The ianVisits guide to May's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Coronavirus: Events may be cancelled and venues closed at short notice, you are advised to check on their websites before making a trip.
Friday 1st May
Join Brian Lewis, director of Mayfair tailors Meyer & Mortimer, and the National Army Museum's very own Sophie Anderton for an exclusive evening exploring military uniform.
6:30pm to :
Chelsea
No Modernism Without Lesbians is the extraordinary story of how a singular group of women in a pivotal time and place – Paris between the wars – fostered the birth of the Modernist movement.
7:15pm to 8:30pm CamdenMore London events on Friday 1st May
Saturday 2nd May
One of the biggest events of the year at Brooklands celebrating the UK’s obsession with all things Italian.
8:30am to 5pm Weybridge
Join Rose Collis to explore and discuss more than forty years of history, featuring cuttings, photos, objects and ephemera
10:30am to 12:30pm Clerkenwell
Monthly open day at one of London's more curious and delightful museums, devoted to the history of the sewing machine.
2pm to 5pm TootingMore London events on Saturday 2nd May
Sunday 3rd May
Monthly open day at the museum to London's first international airport - in Croydon.
All Day Croydon
Open days usually feature the restored engines in operation, a light railway trip, and walks around the Victorian buildings.
10:30am to 4pm Abbey Wood
A monthly opening of the Victorian museum of industrial testing equipment.
11am to 5pm SouthwarkMonthly open day at Gatton Park, the core 250 acres of the estate originally laid out by Capability Brown.
1pm to 5pm Reigate
More London events on Sunday 3rd May
Tuesday 5th May
This illustrated lecture marks 150 years since Dickens’s death by reflecting on the nature of his creative genius and his legacy.
1pm to 2pm BarbicanIn this lecture we will examine not only the murky world of electronic crime but also how information technology can be used to solve physical crimes.
6pm to 7pm BarbicanMore London events on Tuesday 5th May
Wednesday 6th May
This late-Spring Southwark Cathedral would like to invite all amateur and professional photographers to spend an evening taking photos of the Cathedral lit by candlelight.
7pm to 9pm Southwark
More London events on Wednesday 6th May
Thursday 7th May
£5.00
One City - Three Deans
Three Deans, The Very Revd David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, The Very Revd David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s and The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark, will be in conversation to talk about life in the city that they serve.
7pm to 8:30pm Southwark
More London events on Thursday 7th May
Friday 8th May
Open day at the restored Victorian steam powered pumping station, with the machine running regularly throughout the day.
11am to 5pm South Tottenham
More London events on Friday 8th May
Saturday 9th May
Get your hands on some of the most unique sauces that pack a serious punch, and meet the people behind them.
tba Peckham
Open day at the restored Victorian steam powered pumping station, with the machine running regularly throughout the day.
11am to 5pm South TottenhamMore London events on Saturday 9th May
Sunday 10th May
Get your hands on some of the most unique sauces that pack a serious punch, and meet the people behind them.
tba Peckham
Free
Streatham Kite Day
It’s that time of year where professional Kite fliers from all over the country congregate in the heart of Streatham.
11am to 5pm Streatham
Monthly opening of the only surviving fully working watermill in Surrey.
2pm to 5pm Cobham
More London events on Sunday 10th May
Tuesday 12th May
In this lecture, Alan Dein will share audio and documents from his research and will discuss how Bradshaw’s sculpture inspired other bronze versions of Marx’s head around the world.
7:30pm to : Highgate
More London events on Tuesday 12th May
Wednesday 13th May
This lecture explores what comes into view if we reframe clinical treatment as hospitality, and patients as guests.
6pm to 7pm BarbicanMore London events on Wednesday 13th May
Friday 15th May
In this talk, we explore the experiences of immigrant communities in England, drawing on records held in our collections.
2pm to 3:30pm Richmond
More London events on Friday 15th May
Saturday 16th May
A tour along the Piccadilly line looking at Charles Holden's tube stations.
10:30am to : South Tottenham
Annual open day with tours of the cemetery, visits to the chapel and crypt - not usually open - guidance on family history, local stalls and food.
11am to 5pm Peckham
Monthly tour of the former Inland Revenue offices, now a artists workshop.
Starts at 1:15pm Strand
More London events on Saturday 16th May
Tuesday 19th May
How can we deliver clean and affordable energy to even the poor, especially in rural settlements?
6pm to 7pm BarbicanMore London events on Tuesday 19th May
Wednesday 20th May
This talk will consider how expectation plays a role in discovery and in scientific advance, and considers the challenges involved in assessing changes taking place on our own planet.
1pm to 2pm BarbicanThe entertaining Mark Mason pursues the perfect quiz question, in a perceptive journey around modern Britain, divided by politics but united in our enthusiasm for trivial pursuits.
2:30pm to 4pmMore London events on Wednesday 20th May
Thursday 21st May
Free evening talks inspired by JMW Turner, the artist who appears on the new £20 note
5:30pm to 8:30pm
£12.00
Pilgrimage past and present
A panel discussion looking at pilgrims, pilgrimage and Becket both historically and in a modern day context.
6:30pm to 8:30pm Barbican
More London events on Thursday 21st May
Friday 22nd May
Peer into the world of Tudor tournaments and the detailed preparations required to plan and stage such a spectacle.
2pm to 3:30pm Richmond
More London events on Friday 22nd May
Bank Holiday Monday
Open day at the restored Victorian steam powered pumping station, with the machine running regularly throughout the day.
11am to 5pm South TottenhamMore London events on Monday 25th May
Tuesday 26th May
Although open daily, the Supreme Court also has a number of special open days with events and tours through the year.
9:30am to 4:30pm Pimlico
Free
The Cashless Society
What does a cashless society look like? What is the technology behind the digital economy and the new forms of currency and money?
6pm to 7pm BarbicanJoin Ruth Hunt and The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark for this panel event as we celebrate the release of The Book of Queer Prophets - 24 Writers on Sexuality and Religion by publisher William Collins.
7pm to 9pm Southwark
More London events on Tuesday 26th May
Wednesday 27th May
Although open daily, the Supreme Court also has a number of special open days with events and tours through the year.
9:30am to 4:30pm PimlicoMore London events on Wednesday 27th May
Thursday 28th May
This talk will explain the lasting contributions of her work to our understanding of the world, and give a glimpse into into Professor Mirzakhani's imaginative and hands-on approach to mathematics.
6pm to 7pm BarbicanJasper Winn will talk about his year of slow travel on towpaths and waterways across Britain.
6:30pm to 7:45pm Kensington
More London events on Thursday 28th May
Friday 29th May
Discover our unique collection of railway ephemera, including maps, tickets, timetables and postcards collected over 60 years by one man - W E Hayward.
2pm to 4pm Richmond
More London events on Friday 29th May
Top events in London on Sat 30th May 2020
Go to the top of a restored Grade II listed water tower that was formerly located close to St Pancras mainline station.
10am to 4pm Kings Cross
Occasional open day of the eclectically designed home of artist, Stephen Wright.
10am to 5pm East Dulwich
This talk will examine how fashion was politicised during the 18th Century.
2pm to : HolbornMore London events on Saturday 30th May
Sunday 31st May
A monthly open day at a quirky transport museum housed in an old water pumping building.
10am to 4pm Enfield Town
Open days usually feature the restored engines in operation, a light railway trip, and walks around the Victorian buildings.
10:30am to 4pm Abbey WoodDiscover the history of the building and climb the 135 stairs for the best view of Hackney.
2pm to 4:30pm Hackney
