Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the elevator up to the third floor, then work your way down, going on a 2,000-year walk
through the story of commerce on the Thames.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 10:00-18:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing
Visiting the Museum: Start on the third floor, in old London, back when London's
port was at London Bridge, and the Docklands was a barely inhabited swamp far to the
east. You'll see fascinating models of Old London Bridge, crammed with little houses and
shops—not unlike how Florence's Ponte Vecchio still looks.
Continuing on, exhibits show how the Docklands rapidly developed in the 1800s. A
reconstruction of a “Legal Quay,” where cargo was processed, has a life-size mannequin
in a hamster-wheel contraption used for lifting cargo from ships. Displays show the bru-
tality of punishment in those days: Executed pirates were displayed publicly, suspended
in metal cages called “gibbets.” The next, thought-provoking section analyzes the connec-
tion between sugar and slavery—a frank and sober look at the terrible human toll taken by
several centuries of transatlantic trade.
The second floor explores London's growth after 1800—its population was more
than one million by 1810. Stroll through a gritty reconstruction of “Sailortown,” listening
to the salty voices of those who lived and worked in quarters like this. A painted Steve-
dores banner from the 1889 Dock Strike is a reminder that while the Industrial Revolu-
tion first exploited workers, it later provoked them to rise up. During World War II, the
Docklands was a prime target for Nazi bombers bent on crippling British shipping. Find
the claustrophobic, dome-shaped “consul shelter,” where dockworkers could take cover in
case of attack. There's also a re-creation of the fuel pipeline that was laid under the Eng-
lish Channel to supply the Allies on the Continent.
The final section, “New Port, New City,” traces the Docklands' post-WWII rebuild-
ing. In the 1980s, a combination of government and private investors remade the area into
an office zone. The area has prospered, but not without controversy—there's still tension
between the yuppie newcomers and the blue-collar old-timers.
When you're finished, step out into today's Docklands and take in this combination
of old and new.
• Our walk is over. You have several options from here:
Return to Central London: The Tube is your fastest way back into the city—to take
it, you can retrace your steps to the Canary Wharf Tube station and catch the Jubilee line.
Depending on where you're going in London, it may be more convenient to head to the
other end of the West India Quay to catch the DLR there (stop: West India Quay), and get
off at Bank, where you can transfer to the Tube's Central line.
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