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The timeline is divided up into five categories: Key Geffrye, World and Local Events; Animals of the Geffrye; Ghosts of the Geffrye; Hidden Geffrye and finally Local memories of the Geffrye.
Click on any of the stories to find out more.
In 1613 Robert Geffrye was born in Cornwall. He was baptised at St Michael's Church, Landrake, on the 24 May.
Geffrye moved to London when he was 17 years old. He went to complete a 7-year apprenticeship with the Ironmongers' Company.
By 1637, Robert Geffrye had completed his 7-year apprenticeship. He was now 24 years old and a member of the Ironmongers' Company and a Freeman of the City of London had the right to trade within a square mile of their property. You can still apply to become a Freeman today.
Robert Geffrye married Priscilla at the chapel, Mercers' Hall, in Cheapside. He was 38 and Priscilla was just 18 years old. Priscilla was the daughter of Luke and Judith Cropley.
In 1673, Sir Robert Geffrye was knighted by King Charles II.
On 24 November 1673 Geffrye registered his coat of arms, which can now be seen in a stained glass window at the Ironmongers' Hall.
Dame Priscilla Geffrye died at the age of 42 on 26 October 1676. She was buried at St Dionis Backchurch on 2 November.
On 4 July 1667, Robert Geffrye was appointed Master of the Ironmongers' Company. A few years later in 1685, he was made Lord Mayor of London and also became Master of the Ironmongers' Company for the second time.
During 1689 Sir Robert Geffrye was made president of Bridewell and Bethlehem hospitals. Bridewell housed prisoners and poor orphan children. Every Friday, Geffrye attended Bridewell hospital to judge and sentence the prisoners. Bridewell’s young people were given apprenticeships and a uniform. They were known as the ‘Bridewell Boys’. Bethlehem, notoriously known as 'Bedlam', housed the mentally ill.
Sir Robert Geffrye stated in his will that the residue of his fortune, after bequests to family and charities, was to be spent on building and maintaining an almshouse for the poor. Sir Robert Geffrye's endowment still helps to keep his almshouses in Hampshire open today.
Sir Robert Geffrye died at the age of 90. His funeral took place at St Dionis Backchurch on 10 March 1704. Ironmongers' Company staff met at the Ironmongers' Company Hall on Fenchurch Street.
Sir Robert Geffrye was the founder of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses. In his will he left most of his £13,000 fortune to the Ironmongers’ Company to build and financially support these almshouses and their inhabitants.
He and his wife Priscilla were originally buried in St Dionis Backchurch, in the City of London. When the church was demolished in 1878, their remains were re-buried here in the Geffrye graveyard.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Joel (16) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I liked dressing up – rich people in the old days had nice clothes!’
The Ironmongers' Company advertised in The Postman newspaper that they were looking to buy land to build the almshouses. A Mr Henry Hunt offered his land at Kingsland Road. The Ironmonger's bought his land for £200, which is the equivalent of approximately £21,980 today.
The Geffrye's gardens used to slope from east to west. To level out the front garden in 1712 the Geffrye Charity Committee decided the cheapest way to solve this problem was to ask locals to bring their rubbish and dump it on the front gardens. Over 2 years 600 wagon loads of earth were also brought to level the garden.
In the early years of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses, the front garden was preserved as the well-ordered haven on show to passers-by.
The back yards were more private spaces, and was used by residents for growing vegetables, drying laundry and keeping livestock such as chickens and rabbits .
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Abraham (18), said ‘I liked making the rabbit because it’s cute and I can make it different, like you’ve never seen before!’
In 1714 12 of the 14 almshouses were built. The other 2 were built soon after. The almshouses were not designed by an architect.
The Ironmongers' Company invited tenders to build them at the lowest possible price. In the end two contractors were asked to build the almshouses: Robert Burford and Richard Halsaul.
There was enough space to house 50 pensioners. All residents were given one 13x15 foot room with a closet.
All rooms came without furniture, residents had to buy their own. They received a pension of £6 per year, 6 bags of coal and free accommodation.
The almshouses were used as homes for the elderly poor from 1714-1912, with up to 50 pensioners living in the 14 houses at any one time.
At times there was fierce competition to live in them because of the location, free housing, pension and coal offered to residents.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mrs Diane Thackray’s thoughts about the founding of the almshouses, as well as responses from Lauren, Haider and Seth (15).
In the 1700s almshouse residents cooked and ate in their rooms. Most would have boiled their food, as there was no oven, and may have taken pre-prepared pasties, pies and bread to a bakery in Hoxton, or simply bought ready-made ones from sellers on Kingsland Road.
Food was stored in the almshouse closets, with sugar, flour and herbs in paper bags or leather, and preserved food in jars and bottles.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Abraham (19) created this image, and said ‘I chose to create this story because I like eating and drawing food. I liked hearing all about the Geffrye mysteries!’
Almshouse residents never had easy access to heated water. Original residents had to fetch water with buckets from 2 pumps at either corner of the grounds behind the almshouses, then heat it in a copper basin in the basement.
In the 1800s, residents would likely have washed in their room, using a pitcher and bowl or the portable hip baths common at the time. They may also have visited public baths in Hoxton and Haggerston.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Shane (17) created this image, and said ‘I liked learning how to use Photoshop, and learning how I would have had a bath if I’d lived in the almshouses.’
When the almshouses were built in 1714, Shoreditch was surrounded by fields and countryside.
Between 1800-1850 the area became less rural. Houses, workshops and trade premises were built.
There were 4 members of staff who lived in the almshouses.
There was a chaplain, who was in charge of religious duties. He also reported if anyone broke the almshouses' rules and produced 2 reports a year to show the Ironmongers' Company Committee. There was a groundskeeper who looked after the garden and buildings, and made sure there were no trespassers. They also rang the chapel bell if someone died. There was also a matron who looked after residents. Lastly, there was a chapel clerk who looked after the finances of the almshouses.
Residents would have bought tallow candles to light their rooms at night. Gas lighting was not installed in the almshouses until the early 1880s. Tallow candles made the room smoky and they had a strong odour because they were made of animal fat. Many residents wouldn't have eaten enough meat to use leftover animal fat to make their own candles, so they most likely bought them at Hoxton Market.
The rules of living in the almshouses had to be observed by the residents of the Ironmongers' Almshouses and were printed and placed on the chapel wall in the almshouse. They were read twice a year to residents on 25 March and 29 September. The rules changed very little over 200 years and residents were expelled from the almshouses on their fourth offense.
When the almshouses opened in 1714 there was a Great Hall in the middle of the almshouses. The Ironmongers' Company used it for committee meetings. However 2 years after it was built they decided to convert it into a chapel. You can still see and visit the chapel today.
The sculpture of Sir Robert Geffrye, founder of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses, stands above the chapel door. It is actually a 1913 replica made by the foundry James Maude & Co.
The original, created by Belgian sculptor John van Nost in 1724, left with the almshouse residents when they moved to almshouses in Mottingham, Kent. Today, you will find it at Geffery’s House sheltered housing development in Hook, Hampshire.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible. They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Richard (14) created this image, and said ‘It was fascinating that I created my own image based on the story of Sir Robert Geffrye’s statue. People don’t know the original was removed!’
Thomas Betton, like Sir Robert Geffrye, was a member of the Ironmongers’ Company and a generous benefactor.
His burial was described in the newspaper Parker's London News:
"Last Sunday night was interr'd at Sir Robert Jefferies [almshouses] in Kingsland Road the "body of Thomas Betton, Esq., of Hoxton Square; he was a rich batchelor of about £1,200 per "annum."
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
James (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I liked playing with the cameras, taking pictures and editing using the computer.’
Residents had to look after and clean their home.
As part of the 1752 version of the 29 rules of living in the almshouses, the residents were made to 'every Saturday sweep their doorways and take away the dirt, and they do not throw bones and rags on the grass plots.'
William Hesse was a chaplain of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses, who died on 19 November 1792, aged 31.
The chaplain provided for the almshouse residents’ spiritual needs as well as acting as an administrator.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Alex (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I liked Rev Hesse because he was a preacher and lived a long time ago. I liked dressing up as that character.’
In 1796 resident Lydia Thompson left money in her will to the almshouses.
She left one guinea to all the residents 'as a small acknowledgement of my friendship for them and as a token of my esteem and regard for that noble and praiseworthy institution.'
Only 2 applications to become almshouse residents survive today.
One is dated 1808 and the other 1809. The first application was made from Southwark and the other from St Mary Le Bow. To apply you had to be over the age of 56 and to be of 'good character'. Widows of Ironmongers were called ‘free’. ‘Free's’ had priority over any other pensioner who applied.
Sir William Randal Cremer (1828-1908) held the seat of MP for Haggerston for several terms, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903.
We know from photographs and documents that a bust commemorating Cremer once sat in the centre of the Geffrye’s front garden. However, when exactly the bust was removed and where it is now remains a mystery!
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Darren (19) created this image, and said ‘I like the conspiracy theory behind the bust, it’s very interesting! I didn’t know who Randal Cremer was before this, but his name is stuck in my head now.’
By the 1840s, most residents were single people. From the 1860s, many had formerly held positions such as governesses or schoolmistresses, and by 1892, women outnumbered men 12 to 1.
Their leisure time was likely to have been spent sewing, reading and enjoying the company of other residents.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Ryan (17) created this image, and said ‘I liked learning all about the people who were here, and thinking about all the inmates sitting together outside, and chatting – their lives seemed very different from now!’
By around 1840, all residents had to prove they could contribute towards their pension with 5 shillings a week.
Some residents had jobs such as sewing or child-minding. By this time, residents were mainly middle class and many had previously been governesses, nurses and schoolmistresses.
From the 1840s, furniture making was one of the largest trades in the East End of London.
The Geffrye Museum was planned as a museum of furniture and woodwork to teach students and local craftsman about furniture design, but it always displayed much more than just furniture.
Maria Chapman was a matron of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses, who died on 18 January 1840, aged 64.
The matron acted as both housekeeper and nurse, cooking for, nursing and visiting poorly almshouse residents. Mrs Chapman would have lived in rooms next to the chapel.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Ryan (17) created this ghost image, and said ‘I liked the clothes “Maria” dressed in, especially the bonnets. I liked telling an adult what to do and making her pose!’
Reverend Henry Baker started his time as chaplain for the almshouses in 1854. His wife, Grace Baker, encouraged her husband to apply for the post.
Nurse Mary 'Dumps' Davies lived with the Baker family from 1860 until she died.
The chaplain Reverend Baker knew Nurse 'Dumps' when he was the pastor of Silvertown in London. 'Dumps' and her husband owned a milk shop in the area. When 'Dumps' became too old to work, Reverend Baker gave her a home in the almshouses. Her niece Jenny moved to look after her when she became too frail.
Miss Georgiana Beale was 40 years old when she was offered a place to live at the Ironmongers' Almshouses in 1860. There is no record today that explains why she was allowed a place as she was 10 years younger than the age limit for almshouse pensioners. Miss Beale died in 1901 at age of 81 she was the longest resident of the almshouses, having lived there 41 years.
In 1861, the parish population in Shoreditch had reached 129,364.
More and more poor people were moving to the area for work, which didn't make the almshouse residents very happy.
In 1865 the North London Railway extended its tracks to right behind the almshouses.
Today, this is where Hoxton Overground Station is located.
On 9 November 1866, Ernest Baker was born. Ernest Baker was the son of the almshouse chaplain Reverend Baker and Mrs Grace Baker. They had 9 children.
Henry Bingham was born in 1861, Grace Cottley in 1862, Isabella Marian in 1863, Mary Christian in 1864, Mabel Alice in 1865, Septimus Stephen in 1868, Lucy Anna Elizabeth (Lena) in 1870 and Cecil Brackstone in 1872. The chaplain was given two almshouses to house his big family.
Ernest Baker was one of the almshouse chaplain Reverend Henry Baker’s 9 children.
When he was 14 his father gave him a diary, and between 1881 and 1882 he wrote about family life in these almshouses and London.
Ernest later enlisted in the army, and tragically died in a riding accident when stationed in Mexico at the age of 25.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Karim (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I liked thinking about the way Ernest dressed, and that he was young and wrote a diary about the olden times.’
Ernest Baker was a mischievous boy, who according to his sister ‘took nothing seriously.'
On 16 December 1881 he wrote of a prank he played on his family and the almshouse residents:
‘Had supper after which we made a Ghost and made it hanging over the tombstone [of Sir Robert Geffrye in the graveyard], but the joke failed.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
James (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘It was nice wearing the costumes and wigs!’
Reverend Baker was chaplain of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses in the late 1800s, and father of Ernest, Lena, Cecil and 6 other Baker children.
He and his family lived in both the first and second full almshouses at the North end of the building. Ernest described a cozy scene in his diary on 31 December 1881:
‘After the prayer meeting and all the old biddies had “cleared out” we turned down the gass had wine and told ghost tales.’
Mr Baker died on the 14th of February 1895. He was chaplain to the almshouses for 30 years. The Chapel Clerk Henry Barrett wrote in his diary ‘I am very sorry he is Gone From us[.]… A rather Large Funeral[.] it was a very fine day’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Abraham (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I liked acting like I was telling everyone stories and taking photos.’
In Ernest’s diary entry for 4 January 1882, he writes about his brother Cecil’s guinea pig, called ‘Pudding Pig’ and ‘Hot Plum Sow’ by the family.
He also describes accompanying a family friend on a trip to a Kingsland Road pet shop to buy his own: ‘The Wightwicks came… to say that Mrs Wightwick would allow Humphrey to have a guinea pig like Cecil’s… [So] I went to Hall’s and bought him one.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Adea (16), said ’I chose the guinea pigs because I like them and hamsters. The people living here had so many different kinds of pets!’
On 23 January 1882, a hurt bleeding hen was thrown into the back garden behind the Bakers' home. The Baker children saved the hen, looked after it and then allowed the hen to stay with their other hens. Ernest Baker wrote about the event in his diary.
On 30 January 1882, Ernest Baker, the almshouse chaplain’s son, writes in his diary about his family’s pet tortoise, who met a sorry end:
‘The tortoise was found to be dead but those animals have a peculiar habit belonging to their kind that is of never moveing, so to prove whether our tortoise really was dead I put it on the fire and then pulled it out again having arrived out it opened one of its eyes so wishing it to open the other I put it back in the fire again but then it came out dead so we came to the conclusion that we “had proved it was dead”.'
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Shane (17), said ‘I chose the tortoise because I liked the story and had good ideas for the design.’
Almshouse residents were encouraged to keep their rooms clean to prevent unwanted animals. In 1752, the rules or ‘Orders’ of the almshouse stated that:
‘... every Saturday [they must] sweep their door[way]s and take away the dirt, and that they not throw bones and rags on the grass plots.’
Ernest Baker describes his encounter with a rat on 31 January 1882:
‘The rat has eaten the tortoise and left the shell.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Sirajul (19), said ‘Today was good, I am happy with my rat.’
The groundskeeper rang the chapel bell when a resident died. The deceased's belongings would stay in their room until their funeral had been paid for. If there wasn’t enough money to pay for their funeral, the Ironmongers' Company would sell the residents' belongings to pay for the rest of the funeral costs.
When Miss Freeman died, Ernest Baker the almshouse chaplain's son wrote in his diary about going to search in the almshouses for her body. 'When I reached Miss Freeman’s door (she is lying there dead, I forgot to say she died yesterday) there was no body there so I went in the room where the corpse was lying, I went up to the corpse, I uncovered it as far as its head, I pinched its cheek and found it was cold, I lifted its head up and found it was heavy, I turned its head around, and found it wouldn’t go; I went out. '
Miss Freeman’s funeral took place on the 18 February 1882.
Mr Randall was the almshouse gatekeeper in the late 1800s. He was described by Lena Thornton (née Baker) as unfriendly and not well-liked.
Tragically, after losing his job he committed suicide in the chapel of the almshouses on 24 December 1884. According to Lena he was found by the harmonium player the next morning, along with a card saying ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the house of the Lord.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service heard some the Geffrye’s best-documented spooky tales of almshouse inhabitants and people buried in our graveyard. They investigated and handled Victorian photographs and other archive materials, and dressed up in period costumes to create their own ghostly photographic character interpretations.
Kevin (18) is in this ghost image, and said ‘I’ve learnt how people lived, some people died a long time ago. I liked dressing up, putting the hat on and holding the props.’
Lena Thornton (née Baker) said the Baker family always had at least one dog, and she told a dark story in her reminiscences. Mr Randall, gatekeeper of the almshouses, committed suicide in the chapel on Christmas Eve.
Lena remembered Our dog Rollo, a Pyrenean wolfhound suddenly set up a long-drawn howl, something he had never done before:
Randell [sic] had been very fond of Rollo… and the servants whispered that he had uttered his howl for Mr Randell.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Ibrahim (19), said ‘I really like dogs; I finished my dog sculpture today and he looks so good!’
Henry Barrett was the almshouses' chapel clerk and was elected on 25 April 1888.
Henry Barrett wrote a diary of his time at the almshouse. He lived at almshouse number 7 with his wife and his children. His wife Emily gave birth to their son Harry Arthur Barrett on 23 September 1902. They moved with the rest of almshouse inmates to Mottingham in Kent in 1912.
In 1897 the Victoria Room was built for the celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and was turned into a library and a communal entertainment room for residents. The Ironmongers' Company also used the room for committee meetings. The Victoria Room is next to restored almshouse no 14.
In 1898 Charles Booth created a survey of the economic wealth of the people who lived in London.
The photo shows his poverty map of Hackney. Each colour meant residents were considered a different wealth category: black, blue and light blue meant you were considered poor; purple, pink and red meant you would be considered middle class, and finally yellow meant you were part of the upper classes.
Mrs Anne Young was the last matron to work at the almshouses. In 1898 Henry Barrett the almshouse chapel clerk states in his diary that there was an explosion from the gas oven in the matron’s house. Luckily Mrs Young survived the blast. Mrs Young was cooking for the residents who were bedridden and lived in the south wing.
It is likely that many of the residents, especially the genteel lady pensioners of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, would have owned small pets like cats or songbirds.
An almshouse photograph from
around 1900 appears to show something more exotic: a monkey sitting on a stand!
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Darren (19), said ‘I chose the monkey because he was awesome and stood out the most – can’t believe the people had a monkey as a pet in the middle of London!’
Around 1900 the almshouse Matron Mrs Young wrote that the residents of Maria Street (today known as Geffrye Street), were making their pet pigeons fly into the almshouse gardens.
She complained to the ‘authority,’ and such statements helped to convince the Ironmongers' Company to relocate the residents.
The water pump pumped fresh river water from the New River in Sadler’s Wells. Residents were fined if they sold or gave the water to non-residents.
On 23 August 1906, an advertisement was put in The Times newspaper to sell the Ironmongers' almshouses
A public inquiry began during January 1908 into the consequences of selling the almshouses.
Organisations such as the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, The National Trust and the Kyrle Society were worried that the Geffrye almshouses would be destroyed.
During this time, the Geffrye gardens made up of 14% of the open space in the borough of Hackney.
The London County Council's decision to create a museum was influenced by members of the Arts and Craft Movement.
Artists and designers such as Walter Crane, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, William de Morgan, Richard Norman Shaw and Edwin Lutyens signed a petition proposing the creation of a museum to display the work of craftsmen.
On the 6 December 1911, the London County Council bought the almshouses and its gardens. A week later, the gardens were opened up to the public.
In 1921, writer George Sims claimed that 'Geffrye in his acre-and-a-quarter has given them not only a museum but a playground.
On goodly wooden benches they may sit and breathe and see the sky. Here also is a bandstand, and once a week Shoreditch dances. Not on the grass...but on a paved wood part widened for the purpose.'
The Geffrye’s front garden is open to the public even after the museum closes; local students, workers, families and schoolchildren use the space.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mrs Lily Fazzani’s childhood memories of playing in the Geffrye front garden and on Kingsland Road during the summer, as well what Francisco, Paulina and Monjuma (15) usually do during the summer today.
These front gardens saved the Geffrye almshouses from possible demolition. They were opened to the public in 1911, and have provided a much-needed green space in the inner city ever since.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr Edward Tilbury's memories of the Geffrye front garden today as compared to during his childhood, as well as responses from Lauren, Haider and Seth (15).
In 1912, the residents moved to their new almshouses in Mottingham, Kent.
The ‘rules of the foundation never forbade keeping pets’ and even Mrs Young the last Matron to work at the Ironmongers' almshouses had a pet. She had a dog called Nat who lived in a kennel in the back garden of the Geffrye almshouses.
Throughout 1913, the almshouses were being turned into a museum. The local area had a booming furniture industry trade. The museum was designed to educate furniture industry employees.
On the 2 April 1914, the Geffrye Museum opened to the public.
All the interviewees who were interviewed by students of Hackney University Technical College were able to recall their first memories visiting the Geffrye Museum. Do you remember the first time you visited the museum?
Record your memories by dialling 020 8588 1285 0 followed by #.* * Standard network charges apply.
The Geffrye Museum opened during the same year as the World War 1 was declared. World War 1 lasted 4 years, until 11 November 1918.
Today the Geffrye’s front gardens are used for activities, public events and for locals to enjoy. These are not new ways in which the gardens have been used. In 1921, writer George R Sims stated:
‘Geffrye in his acre-and-a-quarter has given them not only a museum but a playground. On goodly wooden benches they may sit and breathe and see the sky. Here also is a bandstand, and once a week Shoreditch dances. Not on the grass... but on a paved wood part widened for the purpose.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Emmanuel (15) created this image, and said ‘I like knowing that people used to come to the Geffrye to dance and listen to live music. Photoshop Elements is great!’
Molly Harrison was a Geffrye curator from 1946 to 1969. She is celebrated for being a pioneer in museum education and in making museums visitor-friendly, particularly for children. In the summer term of 1949 there were 175 school visits.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr Mike Brace CBE’s experiences of visiting the Geffrye in the 1960s as a local child with sight impairment , as well as responses from Jake, Andrea and Durelle (15).
In the 1930s much of Hackney’s population, many of them industrial labourers, lived in overcrowded, inadequate accommodation, and a
programme of slum clearance began to improve residents’ housing and health, that continued after the war.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mrs Lily Fazzani about her memories of living in Hackney, across the road from the Geffrye on what is now Shenfield Street, as well as responses from Mary, Hafeez and Skyers (15).
The Geffrye Museum remained open throughout the Second World War and was only closed for a few months between 1939-1940 in order for air raid shelters to be built.
The Geffrye Museum relied on visits from schools and children during the war.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr Edward Tilbury about his memories of visiting the Geffrye as a child, as well as responses from Mary, Hafeez and Skyers (15).
Mr James O’Leary visited the Geffrye Museum the day the war broke out. He remembers this day as he wasn't allowed to take his puppy into the Geffrye Museum!
World War II was declared on 1 September 1939 and lasted 6 years until 2 September 1945. The Geffrye Museum stayed open throughout the war.
The Hackney Gazette reported on 14 February 1940 that the public shelter dug into the Geffrye's lawn held up to 700 people - it also later reported that there were complaints about the big piles of earth excavated left lying around the gardens.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mrs Lily Fazzani’s memories of hiding in East London air raid shelters, as well as responses from Emmanuel, Israel and Francisco (15).
The London Borough of Hackney, suffered badly from the air raids during the Blitz. 891 bombs and rockets fell in Hackney, causing 736 deaths, 2,303 injuries and 200 major fires.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr Edward Tilbury’s recollections of living in Hackney as a child during the London Blitz, as well as responses from Paulina, Malakai and Monjuma (15).
On the night of 15-16 October 1940, a bomb fell on or near one of the Geffrye’s air raid shelters. Tragically, ten men and two women were killed.
Their names are listed in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour, kept in St George’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey.
A letter from curator Molly Harrison on 10 October 1944 described: (Sunday 6 August) a bomb hit near by the museum.
'10 small windows broken
Ceiling in chapel broken
Temporary cloth ceiling in modern room torn by broken glass Celling in curators room cracked.'
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr James O’Leary’s recollections of the air raid shelters that were in the front garden of the museum, as well as responses from Joelle and Serkan (15).
From 1935, the focus of the Geffrye shifted so the museum ’should become extra classrooms.’ Museum exhibits were organised into period rooms from 1600 to the present day.
In 1949 the weekly attendance during the summer holiday was 1,000 children and there was a weekly average of 420 under-11s and 570 over-11s.
During January and June 1949, there were around 19,000 child visitors and 7,500 adult visitors.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr James O’Leary memories on the school trips he used to take to the Geffrye, and how Serkan and Joelle (15) feel about their school trips today.
The Geffrye Museum became a Grade I listed building on 3 January 1950. The Geffrye Museum building was recognised as being of exceptional historical importance.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mr Mike Brace CBE's memories on how the Geffrye compares to what it was like in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as responses from Durelle, Andrea and Jake (15).
One of the most famous visitors to the Geffrye is the Queen. During her Silver Jubilee tours with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1977, she visited Camden, Islington and Hackney, when she also passed through the Geffrye.
Photographs from that time show her visiting the museum’s gardens and greeting enthusiastic locals here and on Kingsland Road.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Adea (16) created this image, and said ‘I love the Queen’s 1970s clothes; she’s the Queen of England and you can tell – she looks nice!’
Putting on the Style: Setting up Home in the 1950s was a 1990 exhibition at the Geffrye Museum. It used the testimonies of people from all over Hackney as the basis for room sets representing different local housing types and styles. It included a recreated living room in a 1950s council flat.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio clip to hear Mr John Finn’s description of this memorable Geffrye exhibition, as well as responses from Paulina, Malakai and Monjuma (15).
A member of museum staff lived in almshouse no. 14 until 1996.
In 1911 when the London County Council bought the garden and almshouses, they employed a gardener who lived and worked there until 1914 when the museum opened. Thereafter there was always a member of staff who lived in almshouse no. 14 up until 1996.
In the 1950s, the London County Council gave the Geffrye the land behind the museum, near the corner of where Cremer Street and Geffrye Street meet today.
It was laid out as a playground and open-air theatre. By the 1990s it was in poor condition and rarely used, and was dismantled.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio to hear Mrs Karen Anderson’s memories of the playground behind the Geffrye, as well as the playground memories of Salieu and Chaniese (15-16).
In 1998, an extension to the Geffrye Museum was built by Doug Branson and Nigel Coates. It was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales.
There was once a playground and open-air theatre behind the museum, used from the 1950s to 1990s. On this space today is the Geffrye’s Branson Coates wing, opened in 1998. It showcases the museum’s 20th century period rooms and learning spaces for families, schools and events.
Students from Hackney University Technical College learnt about the museum in the 20th century and recorded what visitors remembered about their experiences at the Geffrye and nearby.
Students went on tours of the building and gardens, handled old exhibition and learning materials, geo-phys surveys, bomb maps and photographs before finally interviewing volunteers.
Listen to this audio clip to hear Mrs Karen Anderson of the playground that used to be behind the museum, near Hoxton Underground station, as well as responses from Emmanuel, Israel and Francisco (15).
In her own memoirs, Lena, Ernest Baker’s sister, remembers their brother Cecil having a pet goat.
After the goat died, kind almshouse gatekeeper Mr Thear entered a raffle to win a life-sized donkey toy, and presented it to Cecil as a consolation gift:
‘One evening when Cecil and I were already in bed, there was a loud knock at the door, and there was old Thear holding up a large donkey on green wheels.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Joel (16), said ‘I chose the goat because it’s fun to look at. I’m happy with what I’ve done.’
The almshouses were relatively secluded from the outside world, and strangers were expected to present themselves to the almshouse chaplain upon arrival.
Lena Thornton (née Baker), daughter of chaplain Reverend Henry Baker, described a sign saying ‘To the Chaplain’s House’ that was positioned near the steps by the main gate.
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service toured the museum and learnt about the people, objects and events that once transformed the almshouses and are no longer visible.
They handled and investigated archive materials, and showcased the Geffrye’s past against the Geffrye of today by producing their own photographic interpretations.
Alex (18) created this image, and said ‘I’d like to be a reverend myself and preach! I like that Reverend Baker had lots of kids – 9!’
Lena Thornton (née Baker), one of the almshouse chaplain’s children and Ernest Baker’s sister, recorded her family’s memories of living in the almshouses.
A copy of her account was given by a relative to the museum
in 2000. Lena remembered the family’s pets:
‘Like most children, we were all fond of animals, and my father saw to it that we had several: a dog we always had…cats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, dormice, and even a goat.’
Young people from the Hackney Ark Transition Service worked with staff to learn about the lives of the creatures known to have inhabited the almshouses and created their own colourful sculptural interpretations.
The artist, Toyin (20), said ‘Making the cat was extremely fantastic, I liked making my character as this is the biggest I’ve ever made one!’
In 2002, restoration began at almshouse number 14. It was opened in 2003 to the public. Today the Geffrye's restored almshouses depict how residents would have lived in the 1780s and 1880s.