Museum of London Docklands

I went to the Museum of London Docklands (above) to see the Bridges Exhibition which was rather underwhelming so I went round the permanent collection, which is much better.

It tells the story of London's docks from the Romans to the present day.

Despite its name and location it isn't focussed just on the area we now call Docklands but covers the older docks that went as far as up as Aldwych, which is Saxon for old market. Incidentally the nearby road called the Strand is named after the old English word 'strand', meaning shore.

There is a beautiful 1:50 scale model of old London Bridge, or rather models as there are two, one showing the east side in 1450 and the other the west side in 1600. My eye was caught by the lovely Nonsuch House:

Now that's what I'd call having river views! Note how the gaps between the arches were quite small which must had made navigating them difficult when the tide was running strongly.

You could see a wood sculpture of Pocahontas:

Plus explore a reconstruction of the dark, winding streets of Wapping in the mid 19th century which would have been the home of many sailors:

All in all lots to see, from trade to slavery, shipping from the Romans to containers, bridges to tunnels, pleasure paddle steamers to war time blitz. If any of those interests you then its definitely worth a trip out to Docklands.

For more information, check out the press pack here.