The Livesey Museum for Children was in the

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...

, within the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Livesey Museum was one of very few

children's museums Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, which used to show a completely new hands-on exhibition every year. Each exhibition was suitable for all children under 12, and admission was free. It was hosted in a former public library on

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and was funded by Southwark Council. Exhibitions explored such themes as Shelter, Energy, and Myths & Legends. The museum had no permanent collection, but each exhibition features objects and artwork on loan from Southwark Council's historic collections.

Closure

In February 2008

Southwark Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

voted to close the museum and it was planned to close to the public on 1 March 2008. The decision was due to budget cuts despite the popularity and success of the Museum. After a brief campaign to persuade the Council to keep it open, a campaign group which subsequently became a registered charity, the Friends of the Livesey Museum for Children, were proposing to form a trust, to raise funds and to run it for the community. In April 2008 Southwark Council has now accepted that the building was covenanted and owned by a trust not by the Council itself. It is possible that the Council had been in breach of the trust by opening the building as a children's museum in 1974 after it had closed as a public library in 1966, although there is no legal distinction between a free museum or a library. This trusteeship also meant that Southwark would not be able to sell the building. At least two organisations proposed to run the building including the Friends charity who submitted a proposal underwritten by Novas Scarman. Southwark Council voted to let the building to

Theatre Peckham Theatre Peckham is a community theatre in Peckham, London. The theatre has operated since the 1990s and was originally based in the community hall adjoining the former Camberwell Town Hall . The theatre company Theatre Peckham have operated ou ...

. Southwark needed the approval of the

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

to change the trust deed to allow its use as a theatre rehearsal space rather than a public library. A scheme was proposed in 2009, but subsequently failed to raise sufficient funds to be implemented. , the building was occupied by a group of

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. Since then, the building has become part of an authorised "guardian scheme", whereby temporary residents provide security.

Future plans for the building

In November 2012, Southwark Council approved Treasure House (London) CIC as preferred partners in the running of the Livesey Building. Treasure House proposed to use the building to provide education for children aged 13–19 who cannot access mainstream education, in addition to offering the local community educational and cultural programmes.

History

According to the Livesey Building FAQ: :"The Livesey building was bequeathed by George Livesey, a local benefactor, to the Commissioners for Public Libraries and Museums for the Parish of Camberwell in 1890. It was given as a free public library and operated until 1966 when the then council relocated its library provision to a nearby site and the building closed to the public." The building itself is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. A statue of Livesey by

Frederick Pomeroy Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards nat ...

, which was previously located at Livesey's nearby gas works, is in the grounds of the former museum. The statue is also Grade II listed.

References

{{reflist

External links

Livesey Museum website
(archived link)
Friends website

Treasure House London website
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Children's museums in the United Kingdom Defunct museums in London Museums established in 1974 Museums disestablished in 2008 Museums in the London Borough of Southwark