Ragged School Museum

Ragged School Museum
#129

Atmospheric East End site telling the story of Victorian ‘ragged’ schools—free education for the poorest children—plus a recreated classroom and home interior.

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Opening Hours

Sunday: 10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday: 10:00 – 17:00
Thursday: 10:00 – 17:00
Friday: 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 17:00

What's not to miss inside?

Victorian Classroom

Sit at sloped desks and experience the discipline and simplicity of 19th-century lessons.

Learning with almost nothing.

Write your name with chalk using your non-dominant hand—imagine doing this daily.

📍 First floor

Life in One Room

Cramped beds, scant possessions—poverty made visible beyond statistics.

Home as hardship.

List five things missing that you consider essential today.

📍 Domestic reconstruction

Movement & Mission

Panels and objects explain how charitable schools paved the way toward universal education.

From charity to right.

Find one reformer’s story and track its impact on a law or local school.

📍 Intro galleries

🤓 Fun Facts

School groups still ‘attend’ lessons here—role-play brings pedagogy and discipline into focus.

The canalside location links to pupils’ real lives—dock and factory labour was steps away.

Expect reading-heavy displays; pairing with a short guided talk balances text with story.

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