RAGGED SCHOOL MUSEUM REOPENS AFTER LOTTERY-FUNDED REFURB

[THE RAGGED SCHOOL MUSEUM, set in warehouses along the Regents Canal, which were converted into one of the largest ragged schools in Victorian England, has reopened its doors to the public.

The historic school provided a place of safety, free education and activities for thousands of the poorest children in London and was saved with £4.8m funding in 2020 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Restoration and refurbishment of the 19th-century building is now complete, and the popular museum is welcoming people of all ages to discover and experience Victorian life in the East End as it was felt over a century ago.

The museum’s director Erica Davies said: “The Ragged School Museum is witness to the movement for universal free education, and a tribute to the men and women who struggled to achieve it.

“We urgently needed to repair and restore this important building and preserve the stories of the children that are part of its history and the community that surround it.

“It has been a huge challenge, particularly as we were hit with the first national lockdown three days into the project in 2020. We’ve overcome challenges to expand under-developed areas, improve access and make it a desirable venue.”

The refurbishment includes extended exhibition space highlighting the story of the buildings and the ragged school movement, the social history of Victorian London and the work of Thomas John Barnardo and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury: one of Britain’s greatest social reformers.

Exclusive exhibits include Dr Barnardo’s Wooton Patent Cabinet Office Secretary Desk, complete with his handwritten labels still in place. Designed to meet the requirements of someone who wanted ‘everything in its place’, it was patented by an American inventor: other famous owners included Queen Victoria and President Ulysses S Grant.

The Ragged School Museum is one of a summer programme of heritage attractions across the UK reopening to visitors after major transformations, as a result of long-term investment of over £55m grant funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Erica Davies continued: “With thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to be able to share the newly renovated buildings with everyone; we will be combining a strong education programme, with hireable spaces and a new canalside café.”

Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, commented: “It has been fantastic to watch the progress of the Ragged School Museum, seeing this project transform from the earliest stages of planning for funding to developing ideas, facing and overcoming challenges and emerging with heritage not just saved and intact, but invigorated and with a fresh perspective.” q