The money will go towards extensive refurbishment work and the creation of new exhibitions to tell the story of the Ragged School movement – as championed by Dr Thomas Barnardo - which brought education to the poorest Victorian children. 

The Ragged School Museum was a school from 1877 to 1907; it is the only ragged school museum to survive and be publicly open. 

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “As Christmas approaches, it’s timely to remind ourselves of the difference Dr Barnardo’s philanthropic vision made to London’s East End. Thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to help safeguard this legacy by giving the Museum a new lease of life for the future.”

Did you know?

• By 1896, day pupils at the Ragged School numbered over 1,000 with 2,400 Sunday School children
• Dr Barnardo ensured the school had fireplaces in every classroom
• The three canal warehouses that make up the site survived the Blitz and wholesale redevelopment

[quote=Erica Davies, Director of the Ragged School Museum]“With National Lottery support the Museum’s future is both healthier and more financially secure.”[/quote]

Erica Davies, Director of the Ragged School Museum, said: “Local people saved these buildings from demolition in the 1980s and with National Lottery support the Museum’s future is both healthier and more financially secure.”

Jim Fitzpatrick, the local MP for Poplar and Limehouse, said: “A major award from HLF is set to transform the Museum, creating an enterprise hub on the Regent’s Canal to benefit the local economy with a restaurant and improved public facilities. The struggle for free universal education was long, but now the Ragged School Museum can tell this story to inspire generations to come.”