Geffrye Museum’s former director David Dewing is made an OBE

The man at the centre of the £14 million rejuvenation of an educational and heritage centre in Shoreditch has been made an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

David Dewing’s award for services to the arts comes six months after retiring as director at the Geffrye Museum in Kingsland Road.

He secured Heritage Lottery funding last year to improve the Grade I-listed 18th century almshouses with their unique collections of home furniture dating back to the early 1600s visited by many schools.

“This will breathe life back into our almshouses and safeguard the collections for future generations,” David told the Advertiser at the time.

He has doubled visitor numbers during his 25 years at the museum, and opened it up to parties from east London schools.

His £5m learning centre extension in 1998 has paved the way for this latest scheme for a new gallery and reinstating first-floors for a learning library and study collections to avoid any new buildings in the historic grounds fronting onto Kingsland Road.

A café in the former pub next door is included in the scheme, as well as a new entrance opposite Hoxton Overground station, with a conference facility alongside.

The original almshouses were bought in 1912 by the London County Council which was persuaded by leading members of the Arts and Crafts movement to convert them into a museum for the once-thriving East End furniture industry, which was opened in 1914.