Museum of the Home Ticket Portal

Discover what it was like to live in Hackney 200 years ago on tours of our restored 18th-century almshouse dwellings. Embark on an interactive walk through Almshouse 14 to see for yourself how residents kept warm, slept, ate, and did their washing centuries ago.

Fridays at 11am. This talk is subject to guide availability, and may be cancelled at short notice.

What can a porcelain tea set, a silver sugar spoon and a mahogany table tell us about upper-middle class lifestyles in 18th century Britain? 

Join Visitor Experience Host Marcia O'Connor for a talk exploring the colonial histories of everyday objects. Visitors are encouraged to consider relationships between the violence and injustice perpetrated by the British Empire overseas and the projection of civility and gentility that arises when taking tea 'at home'.  

Saturdays at 11am. This talk is subject to guide availability, and may be cancelled at short notice.

“London is in England, but it feels like England is in London” - Thomas Platter, 1599.

Join Visitor Experience Host Mark Chacksfield as he brings our galleries to life with stories of how and why early migrant communities came to live in London.

Join architecturally trained and chartered town planner, Lachlan Anderson Frank, on the East End Homes Walking Tour of Housing in East London. 

East End Homes is an immersive and educational walking tour designed to explore the diverse housing landscapes of East London that surround the Museum of the Home. The tour is inspired by the Museum’s emerging Real Rooms Project and aims to connect these themes with the lived experiences of local communities through an exploration of their homes. Participants will embark on a tour through the streets of East London, delving into the amazing variety of homes in the area, and building on the museum's commitment to showcase the evolution of domestic spaces. East London is renowned for its immigrant communities which contribute to the cultural mosaic found around the museum, and the tour will seek to highlight these and other marginalised groups as well as alternative notions of home. The tour will visit the exteriors of a range of local homes from different periods including a number of notable examples of different typologies of homes built when East London was at the heart of experimentation in providing new social housing. 

Tour Themes:  

Historical Homes: The tour will begin by exploring the historical houses that have shaped East London's architectural identity. From Georgian townhouses to Victorian terraces and early philanthropic development projects, participants will gain insight into the evolution of housing styles and the socio-economic factors influencing their design. 

Social Housing Narratives: We’ll look at the stories of the pioneering social housing projects that have played a pivotal role in shaping East London. We’ll visit early tenement estates and explore the evolving concept of communal living spaces, as well visiting a range of post-war developments consisting of maisonettes, flats and terraces, and explore social movements in the period. 

Modern Lived Experiences: We’ll explore contemporary terraces and flats that represent the present and future of East London. Participants will gain an understanding of the shifting priorities for social housing provision and how innovative architecture and sustainable design are shaping the homes of tomorrow, reflecting the museum's commitment look forward as well as to the past. 

Join us for a walking tour led by Dan Glass, 'AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power' (ACT UP) activist and author of Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History, focusing on the early - current LGBTQIA+ Pride movements in the neighbourhood.