THE LIVESEY MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN HAS BEEN
CLOSED DOWN BY SOUTHWARK COUNCIL.

PLEASE SEE THE NEWS PAGE FOR LATEST INFORMATION
ON THE FUTURE FOR THE LIVESEY

The museum's aim was to encourage children's creativity and imagination. Its hands-on exhibitions were designed to make visitors think, experiment and learn through investigation. Exhibits were used by different age groups in different ways, allowing visitors to find their own way of using and enjoying them.

The Livesey was highlighted as a museum of good practice from organisations such as Centres of Curiosity & Imagination, the Department for Employment and Education, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The museum was shortlisted for the 2006 Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award.

 

Sir George Livesey

The museum was built as "Camberwell Public Library, No. 1" in 1890 - a gift of Sir George Livesey (who was born in 1834), Company Secretary of the South Metropolitan Gas Company.

At this time, gas was London's main source of heat and light and the gas industry was a highly competitive one. While Livesey turned the S.M.G.C. into the largest gas company in South London, his employees' welfare policies were pioneering and he founded institutions, such as the library, for local people. He was knighted in 1902 for his charitable acts, and died in 1908.

The library continued to serve local people as a lending library until 1966, despite being badly damaged during the Blitz. The building was then converted into a museum and reopened in 1974 by Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman.

Since 1974, the Livesey has developed into an interactive children's museum, showing temporary hands-on exhibitions. The museum staged a series of varied shows with such diverse subjects as "The Great Rubbish Show", "Air Aware" and "Number Crunching".

However in 2008 the museum was shut down abruptly by Southwark Council in the space of 5 weeks. The fate of the historic building is awaited.