Pumphouse Educational Museum

The Pumphouse Educational Museum incorporates The Rotherhithe Heritage Museum and the Lavender Pond & Nature Park, and is a unique resource in the Surrey Commercial Docks area of Rotherhithe. The Pumphouse was built in 1929 to regulate the water level in the Dock System. When the Surrey Docks closed in 1970, 350 acres became derelict and 270 years of tradition came to an end. The building was refurbished in 1989 and the Heritage Museum opened in 1991.

Housed on the ground floor is the Rotherhithe Heritage Museum which hosts a collection of artefacts dated from Roman times to the present day. It is the story of Rotherhithe and its people as told by a unique collection of objects found on the Thames foreshore. As such, it's a fascinating glimpse into the ordinary daily life of one of the oldest villages in London. The collection is the result of over 14 years mudlarking on the river shore by a local man, Mr Ron Goode.

The first floor has a permanent hands-on exhibition of everyday artefacts from twentieth century homes and the Victorian era through to present day. Used by children to understand the past and by visitors simply to recall those childhood memories the exhibition allows different generations to recall and compare everyday objects.

The Blitz Room, another permanent display, shows home life during the war years. The 1950's display has a working jukebox with authentic records from that era, household objects and kitchenalia, documents and ephemera.

The second floor houses the six foot replica of Queen Elizabeth's wedding cake, designed and iced at Peek Freans, Bermondsey, once the employer of many Rotherhithe residents. Here also are the classroom facilities for schools, the office, the children's reference library and the lunch area.

Exciting new exhibition of world famous company that invented the garibaldi, the bourbon and the cream of tomato biscuit!

There is a 1-hectare Nature Park and a pond visited by herons, swans, tufted ducks and mallards. In summer months the pond is teeming with wildlife, dragonflies and damselflies, an ideal place for quiet reflection or pond dipping.

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