Winter Past - Museum of the Home

Take a seasonal journey through centuries of home, warmth, and celebration.

Explore how seasonal festivals and personal traditions shape the ways we spend time at home during the winter months in this reimagining of the stories in our renowned Rooms Through Time.

Winter Past is an annual exhibition curated in collaboration with the Museum’s Community Authors, who share ideas, produce and suggest creative programming to challenge the ways we work, ensuring that Museum of the Home remains representative and inclusive to all.

Explore Winter Past

A table is laid with fruit, candles, greenery and a pigs head, in a room with wood paneling, a fireplace and a tapestry.

Midwinter in 1630

The household is having a feast to celebrate Midwinter, the shortest day of the year.

Close up view of snow frost on a dark coloured jacket

An afternoon at the Frost Fair in 1683

The Cookesbury family have spent hours at the Thames Frost Fair, and have just returned home to warm up by the fire with brandy.

A parlour dressed with various winter items including candles and silk on the table.

Huguenot Noël in 1745

New fabrics are on show at the home of the Billets, a family of weavers who immigrated from France.

Boxing Day in 1790

After working hard on Christmas Day for the Davidsons’ dinner, the servants get a day off and the master packs gifts to thank them for their service.

A deck of cards with illustrations of various customes.

Twelfth Night in 1830

It is Twelfth Night and the Woodruffe children are preparing their costumes for a fancy dress ball they'll be attending this evening.

A table with small Christmas tree, dolls, and baubles.

Christmas preparations in 1878

As the sweet scent of spices and brandy fill the Stevensons’ home, Bunoo, an ayah employed by the family, is reminded of her home in India.

Close up view of a pot with ingredients and a recipe book. There is a menorah on the fireplace mantel.

Hanukkah in 1913

It’s the first night of Hanukkah, and Israel Delinsky is about to light a candle on the menorah to mark the occasion.

A collection of festive cards displayed on a bookcase with a small Christmas tree.

Midnight Mass in 1956

On Kathleen and Jack’s second Christmas eve in the city since moving from Ireland, they are getting ready to go to their local parish church.

A festive dinner table set with red table cloth and warm cooked meal. There is a Christmas tree in the background.

A Christmas party in 1978

Worries are put aside for Christmas Day in this household as the family feast keeps everyone warm and snow falls outside.

A small white Christmas tree in a bedroom corner, surrounded with items of Christmas sentiment such as boardgames and festive cards.

Friendmas in 2005

Flatmates Alex, Sara and Nadia stick together for the holidays and celebrate with their chosen family, inviting lonely friends to stay on the sofa.

Christmas decorations in a British Vietnamese living room with Tết envelopes, Christmas lights, and more.

A big family affair in 2024

This year it is the Nguyễns’ turn to host the Christmas party. Aunties, uncles, grandparents and cousins have travelled from across the country.

A close up view of a shelf with different items and frames decorated with Christmas lights.

Renew Year’s Eve in 2049

Yusuf sighs with satisfaction as the roast protein ‘turkettes’ brown up nicely for dinner, celebrating this holiday introduced back in the late 2030s.