Cinema Museum

The Cinema Museum sits in a former Lambeth workhouse in Kennington, a plain red-brick building once home to Charlie Chaplin as a child. It holds cinema history from every angle—projectors, posters, uniforms, tickets, even popcorn cartons. The collection ranges from 1899 Mitchell and Kenyon films to modern television memorabilia. Talks and screenings fill its rooms, with volunteers wearing original attendants’ costumes. A small cinema bar serves drinks near the entrance. The museum grew from a private collection started in 1986 by Ronald Grant and Martin Humphries. In 1997 its early films appeared at the Pordenone silent film festival. Time Out once described its mix of posters, chairs and film reels as idiosyncratic. A 2008 documentary by Mark Lewis captured its atmosphere, and a Guardian film added to its fame. Campaigns have defended its home against sale, drawing support from filmmakers like Ken Loach. Visitors walk past Chaplin’s childhood rooms to see projectors of every gauge ever made. Rows of art deco cinema chairs line one gallery, while another holds hundreds of books and millions of photographs. The cinema bar, praised by Londonist readers, offers a place to rest. Nearby tube stations at Elephant and Castle and Kennington make it easy to reach.