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History
The origins of the London Transport Museum's
collection came into being in the 1920s, when the
London General Omnibus Company decided to preserve
two Victorian horse buses and an early motorbus for
future generations. The Museum of British Transport
opened in an old bus garage in Clapham, south
London, during the 1960s, before moving to Syon Park
in west London in 1973 as the London Transport
Collection.
In 1980, the public displays moved again, this time
to occupy the Flower Market building in Covent
Garden as the London Transport Museum. In 2002,
London Transport became Transport for London and, to
reflect this, the Museum changed its name to
London's Transport Museum where we have for over 25
years welcomed visitors to the present site. After a
complete redesign the Museum has now reopened in the
Flower Market building, Covent Garden.
In the latter 17th century a fruit, vegetable and
flower market was established on the site with
permanent buildings being erected in the 19th
century to contain the trader’s sprawl and establish
the market as the principle trading centre for fruit
and vegetables.
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The
building that now houses London’s Transport Museum
was designed as the dedicated Flower Market by
William Rogers in 1871. For the next hundred years,
this was the heart of London's wholesale flower
business, famously trading every day except
Christmas. Because of the congestion caused the
market was moved in the 1970’s to South London.
The old market buildings in Covent Garden were
restored and have become a No. 1 tourist attraction
in the city and the Flower Market became the home of
the London’s Transport Museum in 1980.
Creating the new museum
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Imagine the
time and effort involved in moving home -
then magnify that a few hundred times. This
will give an idea of what an enormous task
the creation of the new Museum in a Grade
II-listed building has been.
Staff and contractors moved hundreds of
objects of varying sizes and portability -
from cap badges to a steam locomotive. They
were carefully packed, and moved out of the
Museum to safe storage in the Museum Depot
at Acton. The removal of so many unique, and
in some cases fragile or extremely heavy
objects, without damaging a single item was
a remarkable achievement.
They are now back along with over 1000
additional items. They will be displayed in
new galleries that will tell the story of
public transport and the development of
London over the last 200 years. All modes of
transport will be covered - walking,
cycling, taxis and river transport as well
as buses, trams and the Underground.
The aim has been to bring the story of
London's transport up to date and to
revitalize the Museum's existing collection
to tell the story of London's transport more
effectively, and look at the future as well
as the past and present. The new exhibition
themes include transport art and design
heritage; public transport at war; London's
massive expansion during the 20th century;
and world city comparisons.
In revealing the history of transport in
London, the fascinating stories of the lives
of Londoners and the development of the
Capital over the last 200 years has been
told. |
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