Film
The museum offers a variety of attractive backdrops for making films, television and video programmes, and general photography. On this page we describe the locations available.
When you need a scene in a traditional narrowboat
cabin, Coronis at London Canal Museum is ideal. Unlike cabins on floating
boats, there is easy access to electricity and no problem if the weather is
bad. The cabin is a reconstruction, although the hull of the boat is original.
There is a traditional stove (not usable) and traditional roses and castles
decorations. The cargo hold, although not the original full length, could be
used for a scene involving traditional canal boats where characters have to be
filmed inside the hold.
The ground floor is an attractive place with
brick walls, on two levels. The entrance has a shop and a shop counter, and
there is an open area in the centre. Towards the rear, a raised wooden stage
area is reached by means of wooden steps. A wooden balustrade separates the two
levels, and a metal fence surrounds the opening through which the ice well
beneath can be viewed. A wheelchair lift links the two levels. The
wooden-floored area at the rear has a view across the canal basin. The exhibits
include a display of lifting weighing and handling equipment that evokes an age
of manual handling of goods and cargo.
The first floor gallery has a mid-Victorian
timber roof of traditional design, brick walls, and a solid floor. The barn
like roof dominates the room which has plenty of space available as exhibits
can be moved to create room.
The meeting room is a split level room with a step of about 9" in the centre, which is a narrow section. The larger, lower section is seen in the picture. The room is carpeted and could be used as an operations base for other filming taking place, or could be used in a scene as a boardroom, or dressed for other roles. The kitchen adjoins this room so it is also suitable for staff refreshments during filming work.
Filming below ground in the ice wells is possible but there is restricted access. It is a dark, damp, brick walled, circular space with an uneven mud gloor, some 30 feet in diameter. There is lightig and electricity available. Access is via ladder and any equipment or props have to be lowered on ropes to the ground. Crew numbers are limited to around ten at maximum and all personnel must be fit enough to descend and ascend. possible
The second floor of the museum only houses three small rooms and is reached by a narrow staircase with a sharp turn at the bottom and close to the top. A hansome balustrade, possibly dating from 1904, protects the landing at the top, off which traditional wooden doors, painted white, give access to the rooms. There is daylight from a window on the landing. This characteristic part of the building is suitable for filming scenes involving narrow winding stair access in an office or similar building from the early part of the twentieth century.
The Library can only be used in ways which do not present any risk to the materials and archives held in it. However the fairly small room could be used for a scene in a library, archive, or as a study, where a backdrop of files, books, and documents is required. A traditional library table is available.
The horse ramp
allowed horses to reach the stables on the first floor. The ramp is largely
intact. An unusual feature of an unusual building, the slope is approximately 1
in 3. The ramp was built as part of the major redesign of the building in
1904-6.
The Bantam Tug was built in 1950 and
is about 21 feet long. It is fully operational and the museum can provide a
crew for it although due to its age, availability can never be completely
guaranteed. The tug is photogenic, being painted in bright red and green, in
accordance with the wishes of its last working owner who donated it to the
museum. It has been used in theatrical productions and for documentary
interviews.Please note that filming the tug from the towpath or wharf requires
permission from the Canal and River Trust. For more information about the tug
see our collection section.
The kitchen is a small room without cooking facilities but with a stainless steel worksurface for food preparation, double sinks and a hand washing basin. It can either be used in a practical way for crew refreshments or in a scene requiring a sandwich room, sandwich making, or similar.