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Geffrye Museum Review

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Geffrye Museum

Address: 136 Kingsland Rd., East End, London, E2 8EA
Phone: 020/7739-9893
www.geffrye-museum.org.uk

Category: Museums/Galleries
Location: East End

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Fodor's Review:

Here's where you can discover what life was really like for the general masses in London (and it's different from the grand, high-society town-house interiors of the rich royal boroughs). It's a small museum where you can walk through a series of room sets that re-create everyday domestic interiors from the Elizabethan period through postwar 1950s utility. Originally, the museum was a row of almshouses for the poor, built in 1716 by Sir Robert Geffrye, former lord mayor of London, that provided shelter for 50 pensioners over the course of 200 years. The houses were rescued from closure by keen petitioners (the inhabitants were relocated to a healthier part of town) and were transformed into the Geffrye Museum in 1914. The former almshouses were restored to their original condition, with most of the internal woodwork intact, including the staircase, upper floors, closets, and paneling. There are also displays on the almshouses' history and on the kinds of people who lived there. To discover more, you can also attend a regular "bring a room to life" talk. The museum's extension wing houses the 20th-century galleries, a lovely café overlooking the garden, and a bookshop stuffed full of great gifts.

Cost: Free
Open: Tues.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. and bank holidays noon-5
Tube: Old St., then Bus 243; Liverpool St., then Bus 149 or 242

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