Ice Cream, Boat Rides And Victorian Wells: A Visit To The London Canal Museum

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 7 months ago

Last Updated 16 July 2024

Ice Cream, Boat Rides And Victorian Wells: A Visit To The London Canal Museum
The museum as seen from the water
You can catch this view of the canal if you partake in one of its boat trips. Image: Londonist

Entrepreneur Carlo Gatti brought unmitigated joy to countless Londoners.

In the mid 19th century, the Italian-speaking Swiss began peddling waffles, chocolate and coffee on the city's streets, while his Charing Cross Music Hall, opened in 1866, ricocheted with earthy entertainment that brought a smile to the face of hundreds at a time, including Rudyard Kipling (who lived across the street) and Scarlet Pimpernel creator Baroness Orczy.

But it's something else for which Londoners must thank Gatti the most: ice cream. Although the English aristocracy had been shovelling the icy treat into their mouths since Charles II had some brought to his table in in 1672, Gatti was among the vanguard of Victorian pioneers who brought it to the masses — dished up from stalls in glass shells, and as 'penny licks' sold from street carts — the antecedent of the modern ice cream van.

Part of a canal coal barge
A portion of an old coal barge on display in the museum. Image: Londonist
Black and white photos of men cutting into ice with saws
Ice was cut in huge blocks in Norwegian ice fields, then shipped to London, and warehouses like Gatti's. Image: London Canal Museum

This was only possible thanks to places like Gatti's basin-side warehouse in King's Cross — built in 1862 and now the London Canal Museum — to which hulking blocks of ice were brought from the ice fields of Norway. The ice — which came in consignments of hundreds of tons at a time, and would typically lose 20-25% of their bulk along the way — was shipped as far as Limehouse, before making the final leg of its journey by horse-drawn boat along the Regent's Canal to the Battlebridge Basin.

An ice cream bike - stop me and buy one
Don't worry, they sell real ice cream too. Image: London Canal Museum
A collection of ice cream glasses
Part of the museum is dedicated to the history of ice cream. Image: Londonist

You've barely stepped through the door before you've touched your first bit of history — or rather walked straight over it. Scales built into the floor were once used to weigh the ice, before it was lowered into two ice wells sunk deep into the warehouse floor. You might wonder how long a load of unrefrigerated ice might last in the height of summer. The answer is months at a time. "The secret is, if you pack it in really tight it just holds its own temperature," Craig Nicholson, treasurer & trustee at the museum, tells me. The wells still remain in the floor of the museum, and the public can climb into them once a year, during a special Ice Weekend. The wells were, says Craig, one of the two 'wow' factors which hit him when first visiting the museum. And if they look deep now, they once went 15 metres down — but were partially filled in with rubble from the Blitz.

People in hard hats standing in one of the wells
Visitors can only descend into the ice wells once a year, but you can gaze down into them any time. You can also view them 24/7 on a webcam. Image: London Canal Museum
Two ice pincers
A pair of ice pincers used to move slabs of ice. Image: Londonist

The London Canal Museum is a thing of many layers. Much of the lower floor pays a tribute to Gatti's endeavours in ice-cold confectionery, featuring penny lick glasses, vintage packaging, and Agnes Marshall's famous ice cream churn. This device, patented in 1855, revolutionised ice cream making — using a chamber cooled by ice and salt, to which you added milk and sugar. "In five minutes you've got ice cream!" says Craig. Heston Blumenthal sends his team here two or three times a year for a demo on a replica churn. (And in case you're wondering, real ice cream is available to buy from the gift shop.)

A ramp with cut outs of horses along it
The museum was originally an ice warehouse with stables on the upper floor - an early version of a multi-storey car park. Image: Londonist
A little blue tractor
One of the tractors which replaced horses on the London canals from the 1920s. Image: Londonist

A second floor — which used to be a horse stables, and is connected to the ground floor by a ramp, which was Craig's second 'wow' moment — contains an overview of the canal network in London, and across England; its heyday, demise and renaissance. You learn how horses were an integral cog in the machinery of London's canals, but beginning in the 1920s were phased out by little tractors that pootled along the towpaths (they've got one of these back downstairs). Displays show how the canals sparked a roaring trade in industry, attracting brands like Lyons, McVities, and Guinness. Models show off just how many variations of vessel you could once spot on the waters. A large map demonstrates how spidered London was with canals at the height of their powers. There are also gut-wrenching photos of the canals clogged up with rubbish and abandoned cars, during the doldrums of the 1970s — as well as photos of canal wildlife, as the manmade waterways enjoy an era of newfound love and regeneration.

A man poses by a narrowboat
Craig Nicholson, treasurer & trustee at the museum. Image: Londonist
POV of a boat emerging by the Kings Place steps
The museum runs regular boat trips in the summer months. Image: Londonist

In recent times, the London Canal Museum has added another string to its bow — regular trips on its narrow boat during the summer months. These take various routes, including a jaunt to the nearby St Pancras Lock (taking you past the grass steps at King Place), and a trip through the three-quarters-of-a-mile-long Islington Canal. There are also afternoon tea cruises. As well as being jolly pleasant, these trips help to put the canals into context — we highly recommend you do one as an add-on to your visit.

Great for all ages, the London Canal Museum is particularly attuned to younger families, often putting on special trails and events (including letting children 'serve up' ice cream) on certain weekends and bank holidays. And if your kids turn down a museum with ice cream and boats trips, then really what hope is there?

London Canal Museum, King's Cross, open Tuesday to Sundays and bank holiday Mondays