Museum of the Home
Home life through the centuries in Grade I-listed almshouses — period rooms, gardens and a 170-plant herb garden in Hoxton
Home life through the centuries in Grade I-listed almshouses — period rooms, gardens and a 170-plant herb garden in Hoxton
Housed in a row of 14 Grade I-listed almshouses built in 1714, the Museum of the Home traces domestic life from the Stuart era to the present day through a series of meticulously furnished period rooms. The building itself is as much an exhibit as anything inside it.
Eleven rooms walk you chronologically from a 1690s parlour to a late-1990s Shoreditch loft apartment, while four period gardens and a walled herb garden with over 170 plant varieties extend the story outdoors. Temporary exhibitions and community-curated displays keep the programme fresh between visits.
The story of this building begins with Sir Robert Geffrye, a wealthy merchant and Master of the Ironmongers' Company who died in 1704. His bequest funded 14 almshouses on Kingsland Road, opened in 1714 to house the widows of ironmongers. Each resident had a small set of rooms and access to a shared garden — a model of charitable housing that endured for nearly two centuries.
By the early 1900s the almshouses had fallen into disrepair and the residents were relocated. The London County Council purchased the buildings in 1911 and, recognising the area's importance to the furniture trade, opened them as the Geffrye Museum in 1914. The original aim was to create a reference collection of English furniture for local craftsmen. Over the decades, curator Marjorie Quennell transformed the approach, introducing furnished period rooms that told the story of domestic life through the centuries.
The centrepiece is the sequence of eleven period rooms arranged chronologically from around 1700 to the present day. A panelled Georgian parlour gives way to a Victorian drawing room complete with taxidermy and aspidistras, then to an Arts and Crafts interior from 1915, through mid-century modern living to a late-1990s Shoreditch loft. In 2024, seven new rooms were added, co-curated with community partners to represent the diverse lived experiences of East London residents past and present.
The gardens are an extension of this timeline. Four plots show how English domestic gardens evolved across the same period, from clipped formality to relaxed cottage planting. The walled herb garden, opened in 1992, contains over 170 species historically used for cooking, medicine, dyeing and scent. One of the original almshouses has been restored to show how its 18th- and 19th-century residents actually lived.
The museum sits on Kingsland Road at the edge of Shoreditch, one of east London's liveliest neighbourhoods. Columbia Road Flower Market operates every Sunday morning just a few streets away, and Brick Lane — with its street food, vintage shops and galleries — is a 15-minute walk south. The surrounding streets are filled with independent cafes and restaurants.
Inside, the museum cafe serves seasonal dishes and cakes overlooking the gardens. A shop stocks design-led homewares, books and prints. The building is step-free throughout, with lifts to all floors and accessible toilets on every level. Photography is permitted in the permanent galleries for personal use.
The museum is entirely free to visit, including all galleries, period rooms, gardens and temporary exhibitions. Donations are encouraged to support the museum's work
Columbia Road Flower Market runs every Sunday from 8am to 3pm, just a five-minute walk from the museum. Visit the market first, then head to the museum when it opens at 10am.
The four period gardens and herb garden are best appreciated in spring and summer. Visit them first — you can always return to the indoor galleries if it rains.
The museum offers free printed guides and activity trails for families. Ask at the front desk when you arrive — children's trails make the period rooms more engaging for younger visitors.
The original 1714 almshouse is easy to miss but well worth finding. It shows how residents actually lived in these charitable homes, with rooms furnished in period style.
Hoxton station is literally a one-minute walk from the museum entrance. Trains run frequently from Liverpool Street and Highbury and Islington on the Overground.
London Travel Writer · 12+ years covering UK attractions and tourism
Last reviewed: March 9, 2026
