In this episode Story Radio visited a fascinating exhibition about mudlarking on the Thames and interviewed some of the mudlarks and other people involved in the exhibition. London Museum Docklands recently opened its new major exhibition Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures (4 April 2025 – 1 March 2026) and we were delighted to be among the first to visit it.

The first major exhibition on mudlarking, it explores fascinating finds from the Thames foreshore, an internationally important archaeological site, and the role of mudlarks in uncovering thousands of years of human history. Historically a trade of the Victorian poor, in recent years mudlarking has grown to be a popular hobby for history lovers, with licensed mudlarks uncovering many significant new finds from the Thames.

We spoke to artist Amy-Leigh Bird about her work, inspired by everyday items she finds along the foreshore, Tom Ardill, Curator (Paintings, Prints and Drawings), who told us more about the artworks that were commissioned for the exhibition, and mudlark Tim Miller, Chairman of the Society of Thames Mudlarks.

There is one swear-word in this episode. The mudlarking world has its controversies!

The episode ends with an exclusive reading by Martin Nathan from his novel, The Pain Clinic, which has a scene set by the Thames.

The photograph used to illustrate this podcast is © Alessio Checconi /London Museum. It shows the neck from a stoneware bottle with a bearded face known as a Bartmann bottle 1500s – 1600s. The bearded face decorating the neck lies half-buried on the foreshore.