There are big changes coming to a small area of the City of London (the original square mile bit of London). The Museum of London is going to be moving to the derelict Smithfield Market (and regenerating a very downtrodden area in the process).
As part of their plan to move – the Museum of London have produced three films on the history of Smithfield that details the long history of the area and their plans for it. It’s all very fascinating stuff and exciting. I’ve always liked the Museum of London but hated its location – it’s always been hard to access from the street level and the building itself… is shall we say of the unloved 60’s brutalist school of architecture.
So, here are the video released by the museum in order.
History of Smithfield part one – a new museum
History of Smithfield part two – a history of Smithfield
History of Smithfield part three – Smithfield today
The museum recently launched an architectural competition to get ideas on how they can best convert the spaces to the new uses. They plan to move by 2021. The old museum will be demolished and they will be building a new classical music Concert Hall in its place for the London Symphony Orchestra.
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I don’t always agree with you, Jonathan but in this case, I do. I love the Museum of London but hate trying to find it! I got off the bus on a rainy day last year and wandered around some narrow streets before finally popping into a insurance company’s beautiful office and asking for help! The access is not easy and the building is indeed one of the “monstrous carbuncles” of ugly 60’s architecture that Prince Charles complains about
I love the museum of London but it is hard to find. Smithfields isnt that easy either. We stumbled on it by accident after finally finding the church that was featured in 4 Weddings (St Bartholomew’s?). We found the sign that states Wallace was hung drawn & quartered on that spot as well. When I read a few months ago that the museum was moving there I was ecstatic! The buildings at Smithfields are huge & historical & there will so much more to see…….I did wonder what would become of the Roman wall outside the museum though. I wonder if anyone will bother to wind there way back there for just that historical site?
Love the Museum of London and the whole Smithfield area. St. Barts is “my” church. More room, more access and more visibility? Wiin…win…win! And preserving the Market at the same time is brilliant! I always found that fascinating.