This Week in London – Lost music venues; the Iraq war remembered; and, ‘Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style’ extended…

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• Lost UK music venues are recalled in a new exhibition opening at the V&A in South Kensington on Saturday. Lost Music Venues features more than 100 objects celebrating 50 lost venues and includes gig posters, membership cards, club photography, band merch, and subculture fashions which have been gathered together following a call to the public. Highlights include handwritten Oasis lyrics, a Blur set list, Mark Webber’s briefcase from his stint as Pulp’s tour manager, the exterior sign from the Astoria London, Joan Baez’s note of support for Rainbow Theatre, a poster for an early Banksy exhibition held at The Arches, a bespoke club outfit designed by Vivienne Westwood, and flyers from Plastic People. Free to visit, the display can be seen until 30th October, 2027. For more, see vam.ac.uk.

• Marking the 15th anniversary of the end of the war in Iraq, a Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle will go on display outside the National Army Museum from next Tuesday to Sunday, 14th June. The vehicle has been recently decommissioned after more than 40 years of Army service and was present during operations in Iraq in 2004. It was almost certainly the vehicle in which then-Private Johnson Beharry earned the Victoria Cross for two separate acts of bravery under sustained enemy attack. Now Warrant Officer Class 1, Beharry became the first living British soldier in 35 years to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions in saving the lives of his comrades during ambushes in Iraq. In the first, after his platoon commander was wounded in an attack on 1st May, 2004, Beharry took control of a Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle and, despite being severely injured, he led his patrol to safety under heavy machine-gun fire from the enemy. In the second incident on 11th June, 2004, Beharry, who sustained a severe head injury when a rocket-propelled grenade detonated just six inches from his head, still managed to drive his vehicle out of danger and saved the lives of those around him before losing consciousness. Beharry’s Victoria Cross will be among the first medals from Lord Ashcroft’s collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses to go on display inside the museum from 2nd June. His Iraq Medal and Kosovo Medal will also be on display. For more, see https://www.nam.ac.uk/.

• Buckingham Palace have announced the landmark centenary exhibition at the King’s Gallery marking the centenary of the late Queen’s birth – Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style – will be extended by six months due to popular demand. The exhibition, which will now close on 18th April next year, is the largest exhibition of Queen Elizabeth II’s fashion ever staged featuring more than 300 items drawn from her personal fashion archive. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.rct.uk/queenelizabeth. 

10 London sites relating to Winnie-the-Pooh – 9. Methuen & Co…

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The book Winnie-the-Pooh was first published on 14th October, 1926, by Methuen & Co in London.

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LondonLife Special – The Chelsea Flower Show…

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A gallery of some of the highlights of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show which runs until tomorrow at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. To see all the medal winners, head to www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/awards-2026

‘She Grows Veg’. The Great Pavilion. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Fower Show 2026.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England’s show garden ‘On the Edge’ – designed by Sarah Eberle. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
Tokonoma Garden – Sanumaya no Niwa – designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara and Paul Noritaka Tange. Show Garden. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
Lovehoney presents: Aphrodite’s Hothouse. Designed by James Whiting of Plants by There. Houseplant Studio. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
Chlorophyll: The Colour of Life. Created by Acacia Creative Studio. Creative Space. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
Saatchi Gallery Garden. Designed by Naomi Ferrett-Cohen. Showground installation. PICTURE: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

This Week in London – Dinosaurs that ruled the seas; James McNeill Whistler; and, Lambeth Palace Garden…

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A mososaur skull. PICTURE: Trustees of the Natural History Museum.

• Come face-to-face with some of the deadliest predators ever to rule the oceans in a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. Opening tomorrow, Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep allows visitors to see the tooth of a mosasaur – described as the T Rex of the sea – up close, touch a cast of a Baryonyx claw and see a complete plesiosaur. There’s also the chance to hold Jurassic poo and take part in the Fierce Factor trail in a bid to find out which creature deserves to be crowned the most ferocious predator in the sea. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/jurassic-oceans.html .

James McNeill Whistler,
Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter, c 1872, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Henry
Glover Stevens in memory of Ellen P Stevens and Mary M Stevens,
34.27.

• Europe’s largest retrospective of the works of American artist James McNeill Whistler in 30 years opened at Tate Britain in Millbank today. James McNeill Whistler brings together 150 works ranging from the iconic Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, four major self-portraits from across his career and previously unseen sketchbooks. Other highlights include his largest landscapes such as Coast of Brittany (1861) and Wapping (1860-4) and the largest assembly of his Nocturne landscapes seen in three decades, such as Nocturne in Blue and God: Valparaiso (1865-74) and Nocturne: Blue and Gold – St Mark’s, Venice (1880). Runs until 27th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.

• The story of London’s continuously cultivated gardens – Lambeth Palace Garden – is being told in a new exhibition at Lambeth Palace Library. Over the wall charts the garden from its origins in medieval orchards to today’s landscapes and displays items from the library’s collections connected to that ongoing story. Entry is free. Runs until 22nd July. There’s a special Lambeth Palace Garden open evening being held tonight – prebooking is essential. For more, see www.lambethpalacelibrary.info/exhibitions/over-the-wall/.

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10 London sites relating to Winnie-the-Pooh – 8. The Evening News…

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Winnie-the-Pooh’s first appearance by that name came on 24th December, 1925, when a Christmas story by AA Milne’s was published in The Evening News.

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LondonLife – The State Opening of Parliament…

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended the State Opening of Parliament last Wednesday.

The King and Queen, in the Irish State Coach, move across the Tilt Yard of Horse Guards to the Palace of Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament. PICTURE: PO Phot Rory Arnold/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026
The band of the Grenadier Guards at the Palace of Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament. PICTURE: SSgt Donald C Todd/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026
King Charles III in the Irish State Coach during the State Opening of Parliament. PICTURE: SSgt Donald C Todd/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026
Staircase lining party made up of the Household Cavalry, at the Sovereign’s Entrance of the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament today. PICTURE: SSgt Donald C Todd/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026

What’s in a name?…Walthamstow

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This north-eastern district of London’s name is apparently owed to a corruption the Anglo-Saxon place name Wilcumestowe.

That name – which means something like “a place where strangers are welcome” – is believed to have become confused with local landmark Waltham Forest, an early name used for the part of Epping Forest that centred on Waltham Abbey which lies to the north beyond the M25.

The 15th century ‘Ancient House’ in Walthamstowe. PICTURE: Tilman2007/Wikipedia (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hence we ended up with Walthamstow (although the name Waltham Forest is remembered in the name of the London borough of which Walthamstow is part).

The Anglo-Saxon manor existed prior to the Norman invasion of 1066 and was recorded in the Domesday Book. Through marriage it passed into the hands of Norman Ralph de Toni, standard bearer to King William the Conqueror, and remained in his family until the 15th century. The family was responsible for the founding of St Mary’s Church, which still stands today, in the 12th century.

The village remained small – the area was populated by small scale farmers and yeomen – but during the 16th century wealthy people started constructing more substantial properties – these included navigator Sir Martin Frobisher, poet George Gasgoigne and Lord Mayor of London Sir George Monoux who built the Monoux Almshouses and School there (since rebuilt). Even diarist Samuel Pepys, had a connection, being entertained by Admiral Sir William Penn at a property in the village.

The trend for building large properties continued into the 18th century when included Water House was built. It later became a childhood home of Arts and Crafts designer William Morris and is now the home of the William Morris Gallery.

A view of Walthamstow Market on the High Street in Walthamstow, London, UK. PICTURE: Chris Dorney/iStockphoto

Urbanisation picked up pace in the 19th century and in the mid-1800s, more than 120 acres of the Walthamstowe Marshes to the west (the marshes followed the course of the River Lea and are now a site of Special Scientific Interest), were flooded to create reservoirs. Industry also moved in during this period and, in an unusual example of the sort of industry which took place in the area, the first British car with an internal combustion engine, the Brewer Car, was made in Walthamstow in the 1890s.

Development was further spurred by the arrival of the railways and, in 1930, the North Circular Road just to the north. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the building of a rather grand new town hall and assembly hall moved the civic centre from where it had been on the High Street to Forest Road.

Redeveloped extensively after heavy bombing during World War II, Walthamstow became part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in 1965.

As well as St Mary’s and Morris’ former home, landmarks include the 15th century “Ancient House”, the Forest School (1834) with a chapel featuring stained glass by William Morris, the Vestry House Museum (1930), the Lighthouse Methodist Church (1893) and the Copper Mill (the latest incarnation of a mill which has been associated with the village since the early Middle Ages). The daily Walthamstow Market, which stretches along the High Street, claims to be the longest daily street market in Europe.

This Week in London -Courtauld carpet returns to Eltham; art from Asia-Pacific; London broadsides; and, a Blue Plaque for a ground-breaking astronomer…

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• An antique Chinese carpet which originally was part of furnishings at Eltham Palace has returned home after 80 years. The carpet, dyed in the “dynastic blue” of the Qing dynasty and featuring symbols including dragons, Buddhist emblems and masks, represents the demand for the Chinese decorative arts in the 1920s and 1930s and serves as a reminder of how Chinese art was produced, circulated, and displayed in Britain. The carpet, donated from the estate of Mrs M R Bernard – the niece of former palace owner Stephen Courtauld, has undergone extensive conservation work. It can be seen in what was Virginia Courtauld’s boudoir. Eccentric millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld built a magnificent art deco mansion right next to the medieval Great Hall of Eltham Palace in 1936 but moved out in 1944 and passed the lease to the Army Educational Corps. Over the ensuing decades many of the original items in the palace were dispersed but English Heritage, which took over management of the palace in 1995, has been working to restore the interiors back to when the Courtaulds lived in them. Other original items which have returned to the palace in recent history including a gold telephone and a pair of Cartier brooches. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/eltham-palace-and-gardens/.

Pala Pothupitiye / Kalutara Fort, 2020–21 / Purchased 2021 with funds from Professor Emeritus Ian O’Connor AC and Anna Reynolds through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA, Brisbane/© Pala Pothupitiye

• The works of more than 40 artists from 25 countries across the Asia Pacific region are going on show at the V&A in South Kensington. Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific, to be held in The Porter Gallery, is being held in partnership with Australia’s Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art. Highlights include: Mchael Parekōwhat’s life-sized sculpture of a Mãori security guard, Kapa Haka (Whero) (2003); Pala Pothupitiye’s Kalutara Fort (2020-21) – a reimagined map of an historic Sri Lanka military camp; Brenda Fajardo, Elisabet Kauage, Mathias Kauage and John Siune’s There is still a war going on in Bougainville (1995) which responds to Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville conflict between 1988-98; and, a series of porcelain busts by Ah Xian. The exhibition opens on Saturday and runs until 10th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://www.vam.ac.uk/.

• The role broadsides played in spreading news, advice and gossip in London from the 16th century onwards is the subject of a new exhibition at the Guildhall Library. Broadsides: Speaking to the People explores the history of broadsides and how they were used to speak to the general public, high and low alike. Free to see. Runs until 29th October. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/exhibition-broadsides-speaking-to-the-people.

• Ground-breaking astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at the home in Notting Hill where she lived as a teenager. The plaque at 70 Lansdowne Road marks where Payne-Gaposchkin’s journey towards expanding our understanding of space began. Payne-Gaposchkin earned a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard after moving to the US. Her groundbreaking 1925 thesis proposed that stars are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, a discovery that fundamentally changed scientific understanding of the universe, and in 1927, she became the youngest astronomer ever to have a star of distinction next to her name in the publication American Men of Science. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

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10 London sites relating to Winnie-the-Pooh – 7. EH Shepard’s childhood home…

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Famed as the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh, EH Shepard spent his early childhood at a property in Regent’s Park now marked with an English Heritage Blue Plaque.

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LondonLife – Waterloo view…

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PICTURE: Robbie Cheadle/Unsplash

Lost London – Temple of Isis…

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The location of this Roman-era temple is something of a mystery but some key archaeological finds suggest there was a house of worship located in Southwark dedicated to Isis in the city which was known as Londinium.

Roman columns in Jordan – but what did the Temple of Isis look like in Londonium? PICTURE: Hannah Wernecke/Unsplash

Isis was a popular deity during the Roman era so to find such a temple in a Roman city would not be surprising.

Among the finds which point to the temple’s existence is the Southwark flagon, a single-handled terracotta vessel dating from the 1st century found on Tooley Street near London Bridge which features the graffito ‘Londini ad fanum Isidis (“At the Temple of Isis, London”).

Further evidence can be found in a 3rd century Roman altar which was reused in a riverside wall (and discovered in 1975). Referring to the rebuilding of the temple by Governor Marcus Martiannius Pulcher, it bears the inscription that “Marcus Martianius Pulcher, senator, imperial propraetorian legate, ordered the restoration of the temple of Isis which had collapsed from…age.”

There are also numerous smaller finds which depict Isis including a lead weight and a silver statuette of her son Harpokrates.

London is said to be the only site in what was Roman Britain where evidence of the cult of Isis has been found.

This Week in London – Henry Moore at Kew; The National Gallery expands online offering; and, Churchill’s paintings…

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• The largest outdoor exhibition of the art of Henry Moore – including a series of monumental sculptures – goes on display at Kew Gardens this Saturday. Henry Moore: Monumental Nature features 30 of Moore’s work placed across Kew’s landscapes and inside the Temperate House along with more than 90 smaller works on show in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. Among the large sculptural works on show will be Large Two Forms, Oval with Points, Reclining Woman: Elbow, Locking Piece and Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae while the smaller works include bronzes as well as stone and wood carvings, prints and drawings. Meanwhile, from 5th June Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex is hosting a parallel exhibition of four more of Moore’s sculptures shown alongside newly commissioned pieces from contemporary artists. Both displays can be seen until 27th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.kew.org/kew-gardens.

• The entire collection of The National Gallery can be seen in a new online tour. The new Google Arts & Culture tour shows the 2024–25 Bicentenary redisplays of the whole collection, CC Land: The Wonder of Art. There’s also a highlights tour covering seven rooms which focuses on specific paintings including Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Sebastiano del Piombo’s The Raising of Lazarus, Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun’s Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, Edouard Manet’s portrait of the artist Eva Gonzalès, Sir Thomas Lawrence’s The Red Boy and Claude Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond. The Google Arts & Culture National Gallery Complete Tour can be found at www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours/google-street-view-virtual-tour, and the The Google Arts & Culture National Gallery Highlights Tour at www.nationalgallery.org.uk/stories/virtual-curated-tour.

• Now On: Winston Churchill: The Painter. The first major retrospective of Sir Winston Churchill’s paintings since his death, this display at the Wallace Collection brings together 50 of his works, more than half from private collections. As well as wartime scenes and Mediterranean views, they include still lives, portraits, Moroccan cityscapes and paintings of Churchill’s home of Chartwell. Runs until 29th November. Admission is free. For more, see www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/winston-churchill-the-painter/

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10 London sites relating to Winnie-the-Pooh – 6. Harrods…

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While London Zoo played an important role in the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh, so too did another well-known establishment – Harrods in Knightsbridge.

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LondonLife – Eden Dock, Canary Wharf…

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PICTURE: Sue Winston/Unsplash

Formerly known as Middle Dock, Eden Dock features floating islands and art installations as well as providing a space for activities. The dock, which was renamed in 2024, takes its new name from the Eden Project in Cornwell whic partnered in its creation.

A Moment in London’s History…London Zoo is founded…

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PICTURE: Richard Cook/Unsplash

The origins of the modern ZSL London Zoo go back 200 years to the founding of the London Zoological Society by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles on 29th April, 1826.

While the idea of a zoo had been debated for some years, it was the death of Chunee the bull elephant at Cross’s Menagerie in the Exeter Exchange on the Strand that is said to have been the catalyst for immediate action.

Chunee, who’d been kept in an enclosure at the menagerie for six years, had been put down by a firing squad of soldiers after, having become aggressive during musth (a natural condition in adult male elephants which sees them experience a massive surge of testosterone and is often characterised by erratic behaviour), had injured one of his keepers and killed another. The soldiers, acting on the wishes of the menagerie’s proprietor Edward Cross, had fired 152 musketballs into the elephant but still had to finish him off with a harpoon.

Such was the outrage at this tragic event, that Raffles, famous for having established a trading post at Singapore, moved to to found the society.

Sir Thomas obtained land for the zoo in Regent’s Park before his death on 5th July that year (his birthday) but it was his successor, Whig politician Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, who oversaw the construction of the zoo’s first animal houses drawing on the services of architect Decimus Burton.

The zoo opened to fellows of the society on 27th April, 1828, permitting them to study the animals. It was granted a Royal Charter by King George IV in 1829. In 1831, animals held in the Tower of London’s menagerie were transferred to the zoo.

It wasn’t until 1847 that it opened to the public in a plan aimed at raising funds for its upkeep.

Initial animals at the zoo included monkeys, bears, kangaroos and zebras – naturalist Charles Darwin was among those who visited in the early years and was fascinated by an ape named Jenny.

While it wasn’t the first zoo in the world (but was the world’s first scientific zoo), it was later responsible for numerous world firsts with the first reptile house opening in 1849, the first public aquarium in 1853 and the first insect house in 1881. In 1850, Obaysch, the first hippo in Europe since Roman times, came to live at the zoo.

Others among the more famous animals housed at the zoo were the African elephant Jumbo who arrived in 1865, the Black bear Winnie who was part of the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh, and Guy the Gorilla who arrived in 1947.

Larger animals were moved out to Whipsnade Zoo, the world’s first open-air zoo, in Bedfordshire in 1931.

This Week in London – Zurbarán at the National Gallery; documents to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence; and, NIGO at the Design Museum…

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The Body of Saint Bonaventure, about 1629; Oil on canvas, 245 × 220 cm; Musée du Louvre, Paris © GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre)/Franck Raux

• The work of 17th century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the National Gallery this weekend. Zurbarán, the first major monographic exhibition on his work in the UK, features almost 50 paintings spanning the breadth of his career. They include life-size depictions of saints, altarpieces and still lifes such as Saint Bonaventure on His Bier, Saint Apollonia, The Crucifixion, The Crucified Chrisr with a Painter and Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose. Zurbarán (1598-1664) spent most of his life in Seville and, along with Diego Velázquez and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, is considered one of the leading Spanish artists of his era. Runs until 23rd August. Admission charge applies. The exhibition will travel on to the Musée du Louvre and then the Art Institute of Chicago. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

• Rare documents related to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the US are going on display in the City of London Heritage Gallery. The display, which marks the 250th anniversary of the signing, features two letters, dated 1775, which were sent to the City of London from the General Committee of Association of the City and County of New York and the Congress in Philadelphia along with a silk bookmark commemorating the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on 14th April, 1865, and the Roll of Fame recording the Honorary Freedom of the City of London opened at the entry for General Dwight D Eisenhower. Admission is free. The display, entered via the Guildhall Art Gallery, runs until 29th October. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/heritage-gallery-display-america-and-london.

• The first UK exhibition showcasing the multi-faceted work of Japanese designer and creative director NIGO opens at the Design Museum tomorrow. NIGO: From Japan with Love features more than 700 objects with highlights including a recreation of NIGO’s teenage bedroom, ceramics hand-thrown by NIGO and a life-size glass tea house made especially for the exhibition. Runs until 4th October. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/nigo-from-japan-with-love.

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10 London sites relating to Winnie-the-Pooh – 5. London Zoo..

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London Zoo played a key role in the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Harry Colebourn and Winnie the Bear sculpture at London Zoo. PICTURE: Katie Chan/Wikimedia Commons (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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LondonLife – Inside the capsule…

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The London Eye. PICTURE: Jack White/Unsplash

Where’s London’s oldest…international airport?

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As is often the case with finding London’s oldest, this isn’t necessarily an easy question to answer.

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in London’s west was the city’s first civil airfield. First used in 1910 and subsequently by the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, it properly entered service as a civil airfield in August, 1919, when on 25th of that month it became the origin point for the first international flight in the world – from Hounslow to Paris-Le Bourget. That flight, by a de Havilland DH.4A aircraft, was the first in what provider Air Transport and Travel Ltd offered as a daily service.

But despite that historic early role, the Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, which only had rudimentary facilities, had a relatively short-lived life as a civil airport. Croydon in London’s south, home to the RAF Station Croydon and the Waddon Aerodrome, was seen as a more suitable location for the city’s airport.

The former terminal building at Croydon Airport. PICTURE: © Christopher Hilton (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

So, on 29th March, 1920, Croydon Airport opened. While it initially had temporary facilities on Plough Lane (planes apparently had to taxi across the lane to take off and after landing), a permanent terminal – the world’s first – opened near the Purley Way bypass in 1928, making it the city’s first purpose-built international airport (and the biggest and most advanced in the world at the time).

Croydon Airport is also famous for having the first air traffic control system in the world and also boasted the world’s first airport hotel which opened in 1928 (known then as Gate Lodge and today – it’s still in business – as the Croydon Aerodrome Hotel).

The airport was home to Britain’s first national carrier, Imperial Airways, which was founded when four airlines merged in 1924.

During World War II, the airport’s name changed to RAF Croydon – it served fighters taking part in the Battle of Britain – and in 1943 RAF Transport Command was founded at the site and used to ferry soldiers to and from Europe.

After the war, Croydon returned to its role as civilian passenger airport but lack of room for expansion saw Heathrow, founded in 1946 as London Airport and renamed in 1966, take over the role.

This Week in London – V&A East Museum opens; ‘Cool Britannia’ at the Barbican; and, Netherlandish drawings…

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V&A East Museum © Hufton+Crow

• The new V&A East Museum has opened to the public. Located in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the new museum’s first exhibition The Music is Black: A British Story, reveals how Black British music has shaped British culture over the last 125 years. Highlights include Stormzy’s iconic 2019 Banksy-designed Glastonbury vest, Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar, fashion worn by Seal, Sade and Skin, plus Fabio & Grooverider’s DJ equipment and Grooverider’s first turntable, newly acquired photographs by Eddie Otchere, Jennie Baptiste and Laura ‘Hyperfrank’ Brosnan, and a specially commissioned painting by Sir Frank Bowling. The museum also features two free permanent ‘Why We Make galleries’ which feature more than 500 objects from the V&A’s collection including new artworks by artists including Turner Prize-nominated Rene Matić, Carrie Mae Weems and Tania Bruguera and new acquisitions by designer Yinka Ilori, fashion designer Molly Goddard, photographer Jamie Hawkesworth and ceramicist Bisila Noha, as well as a range of objects from Renaissance portraits and historic scent cases to photographs by Maud Sulter and Shadi Ghadirian, Keith Khan’s carnival costumes, ballet costumes by Leigh Bowery, and fashion by Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. For more, see vam.ac.uk/east.

• A new exhibition marking 30 years of ‘Cool Britannia’ has opened at the Barbican Music Library. 1996: 30 Years On features original costumes worn by the Spice Girls, previously unseen Oasis memorabilia, photography by Jill Furmanovsky and Derek Ridgers, and personal items from record producers and DJs Paul Oakenfold, Dave Pearce and Judge Jules. The exhibition, curated by the former editor of The Sun Dominic Mohan, also features a selection of pencil sketches of bands by Mike Smith who, in his role as a music executive, signed many of the most prominent acts of the era including Blur, Elastica, and Supergrass. The free exhibition runs until 19th September. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/1996-30-years-on.

Portrait of an unknown man © The Trustees of the British Museum

• Some 110 works by artists such as Rogier van der Weyden, Lucas van Leyden, Pieter Bruegel the elder and Hendrick Goltzius feature in a new exhibition at the British Museum. Early Netherlandish drawings, which draws on the museum’s collection of pre-1600s Netherlandish drawings, also includes lesser-known masters, anonymous sheets and workshop copies to provide a rich and comprehensive account of drawing across the region. The display follows a chronological narrative and examines the function of drawings in the workshop and their role in the design and production of paintings, tapestries, painted glass, sculpture and prints while thematic displays highlight new subjects that were introduced during this period, including landscapes, proverbs and a local iteration of the antique style, spurred by contact with Italy. The free exhibition can be seen in Room 90 until 20th September. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/early-netherlandish-drawings.

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