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The Museum of London has received a cash injection of £73m from the City of London Corporation, with the funding being used to support the next stage of plans to relocate the attraction to Smithfield in 2026
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 27 Apr 2023
The Museum of London will reopen as the rebranded London Museum in 2026 Credit: Museum of London
The City of London Corporation has just announced a £73m (US$91m, €82.6m) fuding boost for the Museum of London’s relocation, with the injection of funds supporting the continued redevelopment of the new Smithfield site.
The new space is set to open in 2026 as the rebranded London Museum, with the funding from the corporation providing the necessary financial support to appoint sub-contractors required to build the £337m (€402m, US$458m) museum.
Described by museum director Sharon Ament as a “living breathing building that buzzes with the energy of Londoners”, the redeveloped institution will serve as a dynamic public space, offering exhibitions and events curated and designed by London-based talent and creatives.
The museum will call the historic Smithfield market site home, with the redevelopment occupying several long-abandoned buildings that have remained empty for more than three decades.
According to the City of London Corporation, the move will support its vision of the new museum becoming one of the British capital’s top ten visitor attractions, generating significant economic benefits and bringing more than two million visitors a year to the Smithfield area.
“Cultural institutions like the Museum of London are essential to the character and vitality of our great city,” said Chris Hayward, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation.
“This significant investment in the relocation and regeneration of the Museum of London represents a major commitment by the City Corporation, not only to the museum but also to the historic market buildings that make up the site.
“We believe that the new London Museum will draw visitors in from all corners of the world, bringing economic benefits to the Smithfield area and providing a world-class learning offer to every schoolchild in London.”
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.
In addition, the museum will be the first in the world to have a train line running through it, with Thameslink Trains between King’s Cross and Blackfriars passing through the centre of the museum at regular intervals. The museum’s proximity to the Crossrail and Farringdon Station is hoped to transform it into a major tourist destination.
“We’re hugely grateful to the City of London Corporation for their continued support for the new London Museum,” said Ament.
“We’re moving forward at pace to create a fantastic new destination for the capital and this funding is the next step in our journey to build a truly world-class museum.”
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