London Sights

Geffrye Museum

#32 of 1432 things to do in London

#389 of 49054 things to do in Europe

1 reviews | Write a review

Good for: History Lovers

  • Address
    • 136 Kingsland Rd E2
  • Website
  • Phone
    • 7739 9893
  • Price
    • admission by donation
  • Hours
    • 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, noon-5pm Sun

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Lonely Planet review for Geffrye Museum

Definitely Shoreditch’s most accessible sight, this 18th-century ivy-clad series of almshouses with a herb garden draws you in immediately. The museum inside is devoted to domestic interiors, with each room of the main building furnished to show how the homes of the relatively affluent middle class would have looked from Elizabethan times right through to the end of the 19th century. A postmodernist extension completed in 1998 contains several 20th-century rooms (a flat from the 1930s, a room in the contemporary style of the 1950s and a 1990s converted warehouse complete with Ikea furniture) as well as a lovely herb garden, gallery for temporary exhibits, a design centre with works from the local community, a shop and restaurant. Another development has been the exquisite restoration of a historic almshouse interior. It’s the absolute attention to detail that impresses, right down to the vintage newspaper left open on the breakfast table. The setting is so fragile, however, that this small almshouse is only open twice a month (usually on a Wednesday and Saturday).

 

Traveller reviews for Geffrye Museum (1)

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    An education and a tear-jerker

    janinemareee recommends this,

    This is one of London's most charming small museums. If you're interested in social history moreso than the kings-and-politicians school this will really tick your boxes. Walk though a number of beautifully reconstructed interiors from different periods of history that show how middle and upper-middle class English people have lived over the last few centuries - intriguing from both a historical and an interior-design perspective. The really affecting part is the two rooms in the old almshouse that have been restored to the state they would have been in when people inhabited them - destitute people who had nowhere else to go and no-one else to look after them, and had to rely on charity. The loving detail of the reconstruction breaks through the barriers of time and hits you right in the heart - I defy anyone not to tear up while standing amongst the meagre possessions of a retired governess who has fallen on hard times and lives in a couple of dark rooms with only a few old photos for company.

    Good for: History Lovers

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