Livesey Museum for Children

The building you are approaching at six hundred and eighty-two Old Kent Road holds a complex history that began with a gift from a wealthy industrialist. In eighteen ninety, George Livesey, who served as the chairman of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, donated the structure to the local parish to serve as a free public library. Livesey was a powerful figure in the area, and his decision to build this facility was closely tied to his interactions with the local gas workers, including his response to the major labor strikes of eighteen eighty-nine.