London Museum's Tudor Cap Correction Video Hits 1.1 Million Views
A mudlark named Alessio discovered a knitted cap in the Thames, which later became the London Museum's top social media highlight after its Tudor dating was revised. At the Museums & Social Media Summit 2025, Helen Maher and Xuxa Kidd shared the story. Initially thought to be Tudor, the cap's conservation unveiled a chequered design, prompting a reclassification. The museum had earlier claimed it was Tudor. By presenting the video as a new finding, the team attracted 1.1 million views, over 50,000 likes, and numerous shares. They learned valuable lessons in storytelling, audience interaction, and governance. Maher noted that effective content should be both informative and entertaining, while Kidd warned against the pursuit of virality.
Key facts
- London Museum's video about a knitted cap pulled from the Thames foreshore reached 1.1 million views.
- The cap was initially dated as Tudor (16th or early 17th century) but reclassified after a second colour emerged during conservation.
- The museum holds between 70 and 80 Tudor knitted caps, all single-coloured.
- The video was shot on an iPhone in a single afternoon in the conservation lab.
- It passed 60,000 views by 9pm on the day of posting, around 200,000 after two weeks, and crossed a million at three and a half weeks.
- Final engagement included more than 50,000 likes, over 200 comments, and thousands of shares and saves.
- Helen Maher and Xuxa Kidd presented the case at the Museums & Social Media Summit 2025.
- The museum adopted new governance: standard collections content stays with the social team, while research changes and corrections go through stakeholder review.
Entities
Artists
- Helen Maher
- Xuxa Kidd
- Alessio
Institutions
- London Museum
- Museums & Social Media Summit
- MuseumNext
- TikTok
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Thames