V&A East Storehouse visit

On Tuesday 9th September, eight of us managed to beat the tube strike and get to Stratford station via alternative routes in order to visit the new V&A Museum nearby.  Phil was less fortunate, having given up after waiting half an hour and not seeing a single bus.  

We had a pleasant 20 minute walk through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, following the path alongside Waterworks River and then over the River Lea, before veering off, down Waterden Road, to the V&A East Storehouse. A tea / coffee break was required immediately. Marian and Brian also tried cardamon pastries, that were apparently much nicer than they looked; Annick tested out one of the rocking armchairs positioned by the huge windows overlooking the street.  

The museum is not like any that I've been in before: industrial shelving, industrial steel, mesh walkways (and glass floors in places) and huge open spaces. You're also immediately struck by the diversity of what's on display as artefacts are stored based on size, weight materials and fragility, so furniture from the 1600s is next to a Piaggio scooter which is near huge ceramic plates, for example.  Whilst most of us looked on from the edges, Brian happily stood on the glass floor, above the Agra Colonnade - five columns / arches that once formed part of the portico in front of a bathhouse built for Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) in the Red Fort at Agra. Nearby, photographs show close-up detail of the inlaid designs that decorate the pillars.  There is also the 9m high facade, stairwell and lobbies of two flats that was rescued from Robin Hood Gardens, a brutalist East London housing estate that was demolished in 2017, as well as the only complete interior (of an office) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that is on permanent display outside the USA; elsewhere, there are ergonomically designed chairs underneath the Torrijos Ceiling so that you can recline to look up at the fabulously carved woodwork and an ante-room is dedicated to the largest Picasso work in the world, a 10m x 11m stage cloth used for Ballet Russes production Le Train Bleu.  

We visited all three floors, explored side rooms, looked up, down and out, watched conservators working on items (either below us or on the other side of glass walls) and were all amazed at the variety of what we could see before us. It's very, very well done and is a fascinating place to visit. I'm quite sure that on a return visit, each of us would see things we hadn't noticed previously.  For most of us, our only gripe is the lack of descriptions - boards with QR codes are placed around for you to scan to find out more info, but that means you either spend your visit staring at your phone or just gazing at the artefacts; we mostly gazed at the artefacts.  A few hours later, we reconvened in the cafe downstairs for a bite to eat before making our way home.  

Jill S, 17th September 2025

Below: Photos by Jill S.

Below: Photos by Madeleine