Geffrye Museum

The Geffrye Museum is a museum of the home located in Shoreditch, London. The Museum explores the home from 1600 to the present day. Named after Sir Robert Geffrye, a former Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers' Company, it is located on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum is set in beautiful 18th-century Grade I-listed almshouses of the Ironmongers' Company, built in 1714 thanks to a bequest by Sir Robert Geffrye. The museum was extended in 1998 with an innovative yet architecturally sympathetic new wing designed by Branson Coates Architects. Surrounding the museum is a walled herb garden, created in 1993, and a series of period gardens which show how domestic gardens have changed over the last 400 years. The herb and period gardens are open from 1 April to 31 October.

Evocative displays of London, middle-class living rooms and gardens illustrate homes and home life through the centuries, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style and taste.

The many aspects of home are brought to life through an imaginative and inspirational programme of special exhibitions and events throughout the year. The museum's popular Christmas Past exhibition is held annually each winter, with the eleven period rooms authentically decorated for the season.

In addition, the museum's restored 18th-century almshouse, taken back to its original condition and offering a rare glimpse into the lives of London's poor and elderly in the 1780s and 1880s, is open to the public on specific days.

In May 2015, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the Geffrye Museum a grant of £11m to support its exciting plans to develop the museum for the future. The museum is now actively fundraising the balance of £4m. Click on the link to find out more about the Unlocking the Geffrye development project: http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/aboutus/unlocking-the-geffrye/