The Collection

Preserving our heritage

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• Highlights
  • The Bantam Tug
    • List of Bantams
  • Wickham Tractor
  • Bolinter Engine
  • The Butty Coronis
  • Other collections
• Oral History
  • Listen to Voices
  • Bring us Voices
• Family History Checklist
  • Checklist
  • Holt's Index

In this section of the website you will find information about our collection, some of the stories behind it, and the policies that we have adopted for its management.

Model of an ice delivery cart that delivered ice around London from our building. The model was made in approximately the 1890s.

Our collection includes artifacts and archives relating to the canals of London and the ice trade. Note that we do not hold canal company records here, or records of any individuals' careers.

Most of our collection is on display in the museum. We do have a few special items that cannot be displayed due to lack of space or their condition and a store of less suitable items for display

The most important items in our collection are:

• The building itself. A former ice warehouse built in the 1860s and including the two ice wells that remain beneath the ground floor.
• The Wickham Tractor. Displayed on the ground floor it was built in 1960 and is one of just a couple of these machines that is in working order. We often take it to the Angel Canal Festival on the first Sunday in September and those who are in the right place at the right time can see it being driven there!
• The tug Bantam IV. Normally moored outside the museum, the tug was launched in 1950 and donated to the museum in 1994. It is maintained in working order although it does not do any haulage work.
• The Bolinder engine. We purchased this from a private collector. It is missing some internal parts so is unsuited to restoration but ideal for museum display
• The butty Coronis. Although the cabin is a recreation the hullis an original 1930s narrowboat.
• Ice cart model (illustrated). Dating from the 1890s this model is now housed in a modern case to protect it and depicts an ice delivery cart of that period.
• Marshall ice cream churn. An original of Mrs Marshall's design for making ice cream with ice and salt to freeze the ingredients. A reproduction of this is used for demonstrations, the original is displayed in a case.
• Crafts and pottery. We display a collection of traditional canal decoration and "Measham" pottery that is associated with canals

If you are looking for archive images, we have an archive image Picture Shop where you will find a selection of images from our collection.