses.
Florence Nightingale Museum, St Thomas’ Hospital, 2 Lambeth Palace Rd, SE1 (7620 0374/www.florence-nightingale.co.uk). Waterloo tube/rail.

10-5 Mon -sun

5. Foundling Museum COMPLETED
Thomas Coram, shipwright and businessman, was so horrified by the abandoned children he saw in London he spent 17 years raising funds to build the Foundling Hospital. The hospital doubled up as the country’s first public art gallery and concert hall, with paintings donated by William Hogarth and recitals by fellow governor George Frideric Handel.
Best exhibit The donated Hogarth paintings.
Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, WC1 (7841 3600/www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk). Russell Sq tube.

Tues to Sat 10-5

6. Freud Museum COMPLETED
A beautiful Hampstead house and the great psychoanalyst’s home after he fled Austria, the Freud Museum is not only preserved as it was when Sigmund died, but as it was in Austria when he fled in 1938. He had the position of everything in his study written down, so it could be exactly recreated in London.
Best exhibit The original couch.
Freud Museum, 20 Maresfield Gardens, NW3 (7435 2002/ www.freud.org.uk). Finchley Rd tube.

7. Grant Museum of Zoology COMPLETED
If you’re not fazed by the skeletons of a walrus, a baboon and a giant iguanadon that face the entrance, you’ll find many a fascinating animal specimen here (quite a lot of them preserved in glass jars, and plenty of skeletons). Part of University College London, it might at first appear chaotically cluttered, but specimens are carefully categorised into evolutionary groups.
Best exhibit A dodo (whose bones are stored in a box and laid out in specially cutout padding).
Grant Museum of Zoology, University College London, Gower St, WC1E (7679 2647/www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology). Goodge St tube.

Mon –Fri 1-5pm

8. House Mill Museum
House Mill was a tidal mill on the River Lea, built in 1776 and operated until the 1940s. Occasional tours allow you to explore all five floors.
House Mill Museum, Miller’s House, Three Mill Lane, E3 3DU (8980 4626/www.housemill.org.uk). Bromley-by-Bow tube.

Sundays, May to Oct

9. Hunterian Museum  COMPLETED
FREE
Wandering among this collection of thousands of medical specimens and cases of surgical instruments is fascinating. Much of it was amassed by eighteenth-century surgeon, anatomist and dentist John Hunter, although it has since been added to. It’s not gruesome, though. The museum is located within the dignified HQ of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The space is super-stylish, with the clearly labelled glass specimen jars displayed neatly along clean glass shelves.
Best exhibits Pickled organs from soldiers who fought in the Battle of Waterloo, Winston Churchill’s dentures and the skeleton of Charles Byrne, the ‘Irish giant’. Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3PE (7869 6560/ www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums). Holborn tube.

10. Library and Museum of Freemasonry COMPLETED
FREE
Freemasonry is trying to shed its slightly sinister image and welcomes all visitors to its fascinating museum, which includes all sorts of masonic clothing and literature. Worth a gander, if only to see the inside a beautiful building.
Library and Museum of Freemasonry, Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen St, WC2B 5AZ (7395 9257/www.freemasonry.london.museum). Covent Garden tube.

The Library and Museum is open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday except public holidays and the Christmas and New Year period.

11. Linley Sambourne House
Victorian house owned by cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne that still has most of the original furnishings and fittings intact: a fascinating glimpse of daily life in bygone London.
Linley Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace, W8 7BH (7602 3316/www.rbkc.gov.uk/linleysambournehouse). High St Kensington. Reopens Sept 11 Admission:£6

12. Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture
FREE
This outpost of Middlesex University focuses on British domestic design from 1870 to the present. Themed temporary exhibitions draw out quotidian treasures from its collections. Part of the fun is revelling in nostalgia for a lost way of life, be it butcher boys, 'make 'n' mend' or Soda Streams. Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Cat Hill, Barnet, EN4 (8411 5244/www.moda.mdx.ac.uk). Cockfosters tube. Reopens Oct 2011

13. Museum of Immigration and Diversity COMPLETED
FREE
Just one building between Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market tells much of the story of immigration into London’s East End. This museum has been the home of a Huguenot master silk weaver fleeing persecution from Louis IV’s France, a nineteenth-century synagogue, a community centre where anti-fascist marches were planned and now it’s at the heart of the Bengali community. It houses a small exhibition exploring immigrants’ stories. The museum only holds occasional openings as it needs money for repairs.
Best exhibit The synagogue built in the garden.
Museum of Immigration and Diversity, 19 Princelet St, E1 (7247 5352/ www.19princeletstreet.org.uk). Liverpool St tube/rail.

14. Museum of St Bart’s Hospital
FREE
After a short video explaining the history of Bart’s and its founding in 1123, this museum offers a crash course in the changing face of London hospitals. Displays explain how Bart’s developed, while offering plenty of mean-looking instruments and bottles marked ‘POISON’ to gawp at. There are also two Hogarth murals to admire, plus a great book full of illustrations of injuries, ruptures, lesions and pus.
Best exhibit The old wooden skull used to practise drilling and football skills.
Museum of St Bart’s Hospital, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, EC1 (7601 8152/ http://www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk/about-us/museums-and-archives/st-bartholomew-s-museum/) St Paul’s tube.

Tues to Friday and booking required

15. Old Operating Theatre Museum COMPLETED
This is the oldest operating theatre in Britain, complete with wooden spectator galleries, lodged up in the roof of a baroque church. St Thomas’s Hospital is long gone from this site but its hair-raising collection of pre-anaesthetic surgical instruments survives.
Best exhibit The saws, of course!
Old Operating Theatre Museum, 9a St Thomas St, SE1 (7188 2679/www.thegarret.org.uk). London Bridge tube/rail.

16. Ragged School Museum  COMPLETED
FREE
The canalside warehouses that housed Dr Barnardo's Ragged Day School during the late Victorian period are now home to a museum of the East End which examines the experiences of the children who attended the school.
Ragged School Museum, 46-50 Copperfield Rd, E3 (8980 6405/www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk). Mile End tube.

17. Smythson Stationery Museum  COMPLETED
FREE
Smythson’s is one of a few ancient London shops that also doubles as a museum.
Smythson Stationery Museum , 40 New Bond St, W1 (7629 8558/www.smythson.com). Bond St tube.

18. Jewish Museum

Jewish Museum London, Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street, London NW1 7NB

http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/

Open Daily 10am-5pm (Except Friday 10am-2pm) Admission: £7.50 Camden Town tube

19. Type Museum

http://www.typemuseum.org/

Museum under development

20. Museum of Childhood

FREE

V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA

http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/

Open Daily 10am-5.45pm

21. Brunel Museum

Railway Avenue, City of London, Greater London SE16 4LF (020 7231 3840 www.brunel-museum.org.uk/ )

Open Daily 10am-5pm Admission: £2 Bermondsey or Canada Water tube

22. Fan Museum

Open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 11am-5pm (Sunday Noon-5pm) Admission: £4

http://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/

12 Crooms Hill, Greenwich , London SE10 8ER Tel: 020 8305 1441

23. Design Museum COMPLETED

Shad Thames, City of London SE1 2YD Weekdays 9am-5pm Admission: £11
(020 7403 6933, www.designmuseum.org/)

24. Canal Museum COMPLETED

London Canal Museum, 12/13, New Wharf Road, London N1 9RT

Open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 10am-4pm Admission: £4 King’s Cross tube

Telephone: (020) 7713 0836 http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/

25. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology COMPLETED

FREE

26. Handel House Museum

25 Brook Street, London W1K 4HB Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 6pm (until 8pm on Thursday)Sunday 12 noon - 6pm Admission - £6
(020 7495 1685 www.handelhouse.org/)

27. Garden Museum

5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB Admission - £6

Monday - Friday* 10.30am-5.00pm Saturday and Sunday 10.30am – 4.00pm
(020 7401 8865 www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/)

28. Charles Dickens Museum

His nineteenth-century home in London now preserved as a historic house
museum. 48 Doughty Street, Camden Town, London WC1N 2LX (www.dickensmuseum.com/)

29. Wandsworth Museum

38 West Hill, London SW18 1RX  Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-17:00 Admission £4 www.wandsworthmuseum.co.uk/

30. Museum of Branding COMPLETED

31. The National Army Museum

FREE

 National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea London SW3 4HT Open 10-5.30pm http://www.nam.ac.uk/

32. The Anaesthesia Museum

FREE

The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, 21 Portland Place, London W1B 1PY Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10:00 - 16:00 Appointment Recommended.

33. The Windmill Museum  

Manor Cottage, Windmill Rd, London SW19 5NR Open Saturdays: 2 to 5pm, Sundays: 11-5 Admission £2 www.wimbledonwindmill.org.uk/

16/33 Completed!