Museum of the Home

Over het museum

The museum stands in almshouses built in 1714 with money from the legacy of the merchant Sir Robert Geffrye. In 1911 the London County Council bought the buildings and gardens, which made up a large share of the open space in densely populated Shoreditch, and turned the almshouses into a museum for the furniture and woodwork trades of the East End. The Geffrye Museum opened to the public on 2 April 1914.

In the 1930s the museum turned towards schools and became an early example of a museum centred on learning. Its curator created a run of period living rooms showing the history of domestic life, which became its best-known feature. A new wing with 20th-century rooms and learning spaces was added in 1998, and the herb garden and Gardens Through Time opened in the late 1990s. One of the 14 almshouses was restored to show living conditions in the 1780s and 1880s.

It became the Geffrye Museum of the Home in 2011, closed in 2018 for a large rebuilding project, and was renamed Museum of the Home in 2019. It reopened in 2021 with new galleries, a collections library and learning spaces, and in 2024 added seven new period rooms created with local communities. The museum acknowledges that Geffrye made part of his fortune from transatlantic slavery.

Hoogtepunten

• Rooms Through Time: period rooms from 1630 to 2049
• Home Galleries on themes of home and everyday life
• Restored almshouse 14 with guided tours
• Gardens Through Time and Kingsland Road Gardens
• Free digital guide and family trails
• Grade I listed 18th-century almshouses

Vaste collectie

• Rooms Through Time – Period rooms showing how London homes looked and were lived in from 1630 to 2049, with objects and stories from real households.
• Gardens Through Time – A series of small gardens showing how city gardens have developed over the centuries.
• Almshouse 14 – A restored almshouse dwelling shown on guided tours as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Opgericht

1914

Beheerder

Geffrye Museum Trust

Bezoekers per jaar

ca. 103.000

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Admission is free and no booking is needed. Donations are welcome. Some events and talks are ticketed and must be booked in advance.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

There is step-free access to all galleries. The main entrance is reached by a 45-metre ramp in four sections (or 15 steps) from Geffrye Street, and the Kingsland Road entrance has a 6-metre ramp. Small passenger lifts connect the floors, and a platform lift links the Home Galleries with the Gardens Through Time. Three manual wheelchairs can be borrowed at reception (no advance booking), and mobility scooters are welcome, although some galleries are small. There are accessible toilets with alarm cords; the nearest Changing Places toilet is in Haggerston Park. Induction loops are at reception and in the event spaces. Large print guides, folding stools, subtitled films (some with BSL), child-sized ear defenders and sensory backpacks are available. The quietest times are weekday and Sunday mornings. Almshouse 14 is not wheelchair accessible. Guide, assistance and emotional support animals are welcome. A Blue Badge bay is on Kingsland Road.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

The museum was shortlisted for a family friendly museum award in 2024 and 2025. Families can use a Mini Playhouse co-designed with local children, two illustrated family trails, a Reading Lounge with a mini market, kitchen and dress-up station, and a sensory den. Buggies are welcome, with larger lockers and a buggy park in the Welcome Area. Baby changing facilities are in each of the three accessible toilets, and breastfeeding and bottle-feeding are welcome anywhere. Family days and drop-in activities are listed on the What's On page. Children's birthday parties can be hired as a venue offer.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

There are 8 bike racks in the Kingsland Road Gardens; folding bikes and e-scooters are not allowed inside. Geffrye Street is a pedestrian zone with some cobbled paving.

Service & horeca

• Kluisjes
• Wifi

There is a Lunch Room open to all visitors, including families. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the galleries or the Gardens Through Time, but picnics are welcome in the Kingsland Road Gardens. Free wifi is available (network Home_Guest). Larger lockers for buggies are in the Welcome Area. A museum shop operates online.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Privéfeesten
• Zakelijke evenementen
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

Tot 800 personen.

Two studios, two gardens, three heritage spaces and a large entrance hall can be hired, from dinners for 20 to outdoor events for 800. The Hive offers three equipped spaces for meetings and workshops. Profits support the museum.

Je bezoek plannen