Orphanage museum closed for repairs after flood

A museum has been forced to close "until further notice" after a burst pipe in a flat above it caused a flood.

The George Müller Museum in Ashley Down, Bristol, celebrates the history of a Victorian era orphanage and contains the records of thousands of children that were cared for at the site.

On Monday, a pipe burst above part of the museum that houses more than 17,500 original orphanage records. Staff said the room was affected but the records were completely undamaged and remain safe.

"By some miracle there is absolutely no damage to the artefacts which is fantastic," said Joel Preston, charity leader at the George Muller Charitable Trust.

"However, the room where they're kept is really badly damaged so we're having to close the museum for the foreseeable," he added.

Some parts of the museum's public space where also affected by the water.

The thousands of records offer a glimpse into life at the orphanage and Müller's approach to caring for vulnerable children.

"They're completely unique and there's nothing like them," said Preston.

"While we do have a digital backup of all the records, the actual paper and the handwriting of Müller and his associates about the individual orphans that were coming through the homes is priceless really."

George Müller was a German Christian evangelist who established orphanages and Christian schools throughout the 1800s.

He is credited with caring for more than 10,000 orphans at the five houses that formed the Ashley Down orphanage and providing education to thousands more.

When he died aged 92 in 1898, the Daily Telegraph wrote that he had "robbed the cruel streets of thousands of victims and the workhouses of thousands of helpless waifs".

The Ashley Down Orphanage did not close until 1950 and the buildings now contain housing and a City of Bristol College campus.

The George Müller Charitable Trust operates the museum and continues working to care for orphans and vulnerable children internationally and works with local churches in Bristol to provide youth clubs.

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