A Journey Through Time

      

     Those looking to travel back in time need not secure plutonium for Doc Brown’s DeLorean or seek out H.G. Wells’ time machine. A much more convenient way to be transported is to visit the Museum of London, which traces the city’s history from prehistory to present day. A day at the Museum of London feels more like a journey through time than a display of historical items.

     From the outside, the museum is an uninviting black cylinder. I would have never been able to guess that this building holds such immense treasures. Once you find your way inside, it’s time to start walking through the history of London. The museum smartly lays out the rooms chronologically, so a visit through every room feels cohesive and has a narrative structure. The history of London clearly unfolds and progresses before your own eyes as prehistory turns into Roman times, Roman times into medieval times. The farther I journeyed into the museum, the more interested I became. The pre-historical section was interesting, but there are only so many flint replicas I can look at before becoming bored. The Roman section, however, does a better job at pulling the museumgoer into the time period. The scale models of the city centre provide insight into the way the city was originally laid out. I could see where the original London inhabitants lived, where they shopped, and where they went to gather and speak. By the time you reach the Great Fire of 1666, it is hard not to be swept up by the compelling story of London and its ability to rebuild itself after various types of devastation.

       Downstairs, the haunting Leisure Gardens feature creepy, dark mannequins dressed in authentic late 18^th-century clothing as a video with period actors plays on a loop. The sounds and feel of this room is surreal, and I found it hard to walk away without sitting on one of the benches for a few minutes to soak it all in. Next, the Victorian walk replicates an 1848 neighborhood street filled with shops, pharmacies, and offices, decorated in exhaustive detail. The banker’s office was perhaps the most detailed. A beat up desk sat in the middle of the room and looked as though the baker had just left for the day. His papers and pens were spread out all over underneath an exquisite lamp. This tucked away section of the museum is a creative success and made me want to go back, just in case I missed any minute details.

    The modern section covers the 20^th century, and though it is more thrown together than the other sections, I enjoyed walking through it. The cases in this part feature hundreds of artifacts including notebooks, advertisements, and even a wax head of a girl who died from syphilis. While this is all very interesting, it felt to me as if the museum curators had decided to throw a bunch of items from the same time period in a case together without a common theme. Another concern I had about the modern section was the lack of attention given to the bombings of World War II. This significant part of London’s history should have been prominently featured, but instead this era lacks the detail and attention given to earlier time periods. The war section is kept hidden in the back behind a wall, while the central displays feature hip outfits from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Perhaps the wounds from the war are still healing, but other devastations that London has faced were given more detail and attention, so the lack of depth about the bombings left me feeling as though this section could be improved.

       Despite the minor hiccup in the modern section, I felt as though the time I spent walking through the entire museum was well worth it. I urge anyone who is the least bit interested to visit the Museum of London. Walking through the thousands of years of history solidifies the notion of London as an impermeable city. Even though London has seen such tragedies as the Black Death, the plague, the Great Fire, and the WWII bombings, the city’s history doesn’t stop. London rebuilds itself and life goes on. The story of London is a story of death and rebirth, but above all it is a story of hope. And there’s no better way to experience the story than walking through it, step by step.

     The admission, like most London museums, is free of charge, although donations are encouraged. The museum is located within walking distance of several tube stops, including St. Paul’s, so it’s easily accessible.