These almshouses were built in 1715, and were given to Lord Robert Geffrye, the then Lord Mayor of London who had become rich through business. The aim of the collection in the Geffrye Museum was to inspire workers in the furniture and interior design fields in London's East End. Now it inspires visitors to go back in time.

Looking Through the Keyhole

Using a series of displays and all original furniture, the Geffrye Museum recreates living space, as it would have typically been for middle-class families from different periods from 1600 up until the present day. Each of the rooms in the Geffrye Museum provides an insight into the domestic interiors, and social backgrounds.

The historic room settings begin with Elizabethan and run right through to Victorian, and even to a trend in the 90s: loft living. Perhaps most interesting is the way in which events outside England i.e. colonialism affected tastes in household design. In one of the middle rooms at the Geffrye Museum, you can see stuffed armadillos and prints of exotic animals.

While an arrangement of furniture may not grab your attention completely, consider the fact that there are quirky finishing touches to many of the pieces on display in the Geffrye Museum, and a time-lined garden, or period 'garden rooms', which shows garden fashions between the 16th and 20th centuries.

Admission:Free

Opening Times

Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 17:00

Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays 12 - 17:00

Diamond Jubilee Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th June, 12noon - 17:00

Closed Mondays (unless Bank Holiday), Good Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day

The restaurant is open until 16:45

The shop is open during museum hours