Phyllis Dimond, Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, E.2, c 1940. V&A Museum, London.
The building dates from 1713 when, by means of a bequest from Sir Robert Geffrye(1) (his tomb may be seen in the churchyard), twelve almshouses for widows of former members of the Ironmongers’ Company were established.(2) Sir Robert had been Clerk of the Company; he had also, in 1685, been Lord Mayor of London.
The almshouses must have been designed by an architect of no mean skill, but the architect’s name is not known, and the pleasing grace of their period has been well preserved. When first established they stood somewhat lonely in open fields. When the three sides of a rectangular garden, in open country and surrounded by market gardens, were low in construction and admirably adapted for their original purpose as almshouses, they formed an extremely quiet retreat in the Kingsland Road area.
In 1901, when the situation was no longer quiet, the almshouses were acquired for the London County Council, with the help of the Goldsmiths’ Company and Metropolitan Borough and private subscribers, for conversion to museum purposes.
The Geffrye Museum(3) now shows ten or twelve period rooms (types of middle class homes) from Elizabethan to Victorian. Some particularly good staircases, doorways, and shop fronts are also to be seen.
Situated in a quarter noted for its cabinet-makers,(4) the museum is well enough placed, but not well enough known. When the new guide-books of London are compiled, the editors will find themselves with all too many unattached stars on their hands, for one of which the Geffrye Museum must surely be a serious candidate.
Recording Britain, Vol 1, London and Middlesex, p 18-19.
Image: Phyllis Dimond
Text: Arnold Nottage Palmer
1. Today Sir Robert Geffrye is a deeply divisive figure given his involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. The original building was funded through his bequest, and a statue of him still stands atop the old entrance. This has been the focus of much controversy over the last few years, with repeated calls for it to be removed. The museum is currently involved in active consultation with local communities and other parties, and have expressed a desire to relocate the statue, but appear to be constrained by considerable red tape. The UK government’s position (under Sunak) hardened in October 2023, stating: “it is anticipated that custodians would only decide to relocate a commemorative heritage asset once all other options had been examined and discounted, so this is only justifiable in very few circumstances.” [my italics]
2. All the alms houses came without furniture. The widows received a pension of £6 per year, six bags of coal and free accommodation. A chaplain, groundskeeper, matron, and chapel clerk lived in houses alongside the residents.
3. The museum was rebranded in June 2021 as the ‘Museum of the Home’.
4. For a comprehensive history of the area’s furniture trade see: Joanna Smith and Ray Rogers, Behind the Veneer: The South Shoreditch Furniture Trade and its Buildings (English Heritage, 2006).