When Sir Robert Geffrye died in 1704, he left most of his £13,000 fortune to charity. Some of the money went to setting up some almhouses in the countryside outside London. When no-one was looking, London got a lot bigger and the area got unhealthier, so the almhouse people were moved out and the almhouses were turned into a museum. This made sense to someone, obviously.
You can read about the museum at the Geffrye museum website.
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey.