Metropolitan Police Museum facts for kids
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The Centre's 2009-2020 home in the annexe to Empress State Building.
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| Established | 1949 |
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| Location | Marlowe House, Sidcup, London, England |
| Public transit access | Sidcup  |
The Metropolitan Police Museum is a special place that keeps the history of the Metropolitan Police Service (often called the Met Police). It's like a big collection of old documents, books, objects, and police uniforms. These items help us learn about how the police force has changed over time.
This museum has had a few different names. It was once called the Police Museum or the Bow Street Museum. For a while, from 2009 to 2022, it was known as the Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre. The museum works closely with the Crime Museum. Both are managed by a team that helps support the police. The museum also helps look after the Metropolitan Police Historic Vehicle Collection. These old police vehicles have been kept at the same location since 2023.
Contents
History of the Museum
How the Collection Started
The idea for the museum began in 1949. A police officer named Chief Superintendent Arthur Rowlerson asked people to donate old police items. He wanted to celebrate 200 years since the Bow Street Runners started. The Bow Street Runners were like an early police force before the Met Police.
The items collected were first kept at Bow Street Police Station. But for a while, there wasn't anyone officially in charge of the collection.
First Curator and Growth
In 1967, the museum got its first curator, Audrey Sams. A curator is someone who looks after a museum's collection. She was already working for the Met Police. In the same year, a Historical Society and a Museums Advisory Board were also created. This board helped guide the Police Museum and later the Crime Museum.
Audrey Sams helped arrange for some items to be shown at the Museum of London in 1979. This was to celebrate the Met Police's 150th birthday. She also started looking for a new, bigger home for the museum.
Moving to New Homes
In September 1981, Marcelle Marceau took over as the new curator. Later that year, the display area at Bow Street closed. The museum's collection then moved to a storage space in Brixton. This was in a building that used to be a piano factory. In 1993, the collection moved again to another storage area in Charlton.
For many years, the museum didn't have a public display area. Then, in July 2009, a new gallery and research room opened. This new space was in an annex of the Empress State Building in west London. Maggie Bird became the curator, and the museum was renamed the Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre.
The Museum Today
The gallery at the Empress State Building closed in early 2020. This was because the building was going to be used for other police work. The museum's collection then moved to Marlowe House in Sidcup. A new research room opened there in October 2022. A new gallery for visitors opened in spring 2023. So, the museum continues to share the interesting history of the Met Police.
