Our story

In 2024 we opened seven new period rooms reflecting the stories of our East London community—past, present and future. We co-curated the galleries with our community partners to centre lived experiences and introduce a more diverse array of narratives to our renowned Rooms Through Time.

We reopened in 2021, remaining free to visit. New galleries and learning spaces, an entrance hub, and a collections library and study room added 80 per cent more exhibition space for our collections and 50 per cent more public space. 

To reflect the museum’s focus on home and home life, the museum became the Geffrye Museum of the Home in 2011. The museum closed in 2018 for an extensive rebuilding project and was renamed Museum of the Home in 2019 with a mission to reveal and rethink the ways we live, in order to live better together.

An extra wing was added with 20th century period rooms and spaces for learning and exhibitions in 1998. The herb garden and the Gardens Through Time were opened to the public in the late 1990s. One of the 14 almshouses was restored to show the living conditions of former residents in the 1780s and 1880s.

In the mid-1930s the focus shifted to a younger audience, particularly school children.

Molly Harrison, an educational pioneer, developed the museum’s learning services. She led the way in the UK in making museums centres for learning and education.

Marjorie Quennell, the museum curator, created a chronological run of living room displays. These were a unique resource for learning about the history of domestic life and everyday things.

When the Museum opened in 1914, it was a museum of furniture and woodwork. It was a resource for the many local people who worked in the East End furniture industry.