Nine Highlights From The V and A Storehouse

I finally got round to visiting one of London’s newest galleries: the V and A Storehouse.

The Storehouse was set up after the V and A’s previous storage facility, Blythe House in Kensington, was sold by the Government in 2024. Instead of seeing this merely as a logistical challenge, they also spied an opportunity. The V and A Storehoue opened in May 2025 in Stratford’s Here East and is really quite unique, a space that is both a working storage facility but also a free, public immersive museum.

As a living archive the displays are in flux, so each time you go you may have a different experience. I loved the random and eclectic nature of it, with items from across cultures and centuries displayed together. You can look up basic information about each item on your phone by typing in numbers or scanning QR codes. It took me a moment to get used to there not being many plaques or curated themes, but actually I found it is quite relaxing not trying to absorb lots of information and, in some ways, makes you simply focus more on the craftsmanship and beauty of the items, ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Below are just a few of my highlights. Let me know in the comments if you have been and if there are any you particularly remember. 

The Torrijos Ceiling

The stunning Torrijos Ceiling dates from around 1490-1500 and was once part of a palace in Torrijos, just outside Toledo in Spain. It is an example of Spanish Mudejar carpentry, which was a style blending Islamic, Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance influences. The ceiling uses strapwork carpentry, which creates patterns from interlacing strips of wood. The room below was probably an entertainment space, as there is an Arabic phrase carved into the wood meaning ‘you drink from happiness’.

It was purchased by the V and A in 1905 as the palace was being dismantled and demolished. 

A Fragment Of A Defining Post-War Estate

Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar was a defining Brutalist social housing estate, built in 1972 and designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. It was based around a ‘Streets in the Sky’, idea, with communal elevated walkways, meant to foster community.

It was controversially demolished from 2017-2025, despite fierce campaigns from groups such as the Twentieth Century Society to get it listed and protected, due to its architectural significance. The site is now under development to replace the 252 flats with over 1,500 new homes. The V and A acquired a three-storey section of the estate to preserve, including exterior and interior. 

Treasures of the David Bowie Collection

The David Bowie Centre houses an archive of over 90,000 items, with a curated and rotating selection on display for the public to see, including costumes, handwritten lyrics, instruments and more. The collection was acquired by the V&A following their 2013 “David Bowie Is” exhibition. 

This is the suit designed by Freddie Buretti for Bowie’s Life on Mars music video. 

They have various notes from unrealised projects, such as this handwritten sketch and storyboard notes for his unrealised 1974 film project called Diamond Dogs, which was initially intended as a musical stage adaption of George Orwell’ s Nineteen Eighty Four. Bowie was however denied the rights by Sonia Orwell, the author’s widow.

Below you can see his handwritten lyrics for Heroes. 

Finally, these are the metal wings designed by Diana Moseley for his Glass Spider tour in 1987. 

A King’s rocking Horse?

This is a rocking horse, likely dating from the early 17th century. The story goes that this was possibly the rocking horse used by Charles I when he was a child.

Charles apparently had difficulty walking and talking as a child and the rocking horse was perhaps given to him to help strengthen his legs. It was purchased in 1906 at Cheshunt House in Hertfordshire. Cheshunt House was close to Theobalds Palace, a favourite residence of James I, demolished in the 18th century.

An Office Designed By Frank Lloyd Wright

This is a whole office, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), considered the most influential American architect of the 20th century. It is the only complete interior of Lloyd Wright’s on display outside of the USA. 

Designed in the mid-1930s for department store owner Edgar J Kauffman, it is made from Cypress Plywood and plays with ideas around geometry, typical of Lloyd Wright’s work. Above the desk is an unusual decorative relief mural, a demonstration of his interest in diamonds and triangular forms. Edgar Kauffman’s son, Edgar Kauffman Junior, who has spent six months as Lloyd Wright’s apprentice, donated the office to the V and A after his father’s death in 1974. 

An Arts And Crafts Doorbell 

This very random doorbell caught my eye. It was part of a small collection of decorative elements from the fronts of houses. It is from the home of Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942) who was a central figure of the Arts and Crafts movement.

In the 1890s he designed a house on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, as his home and architectural office. It was known locally as the ‘Magpie and Stump’ because of a pub once on the site with that name. Many of the furnishings were designed and made by the Guild of Handicraft, Ashbee’s Arts and Crafts organisation founded in 1888. 

In 1969 the house was demolished, but the V&A was invited to rescue some of the decorative and smaller elements. 

A 1940s Television

This is an Dynatron TV23A Falcon television, from 1949. This was a television targeting the luxury market with it encased in a wooden cabinet to enhance the home’. As you can see the screen is only about the size of a moden day iPad.

Case 15

This little display is a good example of the wide-ranging selection of items on display next to each other. In here you have a relief panel from 10th cetntury India (top left). Below that is a ‘shaffron’ from 1540s Germany, the decorative armour plate for a horse’s head. Next to that is a 16th century mask from Japan. 

Below them is a late 19th century glazed earthenware cistern by Minton, depicting flower bearers at either end. In the top right you have a 15th century depiction of the Virgin Mary and Child from Florence. Below that is a decorative dish from 2004 by Deborah Cocks in Australia. Finally, below that is a 19th century vase from Sèvres porcelain factory in France.

One Of The Greatest 20th Century Dancers

This striking plaster cast depicts the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky as the faun in the ballet L’après-midi d’un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun). Modelled in 1912, it was created by Lady Una Vincenzo Troubridge. Nijiksky (1889-1950) was born in Kiev to Polish parents and is considered one of the greatest male dancers of the early 20th century. 

I hope the above has persuaded you to pay the V and A Storehouse a visit, if you have not already. You can also have a browse of many of the items on their website by having a play around here.

Opening hours are 10am-6pm everyday and then late opening until 10pm on Thursdays and Saturdays. 

You can find out more about visiting here. 

Thank you for reading, more of London’s galleries, museums and other historical hidden gems below!