Museum of London is having a big leaving do

Ever wanted to party among ancient Roman relics and Viking battle axes? You’re in luck, because the Museum of London is having a very big leaving do to say goodbye to its home in London Wall.

The Barbican venue will be closing its doors on December 4, but not before going out with a bang. The party is set to last five whole months before the staff stumbles dead-eyed to their new home in a derelict Victorian market building in Smithfield. 

Home to what is ostensibly the world's biggest collection of urban history, Museum of London has everything from artefacts from the Suffragette movement to the decaying, ever-disgusting Whitechapel fatberg.

Sharon Ament, the museum director said it's going to be an ‘epic leaving party’. She added: ‘If there is demand, we will stay open 24 hours – we really want everybody who hasn’t been to the Museum of London to come and see it.’ Challenge accepted. Anyone got any pingers?

The marathon lineup of events has plenty of stuff on for kids too, and will include the chance to build a giant Roman mosaic out of Lego and picnic like a Roman soldier. 

The blowout will be tied off with two back-to-back weekend-long festivals where you'll get to lay your eyes on some of the museum's previously unseen 7 million artefacts. Word on the street is that the Donald Trump Baby Blimp, which was acquired by the museum in 2021, may rear its wotsit-coloured head. 

'I’ve heard that some of our curators want to go big,' Ament teased. 

Ament and other curators have been working to make Museum of London more accessible over the past few years, reflecting the lived experiences of all Londoners. The final exhibitions at the London Wall location will showcase Grime and footballer Harry Kane. 

This party has been a long time coming because the museum first announced it would be moving in 2015. It’s been in London Wall since 1976, but the building will be demolished soon, with the staff glad to see the back of it. 

Ament said: 'If I’m really truthful, I can’t wait to move. It’s not fit for purpose as a museum any more. It has served us well until now, let’s say, but it really is time to move on.'

Sounds like it's going to be the blowout to end all blowouts. Let’s just hope nobody tries to nick the fatberg.

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