If you walk down Mare Street in Hackney, past the usual East London mix of trendy coffee shops and grit, you might miss a small, unassuming storefront. It’s the Last Tuesday Society. From the outside, it looks like a dimly lit cocktail bar. But honestly, the booze is just the gateway drug. Head downstairs, and you're entering the Museum of Curiosities London, officially known as the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History.
It's tiny. Cramped. Chaotic.
Unlike the British Museum, where everything is categorized with clinical precision, this place feels like the fever dream of a Victorian collector who spent way too much time in the tropics and perhaps a bit too much money on taxidermy. There is no "correct" way to see it. You just sort of... descend.
What the Museum of Curiosities London Actually Is
People often ask if this is a "real" museum. Well, it's accredited by the Arts Council, so technically, yes. But it functions more as a total work of art. Viktor Wynd, the founder and a man usually seen in a top hat or a velvet suit, spent years amassing a collection that defies logic. He isn't interested in the "important" history of kings and queens. He’s interested in the discarded, the bizarre, and the things that make you feel a little bit squeamish.
The lighting is low. Very low. You're handed a torch because the basement is essentially a cavern. You’ll find yourself shining a beam of light onto a two-headed kitten, then a jar purportedly containing Amy Winehouse’s cigarette butts, and then a collection of hair from various celebrities. It is a frontal assault on the senses.
Why the "Cabinets of Curiosities" Matter
To understand why this place exists, you have to look back at the Wunderkammer. Before modern museums existed, wealthy eccentrics kept "wonder rooms." They mixed natural history with art and sheer nonsense. Wynd is basically reviving that 16th-century chaos. He doesn't believe in labels that explain why an object is "significant."
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Instead, he wants you to feel something. Wonder. Disgust. Confusion.
There's a specific kind of magic in seeing a dodo bone sitting right next to a Happy Meal toy from the 90s. It levels the playing field. It suggests that everything we leave behind is equally absurd and equally precious.
The Most Bizarre Highlights You'll Find Inside
You won't find a map here. It wouldn't help anyway. The space is so packed that you have to turn sideways to let another person pass. One moment you're looking at an ancient Peruvian shrunken head, and the next, you're staring at the skeletal remains of a "mermaid" (which is actually a monkey torso sewn onto a fish tail).
- The Celebrity Relics: This is where it gets weirdly contemporary. Wynd has collected things like the fingernail clippings of famous artists and discarded tissue paper. It sounds gross because it is. But it’s also a commentary on our obsession with fame. Why is a piece of paper valuable just because a singer touched it?
- Taxidermy Gone Wrong: You’ll see plenty of "anthropomorphic taxidermy." Think squirrels playing cards or kittens having a tea party. It’s a bit macabre, sure, but it’s a direct nod to Walter Potter, the famous Victorian taxidermist who turned dead animals into tiny dioramas.
- The Occult and the Unseen: There are ritual masks, old spell books, and items related to Aleister Crowley. The museum leans heavily into the dark side of folklore.
- Natural History Oddities: Giant spider crabs, preserved fetuses with various mutations, and the skull of a hippopotamus.
The museum doesn't shy away from the grotesque. If you’re squeamish about death or medical anomalies, this might not be your "fun Sunday afternoon" vibe. But if you've ever felt that the Natural History Museum was a bit too sanitized, this is the antidote.
Managing Your Expectations: It’s Not for Everyone
Let’s be real. Some people hate it. They walk in, spend five minutes in the dark, and walk out wondering why they paid for a ticket to look at "junk."
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If you want a polished, educational experience with interactive touchscreens and air conditioning, stay in South Kensington. This place is dusty. It smells a bit like old wood and preserving fluid. It is unapologetically cramped. But that’s the point. It’s an immersive experience. It’s about the feeling of discovery.
You’re not just a visitor; you’re an interloper in someone’s private obsession.
Why Hackney is the Perfect Home for it
Hackney has changed a lot, but it still retains a pocket of the "Old Weird London." The Museum of Curiosities London fits perfectly into this neighborhood's history of radicalism and eccentricity. The building itself is part of the Last Tuesday Society, an organization that hosts literary salons, taxidermy workshops, and lectures on everything from the history of gin to the philosophy of death.
It’s a community for people who find the modern world a bit too flat and predictable. When you go, you aren't just seeing a collection; you're supporting a very specific type of British eccentricity that is slowly being priced out of the city.
Visiting Tips: How to Not Get Overwhelmed
First off, book ahead. Because the basement is so small, they limit the number of people who can go down at once. If you just show up on a Saturday night, you're probably going to be disappointed.
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- Go for the Cocktails: The upstairs bar is actually one of the best in London. They specialize in absinthe. Having a glass of "The Green Fairy" before or after your descent into the basement definitely adds to the atmosphere.
- Take the Torch: Don't try to rely on your phone light. The torches they provide have a specific beam that helps you focus on one weird object at a time.
- Talk to the Staff: Most of the people working there are just as eccentric as the collection. They know the stories behind the objects. Ask them about the "lion" or the "unlucky mummy."
- Check the Calendar: They often have events. If you can time your visit with a talk on Victorian ghost stories or a séance re-enactment, do it. It makes the whole thing feel more cohesive.
The Philosophical Side of the Crap
There’s a deeper layer here. In an age where everything is digital and "clean," having a physical space filled with decaying, odd, and tactile objects feels like a small act of rebellion. Viktor Wynd often talks about how we've lost our sense of awe. We have the internet in our pockets, so we think we know everything.
But when you’re standing in a dark basement looking at a jar that allegedly contains "the breath of a dying man," you realize how much we still don't understand about the human urge to collect and remember.
It’s a museum of the soul’s attic. It's the stuff we don't know what to do with but can't quite bring ourselves to throw away.
Does it Actually Rank as a "Museum"?
The debate about whether this is a legitimate museum or just a private hoard is ongoing. Traditionalists might scoff at the lack of rigorous academic labeling. However, if the goal of a museum is to preserve culture and provoke thought, Wynd succeeds where many larger institutions fail. You will talk about this place for weeks after you leave. You might not remember the name of every artifact, but you’ll remember the feeling of the shadows and the sight of that two-headed sheep.
Actionable Steps for Your Visit
If you're ready to see the stranger side of the city, here is exactly how to handle it:
- Check the Opening Times: They aren't open every day. Usually, the museum operates on a narrower schedule than the bar. Verify on their official website (the-last-tuesday-society.org) before you make the trek to Hackney.
- Combine it with Mare Street Market: If you need a dose of "normal" after the museum, Mare Street Market is just down the road. It’s got great food and a much brighter, more conventional East London vibe.
- Prepare for the Stairs: The descent is steep and narrow. If you have mobility issues, the basement is, unfortunately, very difficult to access. The bar is accessible, but the bulk of the "curiosities" are downstairs.
- Buy the Book: If you find yourself fascinated by the collection, Viktor Wynd has published several books (like Viktor Wynd's Cabinet of Wonders) that explain the provenance of some of the weirder items. It’s a great way to "take the museum home" without having to deal with the smell of formaldehyde.
- Keep an Open Mind: Don't look for logic. Don't look for a timeline. Just look at the objects. Let your brain make the connections.
The Museum of Curiosities London is a reminder that the world is still a very strange place, provided you know which basement to look in. It is a messy, beautiful, and deeply human collection that honors the weirdo in all of us.