Museum of The Home in Shoreditch: Discover the History of Home Life

The Museum of The Home, formerly known as the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum located in 18th-century Grade I-listed former almshouses on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum’s purpose is to reveal and rethink the ways we live in order to live better together.

What to Expect

Museum of The Home, formerly known as the Geffrye Museum

Visitors can expect to discover programmed events, exhibitions, and installations revealing stories of home and homes through time and considering new ways of living today. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holidays) from 10 am to 5 pm, with the last entry at 4 pm.

Exhibitions and Events

Some current and upcoming exhibitions and events at the museum include Radical Home: LOVE, Queeriosities Art + Makers Fair, Queeriosities Supper Club, Home Grown, Disability and the Home: Toys and Games, No Place Like Home and Tomorrowland.

Facilities

The museum also has a café and a shop described by The Times as “the best present shopping spot in London” with a range that includes bespoke homewares, books, craft items, jewellery, toys, ceramics, fashion, accessories and textiles. There is also a new Collections Library that offers unrivalled access to the Museum’s collection.

Conclusion

The Museum of The Home is a must-visit for anyone interested in exploring home and home life from 1600 to the present day. Its wide range of exhibitions and events and its facilities such as the café and shop offers something for everyone.

You don’t have to be interested in interior design to enjoy the museum’s room displays. You’ll also get an inside view into the Grade 1 listed historic buildings that house its collections.

The History of the Geffrye Museum.

The museum officially opened in 1914. It is located in a set of historic alms-houses established by the Ironmongers Company. These were built in 1714 with funds from a bequest from Sir Robert Geffrye, who was once a Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers Company. These almshouses served the local community for over 200 years, giving a home to around fifty pensioners at a time.

But, by the early 20th century, Shoreditch was not a pleasant place to live. Like much of the East End, it was overcrowded and could be dangerous. The Ironmongers Company decided to sell the alms-houses and move their pensioners to a better area. London City Council bought the buildings in 1911 and 1914 and agreed to convert the premises into museums.

Initially set up as an educational resource for local workers in furniture industries, by the 1930s, the museum had a much broader scope with a focus on interiors and home life through the ages. It became a popular local resource for families with children.

Displays at the Museum of The Home

The Museum of The Home showcases the lives of British people unusually. Each display room, originally called parlours and drawing rooms, gives a snapshot of living room life in a specific period. Everything in the room is set out as it would have been at that time, with authentic furniture, fixtures and fittings. There are currently eleven rooms on display in the main museum, covering designs from 1600 to the present day.

Museum of Home Gardens

The museum has a couple of gardens at the back of the building, which are worth a visit. Remember that these are only open to the public between April 1st and October 31st each year. The museum sets out the gardens chronologically, in keeping with how its interior displays work. The period gardens showcase gardens since the 17th century. You can see an authentic Tudor knot garden with a design based on a motif found on a livery cupboard dating back to the 1600s in the museum’s hall.

The herb garden follows a formal plan, contains over 170 different plants and is designed around a bronze feature piece made by a local artist. It has many household herbs used in many different ways by families over the centuries. So, for example, you can see herbs used for cooking, medicine, dyeing and scent.

The Geffrye Almshouse

The museum has restored one of its almshouses so visitors can see what living in this kind of social housing was like. Most of the interior fittings in the house are original, including the staircase, closets and wall panels. You can look around two rooms, which have been furnished in the styles of the 18th and 19th centuries, and see precisely how the Geffrye pensioners lived.

This can be an eye-opener, especially for children. People who lived here in the 18th century lived in relatively sparse conditions; those who lived here in the 19th century were much more comfortable. You can also see a display of the history of the Geffrye almshouses and its East End residents in this museum area.

Visiting the Museum of The Home

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday and bank holidays 10 am–5 pm (last entry 4 pm).

Please try to visit us Tuesday to Friday, when it is quieter. Our busiest times are weekends, between 11 am and 3 pm. While waiting, visitors can take a walk through our glorious gardens.

2023 Events

The Museum of The Home has a wide range of exhibitions and events that explore home and home life from 1600 to the present day. Some of the current and upcoming exhibitions and events at the museum include:

  • Radical Home: LOVE: Is love a radical act? Join the museum as they explore how self-care can build the resilience we need to make radical change.
  • Queeriosities Art + Makers Fair: Explore the museum’s art and makers fair led by LGBTQ+ creatives and businesses, including a panel discussion on queer domestic making and style.
  • Queeriosities Supper Club: Join the museum for a 90’s themed supper club with Will Martin and Davy Pittoors combining nostalgic comfort foods with an exploration of queer homemaking.
  • Home Grown: What significance does tending a home garden have for London’s Vietnamese community? Watch this community film and pop-up exhibition in the museum’s Chapel exploring the roots of Vietnamese home life.
  • Disability and the Home: Toys and Games: A display of toys that represent disability from the collection of Dr Paul Darke / Digital-Disability.
  • No Place Like Home: Coming soon, No Place Like Home is a free contemporary art exhibition co-curated and led by KV Duong and Hoa Dung Clerget. The collaboration features a group of Vietnamese diasporic artists presenting works about the theme of home through the Vietnamese cultural lens.
  • Tomorrowland: A multimedia artwork by local schoolchildren exploring Hackney in 2050.

These are just some examples of the many exhibitions and events the Museum of The Home offers. You can visit their website for current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

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