Secrets of the Thames uncovers the past one tide at a time

There’s something quietly mesmerising about how the Thames keeps its secrets. You could live a lifetime in the City and never quite grasp the scale of what lies beneath its shifting mud. But the new exhibition Secrets of the Thames, running at the London Museum until March 2026, lets visitors get closer than ever to the real, human stories unearthed along the riverbanks.

From the start, Secrets of the Thames places you in the mindset of the mudlark – not the folklore version, but the everyday people, often women and children, who scoured the foreshore for anything they could sell or reuse. Back then, mudlarking wasn’t a hobby. It was survival. And this exhibition captures that reality with depth and care, blending artefacts, storytelling, and contemporary voices to help you experience London’s history through the eyes of those who lived it.

The collection includes everything from a gold Medieval ring set with a pink spinel to a single prosthetic eye from the 1920s. There’s humour and heartbreak throughout, a set of 18th-century false teeth sits a few steps away from pilgrim tokens, cast into the river in gratitude centuries ago. These pieces don’t just tell you about the past, they remind you how human it all was.

What sets Secrets of the Thames apart is how much attention is given to people often left out of the historical narrative. Famous mudlark Peggy Jones is one such example. Her story, recorded in the early 19th century, brings home the daily struggle and isolation many faced working the river. She disappeared in 1805, and her fate is still unknown. It’s a sobering reminder of how closely tied survival was to the Thames and how quickly the river could turn.

Each room in the exhibition is themed by period and context. You’ll move from Roman finds to Tudor trinkets, from personal belongings to powerful reminders of Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. Cowrie shells and coloured beads provide stark insight into how wealth was built and at what cost. It’s a thoughtful inclusion, handled with the dignity and clarity such stories deserve.

Contemporary mudlarkers feature too, not treasure hunters for gain, but people driven by curiosity and love for the city’s hidden history. Their stories are scattered throughout, bridging the past and present with ease. One moment you’re reading about ancient amulets, the next you’re listening to someone who found one last spring, just a short walk from Tower Bridge.

The exhibition finishes with a luminous sculpture of the moon by artist Luke Jerram, glowing softly in a darkened room. It’s a clever visual ending – the moon, after all, drives the tides that make mudlarking possible. It’s poetic, without feeling overstated.

For anyone curious about London’s layers, not just kings and cathedrals, but the people who’ve quietly shaped the city through their daily lives, Secrets of the Thames is worth seeing. It’s a carefully assembled journey into the soul of the river and, by extension, into the heart of London itself.

For more on events and exhibitions in the Square Mile, visit EyeOnLondon City. We’d love to hear your views in the comments.

[Image Credit: www.artnet.com]

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