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Sad news for fans of historical snooping, Hackney’s ‘museum of the home’, The Geffrye, will be shutting its doors for two full years from January 2018. The closure is part of an £18m development project they’re calling (Loyd Grossman voice, please) ‘Unlocking the Geffrye’.
Just like our brains, the museum is only using a small percentage of its potential right now. The gallery spaces have a whole empty floor above them. This revamp will increase the Geffrye’s space by 50 percent, creating new installations and exhibition areas for the public to explore, along with a library for researchers. Visitors will be able to access the museum via Hoxton station from a new entrance.
The museum’s new café will sit in the former Marquis of Lansdowne pub (the original plan was to demolish the historic boozer, causing serious friction with locals when announced in 2013).
Thankfully, Geffrye won’t be totally out of action come January. There will still be activities running in the museum’s front gardens, and tours of its restored almshouse. And its ‘Christmas Past’ exhibition of festive period living rooms will be open to visitors from November 21. So there’s still plenty of time to go and feel at home.
Panicking already? Chill. There are plenty of other amazing museums in London.
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