One of London’s most ancient areas, Southwark was for centuries the site of the only bridge across the Thames. This made it central to the city’s story, and it’s maintained that importance into the present day, with modern icons like The Shard sharing space with medieval history.
Today its museums reflect this rich heritage. It’s home to 14 of them. Just along the banks of the River Thames you’ll find the brilliant HMS Belfast, the Clink Prison Museum and the Golden Hinde. Beyond this are some of London’s most interesting museum spaces – such as the Old Operating Theatre Museum, the Fashion & Textile Museum, and the utterly unique, slightly bizarre House of Dreams Museum.
Southwark is also home to many of London’s best art galleries. It boasts the Tate Modern (London’s best art gallery, in my view); the South London Gallery (one of the city’s leading modern art galleries); Dulwich Picture Gallery (the oldest purpose built art gallery in the world), among several others.
Explore all museums in Southwark below. You’ll also find museums in nearby boroughs further down the page.
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Bankside Gallery
Small public gallery, home to the Royal Watercolour Society. Showcases new and established watercolour artists. -
Brunel Museum
A small museum dedicated to the world's oldest underwater tunnel and the iconic Sir Marc Isambard Brunel who designed it.... -
Clink Prison Museum
A hands-on museum on the site of London’s medieval Clink prison. It aims to showcase what the prison was like,... -
Dulwich Picture Gallery
The world's first purpose-built public art gallery, home to an important collection of art by the old masters. You'll find... -
Fashion & Textile Museum
Contemporary fashion museum, founded by designer Zandra Rhodes. It hosts rotating exhibitions of fashion, textiles, and costume design - check... -
Golden Hinde
A full-scale replica of the Golden Hinde, the ship captained by Sir Francis Drake which became the first English ship... -
HMS Belfast
An iconic WWII Royal Navy warship museum moored on the Thames. You can explore its lower and upper decks to... -
House of Dreams Museum
The home of artist Stephen Wright, who has spent years covering with artworks, sculptures and designs with found objects -... -
Kirkaldy Testing Museum
A unique industrial museum, home to engineer David Kirkaldy’s colossal Universal Testing Machine, which he designed to test building components,... -
Old Operating Theatre Museum
A unique medical museum in the attic of an 18th century church, home to Europe’s oldest surviving surgical theatre for... -
Shakespeare’s Globe
A reconstruction of Shakespeare's 16th century Globe Theatre. As well as its live productions in an authentic historic environment, it... -
South London Gallery
A contemporary public art gallery in Peckham, which has been going for 125 years and has a reputation for cutting... -
Southwark Heritage Centre
A small showcase of Southwark's historic collection, including local history displays, artefacts from the Cuming Collection (which used to be... -
Tate Modern
One of London's premier art galleries, famous for its absolutely ginormous collection of 20th and 21st century art, and blockbuster...
Museums near Southwark
Southwark is just across the river from the City of London and Westminster – meaning it’s right next to some of central London’s best and biggest museums. Explore 80+ of central London’s best museums – from world-famous institutions to hidden gems – in our complete Central London guide.
It also borders Lambeth, home to the Imperial War Museum, the Garden Museum and the Hayward Gallery. Further South is the vast Horniman Museum and Gardens.
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