Museum of the Home

What Museum of the Home does

Museum of the Home is a UK-registered charity and private limited company operating a free public museum from 300-year-old Grade I listed almshouses at 136 Kingsland Road, Hoxton, East London. Its core offering is the permanent Rooms Through Time gallery, which traces four centuries of domestic life, alongside the 4,000m² Kingsland Road Gardens (including Gardens Through Time showing the evolution of city gardens from Tudor knot gardens to a modern green roof), temporary exhibitions such as Splats and Spindles, guided tours of the 18th-century Almshouse 14 dwellings, and a learning programme that reaches thousands of local school children and families each year. The museum sits within a digital channel via the Bloomberg Connects app, which delivers a free multimedia guide, and uses its website, monthly email newsletter, and social channels (including Google Analytics-driven targeting) for audience development.

The commercial engine combines three streams: (i) a tiered Patron membership starting at £500 per year via direct debit, with recognition tiers at £500, £1,000, £1,500, and £2,500 tied to collections, gardens, events, and learning programmes; (ii) venue hire of seven distinct spaces — Studio (80–110 guests), Pavilion (60–80), Garden Atrium (100–150), Georgian Suite (~40), Undercroft (~40), Chapel (~30), and the Gardens (up to 800) — for weddings, corporate events, filming, and private functions, with all profits directed back to the museum; and (iii) an on-site retail shop selling museum merchandise. Pricing on venue hire is quote-based and event-billed; museum entry is freemium with optional donations. The organisation is funded by a mix of grants (notably the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England), founding donors (Sackler Trust, Wolfson Foundation), and corporate supporters (Bloomberg, Clifford Chance, UBS), with a wholly-owned trading subsidiary, Museum of the Home Enterprises Ltd, handling commercial activity.

The customer base is intentionally diverse: general visitors and tourists, families and children, school and education groups, young people (via the Young Futures scheme 2021–25), corporate and private event clients, weddings and civil partnerships, and film/photography productions. Distribution is single-country (UK), with global reach limited to digital content via Bloomberg Connects. The museum has no public API, no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML products, and operates on a registered-charity cost base with 11–50 employees. The 2018–2021 redevelopment and 2021 rebrand from Geffrye Museum to Museum of the Home represent the most material recent evolution of the operating model.

Name

Museum of the Home

Legal name

Museum of the Home

Website

https://museumofthehome.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Museum of the Home is a free, UK-registered charity operating a public museum in Grade I listed Hoxton almshouses, serving general visitors, families, schools, and event clients via exhibitions, learning programmes, venue hire, and a tiered patron membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

Keywords

• Heritage museum exhibitions
• Venue hire services
• Cultural education programmes
• Patron membership programme
• Domestic history collections

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Patron Support: Charitable donations from individuals, patrons, and supporters. Patron program starting at £500 annually via direct debit, offering benefits including early access to events and behind-the-scenes experiences.
2. Venue Hire: Rental of museum spaces including studios, gardens, Georgian Suite, Chapel, and outdoor areas for weddings, corporate events, private dinners, and parties. All profits support the museum and keep it free and accessible.
3. Retail Shop: Museum gift shop selling merchandise and souvenirs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Museum of the Home is a free public museum that explores the history and future of the home across four centuries through permanent and rotating exhibitions, period room displays, and a heritage walled garden in Grade I listed almshouses. It supplements free entry with a Patron membership, an on-site retail shop, venue hire of its heritage and contemporary spaces for weddings and corporate events, guided tours of 18th-century almshouses, and a learning programme for schools and families.

Product overview

Museum of the Home is a free public museum offering a unified portfolio of physical visitor experiences and venue rental services. The core product is its permanent and rotating exhibitions, primarily the Rooms Through Time permanent gallery showcasing four centuries of domestic life. Supporting offerings include guided tours (Almshouse 14 Tours), special exhibitions (Splats and Spindles), and educational programmes. The venue hire division provides rental of heritage and contemporary spaces including the Studio, Pavilion, Garden Atrium, Georgian Suite, Undercroft, Chapel, Kingsland Road Gardens, and Gardens Through Time for weddings, corporate events, and private hire. A digital offering exists via the Bloomberg Connects app. Patron membership at £500+ provides additional access and events. No technology platform, API, or AI-enabled products are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rooms Through Time (Permanent Exhibition) Permanent exhibition showing how home life has evolved over four centuries through recreated period room settings. Free to view, aimed at general public, families and educational visitors.
• Almshouse 14 Tours Guided tours of restored 18th-century almshouse dwellings offered every Wednesday and Saturday, allowing visitors to discover what life was like in Hackney 200 years ago. Drop-in, free with optional donation.
• Splats and Spindles: Six English Regional Chairs Ongoing exhibition showcasing six English regional chairs with stories of celebrated and lesser-known makers, exploring how everyday furniture reflects regional craftsmanship. Free to view.
• Venue Hire - Studio Modern, purpose-built event space with wooden parquet floors, natural light and built-in audiovisual facilities. Accommodates 80 seated ceremonies or 110 standing guests, available 7 days a week.
• Venue Hire - Pavilion Light, flexible modern event space with natural light, built-in AV, projector and blackout screens. Accommodates 60 auditorium or 80 standing guests.
• Venue Hire - Garden Atrium Contemporary glass and red-brick event space with panoramic views of Gardens Through Time. Accommodates 150 standing or 100 dinner guests.
• Venue Hire - Georgian Suite Elegant panelled room decorated in early Georgian style with connecting kitchen refitted by Plain English. Accommodates 40 for auditorium, standing or dinner.
• Venue Hire - Undercroft Intimate event space within the historical almshouses featuring gothic vaulted ceilings and soft lighting. Accommodates 40 standing or 20 dinner guests.
• Venue Hire - Chapel Original almshouse chapel with wooden pews and pulpit, including Reading Lounge for additional reception space. Accommodates 30 seated ceremonies.
• Venue Hire - Kingsland Road Gardens 4,000m² outdoor event space with Grade I-listed building backdrop, suitable for 800 standing or 300 auditorium guests. Available for private drinks, receptions and team-building activities.
• Venue Hire - Gardens Through Time Historic gardens showing the evolution of city gardens from Tudor knot garden to modern green roof, accommodating 300 standing guests for outdoor drinks receptions.
• Wedding and Civil Partnership Hire Civil partnership and wedding ceremonies hosted in the Studio, Garden Atrium, Pavilion, Georgian Suite, Chapel and front lawns (4,000m², June to December). All profits support the museum and keep it free and accessible.
• The Hive Collaborative Workspace Three fully equipped spaces for collaborative work, conferences, exhibitions, film screenings and workshops. Features Art Room, TES Room, and Immersive Exhibition spaces.
• Patron Membership Patron programme starting at £500 annually via direct debit, providing news, invitations to events, out-of-hours viewings and behind-the-scenes experiences. Tiered benefits support collections, gardens, events and learning programmes.
• Bloomberg Connects Digital Guide Free digital guide accessible via the Bloomberg Connects app, allowing visitors to explore Museum of the Home with multimedia content including images, information and navigation.
• Learning Programme Programmes of talks, workshops and events for schools, families and young people, reaching thousands of local school children and families each year. Includes dedicated ESEA community and Young Futures (2021-25) youth engagement work.
• Museum Retail Shop On-site museum gift shop selling merchandise and souvenirs, with linked online shop at shop.museumofthehome.org.uk.

Quantifiable outcome

• Learning programmes reaching thousands of local school children and families each year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Wright+Wright ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Wright+Wright architects designed the multi-million pound redevelopment completed in 2021, creating contemporary spaces including Studio, Pavilion, and Garden Atrium while preserving Grade I listed almshouses.
• Bloomberg PhilanthropiesmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture supports the museum's digital presence. The museum developed its website with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture. Bloomberg Connects app provides free digital guide to museum visitors.
• TatemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum of the Home and Tate jointly acquired Rebecca Solomon's painting 'A Young Teacher', demonstrating strategic partnership between major cultural institutions for collection development.
• Plain EnglishminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLuxury kitchen designers who refitted the Georgian Suite's connecting kitchen for venue hire events.
• Bloomberg PhilanthropiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate supporter whose logo appears on the supporters page, indicating ongoing digital support.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tate (Tate Britain / Tate Modern): Major UK art museum group and direct strategic partner of Museum of the Home (joint acquisition of Rebecca Solomon's painting). Comparable as a London free-admission national museum and venue hire operator, but at substantially larger scale.
• English Heritage: UK charity caring for historic properties and monuments. Comparable operating model (heritage sites, memberships, retail, donations, venue hire) and overlapping audience for English domestic history.
• Historic Royal Palaces: Charity operating unoccupied royal palaces (Tower of London, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace). Comparable as a heritage-charity museum operator relying on admissions, memberships, retail, and venue hire across historic buildings.
• Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A): The world's leading museum of art, design, and performance with major furniture, decorative arts, and period-room collections that directly overlap with Museum of the Home's subject matter. Free-admission London museum with significant venue hire operation.
• Royal Museums Greenwich: Group of linked London museums (National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark, Queen's House). Comparable as a free-admission London museum charity with venue hire, learning programmes, and donor/patron revenue.

Direct peers

• The Design Museum: London museum dedicated to design, including furniture and domestic objects. Overlaps with Museum of the Home's decorative arts, furniture, and domestic-interior focus, and similarly serves as a London cultural venue for exhibitions and events.
• The Foundling Museum: A London museum focused on social history (the history of the Foundling Hospital). Comparable scale, free-admission model, heritage London setting, and reliance on donations and venue hire for revenue.
• Sir John Soane's Museum: A free, historic-house museum in central London offering period interiors and a distinctive cultural experience. Highly comparable as a small, free, heritage-housed London museum with strong venue hire and educational programming.
• The Postal Museum: London museum with a focused thematic narrative (postal history), heritage setting, learning programmes, and venue hire. Comparable as a smaller, thematic, free-to-enter London museum charity.
• Horniman Museum and Gardens: Free-admission London museum with extensive gardens, anthropology/natural history/domestic-life collections, and strong educational programming. Closely comparable as a charitable South/East London museum with significant outdoor space and venue hire.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Museum of the Home