London Canal Museum
12-13 New Wharf Road
King's Cross
London
Greater London
N1 9RT
England
Website
London Canal Museum Online
Education Website
www.canalmuseum.org.uk/education
What's On section
www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson
Venue hire website
Museum podcasts
www.canalmuseum.org.uk/podcast
Mobile Website
General enquiries
Education Enquiries
All Internet matters
Venue hire
Press Officer
Telephone
General
020 7713 0836
Fax
Fax
020 7689 6679
London Canal Museum tells the story of London's canals, their people, cargoes, and the horses which pulled their boats.
Venue Type:
Museum, Heritage site, Industrial heritage site, Transport heritage site
Additional info
Free mooring for visitors arriving by boat during their visit.
Overnight mooring (fee payable) - book overnight in advance if possible.
Centrepiece is the narrowboat Coronis with a reconstructed cabin into which visitors can step, listening to the sound of a family having their meal and discussing their lives. Our collection includes "roses and castles" canal art and other decorative art, lifting, handling and weighing equipment for cargo, horse care equipment, and the working Bantam IV tug which is moored outside.
Collection details
Trade and Commerce, Social History, Science and Technology, Personalities, Land Transport, Inland Waterways, Industry, Decorative and Applied Art, Costume and Textiles, Archives
Key artists and exhibits
- Canal life
- Canal costume
- Canal art
- Lifting, handling, weighing
- Bantam Tug
- The ice trade & ice wells
- Horse Power - London's working horses
- The Regent's Canal
- Boats
Arts on Ice at the London Canal Museum
For Museums at Night 2013 we will be open late with a programme of works of art on show, a poetry reading, and a magic lantern show, this year taking the Victorian ice trade as our theme.
Ice - forming, crystallising, dripping, melting - the Ice Wells come alive on the night of 18th May. Artists, poets, film installations, ice sculpture - Arts on Ice is a night at the museum exploring the depths of the ice wells and ice trade which operated from the building during the 19th Century.
Poetry performance - Throughout the evening, poet Simon Barraclough presents excerpts from Debris Field - a words and vision presentation of icebergs, hypothermia and the cold, cold stars as the Titanic slips beneath the waves. Alan Ward performs a series of poems inspired by the ice wells, the people who worked in them and the sensations which are tingled by vast blocks of ice. Write your own - grab a pencil and be inspired to write yourself as you explore the museum, with encouragements from the poet.
Artists - A range of artists from Islington and further afield exhibit ICY works of art - ice sculpture, film installation, painting - the museum is transformed into an Ice Palace to the arts.
Descend into the ice wells - 5.30 - 7.30pm. Suitable for fit, suitably shod, over 10s (vertical ladder descent) Bookable on the night - limited numbers. Licensed bar will be open from 7.30pm. Pimms on ice is the day's special drink!
Come and join us for what promises to be another fabulous Museums at Night event in 2013. Art on Ice will show at least eight different artists' work in a unique setting!
The museum's usual exhibits will largely be on show although some will be moved to make way for the artworks. You'll also be able to explore these as the atmosphere changes from the normal museum feel to a celebration of museums, ice, and canals all rolled into one. Don't miss it.
Suitable for
- 18+
When
5:30-11pm
Admission
£5
Website
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Illustrated Talk: The Somerset Coal Canal by Patrick Moss.
Patrick will tell us about the search for the remains of that lift and about the local Society's work uncovering the remainder of this unique canal.
Suitable for
- 18+
- 16-17
- Not suitable for children
When
7:30-8:30pm
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Illustrated Talk. The Work of the Port of London Authority Harbourmaster, by Mark Towens, Deputy Harbour Master [Upper] PLA.
Mark will explain PLA's role in promoting the Tidal Thames and keeping it safe for all who use it. Recently the PLA have introduced various Codes of Practice for Recreational River Users. Mark will update us on how these are working out in practice
When
7:30-8:30pm
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Guided Towpath Walk
Departing from the museum at 1930, to Camden Town.
When
7:30-8:30pm
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Illustrated Talk: The Stort Story, by Richard Thomas.
Richard Thomas tells us about the history of the river and shows us its charming scenery .
When
7:30-8:30pm
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
Illustrated Talk: Archive photos of the early 1960s.
Roger Butler returns to offer part two of the amazing archive of canal photos kept in his family albums. Rare photos of the working canals, combined with comments on them, provide an overview of the past journeys of a talented waterways photographer.
When
7:30-8:30pm
Guided Tunnel Boat Trips
Lasting about 50 minutes, your guide will explain the history of London's longest canal tunnel as you cruise through it, passing deep beneath the streets of Islington in the darkness of the three-quarters-of-a-mile long tunnel. Opened in 1820 and in use ever since. You are very strongly advised to book online in advance. Trips begin at 11:00am, 12:00 noon, 14:00pm, 15:00pm, and 16:00pm.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
When
11am-4:50pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£8.30 adult, £6.00 child.
Website
The Amazing Halloween Experience.
The event includes story telling in the museum by our witch whose spine-chilling tales will make your flesh creep, decorations, and a trip through the three-quarter-mile-long Islington Tunnel on a decorated narrowboat in the dark!
Suitable for
- 5-6
- 11-13
- Especially for children
- Family friendly
When
3:45-10pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£10 adult £8 child including boat trip and museum
Website
The Amazing Halloween Experience.
The event includes story telling in the museum by our witch whose spine-chilling tales will make your flesh creep, decorations, and a trip through the three-quarter-mile-long Islington Tunnel on a decorated narrowboat in the dark!
Suitable for
- 5-6
- 11-13
- Especially for children
- Family friendly
When
3:45-10pm
Where
London Canal Museum
Admission
£10 adult £8 child including boat trip and museum
Website
Illustrated Talk: The Canal Pioneers: Brindley's School of Engineers. by Chris Lewis.
James Brindley is recognised as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal layout and building. Chris Lewis explains how he made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early "civil engineers".
When
7:30-8:30pm
Illustrated Talk: Ice for the Metropolis by Malcolm Tucker.
Well before the advent of freezers there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering. Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London's ice trade thus grew.
When
7:30-8:30pm
London's Minor Canals
http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/minor.htm
Brief history London's minor canals, the Hertford Union, Limehouse Cut, Grand Surrey, Kensington and Grosvenor canals.
Creator
- London Canal Museum
Publisher
- London Canal Museum
How to obtain
online
Multimedia Guide
http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/ookl
We offer a multimedia museum guide on the OOKL platform. This is available for Android and iPhones, and on the worldwide web. The guide offers additional interpretation of items in the collection and around the museum, including video and audio content that explains how things work.
Creator
- London Canal Museum
Publisher
- London canal Museum
How to obtain
Online, or using OOKL Android and iPhone applications
The Ice House
http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/ice/index.html
Introduction to the ice trade and ice cream, with links to other related pages.
Creator
- London Canal Museum
Publisher
- London Canal Museum
How to obtain
online
The River Lee Navigation
http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/lee.htm
Brief history of the River Lee navigation, a river which became a commercial waterway through man made improvements.
Creator
- London Canal Museum
Publisher
- London Canal Museum
How to obtain
online
- About
- | Collections
- | Events
- | Resources
- | Map
