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A clay pigeon and a golden poo splat are the new logo for the rebranded London Museum, which is more than halfway through its multi-year, £437m move to Smithfield
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 26 Jul 2024
The pigeon and splat is the new mascot of the London Museum Credit: London Museum
The former Museum of London has officially taken up its new name of the London Museum, with the soon-to-be relocated attraction debuting a new logo featuring a white clay pigeon and a golden poo splat.
The museum in the British capital is currently at the halfway point two years from the start of its relocation to its new home in Smithfield, with the £437m (US$562m, €517.8m) plans aiming to draw up to two million visitors a year.
Its new identity, complete with its pigeon and splat mascot, was chosen to symbolise the London Museum as “an impartial and humble observer of London life”.
“Feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square is one of those truly iconic London scenes,” said the museum. “But pigeons are also treated as pests. Today, feeding is banned in Trafalgar Square, and Harris hawks have been used to patrol the area.
“Still, pigeons remain. Watching London as they have for centuries. At home in every alley and palace. Flying freely through the city’s grit and its glitter. Unafraid to perch on anyone’s statue.
“The pigeon is a symbol which unites our city. It’s a link between past and present. And we’re proud to have it as our London Museum icon.”
The new pigeon and splat logo, says the museum, represents “a place where the grit and the glitter have existed side by side for millennia”. Led by Uncommon Creative Studio, the rebrand involved a consultation featuring 500 London citizens and visiting tourists.
“A good logo gets people talking,” said London Museum director Sharon Ament. “Our pigeon, cast from London clay, and its splat, rendered in glitter, prompts people to reconsider London.”
The museum’s new name sees it revert to its original title. It became the Museum of London in 1976 when it merged with the Guildhall Museum.
According to the City of London Corporation, the move to its new Smithfield site will support the London Museum’s vision of becoming one of the British capital’s top ten visitor attractions, generating significant economic benefits for the area.
Once open, the museum will have longer operating hours, opening early and closing later, with extended opening hours offered on Friday and Saturday nights. It will also feature a ‘marketplace’, housed in rows of terraced houses around the perimeter of the General Market building that will host small independent businesses and social enterprises.
Museums and galleries
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