Ragged School Museum
a victorian classroom you can sit in
A free East End museum in the canalside warehouses that were once the largest ragged school in London, where you can sit in a recreated Victorian classroom and learn on a slate.
Free to visit · Mile End · Mile End · E3 4RR
Opening: Wed–Sun · check times · free, donations welcome
In a row of old canalside warehouses in the East End is a free museum about the schools that once taught London's poorest children for nothing. Dr Barnardo opened the largest ragged school in the country here in the 1870s, giving free education, food and clothing to children who could never have paid for it.
Newly refurbished, the museum tells the story of East End childhood and poverty, but the heart of it is the recreated Victorian classroom, where you can squeeze into a hard wooden desk, write on a slate and, on some days, sit through a lesson taught by a stern costumed teacher.
It is small, free and genuinely affecting, especially with children, a vivid reminder of how recently a free education was something to fight for. The setting on the Regent's Canal is a quiet bonus.
Getting there: On Copperfield Road beside the Regent's Canal, a short walk from Mile End in the East End.
Best time to go: A weekend, when costumed Victorian lessons are sometimes run in the recreated classroom.
Insider tip: Check the calendar for the costumed Victorian lessons in the recreated classroom, usually at weekends, which are the highlight and brilliant with kids. The museum is free with donations welcome, and the canal towpath outside makes an easy walk on.
Official site: https://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide