Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s Lost Treasures
- Date
- 13 Oct 2025 · 6:00PM - 7:15PM
- Price
- Pay what you can: £7 or £10
- Venue
- Online (via Zoom), UK time
- Programme type
- Talks
Rare historic survivals are nestled among the mud, stones and rubbish on the Thames foreshore. Dedicated mudlarks carefully search and find the extraordinary and the everyday objects that were made, used or worn by past Londoners.
Join London Museum curator Kate Sumnall for a glimpse behind the scenes, in a talk exploring the London Museum Docklands’ exhibition Secrets of the Thames; the curation and research revealing the stories of these found objects. Tales that include the skills of prehistoric master bronze workers, Roman traders shipping gems across the empire to London and the exquisite medieval finger rings. These are narratives of faith, love and loss, fashion and theatre, and the river is the thread that links it all.
Following Kate’s talk, you will hear from designer-makers, Kumiko Kihara and Liz Willis, whose mudlarking-inspired jewellery collections will be available in the London Museum Docklands (LDM) shop from the end of October 2025, as part of the Goldsmith’s Centre’s jewellery showcase. Discover how their collections connect to the rich history of London and the River Thames.
Liz’s Mudlarked Collection combines silver, silk threads and found objects, collected mudlarking along the Thames to create pieces of wearable history. Kumiko connects to the physical landscapes of the Thames to capture long-forgotten moments and narratives. To create her Dockland Stories Collection, she collected mud from the river and used it in a sand-casting process with Sterling silver.
Liz Willis
Kumiko Kihara
FAQs:
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Who is the speaker?
Kate Sumnall is the Curator of Archaeology at the London Museum. Her current exhibition, Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s Lost Treasure,s is open at London Museum Docklands until 1st March 26. Kate is an artefact specialist with expertise in prehistory and river archaeology.
Kate has curated several exhibitions, including the popular Secret Rivers and the award-winning Havering Hoard: a Bronze Age mystery. Prior to being a curator, Kate worked as the Finds Liaison Officer, London for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, working closely with mudlarks to record their finds from the Thames foreshore.