Where The City of London Police Museum is in Aldermanbury, in the heart of the City of London.
What This museum, which opened on 7 November last year, tells the story of policing in the City of London, from its beginnings in 1839 to now.
Collection “There has been a City of London Police Museum from the 1950s in various forms and locations,” says Sara Pink, the head of the Guildhall and City Business Libraries in the City of London Corporation. “Over time, the collection has developed. It represents a fascinating police force from its inception in 1839 to modern times.” The museum covers policing methods, large-scale events within the Square Mile of the City of London and the role of police officers (and the force’s animals), and illustrates how communications, criminal activity and policing (including uniforms and equipment) have adapted to a changing world.
Highlights “The array of uniforms offers an excellent insight into the men and women who have made up the police force, and how they appeared in society over the years,” Pink says. Items relating to the Houndsditch Murders – an incident when three police officers were shot dead during a robbery in December 1910 – and the subsequent Siege of Sydney Street are especially compelling. They include bullets from the scene, the gas cylinder used to break into the safe, and a model of the buildings, made to be used at the trial at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. More cheerfully, the museum has the tug-of-war medal won by the City of London Police at the 1920 Olympics. “The tussle was not repeated in later Olympics, so the force remains the last tug-of-war champion,” Pink says.
Help at hand The museum is run as a partnership between the City of London Police and the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library, whose staff curate and manage the museum. Day-to-day, the museum is staffed by volunteers.
Budget The project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the tune of £90,300. Admission is free, but special events – talks and receptions – are ticketed and charged.
Sticky moment None yet, says Pink cautiously. But the museum is mindful that at least one of its narrative strands – the murder of Catherine Eddowes by Jack the Ripper in 1888 – could overshadow the rest of the museum in a way that is not wanted. “There are original records and photographs from the case in our collection, but they were too gruesome and disturbing to show,” Pink says. “Instead, we decided to tell the story through the eyes of Eddowes herself, and bring her back to life as a 3D hologram in the moments leading up to her final hours.” They did this in partnership with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, also in the City of London, whose video and tech experts used cutting-edge technology with factual evidence and original documents to recreate Catherine Eddowes in an authentic setting. The result is that her story is told in a way that has never been attempted before.
Survival tips “This project had to be completed in a very short time frame,” Pink says. “The key to success was effective regular communication with all partners, stakeholders and consultants. At no stage did we lose sight of the benefits that the project will give the public.”
Visitors It’s too early to say, but the museum has a target of 30,000 visitors a year. It is open from Monday to Saturday.
Future plans The museum has activities aimed at schools, communities and young people in order to engage the public with the collections and stories of City of London policing and highlight lesser-known sides of the police force. “We also have a range of merchandise and are hoping that, alongside curator talks and special events, the museum will generate enough income to enable us to refresh and update it each year,” Pink says. She and her colleagues also plan to create a soundscape to bring to life the model used in the Houndsditch trial, as well as adding creative content to the displays.
Louise Gray is a freelance journalist
www.cityoflondon.police.uk/about-us/history/museum
What This museum, which opened on 7 November last year, tells the story of policing in the City of London, from its beginnings in 1839 to now.
Collection “There has been a City of London Police Museum from the 1950s in various forms and locations,” says Sara Pink, the head of the Guildhall and City Business Libraries in the City of London Corporation. “Over time, the collection has developed. It represents a fascinating police force from its inception in 1839 to modern times.” The museum covers policing methods, large-scale events within the Square Mile of the City of London and the role of police officers (and the force’s animals), and illustrates how communications, criminal activity and policing (including uniforms and equipment) have adapted to a changing world.
Highlights “The array of uniforms offers an excellent insight into the men and women who have made up the police force, and how they appeared in society over the years,” Pink says. Items relating to the Houndsditch Murders – an incident when three police officers were shot dead during a robbery in December 1910 – and the subsequent Siege of Sydney Street are especially compelling. They include bullets from the scene, the gas cylinder used to break into the safe, and a model of the buildings, made to be used at the trial at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. More cheerfully, the museum has the tug-of-war medal won by the City of London Police at the 1920 Olympics. “The tussle was not repeated in later Olympics, so the force remains the last tug-of-war champion,” Pink says.
Help at hand The museum is run as a partnership between the City of London Police and the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library, whose staff curate and manage the museum. Day-to-day, the museum is staffed by volunteers.
Budget The project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the tune of £90,300. Admission is free, but special events – talks and receptions – are ticketed and charged.
Sticky moment None yet, says Pink cautiously. But the museum is mindful that at least one of its narrative strands – the murder of Catherine Eddowes by Jack the Ripper in 1888 – could overshadow the rest of the museum in a way that is not wanted. “There are original records and photographs from the case in our collection, but they were too gruesome and disturbing to show,” Pink says. “Instead, we decided to tell the story through the eyes of Eddowes herself, and bring her back to life as a 3D hologram in the moments leading up to her final hours.” They did this in partnership with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, also in the City of London, whose video and tech experts used cutting-edge technology with factual evidence and original documents to recreate Catherine Eddowes in an authentic setting. The result is that her story is told in a way that has never been attempted before.
Survival tips “This project had to be completed in a very short time frame,” Pink says. “The key to success was effective regular communication with all partners, stakeholders and consultants. At no stage did we lose sight of the benefits that the project will give the public.”
Visitors It’s too early to say, but the museum has a target of 30,000 visitors a year. It is open from Monday to Saturday.
Future plans The museum has activities aimed at schools, communities and young people in order to engage the public with the collections and stories of City of London policing and highlight lesser-known sides of the police force. “We also have a range of merchandise and are hoping that, alongside curator talks and special events, the museum will generate enough income to enable us to refresh and update it each year,” Pink says. She and her colleagues also plan to create a soundscape to bring to life the model used in the Houndsditch trial, as well as adding creative content to the displays.
Louise Gray is a freelance journalist
www.cityoflondon.police.uk/about-us/history/museum