Christmas Past - The Geffrye Museum

400 Years Of Seasonal Traditions In English Homes

The Geffrye museum is set in 18^th century almshouses and depicts the quintessential style of English middle-class living rooms from 1600 to the present day. It also has a collection of furniture, the chairs are especially interesting. The displays include rooms with the refined splendour of the Georgian period and the high style of the Victorians, to 20th century modernity as seen in a 1930s flat, a mid-century room in 'contemporary style' and a late-20th century living space in a converted warehouse.

The annual Christmas exhibition shows how the rooms would have been decorated at Christmas. It's all very interesting, I most enjoyed the modern rooms but then I do like a bit of 20th century retro design.

I'd love to say children will enjoy a visit but in my experience children aren't interested at looking at things from the past, they prefer to do rather than look but it's a fascinating museum, it's free and the newly opened Hoxton station is just round the corner so it's very easy to get to.