Museum of London, millennium exhibition
London’s population of seven-million is greater than the whole of Denmark, and a fifth us belong to a non-white ethnic group. A total of 84 per cent of London’s output is in the service industries, 13.5 per cent of our homes are unfit for human habitation and the average speed of our traffic is 10mph — yes, London isn’t like other British cities. If those statistics were new to you don’t worry, they will have probably changed by the time you read this.
The job of mapping the history — and the future — of our capital has fallen for the last 20 years to the Museum of London, at the Barbican. With the Millennium fast approaching, the museum has taken a fresh look at the city today – and why London and Londoners are special and different – in the new London Now gallery. And there’s special items of interest for anyone fascinated by the part the East End has played in the history of the capital. Exhibits look at the match girls’ strike in Bryant and May’s Fairfield Road Works in 1888, when Annie Besant’s campaigning helped give birth to the New Trade Unionism.
The transformation of Docklands in the 1980s is charted, and there is even a huge illuminated model of two Hackney streets, recreated from London Fields in minute detail. The whole history of London, from its days as a Roman river crossing, is here. But just as interesting is the charting of the city’s massive changes since the Second World War — the Sixties redevelopment of Piccadilly and the Swinging Sixties generally, the Notting Hill Carnival and the tower blocks that transformed the skyline.
You will walk past an original, and fabulously ornate, lift from Selfridges in Oxford Street. A 1960s Mark 1 Cortina hangs above your head and you can watch the original 1950s Bill and Ben puppets in action. A huge canvas by John Bartlett, History Painting, depicts one of the most powerful events in London’s recent history — the Trafalgar Square poll tax riot of 31 March 1990. In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum runs a series of special exhibitions. Running now and until November is In Royal Fashion, an exhibition of the dresses and accessories of the two royal cousins, Princess Charlotte of Wales and Queen Victoria.
overing the years 1796 to 1901, the show is a fascinating look at the Princess Di and Fergie of their day, revealing huge amounts about the lives and tastes of these two major fashion icons. Wedding dresses and coronation robes, bonnets, parasols, jewellery and shoes have been loaned by the Royal Collection — some of them never before seen in public, some so fragile they will probably never be exhibited again. So whether you are interested in ancient history or the way our town is changing by the day, by the lavish tastes of our rulers or by our tradition of political dissent, there is something in the updated museum for you.
And if you’re hooked up to the Internet, you will be able to take a look before you visit — the museum’s new Web site was unveiled on 20 June, the centenary of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. If the old queen was around to see that, she’d be surprised how much her city had changed too! The Museum of London, London Wall, EC1, Tel: 0171-600 3699, Web site: http://www.museum-london.org.uk