Returning once again for a breathtaking September celebration, Totally Thames 2025 announces their full programme of events for 2025. From immersive art installations and community-led concerts to historic exhibitions and amazing mudlarking events, the festival spotlights the stories, struggles and splendour of the River Thames. Curated by Thames Festival Trust, this year’s programme features an expanded focus on the river’s hidden histories, its ecological future, and the communities that shape its narrative.
Hands on History’s Mudlarking Weekend takes place at the London Museum Docklands as part of their ‘Secrets of the Thames’ exhibition. Running from 27th to 28th September, this offers an unmissable chance to discover thousands of historic artefacts uncovered from the muddy riverbed of the Thames. Visitors will be able to chat with the mudlarks themselves and explore the stories behind the objects. Amongst many others, the finds of Helen and Christopher Marsland (photographed above) are on display. Helen Marsland comments, Mudlarking is a way for us to connect with the ordinary people who lived through some of history’s biggest events, each item we find represents a life once lived. We take great pleasure in sharing what we learn about the everyday lives of people not so frequently spoken about in history books.
Hands on History’s exhibition at Cutlers’ Hall on 13th to 14th September, features an extraordinary collection of over 1,000 bladed artefacts pulled from the Thames by mudlarks. Set within the surroundings of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, visitors can discover collections of historic swords, knives and axes, including finds from celebrated mudlark Graham duHeaume and others.
Hands on History’s exhibition on 6th to 7th September at London’s Roman Amphitheatre showcases a mudlarked collections of Roman artefacts recovered from the Thames. Set within this ancient archaeological site, each object offers a glimpse into the unique stories of life in Londinium. The exhibition on 11th to 12th October in The Crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral will host a medieval-themed mudlarking exhibition in its crypt. The display also features belongings lost during the Great Fire of London, sharing a sobering and evocative journey into one of the city’s most defining historical moments.
On 6th September, Kingston will celebrate its riverside legacy with the Kingston River Cultures Festival from 12pm – 8pm, in a vibrant afternoon and evening of activity between Ravens Ait and Canbury Gardens. The festival will feature a spectacular boat flotilla tracing Kingston’s history from Saxon times to the present, with live races, static boat displays, family theatre, community stalls, and riverside music and dance.
This year Thames Festival Trust has been working with ten young people on a new heritage project, Lost & Found revealing untold histories of Deptford and Greenwich through objects found on the foreshore by celebrated mudlark Nicola White. Heritage trainee Nadia Hirsi, the descendant of a Somali seafarer from Limehouse, is one of four expert panellists exploring the secret lives of the river at London Museum Docklands on 2nd September. Nicola herself will share some of her own extraordinary stories (and finds) at Enderby House, Greenwich on 10 September and at Woolwich Works on 21st September.
