Metropolitan Police Museum

The Metropolitan Police Museum is the archive and museum of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. It keeps uniforms, documents and objects that tell the story of the force from its beginnings. The collection has been known by several names over the years, most recently as the Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre. It shares its site with the Historic Vehicle Collection, which moved there in 2023. The museum is run by a small team within the force’s Operational Support Services. The museum began in 1949 when Chief Superintendent Arthur Rowlerson asked officers to donate items marking 200 years since the Bow Street Runners. Audrey Sams, the first curator, arranged loans to the Museum of London for the Met’s 150th anniversary in 1979. Marcelle Marceau took over in 1981 and the collection moved to Brixton, then Charlton, before finding a gallery in west London in 2009. Maggie Bird curated the new space until it closed in 2020. The holdings then moved to Marlowe House in Sidcup, where a research room opened in 2022 and a gallery in 2023. Visitors find a research room and a gallery displaying uniforms, photographs and equipment. The displays explain how the Metropolitan Police developed from its early days to modern times. The Historic Vehicle Collection adds vintage police cars and vans to the visit. The site is in Sidcup, a quiet part of south-east London, with easy access to local transport.