Museum of the Home Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Museum of the Home
Front long elevation which has jettying and garden
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Established	1914; 111 years ago (1914)
Location	Geffrye Almshouses 136 Kingsland Road London, E2 United Kingdom
Visitors	120,000 (annually)
Public transit access	Hoxton

The Museum of the Home, once known as the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum in Hoxton, London. It is located in beautiful 18th-century buildings that used to be almshouses. These are special homes for people who needed help.

The museum changed its name in 2019. It helps visitors understand what "home" means. It shows how people have lived from the 1600s until today. You can see different types of homes and learn about people's feelings about where they live.

In 2018, about 120,000 people visited the museum. It then closed for two and a half years for a big update. The museum reopened in summer 2021 with its new name. It now has much more space for its collections and for visitors. You can explore new galleries, a cafe, and lovely gardens. The museum wants to show us how we live and how we can live better together.

Discovering Home History
Museum Architecture
Statue of Robert Geffrye
Images for kids
See also

Discovering Home History

The Original Almshouses

The buildings where the museum now stands were built in 1714. They were created as almshouses for the widows of ironmongers. An ironmonger is someone who sells or works with iron.

Sir Robert Geffrye, a rich merchant and former Lord Mayor of London, paid for these homes. There were 14 houses, each with four rooms. Up to 56 pensioners could live there, and they had a large garden.

In 1911, the Ironmongers' Company decided the area was no longer safe for the pensioners. They moved them to the countryside. The buildings were then sold to the London County Council (LCC).

Becoming a Museum

The museum first opened its doors on April 2, 1914. When the LCC took over, they created the Geffrye Museum. The area was known for making furniture. So, the museum first collected furniture and interiors to inspire local craftspeople.

Later, the museum's focus changed. It started to welcome younger visitors, especially school children. A curator named Marjorie Quennell introduced rooms decorated like homes from different historical periods. This helped people see how homes changed over time.

The museum became a charity in 1991. In 1992, a new herb garden was opened. It was built on a piece of land that was not being used.

Modern Updates and Reopening

The museum grew in 1998 with a new extension. This added space for a 20th-century exhibition, a shop, and learning rooms.

In January 2018, the museum closed for a major renovation project. It cost £18 million to make it even better. It reopened in June 2021 as the Museum of the Home. The main entrance now faces Hoxton station.

The new galleries explore what "home" means through everyday experiences. They show how people have made, kept, and lived in their homes for the last 400 years. The museum now has 80 percent more space for its collections. It also has 50 percent more public space for visitors.

Many people have praised the updated museum. One newspaper said it shows how even simple homes tell amazing stories. Another mentioned the "West Indian front room" from 1976 as a highlight. It has glittery cushions and fun souvenirs. The museum's director, Sonia Solicari, thinks the old almshouses are a good example for modern "pod living." She believes "The home of the future is looking a lot like the past."

Recent Exhibitions and Events

In 2022, the museum hosted a Festival of Sleep and a Winter Festival. The BBC show Antiques Roadshow also filmed a special episode about toys there.

In 2023, the museum started new exhibitions about what home means to different groups of people. Disability rights activist Paul Darke helped create an exhibition about toys that show disability. This included characters from Ironside and The Simpsons. Also in 2023, "No Place Like Home (A Vietnamese Exhibition) Part II" was shown. It featured art by Vietnamese artists living abroad. In June 2023, the museum and Tate together bought a painting called A Young Teacher from 1861 by Rebecca Solomon.

Museum Architecture

East front of the museum

Several parts of the museum buildings are very old and important. They are protected by law. The main museum building is a Grade I listed building. This means it is of exceptional interest.

The niche in the forecourt and the forecourt wall, gates, and railings are also listed. Even two old red K6 telephone boxes outside the museum are protected. The museum reopened in 2021 after a big rebuilding project.

Statue of Robert Geffrye

The statue of Robert Geffrye

Above the museum's old entrance is a statue of Robert Geffrye. He was the person who paid for the original almshouses. Geffrye was a merchant whose money came partly from the forced labor and trading of enslaved Africans.

The statue you see today is a copy. The original was moved in 1912 when the building was sold. After the museum's big renovation, the side with the statue is now the back of the building.

In July 2020, the museum asked local people what they thought about the statue. Most people (79.4%) wanted it to be taken down. However, the museum's board decided to keep the statue in its place. They chose to "reinterpret and contextualise" it instead. This means they added a sign below the statue to explain its history.

In November 2021, the museum updated its decision. They said the statue "does not promote the sense of belonging" for visitors. They want the museum to be a welcoming place for everyone. The museum is now looking into moving the statue to a different, less noticeable spot on the site. This way, they can tell the full story of Robert Geffrye's life. This includes his involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. The museum is working to understand and learn from the difficult past of its buildings.