Museum of London
The Tudor Gallery at the Museum of London
Introducing the gallery are some of the very first maps of London. Dating
from 1558 to 1572, they are, in fact, part picture, part map. Look at
the exquisite detail of the shops, gardens and houses, the ships in the
port and the Londoners themselves – women hanging out washing or men practising
archery.
The development of modern London owes much to the personal influence
of Henry VIII, who built several grand palaces here. In our gallery, we
feature one of the lesser-known – Nonsuch Palace – whose rich
plaster and carved and gilded slate ornament rivalled the best in Europe.
War did not touch London directly until the following century, but the
city maintained its own militia. The swords, daggers and pikes of these
part-time civilian soldiers are displayed in one of our cases. Elsewhere
you will find examples of the magnificent plate armour manufactured in
Henry VIII's new armouries at Greenwich.
Home of kings, queens and courtiers, London became the main centre in
England for the decorative arts. The work of London's goldsmiths and silversmiths
is on show in the form of plates, cups and chalices. Most striking of
all is a cache of 442 pieces of jewellery – rings, necklaces and bracelets
– and other precious objects, unearthed totally by accident by a workman
in Cheapside in 1912. Now known as the 'Cheapside Hoard', this is the
largest collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery in the world.
Yet the gallery reveals just as much about the lifestyle of the less
well-to-do. A complete leather jerkin is an exceptionally rare survival
of Tudor clothing, but there are many leather shoes. Look out for a strange
'eared' style of shoe, and for the patches and wear that reveal months
of heavy use. Look out too – in the displays of pots, pans and cutlery
– for one of the first watering cans. Made of pottery, and thus incredibly
heavy, its spout resembles a giant cauliflower!
Appropriately, the gallery closes with London as the entertainment capital
of England. Artefacts and a model represent the Rose Theatre – built in
1587, discovered and excavated archaeologically in 1987 – where some of
the plays of Marlowe, Jonson and Shakespeare were performed.
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