V&A Storehouse East

A depository of ancient and modern unseen artifacts! 

If you’ve ever been to London, the V&A museum in the west is a place that everyone has visited because it’s the world largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design.

The V&A museum has recently expanded its collection to the public by opening its warehouse located in the Queen Elizabeth Park.

The V&A Storehouse is just a 10 minute walk from Hackney Wick Station and it is free to visit. 

Before entering the storehouse, bags must be stored in their provided lockers, which again are free to use and you can set up your passcode by following the instructions.

Now that your bags are out of the way, you can freely explore the storehouse which holds about 600,000 items and archives.

There are three floors that are accessible to the public and on the lowest floor, the floors are glass so that you can see the behind-the-scenes work that the staff carry out and objects stored below. 

There are so many beautiful objects from different places of the world—from furniture to paintings to pieces of architecture. There is something for everyone!

Personally, I really enjoyed the fragments of significant and cultural buildings that are displayed and recreated within the storehouse.

It was amazing that such a huge piece of culture can be retained well and I enjoyed learning of the history behind the architecture. 

The storehouse does not function like the museum where each piece is explained in detail on plaque cards.

Some pieces do have it but most don’t. There are book guides provided on each floor on every piece within that floor, however, there still isn’t much information on the item.

There are some sections where you can look down and watch staff restore pieces or working on designs.

It really is a good insight on the functioning of museum and how things are stored and preserved from these scenes. 

Going through the storehouse doesn’t take long and it is a fun experience. I think it is worth the visit and after the exploration, you can visit their cafe or take advantage of the weather and walk in the park. 

Location:

Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London, E20 3AX

Written by Althea Scully