Salvaging historic houses

The V&A has sometimes salvaged parts of historic buildings marked for demolition. The fragments and decorations you see here were originally part of the Magpie and Stump house, designed by Charles Robert Ashbee in the 1890s.

The interiors for the house were created at the Guild of Handicraft, which Ashbee set up in Whitechapel and Mile End to teach traditional crafts and create jobs for impoverished east Londoners. This house stood in Chelsea until 1969. Its doors, windows, staircase and even doorbell plate are now part of the V&A collection.

Written by: Georgia Haseldine, Senior Curator of V&A East Storehouse
Published: May 2025

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