The Thames Estuary Special Defence Units, also known as the Thames Estuary Army Forts and the Thames Estuary Navy Forts, were designed by Guy Maunsell and built in 1942 to provide defence of the Thames Estuary.
Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide (I CAN) is a national registered charity (number 210031) for children with speech and language difficulties. The charity began as the Invalid Children's Aid Association (ICAA) on 26 November 1888, founded by Allen Dowdeswell Graham, a clergyman, to help poor children who were either seriously ill or handicapped. In 1888, he wrote 'Poverty is bad enough, God knows, but the poor handicapped exist in a living hell. It's up to us to do something about it'. Allen Graham organised a group of home visit volunteers who took food, bedding and medicine to children and their families, and helped arrange admissions into hospitals and convalescent homes, holidays, apprenticeships, and the loan of spinal carriages, wheel chairs and perambulators. Royal patronage began in 1891 and continued throughout the 20th century.
As the Association grew, volunteers were gradually replaced by professional social workers and 'Homes of Recovery' were set up, where the treatment of children with tuberculosis and rheumatic heart disease was first pioneered. The first of these residential establishments was Holt Sanatorium opened in 1906 and Parkstone Home for boys was opened in 1909. In 1935, the ICAA helped publicise the need for immunisation against diptheria by holding a conference in London. The ICAA worked closely with the London County Council in providing Care Committee Secretaries to the Schools for Physically Handicapped Children, and acting as an agent for the tuberculosis 'TB Contact Scheme' from 1925. During 1939 to 1945, the Association was involved in the special arrangements for the evacuation of physically handicapped children to homes or selected foster homes.
The National Health Service Act 1948 introduced financial support for medical care and appliances required by the Association's social workers, enabling greater concentration on providing casework support to help alleviate the stress experienced by families with handicapped children. The Act also led to the transferral of the Association's Heart Hospital, which had been opened in 1926 to the Health Authorities and the gradual replacement of convalescence by short term holidays.
In the 1950s the Association's motto was 'To every child a chance' and aims were:
"1. To collect and put at the disposal of parents and others, all information with regard to the care of invalid and crippled children, and the facilities which exist for their treatment.
- To co-operate with doctors, hospital almoners and others by reporting on those aspects of the child's social background which are relevant to the understanding and treatment of the illness.
- To assist parents to carry out the doctor's advice with regard to treatment by :-
a) Arranging convalescence where necessary.
b) Helping them to understand, and where possible rectify, any adverse social conditions that may exist. - To help in the re-establishment of the child in normal life.
-
To visit the seriously invalided child."
With improvements in health care, the Association also began to concentrate on the educational problems arising from specific disabilities or chronic illness. In 1961 the Association organised an International Conference of Dyslexia and in 1964 the Word Blind Centre, Coram's Fields, was opened to study dyslexia and other reading difficulties. This led to the formation of the British Dyslexia Association.
By 1981 the ICAA was maintaining five residential schools for children with special educational needs. It also ran a central information service, which provided free advice, and hired publications and films, and centres run by social workers in London and Surrey offering support to families with handicapped children. Social work services were run partly through grant aid from local authorities, and included Keith Grove Centre, Hammersmith which was opened in 1967, and Grenfell House Social Work Centre in 1981.
In 1983 a Curriculum Development centre was opened for the research of teaching materials for children with speech and language disorders. The ICAA also expanded its area of work to include the Midlands and the North East with the opening of Carshalton Family Advice and Support Centre and regional offices.
In 1986 the ICAA was renamed as I CAN. In the late 1990s I CAN delivered a range of direct and partnership services to help children by pioneering work in special schools, nurseries and centres within local schools and by providing training and information for parents, teachers and therapists. In 1999 there were 25,000 children with severe and complex speech and language impairment, with only 14 specialised schools available in the country, I CAN managing three of these at Dawn House School, John Horniman School and Meath School. In these schools I CAN employed teachers, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, care staff and social workers. In the financial year April 2000 to March 2001 the charity's gross income was £6,151,000, and expenditure was £7,035,000. I CAN has been involved in national projects such as 'Changing lives', an initiative launched in 1999, aimed at changing 'early years' provision to support 1,200 children in 2002.
Schools managed by ICAA and I CAN:
- Meath School, Surrey, established 1945, for junior boys with severe asthma and other respiratory disorders, later from1982 for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties.
- Pilgrims School, East Sussex, established in 1955, for senior boys with severe asthma and eczemia (the only specialised school for these conditions in England and Wales).
- John Horniman School, West Sussex, established in 1958, for children with severe communication disorders including hearing impairment.
- Dawn House School, Nottinghamshire, established in 1974, for children with hearing impairment.
- Edith Edwards House School, Surrey, established in 1956, for children with severe communication disorders and behavioural difficulties.
Royal patrons
1891 Princess Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary);
1953 Elizabeth II.Presidents
Before 1957 Duchess of Portland;
1957 Princess Margaret.
A chazan (also chazzan or hazzan) is a cantor who leads the synagogue congregation in sung prayer. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries this role developed into a full-time profession and professionally trained chazanim came to be viewed as deputy rabbis, part of the clergy.
The Association of Ministers (Chazanim) of Great Britain started as the Choral Section of the United Synagogue. At the first meeting in March 1934 Professor S. Alman addressed the meeting and emphasised the desirability of having such a section. Principals were laid down and it was decided to hold regular meetings and appoint a committee.
The objects of the Association are to represent the interests of the Chazanim of the United Synagogue in all matters affecting the relationship between:
1) The Chazanim and the United Synagogue;
2) The Chazanim and other communal bodies;
3) The Chazanim and the Chief Rabbinate.
The Association also aims to act as a professional body in matters affecting the dignity and prestige of the United Synagogue Chazanim.
The Association is interested in providing cultural advancement, social recreation, mutual aid, a library of music for members. Membership is open to all Chazanim of the United Synagogue.
The Unione Ticinese was originally founded as a mutual aid society by Ticinesi immigrants mainly form the Alpine valleys of Blenio and Leventina in Switzerland's Italian speaking area of Ticino.
In June 1939 the Ladies section was formed, and in 1954 these two sections merged, creating the basis of today's continuing society.
The Unione Ticinese's aims and objectives are:
- To foster among members of the society and particularly among its younger ones, the spirit of Ticinese character and strengthen the bonds of friendship and fellowship.
- To promote and encourage social cultural and educational activities of a general nature which embrace common values and traditions of the Ticino and of its neighbouring regions.
- To encourage the development of youth activities and to enable new arrivals from Italian speaking Switzerland to integrate easily into the English way of life.
- To maintain close ties with the 'Pro-Ticino' movement, with the 'Organisation of the Swiss Abroad' in Bern and with other Swiss and European organisations whose overall aims are in the interest to the membership of the society.
- To celebrate each year and in an appropriate manner, the anniversary of the foundation of the organisation.
- To assist members in case of grave need.
Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court. It was founded in the 14th century and moved to its present site off Chancery Lane in 1412.
No historical information could be found for the Cowley Recreational Institution. It appears to have been a youth centre in Cowley, Hillingdon.
The London Ecology Unit provides an ecological service to local authorities and other public bodies, voluntary organisations and development agencies on all aspects of nature conservation and applied ecology. It can perform Environmental Impact Assessments, undertake research and assist in developing nature reserves and ecology parks in urban areas. The Unit has published a series of ecology handbooks, and various advisory notes.
Saint George's School was founded by the parish of Saint George, Hanover Square, in 1803. The school aimed to teach the poor children of the parish basic education and practical skills. The school was successful and grew, incorporating an infant's section and amalgamating with another local charity school. In 1898 the school moved to a larger building on adjoining premises. In 1952 the senior pupils were separated to form a secondary school in Saint Martin in the Fields, leaving only infant and junior children. St George's (Hanover Square) Church of England Primary School still operates from the 1898 building in South Street.
Source of information: http://www.stgeorgeshanoversquare.org/Education.htm (accessed August 2010).
R M Holborn and Sons are listed in the 1935 Post Office Directory as wholesale tea, coffee and cocoa dealers based at Crutched Friars, EC3, Mincing Lane House, Eastcheap, EC3 and 11 Lehman Street, E1.
The Museum Of was a series of temporary "museums" housed in the Bargehouse building at Oxo Tower Wharf on London's South Bank; a building owned by the Coin Street Community Builders that had been derelict for the previous forty years. Beginning in October 1998 and ending in July 2001, The Museum Of ran five temporary "Museum" projects: The Museum of Collectors (Nov 1998 - Mar 1999), The Museum of Me (May 1999 - Oct 1999), The Museum of Emotions (Feb 2000 - Jun 2000), The Museum of the Unknown (Oct 2000 - Feb 2001) and The Museum of The River Thames (Mar 2001 - Jul 2001). The aim was to explore and question the place of museums in our culture, our experience of them and what we might want from them in the future. The project also aimed to encourage new audiences, commission new work, animate the building and surrounding area and create possibilites for innovative collaboration and partnership with a lasting legacy.
The core values of The Museum Of:
Question - At the heart of The Museum Of's concept lies a question about museums. What is a museum? Why do we visit? What do we want from a "museum" experience?
Participation - The five temporary "museum" projects that made up The Museum Of involved the participation of a broad range of people both in the creative process, as visitors to the museums and as decision makers, shaping the future of the project and regeneration of the area. The project encompassed the ideas and aspirations of people who lived and worked in the area together with local schools, colleges, arts and business organisations. Participation in the project and access to the museum was free.
Innovation - The Museum Of commissioned new work, created new partnerships and encouraged new audiences. The work explored and challenged our relationship with museums and culture in a different way from a "traditional" arts event and animated the interior and exterior of a disused building.
Collaboration - Each "museum" invited the contribution of artists, performers, local people, museum professionals, anthropologists, businesses, schools and audience members. Since the launch of the project The Museum Of has collaborated with: The Central School of Speech and Drama, The Horniman Museum, University College London, The Social Sculpture Unit at Oxford Brookes University, The Poetry Society, Wimbledon School of Art, The London Contemporary Dance School, Scarabeus Theatre Company, Primitive Science Theatre Company, Shunt Theatre Company, Crazy Horse Theatre Company, The London School of Fashion, The Actors Centre, Trinity College of Music, and numerous residents and business people.
The Museum Of has received support from: Coin Street Community Builders, The South Bank Employers Group, Erco lighting, Mills and Allen, The Poetry Society, The Body Shop, The Sirat Trust, The Arts Council of England, NESTA, London Arts, Bloomberg and Thames Water.
These sketches and photographs were taken by Sylvia Turtle in the 1980's and 1990's as part of a photography course and also because of her interest in the Clerkenwell area and its development over the years.
The posters relate to the 'George Davis is Innocent' campaign, 1975, where friends of alleged armed robber George Davis were involved in widespread minor vandalism and grafitti to publicise what they saw as his unjust imprisonment; and a campaign by Islington Tenants against the activities of a local estate agents, Prebble and Company, who they accused of ejecting old tenants from properties in order to sell them at a profit.
The Middlesex Victoria Fund was created by the Justices of the Middlesex Sessions in 1892, primarily to aid discharged prisoners and the wives and families of discharged prisoners convicted at the Middlesex Sessions.
The fund was administered by trustees, the first ones being Sir Ralph Littler Q.C., R. Loveland-Loveland, and Lieutenant Colonel Harfield. In addition two auditors were appointed at the Easter Sessions, when the funds accounts were presented to the Court. The Court could, at its discretion, direct that donations be sent to specified institutions. Subscriptions were collected from Middlesex Justices.
By the 1950's the fund no longer needed to collect subscriptions as it was felt that the income derived from investments was sufficient to meet all reasonable demands on the fund. It was the practice for the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Court to approve an application, usually from a probation officer, for a grant for a specific purpose in individual cases, for such things as arrears of rent and mortgage; removal expenses; recovery of clothes from pawnbrokers; or purchase of clothing for an expected child. Cheques were given to the probation officers to dispose of as they thought best. Grants were also occasionally made towards legal assistance in bastardy appeals.
While the main object of the fund was to render individual help, this assistance was usually given after various forms of Public Assistance had been exhausted and careful enquiries made.
The charity wound up its affairs in 2001 and transferred its remaining assets to the City of London Sheriffs' and Recorder's Fund.
Wormwood Scrubs prison was designed in 1870s by Major-General Edmund Du Cane, chairman of the Directors of Convict Prisons, as a national long-term penitentiary, built on a site in East Acton with convict labour. By the time the prison was completed, its entire purpose had, however, changed, and it became a local prison for short-term petty offenders. Today Wormwood Scrubbs provides lower security accommodation for remand and short-term prisoners.
From 1904, the prison also became part of the Borstal system for young offenders, and in 1929 it was made an allocation centre from which newly-sentenced trainees were assessed before being sent to a suitable Borstal. In addition Wormwood Scrubbs came to specialise in holding first time offenders, or 'star' prisoners as they were known. It has more recently become a prison in which life-sentence prisoners are assessed in the early years of their terms.
During the Second World War, part of the prison was evacuated for the use of MI5 and the War Department, and by the end of the war, a section of the hospital wing was being used as condemned quarters for prisoners from Wandsworth and Pentonville prisons.
The Anti Apartheid Movement grew out of the Boycott Movement, set up in 1959 as an appeal for people to withdraw support from apartheid by not buying South African goods. Following the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960, the decision was taken to extend the activities of the movement, thereby creating the Anti Apartheid Movement, a permanent organisation to campaign for the eradication of apartheid.
In the course of its work the Anti Apartheid Movement campaigned widely for the release of political prisoners, for the arms embargo, and for an end to investment in South Africa, as well as appealing for widespread consumer, sports and cultural boycotts.
Although based in Britain, the movement was directly linked with the liberation struggle in South Africa and operated as an instrument of solidarity with the people of South Africa. To this end it worked closely with a number of other organisations such as the African National Congress, SATIS (Southern Africa - the Imprisoned Society), ELTSA (End Loans to South Africa) and MAGIC (Mozambique and Angola Information Centre).
In 1994, following the elections in South Africa, the Anti Apartheid Movement was disbanded and Action for South Africa was set up. This organisation now works to influence decision-makers in Britain and Europe on policies affecting Southern Africa.
Uxbridge and District United Choirs x Uxbridge and District Choral Society x Uxbridge Choral Society
In 1939 J R Thonger was asked to arrange a concert in aid of the Uxbridge and District Supply Depot of the British Red Cross. He approached choirmasters and organists of local churches, and gathered support from six of the churches. Although there was not a large audience for this concert, the singers were all very enthusiastic and met again the following January to prepare for an Easter concert. The first general meeting of the Uxbridge and District United Choirs was held in April 1940 and from that point concerts were held frequently, always in aid of charity.
In 1946 the society's name was changed to the Uxbridge and District Choral Society and again in 1978 to the Uxbridge Choral Society.
Mrs Millie Miller was born in April 1923 in Shoreditch. At the age of seven she moved to Stoke Newington and attended Princess May School. She won a scholarship to Owen's School, but left at the age of sixteen. Her political interest and social conscience was stimulated during the Second World War, when she joined and took a leading role in local girl's clubs (which later became the Stamford Hill Associated Clubs). The club work involved visiting girls' homes. In 1959, Millie Miller stated: 'I felt that a lot of the things that I could see were not right with their lives had some connection with the social circumstances in which they lived.'
Her career began as a social worker, and she studied for a Social Science Diploma at London University. She became Mayor of Stoke Newington, from 1957 to 1958, and later Camden, from 1967 to 1968. In 1959, she was chairman of the Housing Committee for the Borough of Stoke Newington, vice-chairman of the governors of Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, president of the Stoke Newington International Baden-Powell Guild, leader of women's organisations of the Labour Party, and chair of the Area Advisory Committee and London Advisory Council. During the time she was Mayor of Stoke Newington, she set up a voluntary committee of local organisations concerned with visiting the elderly and disabled.
She was the first Labour woman to lead a London borough, in Camden, from 1971 to 1973. She was elected to Parliament in February 1974 and won her seat in the general election in October 1974 as the Labour MP for Ilford North (succeeded by Linda Perham in 1977). She also held the office of PPS to Minister of State, Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, from 1976 to 1977. She died on 29 October 1977.
By the time of her death, she had become a popular and well-loved Member of Parliament. Ken Livingstone wrote the following in his book, If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It; 'the Camden Council Labour Group, led by Frank Dobson . . . decided to convene a London-wide meeting to oppose the new housing expenditure controls which had been imposed on all councils by the Labour Government . . . Between 1971 and 1975 first Millie Miller and then Frank Dobson had provided strong leadership with a clear sense of direction.' Up to 2002, an annual memorial lecture has been held in the constituency to Millie Millers' memory. Among those who have paid tribute to her include Members for Chesterfield, Tony Benn, and for Livingston, Robin Cook, the Member for West Ham, Tony Banks, and the former Member for Barking, champion of women's rights, Jo Richardson.
Millie Miller was married to Monty Miller with two children, and during her period of office she lived in Highgate, Camden.
The Star Inn, High Street, Romford, Essex was established in 1708. In 1799 it was acquired by Edward Ind from George Cardon and a brew house was built on the site. Ind went into partnership with Octavius and George Coope in 1845, Edward Vipan Ind joined the partnership in 1848. They were known as Ind Coope and Company from 1856. Also in 1856 a second brewery opened in Station Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Ind Coope and Company Limited was registered as a limited liability company in November 1886. Ind Coope took over numerous other breweries around the country before going into receivership in January 1909. A new company was registered in 1912 named Ind Coope and Company (1912) Limited which obtained certain assets from the receivers and expanded, acquiring several other breweries. In 1922 Ind Coope and Company Limited was removed from the register of companies and in the following year Ind Coope and Company (1912) Limited changed its name to Ind Coope and Company Limited and continued to expand. After acquiring Samuel Allsopp and Sons Limited, High Street, Burton-on-Trent in 1934 the company became known as Ind Coope and Allsopp Limited. In 1959 Ind Coope took over Taylor Walker and Company Limited before changing its name to Ind Coope Limited in the same year.
Ind Coope Tetley Ansell Limited was registered as a limited company in 1961 and was the result of a merger between Ind Coope Limited, Romford, Essex and Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Tetley Walker Limited, Leeds, West Yorkshire and Ansells Brewery Limited, Birmingham, West Midlands. In 1963 the company was renamed Allied Breweries Limited. The companies pooled their resources but still functioned independently. In 1968 the Showerings, Vine Products and Whiteways group merged with Allied Breweries.
A new parent company, Allied-Lyons plc was established after the acquisition of J Lyons and Company Limited, a food manufacturing and distribution company. Allied Breweries acquired numerous other companies including Wm Teacher and Sons Limited in 1976, United Rum Merchants Limited in 1984, and the Canadian group Hiram Walker-Gooderham and Worts Limited in 1984, which made Allied Breweries the leading international wines and spirits producer and distributor. This position was reinforced by the acquisition of James Burroughs Distillers in 1989 and the buy-out of Whitbread's 50 per cent holding in the companies joint venture company, European Cellars (Holdings) Limited. During the 1980s Allied Breweries began to fragment with various companies being sold off. The result was Allied Domecq which concentrated on wines and spirits. Allied Breweries pulled out of the brewing business around 1990.
Curtis Nicholson began as The Mile End Distillery Company Limited and subsequently changed it's name to Curtis Distillery Company Limited, then Curtis Nicholson Limited.
The Stepney Brewery was founded in London by Salmon and Hare in 1730. In 1796 John Taylor bought Richard Hare's share in the business and was joined by Issac Walker in 1816 when the business became known as Taylor Walker. In 1889 the business moved from Fore Street, Limehouse, London where it had been since circa 1823, and a new brewery was built at Church Row, Limehouse, London named the Barley Mow Brewery. Taylor Walker and Company Limited was registered as a limited liability company in 1907. Taylor Walker took over numerous other breweries and related companies, notably, the Victoria Wine Company Limited in 1929 and the Cannon Brewery Company Limited in 1930. Taylor Walker was itself acquired by Ind Coope Limited, Romford, Essex and Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire in 1959 and became known as Ind Coope (East Anglia) Limited. The brewery ceased to brew in 1960. Alperton Bottling Company Limited was a subsidiary company to Taylor Walker and Company Limited, as was Pioneer Trading Company Limited.
Cannon Brewery Company Limited was established by Rivers Dickson at 192 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London around 1720. It was named the Cannon Brewery in 1751. The company has operate under various names. By 1798 it was trading under the name John Richard and Rivers Dickson and by 1818 as John Dickson. The brewery was run by Gardner and Company by 1823 and known as William and Philip Gardner from 1828/9. By 1863 the business was owned by George Hanbury and Barclay Field and in 1876 it became the Cannon Brewery Company. It was registered as a limited liability company in January 1895. The Cannon Brewery Company Limited acquired Holt and Company, Marine Brewery, Radcliffe Road, East Ham, London (established circa 1823) in 1913 and Clutterbuck and Company, Stanmore Brewery, Stanmore Hill, Harrow, Middlesex (established circa 1773) in 1923. The Taylor Walker and Company Limited, Limehouse, London acquired the Cannon Brewery Company Limited in 1930 and it became known as Ind Coope (London) Limited in 1960. The brewery ceased to brew in 1955.
Cannon Brewery Company Limited was established by Rivers Dickinson at 192 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London around 1720. It was named the Cannon Brewery in 1751. The company has operate under various names. By 1798 it was trading under the name John Richard and Rivers Dickinson and by 1818 as John Dickinson. The brewery was run by Gardner and Company by 1823 and known as William and Philip Gardner from 1828/9.
By 1863 the business was owned by George Hanbury and Barclay Field and in 1876 it became the Cannon Brewery Company. It was registered as a limited liability company in January 1895.
The Cannon Brewery Company Limited acquired Holt and Company, Marine Brewery, Radcliffe Road, East Ham, London (established circa 1823) in 1913 and Clutterbuck and Company, Stanmore Brewery, Stanmore Hill, Harrow, Middlesex (established circa 1773) in 1923. The Taylor Walker and Company Limited, Limehouse, London acquired the Cannon Brewery Company Limited in 1930 and it became known as Ind Coope (London) Limited in 1960. The brewery ceased to brew in 1955.
Bartlett and Hobbs Limited were company number 446382. They were wine merchants based in Bristol.
B E Bird and Company Limited was incorporated in 1935 with a registered office at 22 St Thomas' Street, London Bridge, SE1. The directors were Edgar Miller and Mrs Beatrice Ellen Bird. The company owned a chain of off-licences, mainly in Surrey. Company number: 302522.
The certificate of incorporation for Cluff and Pickering Limited is dated 3 June 1929. The Company directors were Rupert Pickering and Harold Cluff, wine and spirit merchants. The company was based in Manchester.
Preston Watson and Company Limited were wine and spirit merchants of Havant, Hampshire. The Company number was 38301. The company was wound up on 23/01/1964.
David Sandeman and Sons were wine merchants based at 64 Pall Mall, SW1.
Taylors (Wine Merchants) Limited were formerly known as London Wine Importers Limited. They were based at 12-20 Osborn Street, London, E1.
The London Rubber Company Limited annual report on 1967, printed in The Times newspaper of 29 August 1967, reports that: "we have converted a number of our principal off-licences to a supermarket style of operation trading as Wine Ways (Supermarkets) Ltd., with concentration on a range of nationally advertised wines, spirits and beers offered at reduced prices". Presumably this subsidiary was later sold to the Victoria Wine Company.
Burge and Company Limited was founded at Victoria Brewery, Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire, prior to 1840 when Burge and Burn began trading. Between 1866 and 1896 the company was managed by Alexander Shipley and then by Sir A W Shipley until his death in 1922.
The company was registered as a limited liability company in 1920 and was acquired by Meux's Brewery Company Limited in 1931. The brewery site was sold in 1935 and the company went into liquidation in 1962.
J and W Nicholson and Company Limited were gin distillers, founded in the 1730s. They purchased the Three Mills in West Ham in 1872 and occupied the premises until 1966, although they stopped making gin there in 1941.
Oldham Sign Service were manufacturers of neon signs. It is possible that they merged with Claude-General Neon Lights in the 1960s.
The Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company was the first gas undertaking in the world, concerned chiefly, until the 1880s, with the production of gas for lighting purposes. It was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1810 and the charter was granted by the Prince Regent in 1812.
The origins of the gas industry lay with the discovery of coal gas in the early 18th century. Gas lighting for homes, buildings and streets was pioneered by William Murdoch, a Scottish engineer, who with his pupil Samuel Clegg of Manchester and John Malam of Hull, designed and built gas works for mills and factories from 1800 to enable them to be lit. They worked with entrepreneurs such as F A Winsor to secure financial backing. Winsor's ideal was to have a central gas works making gas for illumination in every town and city in the country. Samuel Clegg joined the Chartered Company and constructed the first operational public gas works in Peter Street, Horseferry Road, Westminster, which began producing coal gas in September 1813.
The gas light alternative proved to be popular; simple open flame gas burners provided a much brighter light than could be obtained from candles or oil lamps and also proved to be safer and cheaper. By 1823 it was reported that the Company's three stations at Peter Street, Brick Lane and Curtain Road, were annually consuming 20,678 chaldrons of coal, producing 248,000,000 cubic feet of gas, and lighting 30,735 lamps through 122 miles of gas mains.
Developments at Westminster were followed by the rapid expansion of gas works and their Companies across London and other cities and large towns in England and Wales. By 1830, there were 200 gas Companies, by 1850 there 800 gas Companies, 13 of which were in London, and by 1860 there were nearly 1,000 gas Companies.
The Chartered Company was quick to explore more effective and efficient means of manufacturing gas. Coal gas was first produced using retorts (horizontal tubes) which were charged (filled with coal) and, having given off the gas, discharged (the coke removed) by hand through a door at one end. These retorts were made of iron and distorted badly with prolonged heating. Fire clay retorts with iron lids were introduced around 1822 and the through retort, a coal-gas retort with charging door and discharge door, 20 feet long and sharing heat at the former dead-end space, was developed in 1831 by George Lowe, the Company's Superintendent of Works. The through retort raised the charge to 600 pounds and lowered heating fuel to 400 pounds.
Falling dividends caused by the rising competition between companies in London impelled the Company's Directors in 1850 to nominate a special committee to consider the question of amalgamation. The Gas Act 1860 ended the severe competition and encroachment on Companys' gas supply areas, by permitting companies to arrange for the lighting of allotted districts. However this also encouraged London Companies to exact greater profits. It was reported to the House of Parliament that the public were paying £1,700,000 a year for gas, a far greater sum than outside London. Public opinion and the Parish Boards became increasingly dissatisfied with the monopoly of the private companies. In 1866, the Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Board of Works wished to restrict the powers and heighten the obligations of the 13 Companies supplying London with gas. The City Corporation considered buying out the Companies' rights and managing a municipal supply.
A committee in the House of Pariament advocated amalgamation in 1867. The City of London Gas Act 1868 brought the Chartered, City of London and Great Central Companies to a working agreement and reserved their rights to 10% dividends, and to raise money via loans. In return they submitted their production and finance records for Government inspection. The new Act also enabled the right of further amalgamation with any Metropolitan gas company without Parliamentary sanction. During the 1870s and 1880s the Chartered Company absorbed the other large gas Companies operating in London:
- Brentford Gas Company: established 1820 and amalgamated 1926 (Gas Works at Brentford and Southall, Harrow, Norwood, and Richmond
- City of London Gas Light and Coke Company: amalgamated 1870: (Gas Works at Dorset Street, Blackfriars, Fetter Lane, Aldgate and Whitechapel)
- Equitable Gas Light Company: amalgamated 1871: (Gas Works at Pimlico)
- Great Central Gas Consumers Company: amalgamated 1870: (Gas Works at Bow Common)
- Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company: established 1821 and amalgamated 1876: (Gas Works at Bromley, Fulham, Saint Pancras, Shoreditch, Bow and Limehouse)
- Independent Gas Light and Coke Company: amalgamated 1876: (Gas Works at Haggerston)
- London Gas Light Company: amalgamated 1883: (Gas Works at Nine Elms, Vauxhall)
-
Western Gas Light Company: established 1844 and amalgamated 1873: (Gas Works at Kensal Green)
As a result of amalgamation, the Company's output of gas increased dramatically from 1,285,602 cubic feet in 1869, 9,934,489 in 1877, to 21,357,687 in 1900. From 1878, the Company began to experience increasing competition from newly established electrical lighting Companies which were applying to the Government for powers. The passing of the Electric Lighting Bill 1882 granted these Companies right of exploitation in public areas. At the same time the expanding Company broadened its business into the letting of gas stoves for heating and cooking. In 1879 the Company applied to Parliament to seek 'powers to apply capital to the purchase or manufacture of engines and apparatus which they proposed to sell or let on hire, with the object of encouraging the use of gasfor cooking, warming, and other purposes'.
In 1949, the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company was nationalised and placed under control of North Thames Gas Board.
Chartered Gas Work Sites: Brick Lane, Curtain Road, Cannon Row (Westminster), and Peter Street (Westminster). In 1868, Beckton Gas Works (North Woolwich) was erected and named after Simon Adams Beck the Company's Governor. Beckton replaced City gas works and operated up to 1949.
Chartered Chief Office: Horseferry Road (Westminster)
Governors: James Ludovic Grant 1812-1813
David Pollock 1815-1846
William Bateman 1846-1850
George Wigg 1850-1851
Benjamin Hawes 1851- 1860
Simon Adams Beck 1860-1876
Richard Howe Browne 1876-1883
Sir William Thomas Makins 1883-1906
Sir Corbet Woodall 1906-1916
John Miles 1916-1918
Sir David Milne-Watson 1919-1945
Arthur Edgar Sylvester 1945-1946
Michael Milne-Watson 1947-1949Secretaries: John Pedder 1812-1823
Richard Gude 1823-1832
Charles Burls 1832-1862
John Orwell Phillips 1862-1892
John William Field 1892-1903
H Rayner 1903-1916
Beckford Long 1916-1917
William Lyle Galbraith 1917-1937
Brian Wood 1937-1949Chief Engineers and Chief Superintendents of Works: Samuel Clegg 1812-1817
George Lowe 1832-1863 (Lowe was appointed Superintendent of Curtain Road Gas Works in 1821 and was later transferred to Brick Lane)
Frederick John Evans 1863-1872 (died 1880)
George Careless Trewby 1884-1904
Thomas Goulden 1904-1922
Thomas Hardie 1922-1935
Robert W Hunter 1935-1941
Falconer Moffat Birks 1941-1945
Norrie Willsmer 1945-1949
Alexander Angus Croll (born 1808, died 1887) was Deputy Superintendent, then became Principal Superintendent. He took an active part in the formation of Great Central Gas Consumers Company in 1849, and became the President of the British Association of Gas Managers.
The school was founded by John Roan (c 1600-1644) of Greenwich, son of John Roan, a Sergeant of the Scullery to James I in the Palace of Placentia. In 1640, Roan was appointed Yeoman of His Majesty's Harriers. During the Civil War he was arrested for trying to obtain recruits for the King's Army and as a prisoner of war, he was 'stripped of all he had and in great necessity and want, ready to starve'. His brother Robert would not come to his aid, and his release was eventually obtained by a friend, Richard Wakeham.
In John Roan's Will, drawn up in March 1643, he left his property first to his wife Elizabeth, then to the daughters of Richard Wakeman during their lifetimes, and then to the founding of a school for 'poor town-bred children of Greenwich', 'up to the age of fifteen', wearing a school 'uniform and badge', and undertaking 'reading, writing and cyphering'. Roan's motives for founding a school may be attributed to his having died childless, his only son having been buried 'an infant' at Saint Alfege Church, Greenwich in 1624.
The Will also named the Vicar, the Churchwardens and the Overseers of the Poor of Saint Alfege, Greenwich as the Trustees. They were the forerunners of the School Governors (known as the Feoffees) of the Roan Charity (later Roan Schools Foundation), who managed the Roan Estate and appointed the School Master. The first Chairman of the Governors was Dr Thomas Plume.
Charitable bequests to the school included gifts by Sir William Hooker, Lord Mayor of London. The Charities Commissioners met in 1677 following the death of the last of the Wakemans named in the Will, to decide on the use of bequests to the poor of Greenwich. It was agreed that they be used for the building of a school, and that the Roan Estate would maintain it under the terms of the Will. The school began as the Grey Coat School or Roan's Charity school, and was opened for the education of boys in 1677-1678.
During the 18th century revenues of the Roan Estate grew dramatically. In the thirty years after 1775, the rentals trebled and by 1814 the Estate could afford to educate and clothe 100 boys. The first school building was surrendered to Greenwich Hospital in 1808 and a new school, paid for by the Hospital, was built in 1809 in Roan Street to accommodate 120 boys.
In 1814 Reverend George Mathew, Vicar and Chairman of the Governors proposed that the Roan Estate should make a contribution towards the education of girls in Greenwich. A decree was issued by the Master of the Rolls that £130 of the revenue of the Roan Estate was to be paid towards the maintenance of a school for girls. In January 1815 the National School of Industry was opened and became the forerunner of the Roan School for Girls.
In 1838 there were 200 boys. The demand for education grew and the Governors opened two branch schools at the junction of Old Woolwich Road and East Street. By 1853, the four Roan Charity schools were educating 630 boys and girls.
The Elementary Education Act 1870, aimed at putting education within the reach of all children, had a great impact on the Roan Schools. The School Board for London established by the Act began to lay its plans for new buildings and the Endowed Schools' Commissioners drew up a scheme of school closure and transfer of the boys and girls to the Board's two new schools built in 1877: one for 300 boys in East Street (later renamed Eastney Street) and one for 300 girls in Devonshire Road (later renamed Devonshire Drive), and the name was changed to the Roan Schools. The reorganisation was to give 'a superior education of the character usually given in the best middle class schools', and introduced a Headmaster for the boys' School and Headmistress for the girls' school, who were allowed to appoint assistant teachers, admit pupils and establish a curriculum.
As demand for accommodation grew, the boys' school moved to Maze Hill in 1928 and an extension was built at the Girls' school in 1937. The Roan Schools came to the forefront of London's Grammar Schools with modern purpose built buildings extra provision made for the sciences, library and games.
During the Second World War staff and pupils were evacuated for four years from 1939 first to Ticehurst, Flimwell and Stonegate, Kent, later to Rye and Bexhill, Sussex and a third move in June 1940 (for three years) to Ammanford and Llandebie, South Wales. During this time the South East London Emergency School was established by the London County Council in the Roan Girls' building. Pupils' fees were abolished under the Education Act 1944 and the junior school was closed.
In 1977, an agreement was made between the Inner London Education Authority and Roan Foundation Governors for the amalgamation of the Roan School for Boys, the Roan School for Girls and Charlton Secondary School for Boys and establishment of a new mixed comprehensive school, the John Roan School in 1980. New buildings were built at Westcombe Park Road in 1981 and last pupils in the former Roan Grammar School buildings were transferred in 1984.
The Inner London Education Authority was abolished in 1990 and from this time is managed by Greenwich Borough Council as a mixed comprehensive for 11 to 18 year olds and in 2002 there were 1,082 pupils. Their web site in 2003 was www.thejohnroanschool.co.uk/ .
Exploring Living Memory was a project of the London History Workshop Centre which came together in 1981 to encourage the development of reminiscence work throughout London. Workshops and conferences were held in 1981 and 1982 at County Hall, and in 1983 the Greater London Council agreed to fund a much larger festival and exhibition and also to provide the Royal Festival Hall as the venue in 1984 and 1985. A dispute at The Roundhouse resulted in the exhibition being postponed in 1986 and in 1987 the exhibition was at County Hall. Special West London exhibitions were held in Hammersmith in 1987 and Gunnersbury in 1988. There were also numerous mini-exhibitions, conferences, open days and workshops.
The exhibition was overseen by the Exploring Living Memory Steering Group who outlined the following objectives in their constitution:
- encourage, support and advise people of all ages and backgrounds in the establishment, running and development of life history projects in London
- help organise any event(s) which will promote and further the work of life history projects in London
- further seek practical help and funding from relevant bodies for the benefit of promoting life history projects in London
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support and advise any staff employed by the London History Centre (LHC) for the purpose of fulfilling the above aims.
Displays were put together by various groups from schools and adult education colleges, pensioners' clubs and local history societies, patients in hospital, community groups and individuals. Some used photographs from their local public library, newspapers or their own personal collections, while others displayed children's toys and other artefacts to evoke the past.
Bloomsbury Book Auctions was founded in March 1983 by three former employees of Sotheby's. Lord John Kerr (chairman and head of the new auction house) was a known figure in the book trade and had been for eighteen years head of Sotheby's book department; Frank Herrmann (in charge of Bloomsbury's financial and marketing requirements) was a director in charge of Sotheby's overseas operations, and a publisher and author in his own right; and David Stagg (Managing Director and organiser of the sales) who had worked for many years at Sotheby's Hodgson's Rooms in Chancery Lane and subsequently run the 'fast' book sales at the Aeolian Hall.
The company was set up as Kerr Herrmann and Stagg Limited trading as Bloomsbury Book Auctions. The premises of the new auction house were initially in the basement of Frank Herrmann's own house at 6a Bedford Square, and sales were held in local hotels. Within a year it was obvious that larger premises which could include a sales room on site were needed, and in August 1984 the business moved into 3/4 Hardwick Street, originally a four storey toy warehouse in Islington.
Bloomsbury Book Auctions was the first book auction house to be established in London for over 150 years; and was the only one at the time which concentrated exclusively on selling antiquarian books and manuscript material. It specialised in books, manuscripts, atlases, maps and prints, and was particularly interested in the sale of working libraries of an academic or specialist nature. With such specialisation and a high reputation in the book trade its success was almost immediate. Buyers and sellers came from all over the world. In 1993 tenth anniversary celebrations were held; five years later the business was sold by the original directors. The auction house continues to trade, although from March 2004 the name changed to Bloomsbury Auctions Limited, another move was made to Maddox Street in Mayfair, and the scope of items to be sold was expanded.
The Methodist Church established its first East-End Mission in 1885, hoping to combat the poverty and squalor of the area. Poverty and sin were fought by a combination of evangelism and social work, for example, handing out free meals during winter, organising trips to the seaside and showing films for a penny. The Mission had its own magazine, The East End, which included articles on the scale of the distress.
As the population of the East End changed after the Second World War, so too did the Mission. In 1985 the Mission celebrated its centenary and highlighted its continuing work in socially deprived areas, supporting the homeless, unemployed, single parents, immigrants, the disabled and the elderly.
The Primitive Methodist Connexion Chapel, Maria Street was built, with seats for 230, in the 1860s. It was part of the London Eighth Circuit. Primitive Methodist Connexion chapels were more laity led in contrast to Wesleyan Methodists where the Ministers had greater power.
The Whitechapel Methodist Mission was a Primitive Methodist foundation, arising from the home mission activities of one of the Methodists' greatest ministers, the Reverend Thomas Jackson, who worked in the East End of London for 56 years. His work at Whitechapel built on his earlier work in Bethnal Green, Walthamstow and Clapton.
The Whitechapel Mission combined social work with evangelical work. The station began in 1897 when Thomas Jackson bought the Working Lads' Institute which was due to close owing to a shortage of funds. He used this as the basis for his work in Whitechapel. In 1901 the Mission acquired a property on Marine Parade, Southend, to continue the provision of holidays and convalescent stays for the poor from the area. In 1906 Brunswick Hall was purchased, and this enabled a physical separation of the social and evangelical work. The Mission's many activities included free breakfasts and penny dinners for local children, a Medical Mission, free legal advice service, night shelter for homeless men, distribution of food, coal and grocery tickets to the poor and prison gate rescue work (especially amongst young men), which developed into full probation work with the opening of Windyridge Hostel.
Urban District Councils and Rural District Councils were formed under the 1894 Local Government Act, and were abolished by the 1974 Local Government Act. Their records, not being part of county council records, are from the county record office's viewpoint, considered non-official.
The records forming this collection are probably all from the Clerk's Department of Sunbury Urban District Council. The composition of the Council was as follows: From 1894-1930: Sunbury UDC covered the parish of Sunbury on Thames From 1930-1974: Sunbury UDC covered the parishes of Sunbury on Thames (including Sunbury Common, Charlton and Upper Halliford), Shepperton (including Lower Halliford and Shepperton Green), Ashford Common, and Littleton. By the Middlesex (Feltham, Hayes, Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames) confirmation Order, 1930, the parish of Shepperton and parts of Ashford and Littleton were transferred to Sunbury Urban District on the dissolution of Staines Rural District Council.
Sunbury UDC was transferred to the administrative county of Surrey with effect from 1 April 1965. In 1974 the Urban Districts of Sunbury and Staines were abolished and replaced by Spelthorne Borough Council.
Ealing vestry met from two to four times a year between 1704 and 1715, with from 5 to 19 attenders. In the early 19th century it was thinly attended, except on special occasions, and met at the Cross House, north of Ealing church, possibly the former church house. A new Cross House, often called simply the vestry room, was built in St. Mary's churchyard in 1840 and replaced in 1880 by the vestry hall in Ranelagh Road.
Churchwardens and overseers were recorded in 1599 and two surveyors of the highways in 1654. There were separate overseers for Upper Side (Ealing) and Lower Side (Old Brentford) by 1675, one churchwarden and one overseer being elected for each from 1798 and two overseers for each from 1834. An assistant overseer was employed in 1812. Highway trustees, under an Act of 1767, were elected by the vestry, with which they were often at variance. The office of vestry clerk, filled by Thomas Jullion from 1796 until 1834, lapsed in 1836 but may have existed in an honorary capacity until its revival shortly before Ealing adopted the Vestry Clerk's Act in 1869. There was a beadle by 1797, whose duties were defined in 1808 and 1833, and a parish clerk in 1654, whose office in 1802 was combined with that of sexton.
The poor of each ward were relieved by its overseer until 1814, when they were administered jointly by the assistant overseer. Paupers increased greatly during the 18th century, as did the poor rates, which stood at 4 or 5 shillings in the pound in the 1790s and even higher later. A workhouse and stock for the poor to work on were to be provided in 1698, whereupon a house for 8 poor was acquired in 1701. After abortive plans for its extension, a new workhouse was built west of St. Mary's Lane in 1728. The inmates were employed at spinning and later at casual labour, but their work was never profitable: tools were lacking, men were outnumbered by women, and women by children. In 1797 the workhouse was badly overcrowded. In 1803, when there were 150 inmates for 55 beds, the parish vainly promoted a Bill to take over 14 acres of common at Ealing Dean for a workhouse, and in 1812 the existing workhouse was enlarged. Its state was found acceptable in 1820 and again in 1836, when it could accommodate 360 and had only 84 inmates.
Both Ealing and New Brentford were included in Brentford poor law union in 1836. Agitation for a local board of health was repeatedly frustrated by Old Brentford, with the result that in 1863 the highway trustees were superseded by a local board only in part of Ealing. Northern Ealing, being rural, was not included until 1873, when the board's membership was raised from 9 to 12.
In 1894 Ealing became an Urban District Council and in 1901 the first municipal borough in Middlesex, with 6 aldermen and 18 councillors representing 6 wards: Drayton, Castlebar, and Mount Park north of Uxbridge Road, Lammas, Manor, and Grange to the south. Ealing absorbed Hanwell Urban District and Greenford Urban District, which included Perivale and West Twyford, in 1926, and Northolt in 1928. A Bill to achieve county borough status was defeated in 1952 and Ealing, Acton, and Southall boroughs united in 1965 to form Ealing London Borough.
From: 'Ealing and Brentford: Local government', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 144-147 (available online).
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (EGA) was originally founded in 1872 and moved to its Euston Road site in 1889. Its aim was to enable women doctors to practice medicine and to give women the right to be treated by doctors of their own sex.
The future of the hospital was first threatened in the early 1970's due to the General Nursing Council decision to stop training student nurses there. Without subsidised trainee staff, the hospital was hard pressed to keep within its budget. Subsequently the MP Barbara Castle, Secretary of State for Health and Social Services, agreed to the closure of the EGA but only on the condition that a suitable alternative was found. In March 1976 the hospital lifts and fire escapes were declared unsafe and unsuccessful attempts were made by the Area Health Authority to transfer the functions of the EGA to the Whittington Hospital.
It was against such a background that the Staff Action Committee was set up, with representatives from all sections of the hospital, in an attempt to keep the hospital open and to maintain its objectives.
Between 1975 and 1979 the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Appeal Trust lobbied to save the hospital and raised £900,000 from the public. After the general election in May 1979, the new government reversed the earlier decision and granted £2 million to convert the hospital into a small gynaecological unit, where women could be treated by women. The hospital reopened in 1984 with modern facilities, a new Well Women's service and good operating theatres. In 1982 the hospital came under the control of the Bloomsbury Health Authority, and since 1991, Bloomsbury and Islington Health Authority. Despite closing the Soho Hospital for Women in 1988, the health authority decided in 1992 to close the beds at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital and to use the hospital for day surgery only.
The New Chapel, or as it later became known, Wesley's Chapel, was opened for public worship on 1 November 1778. It stood as a successor to the old Foundery Chapel bought in 1739 which was situated a few hundred metres to the south east.
The Chapel is important as the "Mother Church of World Methodism", the scene of many famous events such as the Uniting Conference of Primitive Methodists, United Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists in 1932. It also acts as the focal point of the City Road Circuit, also known as London East Circuit (1807-1823) and the First London Circuit. There has been much reorganisation as chapels closed and circuits were altered; for further details and names and dates of circuits, contact the Society of Cirplanologists who collect Circuit plans.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church, Askew Road, Hammersmith, was founded in 1886 and built in 1890.
Townmead Road School, Fulham, opened in 1900, moved to permanent buildings in 1905 and closed in 1937.
The Balham Seventh Day Adventist Church is situated at 16a The Boulevard, Balham High Road.
Elim Hall in Christchurch Avenue was registered by Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance from 1938 until 1954. The Elim Alliance then used the former Wesleyan chapel in King Street until 1974, when it began sharing East Finchley United Reformed church in East End Road.
Sunbury Methodist Church is situated on Staines Road East, Sunbury. A Methodist meeting-house was first established in Sunbury in 1790 but the present church was not built until 1866. The church is part of the Teddington Circuit.
There was a Baptist meeting house in Hounslow as early as 1818, and a chapel was constructed on the south side of the High Street. However, following controversy over the admission of the unbaptized into the church, membership dropped to a dozen by 1878. Broadway Baptist Church on the north side of the High Street was constructed in 1929 following a resurgence in congregation numbers. It was damaged by enemy action in 1941 and narrowly avoided demolition.
The Baptist church in Acton originated in 1856, and a church was established in Church Road in 1864. The South Acton Baptist Church was formed in 1894 when the congregation at Church Road split over a disagreement. They constructed a Chapel on Newton Avenue in 1895. The designation of the church altered several times as the ministers changed: Newton Avenue Baptist church in 1900-1901, the Evangelistic Free church in 1902-1908, and the Church of Christ in 1909-1911. It reverted to a Baptist church between 1912 and 1915, but withdrew from the London Baptist Association and the Baptist Union between 1924 and 1926. The church registered as a Baptist Free church in 1944, and was renamed the South Acton Baptist church in 1960. In 1977 the church rejoined the Church Road Baptists and the Newton Avenue building was sold, and was used by the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox church.
Grange Park Baptist Church, Lansbury Drive, Hayes was founded in 1935 and still serves the local community.
A Baptist meeting house in Staines is first recorded in 1778, but the congregation declined and it was closed. A meeting house reopened in Church Street in 1824. This was replaced in 1837 by the Baptist Chapel in Bridge Street.
The North Road Baptist Church, Old Brentford, is thought to have its origins in an earlier chapel at Troy Town. By 1819 the meetings were established in an outhouse on the east side on North Road. A permanent chapel was opened on the west side of North Road in 1840. It was heavily bombed in 1940 but was restored in 1954.
The Independent Congregation at Clapham was founded in 1645. The earliest records relating to the congregation are licences granted in 1672 for individuals to use their houses for meetings (these licences are held at the National Archives).
Among the ministers of the congregation was Philip Furneaux, who was a champion of religious liberty. During his ministry (1754-1778), a new Church was built in Clapham Old Town in 1762. Previously the congregation had met in a wooden building and later a brick structure in Nag's Head Lane, later North Street, Clapham. A new church was built in 1852 at a cost of £11,000. Following considerable damage during the Second World War another Church building was constructed in 1957.
The most famous minister of the congregation was Reverend Dr James Guinness Rogers (1822-1911) who was a leading figure in nonconformist politics during the late nineteenth century. He was a prolific writer: his works included "Sermons on the Life of Christ" and "The Gospel in the Epistles". A friend of Gladstone (who opened his 1892 election campaign from Rogers' house), he assisted in the foundation of the Liberation Society (formerly the British Anti-State-Church Association). His ideas for a greater nonconformist voice, spanning the denominations, came to fruition in the National Council of Evangelical Free Churches (later the Free Church Federal Council). In a personal capacity he was Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1874 and was a founder member of the Council of King Edward's Hospital Fund for London. He was minister at Clapham between 1865 and 1900.
Camberwell became a Poor Law Parish on 28 October 1835, overseen by an elected Board of Guardians. In 1878 the Camberwell Board of Guardians constructed a new workhouse on Gordon Road. It was intended to house 743 able bodied inmates. Males chopped wood or broke stones; while females were employed in laundry work.
In 1930 the Gordon Road Workhouse was taken over by the London County Council and became the Camberwell Reception Centre for homeless men. The building has now been converted to flats.
Saint John's School may have been opened by the The British and Foreign Schools Society which founded several schools in the Bethnal Green area from 1819 onwards. These were usually attached to district churches.
The site in Stormont Road was purchased in 1877 by the London Congregational Union. A lecture hall and school premises were erected in 1878. The hall was used for public worship from 1879. A formal meeting was held in November 1881 for the formation of a Christian church. The Revd Richard Bulmer was elected pastor. The church that was built following that meeting was demolished in 1969 and replaced by a more 'modern' structure.