The Marquis of Lansdowne, Closed Again

 

Or, to be more up to date, the refreshment rooms (café etc) at the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum), that occupies the buildings that were once the Marquis of Lansdowne, has shut.

An earlier blog (May 2021) told the tale of the opening of ‘Molly’s’.  This was the name chosen for the café.  Since then it has changed hands and now stands empty.  I believe it shut before Christmas 2022, leaving the museum without a café.  It seems that running a café of that size in a Hoxton exclave has proved to be a financial challenge. (as other occupiers of the site have found in the past!)  The staff at the museum report that extensive refurbishment has also been required which comes as a bit of a surprise given the rebuild is only two years old.  I didn’t have the heart to mention that the building was condemned by the old Borough of Shoreditch.  Perhaps the large crack that used to run up the side has returned.

The old pub is owned by the developers who created the modern flats but there is still a connection to the museum somehow which means that the closure results in a financial loss to the museum.  There is also the small question of not having a place to get a cup of tea, an essential part of any museum visit. 

Hopefully things will be sorted out soon.  I look forward to reporting further when it has re-opened.

 

Phil

 

30 June 2023