£15m Geffrye Museum overhaul is on the cards

Previously unexplored parts of The Geffrye Museum could be opened up to the public in a £15m revamp.

Works at the museum of the home in Kingsland Road, Hoxton, could include a new entrance opposite Hoxton Overground Station, and new gallery spaces in the 18th century Grade I-listed almshouses exhibiting artefacts currently held in storage.

A pavilion in the museum’s gardens would be used for educational activities.

The proposals designed by Wright & Wright Architects are possible thanks to an £11m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with the shortfall coming from trusts and foundations, companies and individuals.

David Dewing, Director of the Geffrye Museum, said “Developing the museum will mean more people will be able to visit and be inspired by the museum’s unique collections, buildings and gardens.”

The museum wants feedback before submitting a planning application next month, and hopes to secure planning permission this summer. Work should then start work next year and be completed by 2019.

The former Victorian pub on the corner of the site, The Marquis of Landsdowne, in Cremer Street, will be incorporated into the plans as a café and arts space.

A previous application to demolish the pub as part of a proposed £18.9 million extension was slammed by heritage campaigners and turned down by the council in 2013, leading the museum to make a u-turn.

To have your say visit: geffrye-museum.org.uk/aboutus/museum-development.