History of the Museum

When the building was completed, it was officially opened as the Bethnal Green Museum by the Prince of Wales on 24 June 1872. At that time, the Director of the South Kensington Museum, Henry Cole, had hoped that the Museum would be run by local people. His hopes never materialised however, and the Museum has, ever since, been part of the V&A.

In its early days, the Museum's purpose was unclear. Generally regarded as a means of introducing disadvantaged East Enders to the cultural riches of the nation's heritage, the Museum's opening displays comprised two collections from the Great Exhibition, Food and Animal products, and a collection of 18th century French art on loan from Sir Richard Wallace.

The Food display on the ground floor explored the composition of various types of food, and its nutritional value. The display of mainly decorative animal products, also on the ground floor, included jewellery embellished with hummingbird feathers and ornate ivory hair combs.

The Museum continued to display private collections, many of which went on to be used, like the Wallace Collection, as the starting point for other national galleries.

When it re-opened after the First World War, with much of the Food collection decaying, it repositioned itself as a Museum which not only showed nineteenth century art, but also focused on the manufacturing trades common to the local area at the time: silk-weaving, shoemaking and furniture making.

The transition from this subject matter to the focus on childhood is unofficially attributed to one of the Museum's curators, Arthur Sabin. Sabin, who was appointed when the Museum re-opened after the First World War, was particularly interested in promoting the Museum as a resource for children. He began to focus on the parts of the collection which would be of interest to children, and by 1925 had established both a classroom and, following a successful exhibition for children at the V&A, a Children's Section for the Museum.

However it wasn't until 1974 that the then Director of the V&A, Sir Roy Strong, made the decision that the Museum would officially be dedicated to the subject of childhood. The V&A's collections of children's costume, books, nursery items, art and furniture were relocated and redisplayed in Bethnal Green, alongside the Museum's existing toy collection.

The Museum and its collections have continued to evolve, and in 2003, the Museum secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a major redevelopment to improve facilities and displays.