Geffrye Museum

The Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road, London, England, is named after Sir Robert Geffrye, former Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers' Company. The museum is a Non-Departmental Public Body.

The museum is devoted to British furniture, textiles, paintings and decorative arts. It shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day. The emphasis is on middle class interiors and furniture, rather than the royal and aristocratic commissions often seen in museums of the decorative arts. [ [http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/ "The Geffrye Museum"] accessed 02/01/08]

As well as the period rooms, the Museum is notable for its comprehensive reference library and furniture trade archive. Anyone with a personal or professional interest in furniture can apply to see these records. [ [http://www.hiddenlondon.com/geffrye.htm "hiddenLondon"] accessed 02/01/08]

The museum and its period gardens, including a walled herb garden, are brought to life regularly through innovative programmes including seminars, workshops, drama and music. Exhibitions are mounted throughout the year, showing a wide variety of themes relating to the museum's displays. A traditional favourite is the "Christmas Past" exhibition, where period rooms are festively decorated to reflect 400 years of Christmas Traditions in English homes. [ [http://www.aboutbritain.com/GeffryeMuseum.htm "Geffrye Museum"] accessed 02/01/08]

Highlights of the collection:
* Oriental and English porcelain, including dinner and tea services, figurines and vases
* Tin-glazed wares, including decorative chargers, punch bowls, plates drug jars and other forms
* Glass bottles, drinking glasses and other forms
* Transfer-printed wares
* Twentieth-century tablewares

The museum is set in the Grade I listed almshouses of the Ironmongers' Company, built in 1714 at the bequest of Geffrye. It also has a modern extension opened in 1998, including a restaurant, which is popular at lunchtime.

In the future, Hoxton station on the East London Line's Northern extension to Dalston Junction will be located immediately to the east of the museum. The station is currently under construction and completion is estimated for early 2010.

References

External links

* [http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/ Official website of the Geffrye Museum]
* [http://www.aboutbritain.com/GeffryeMuseum.htm aboutBritain.com]