Historical / Cultural sites in London

[bryceQ]

I love to visit museums / churches exhibitions particular pre 20th century history. I've got a day in central London next week, any ideas of where I might not have been.

I'll caveat by saying I've visited quite a lot of places!

From memory I've been:
The Temple
Westminster Abbey
St Paul's
Portrait and National Gallery
War rooms
Kensington Palace
Hampton court
Tower of London
Huntarien museum (sp?)
Postal museum
Transport
Charles Dickens
Imperial war museum
British museum

Greenwich is too far for the time I have next week.

Any hidden gems? Don't need to be big ones! Or new exhibitions?

In case you've not visited in a while, the Tate Britain has been undergoing a fairly major re-hang over the past couple of years.

It is quite different, to my mind.

OP there is a YT Channel, LivingLondonHistory, he finds and is knowledgeable
about different quirky bits of London and Joolz tours is another one, for inspiration.

We like Maltby Street, the Fashion and Textile Museum, White Cube, The RopeWalk,
street food, best wraps in London, Lassco, Bermondsey Market etc.

Really it depends on which direction you are coming from and which day.

Have a lovely day whatever you choose.

anybody else now wanting a fun day out in London?

We went to the Chelsea Physic Garden last time we were in London. It is well-worth a visit. Take the guided tour as they are very knowledge and have entertaining stories and information about the different plants.

A few I haven't seen mentioned are the Petrie Museum (archaeology), Courtauld Art Gallery, along with the rest of Somerset House, and Wellcome Collection (health). The British Library is an amazing building. Going to lunchtime free concerts in churches is also good.

Different good or bad would you say? I haven’t been there for about 15 years so I don’t think I’ll remember how it was before anyway!

Docklands museum is really worth a visit. The old operating theatre is also fab!

There's a wonderful small museum at the Royal Hospital (Chelsea Pensioners) telling the story of the Chelsea Pensioners and the site itself that I only discovered recently. It's close to Kings Road and there's a reasonably priced cafe onsite.

Dulwich Gallery
Horniman Museum, Forest Hill
Painted Hall, Greenwich
The Black Friar pub, for it's interior decor
Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe and the Mayflower pub round the corner
Gan Museum, Greenwich (re-opens in February)

So many good options everyone this is perfect. And loads to keep me going this year.

For my birthday next week I'm going to go to British Library and see the medieval women exhibition - I haven't been for a few years after spending 10 months there writing my history MA so will be lovely o be back, and then onto Mithraeum.

I'll plan a different day to head further afield for me. I think I can manage two things when my son is at school.

I live near Kenwood so I've been there many many times! 😊

For my birthday next week I'm going to go to British Library and see the medieval women exhibition - I haven't been for a few years....

Enjoy your birthday!
The BL is really crowded now. You can't just go in and find a quiet place to sit in the foyer any more.

Docklands museum is really worth a visit. The old operating theatre is also fab!

I like the Docklands Museum too. It's not too touristy, and it's big enough that it never gets too crowded. And there's a Wetherspoons next door, for anyone who likes Wspoons.

The stairs up to the old operating theatre are tricky - not good for anyone with mobility issues. And the obstetric instruments will make you wince!

Fenton house is lovely, last time I went there was someone playing one of the harpsichords.

Fenton! Fenton! Oh Jesus Christ. FENTON!

The Jewish Museum in Camden has currently closed as a physical museum while it looks for a new premises, but it is still holding events online and runs visiting events in person and has online collections to view
https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/

I was there on Thursday. It’s a good exhibition, but very busy as it’s laid out in a small area. I’d choose your time slot wisely.

Also, I was disappointed that the Treasures Library is closed for refurbishment until 13th January - but it sounds as if you’re going after that.