Best East London Museums – 30+ Top Picks and Hidden Gems
East London has a proud history – a part of the city that rapidly grew following the industrial revolution, and long the heart of the city’s industry. It deep working-class heritage, and a long history of radical politics and close knit communities.
This community spirit is still live and strong, and reflected in its excellent community and locally focused museums.
In recent years, East London has become the city’s creative district. So you’ll also find distinctive, surprising museums. And the area is changing, too. Major new institutions are opening around the rapidly regenerating docklands and Olympic Park areas, such as the new V&A East Storehouse.
East London is home to more than 30 museums. Other parts of the city have more – but none have such a wide ranging collection, and such a high number of genuinely unique and distinctive museums as East London.
Museum of London Docklands (Tower Hamlets) – One of London’s best museums, and often overlooked by tourists. It explores the history of London’s docklands, telling the wider story of the city’s growth and trade. Housed in a 200-year-old warehouse and free to visit.
V&A East Storehouse (Newham) – The newest addition to East London’s museum offering is the new branch of the V&A. It’s essentially the warehouse used to store the museum’s vast collection, but is also open as a museum – there are curated displays from its collection, and you can see conservators at work. For me, the most exciting part is that it’s also home to the new Bowie Centre.
The Tower of London (Tower Hamlets) – One of London’s most iconic landmarks: a fortress, royal palace, and prison with nearly a thousand years of history – and plenty to see and do.
Museum of the Home (Hackney) – An interesting and unique museum exploring ‘the home’ throughout history. Its standout exhibit is ‘Rooms through time’, recreations of a series of rooms from throughout history, meticulously set up and based on people’s real homes, to show how Londoners have lived throughout the year. Rooms stretch from 1630 to 2049.
Hidden gem museums in East London
Hackney Museum (Hackney) – One of the best local history museums in London, telling the story of one of the city’s most diverse and creative boroughs.
The William Morris Gallery (Waltham Forest) – The largest collection of William Morris’ work in the world, with galleries covering every aspect of his life, career and politics.
Upminster Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia (Havering) – A medieval barn now housing an eclectic collection of artefacts, from agricultural tools to vintage toys and televisions – a lovingly chaotic museum of everyday nostalgia.
Dennis Severs’ House (Tower Hamlets) – A museum which encapsulates East London’s creative spirit. Dennis Severs, an American artist, spent much of his life transforming this house into what he called a ‘still life drama’, telling the story of how a fictional family lived in the same space throughout generations. You can visit it either as a self-guided experience or as part of a theatrical tour.
Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities – Probably London’s weirdest museum, and definitely its creepiest. Exhibition cases cover topics like the occult, ‘Human Hair’, and two-headed animals.
East London’s history is rich – museums cover its deep industrial heritage, but also its social history and long history of migration.
The Museum of London Docklands is the pick of the bunch. There are also excellent local museums, community-centred and exploring individual boroughs in more depth. As well as the Hackney Museum I mentioned earlier, the Redbridge Museum is a great pick, recently refurbished, and Valence House in Barking and Dagenham.
For social history, the Museum of the Home is the best in my opinion. The Ragged School Museum – which served children in poverty in the East End – also gives insight into life for Victorian Children (and they host ‘Victorian lessons’ for an immersive experience…)
Also worth a visit is the RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre, telling the story of a former RAF station that played a key role in the Battle of Britain.
The Walthamstow Pumping Station is a volunteer-run museum celebrating the area’s transport and industrial heritage. And in Newham you’ll find House Mill, the largest surviving tidal mill in the world.
🎨 Art galleries in East London
East London is a buzzy, creative area – and the galleries tend to be smaller and community- driven than the larger national galleries elsewhere.
The main gallery is Whitechapel Gallery, one of London’s most important spaces for contemporary art. Autograph Gallery in Shoreditch is a photography gallery centred on social justice and identity. And finally Nunnery Gallery and Chisenhale Gallery are a pair of not-for-profit, small galleries in the East End.
These are just a small selection of the best museums in East London. Explore all museums in East London using the interactive tool below.
Interactive tool: explore all 30+ museums in East London
How to use this guide: The cards below show an A-Z directory of all 30+ museums in East London. Use the filters to the right to show only museums you’re interested in.
‘Primary focus’ splits museums by their broad area of focus. You can click ‘additional themes’ to see more specific categories, such as museums covering World War Two, or modern art galleries.
A small not-for-profit art gallery in East London. Found in a former veneer factory, it was founded by artists in the 1980s. It’s one of London’s leading contemporary art spaces, focusing almost entirely on newly commissioned exhibitions – which means artists create work specifically for the gallery’s programme. Many now-internationally known artists had their first…
A unique way to discover London’s history. American artist Dennis Severs bought this Spitalfields townhouse in 1979 and spent the rest of his life transforming it into a “still-life drama.” Each of its rooms is set between 1725 and 1919, as if the fictional Huguenot Jervis family, silk weavers by trade, had just stepped out…
An immersive museum for young children devoted to storytelling and imagination, with two floors of immersive play spaces called ‘Story Worlds’ and interactive storybook exhibitions.
Hackney’s local museum, exploring over 1,000 years of history. This includes exhibitions on Saxon Hackney all the way through to its modern, diverse identity and rich history of migration. It’s all presented in an engaging, family-friendly way and is know for being an inclusive community resource with plenty of interactive elements for children.
An immersive museum in Whitechapel which tells the story of Jack the Ripper and his crimes. It aims to plunge you into the unsettling world of Victorian East End London, with recreated (often gruesome) scenes. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the museum was extremely controversial when it first opened – its planning…
A Grade II* listed Georgian townhouse, originally built for a wealthy Huguenot silk merchant. Later home to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who created a small synagogue at the back of the house that still survives. The building went on to host the Museum of Immigration & Diversity, telling the stories of Spitalfields’ many communities.…
The Museum of London’s East London branch, set in a Grade I listed warehouse on the Isle of Dogs. It tells the story of London’s port and the Thames, from the rise and fall of the docks to the Blitz. Highlights include atmospheric recreated dockside streets, plenty of interactive exhibits and a Mudlarks family gallery,…
The world’s only museum of the home, exploring home life and how homes have evolved and changed over the past 500 years. Includes ‘Rooms through time’, which features period rooms showing how lives in London have changed – from 1630 to 2049, across different cultures – and ‘Gardens through time’. A unique and thought-provoking museum.…
A small, not for profit art space in Bow, housed in a 19th century convent building. It’s a community-focused space, often showcasing East London artists – such as through the biannual East London Art Prize.
A Grade II* listed Tudor hunting lodge, originally built under the reign of Henry VIII and later renovated by Elizabeth I. As well as being an excellent example of Tudor architecture and one of the few surviving timber-framed Tudor buildings in London, it hosts a small museum about the period and how the building was…
A heritage centre and tribute to RAF Hornchurch, a former Royal Airforce sector station established to protect London during World War One and playing a major role in the Battle of Britain. Immersive wartime displays and personal stories walk you through the history of the site, with exhibition rooms on topics such as ‘Battle of…
London’s largest Victorian Ragged School, which served some of the poorest children in the East End. It aims to recreate what life was like for Victorian children (it has a reconstructed Victorian classroom, where they host ‘Victorian lessons’). Exhibits also showcase the history of the school, its founder (Dr Barnardo) and what life was like…
A beautifully preserved Georgian house with rotating exhibitions on the house’s history and a tranquil garden. Recently reopened following a £2.5m conservation project.
A newly refurbished community museum covering 150,000 – everything from how medieval manors shaped modern Redbridge, to the boroughs links to the British empire, Victorian orphanages and its modern, multicultural community.
The oldest house in Hackney and one of the only remaining Tudor houses in London. Originally built for Sir Ralph Sadler, who you may know from Wolf Hall. Features authentic oak-paneled rooms and a peaceful garden in the heart of East London.
A small museum in the old carpenter’s workshop at Wapping Police Station about the Thames River Police, which was established in 1798 and claims to be the first police force set up in England. Displays historic uniforms and equipment, and information about the history of policing the Thames. Because it’s in a working police station,…
An excellent way to experience one of London’s most famous landmarks, Tower Bridge. Inside are interactive exhibitions about its history; the Victorian Engine Rooms; glass floors, for a unique viewpoint above the River Thames; and excellent vistas of London’s skyline from the towers.
Tower Hamlets’ local history archive, in Grade II listed former public library. Although most of the collection isn’t on show, they host exhibitions about local history which can be visited for free – check the website to see what’s on. For example, throughout 2025 and early 2026 it’s showing “Next Stop – 900 Years of…
London’s most famous fortress, the Tower of London has stood on the Thames for nearly 1,000 years, and was the site of many key historical moments, imprisonments and executions (and hauntings?). Today it’s one of the UK’s most visited historic sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Too many highlights to list here – but…
A treasure-filled medieval barn with over 500 years of history. Focused on agriculture, with a wide range of historic agricultural artefacts. But over time its collection has expanded to all sorts – from kitchen materials, to old TVs, toys and craft items. It calls itself the ‘Museum of Nostalgia’.
One of London’s four remaining historic windmills, dating to 1803. Offers a chance to explore the Windmill, learn about its history and the role of windpower.
The storehouse for the some of the V&A’s vast collection not on display in the main museum, allowing you to get a behind-the-scenes look. Across three levels are public walkway to see the museum store at work and some of its collection. There are also mini displays showcasing the collection, and free group sessions highlighting…
Dagenham’s only surviving Manor House, dating back to Medieval times. Exhibitions tell the story of the boroughs history, and the history building is still partly surrounded by a moat.
A beautifully restored 18th-century mansion set in an expansive park, with period rooms (including a recreated Victorian Kitchen and Georgian bedchamber) and audioguides.
One of London’s strangest museums, describing itself as a ‘Museum of Curiosities & UnNatural History’. A delightfully bizarre cabinet of curiosities featuring everything from two-headed animals, to an exhibition on ‘Fairies Mermaids, Unicorns and Giants’, to magic and the occult, and even an exhibition on Human Hair. An utterly unique museum, also home to a…
Housed in a Grade II listed Victorian sewage pumping station, this volunteer-run museum celebrates Walthamstow’s transport and industrial heritage. Its extensive firefighting collection was built up by former firefighter Frank Mycock and includes everything from a Victorian horse-drawn fire engine to modern equipment. The museum is also home to a pair of working Marshall steam…
One of London’s most important modern art galleries which, since it opened in 1901, has hosted some of the earliest London shows of artists like Pollock, Hockney, Rothko and Picasso. By showcasing emerging artists, it played a key role in the story of modern British art. Exhibitions change regularly, but if you’re into modern art,…
A museum dedicated to William Morris, the iconic arts & crafts designer, in what was once his family home. It displays the largest collection of Morris’ work in the world, including textiles, furniture, and art. Galleries cover every aspect of his life, including his politics, his influences, how craftsmean created his designs, and a mock-up…
An outpost of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) aimed specifically at children. It has three main galleries – Imagine, Play and Design – all designed for play and creativity, exploring design and imagination in a hands-on way. A great introduction to museums for kids! It also tends to host one paid temporary exhibition, exploring…
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