Free family trail inspired by bestselling author Jessie Burton now at London Museum Docklands

London Museum Docklands has today launched a brand-new family trail inspired by Hidden Treasure, the new children’s book by internationally bestselling author Jessie Burton (The Miniaturist). Inspired by the tale of two young mudlarks, the trail takes families on a journey around the museum’s galleries to learn more about centuries of life by the river. The trail will be available from May half term and is aimed at children under 12yrs, who also get free entry into the museum’s new mudlarking exhibition, Secrets of the Thames.

Hidden Treasure is a tale of two children, whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure in the Thames. Billy is an orphan. Bo's dad died when she was small and now her brother is off to war. Both children are poor, but through mudlarking, they have each found half of a priceless treasure given up by the river. Together they embark on an adventure to discover more about this mysterious object which holds the power to give back to one of them the most precious thing they have ever lost.

Occupying a converted 19th century sugar warehouse on West India Quay, London Museum Docklands tells the story of life by the Thames over 200 years. The trail map offers a new way to explore the museum's collection. It runs through the cobbled streets of the immersive Sailortown gallery, a recreation of the Victorian Ratcliffe Highway, drops into the home of a dock worker to see how people lived during the early 1900s and explores the River Thames as a place of work, travel and entertainment.

Jessie Burton, author of Hidden Treasure, said: “I grew up in London and I've always been drawn to the Thames. It’s a time capsule of our collective past, but it also has deep connections to my own ancestors, who worked as watermen, ferrying people to and fro across the city river. Hidden Treasure is a story I've long wanted to write, and I hope people enjoy diving into the fictional world of Bo and Billy, as much as they enjoy the discovering the stories of real Londoners in the museum’s galleries.”

Cassandra Tavares Alen, Learning Manager at London Museum, said: “We were really inspired by Hidden Treasure and the world of Bo and Billy. This is a book that offers terrific adventure but also opens a window for children to imagine the thoughts, feelings and experiences of Londoners of the past. Together with the museum’s objects and immersive spaces, we hope it will inspire children to connect with fascinating aspects of our city's history.”

The River Thames has been a centre of human activity for over 10,000 years and its place at the heart of the city has been instrumental in shaping the capital.

Below its waters lay many lost or discarded items, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, that paint a picture of Britain’s past. An internationally important archaeological site, it’s thanks to  licensed mudlarks, who search the foreshore at low tide, that new historical discoveries continue to be made, informing our understanding of the city’s past.

Early records of mudlarking date back to the early 1700s when London’s poorest communities would search the foreshore for bits of metal, rope and coal to make their living. Accounts describe these mudlarks as mostly children aged 8 to 15yrs. They lived in poverty and scavenged to earn whatever money they could. They often lived close to the river with a deep knowledge of its tides.

The new trail follows the opening of the museum’s new display Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures, which opened in April. Free to enter for children under 12yrs, it is the UK’s first major exhibition on mudlarking with over 350 fascinating finds from the Thames foreshore.

On show are a range of objects from the beautiful and elegant to the bizarre and macabre, including the nationally significant Iron Age Battersea Shield and everyday items such as clay pipes, false teeth and 16th century wig curlers.

Trail maps are available for free at London Museum Docklands from Saturday 24 May 2025. The book, Hidden Treasure is available to purchase from London Museum Docklands and the museum's online shop. For more information, visit: www.londonmuseum.org.uk

For further details on Secrets of the Thames and May half term events at the museum, visit families.

ENDS

For press enquiries please contact Mariam Hussein, Media Officer on [email protected] / 07713 565805 or Ashton Bainbridge, PR Manager on [email protected]/ 07967 313176

High res images

For more on the new retail collection inspired by Secrets of the Thames, including limited edition prints, illustrations and ceramics created by mudlarks, please visit London Museum shop.

• All mudlarks on the River Thames must have a valid permit from the Port of London Authority
• All finds from the Thames foreshore belong to the Port of London Authority
• All finds must be recorded and reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS)
• Permit Holders must follow directions relating to the finds from the Finds Liaison Officer

To find out more about mudlarking permits, visit: https://pla.co.uk/thames-foreshore-permits

Jessie Burton is the author of four internationally bestselling novels for adults, including The Miniaturist and its sequel The House of Fortune, which have been translated into 38 languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide. Her highly acclaimed YA retelling of Medusa was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal.

London Museum Docklands is located at West India Quay in east London. Opened in 2003, it occupies one of the few remaining original Grade 1 listed warehouses, built in 1802 to store produce from the West Indies.

A shared place in the heart of the East End, where stories cross and collide, it confidently shows how international trade, migration, enslavement and the river Thames were integral to shaping London and the world we live in today.

The museum is open 7 days a week, from 10am-5pm and is FREE to all. You can explore London Museum with collections online – home to 138,000 objects with more being added regularly. www.londonmuseum.org.uk

Bloomsbury is a leading independent publishing house. The children’s division publishes books for children and young adults in print, eBook and audio. It publishes across preschool, picture books, fiction and non-fiction. Its award-winning, diverse list includes authors and illustrators such as Atinuke, Benjamin Zephaniah, Beth Suzanna, Catherine Doyle, Chibundu Onuzo, Jessie Burton, Jim Kay, Jonnie Peacock, Jordan Stephens, Kalynn Bayron, Kate Pankhurst, Katherine Rundell, Katya Balen, Kingsley Nebechi, Lex Croucher, Levi Pinfold, Meg Rosoff, Sam Sedgman, Sarah Crossan and Tom Percival. Bloomsbury is home to the bestselling Bunny Adventures preschool brand, and to the most famous children’s book brand in the world: Harry Potter. For more information go to www.bloomsbury.com.