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Volume 2 Issue 9 Summer 20040

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CONTENTS:

Programme 3 School 1943-1950 8

Correspondence 4 Old Five Bells 14

Notes and News 6 Samuel Vevers - Highwayman 16

Book Reviews 7 Visit to Bromley Hall 18

Recollections of Hackney Downs 8 Coach "I vrip and Booking Slip 20

ELHS Newsletter Summer 2004

Editorial Note:

The Newsletter is edited, typeset and producedby Rosemary Taylor with the assistance of aneditorial team comprising Philip Mernick,Doreen Kendall, David Behr, and DoreenOsborne.

Letters and articles on East End history andreminiscences are always welcome and wemake every effort to publish suitable material.Whilst hand-written articles are acceptable,items of interest that are typewritten or evenbetter still, on disk will get priority!!

Enquiries to Doreen Kendall, 20 PuteauxHouse, Cranbrook Estate, Bethnal Green,London E2 ORF, Tel: 0208 981 7680, or PhilipMerrick, email: phil@ mernicks.com

All queries regarding membership should beaddressed to Harold Mernick, 42 CampbellRoad, Bow, London E3 4DT

Check out the History Society's website atwww.eastlondonhistory.org.uk.

The present committee are: Philip Mernick,Chairman, Doreen Kendall, Secretary, HaroldMernick, Membership, David Behr,Programme, Ann Sansom, Doreen Osborne,Bob Dunn, and Rosemary Taylor.

Cover Picture

Bromley HallPhotograph taken 21 July 2004.

Editor's Note:

We have received some very interestingsnippets of information within the last fewmonths, and those who know of my interestswould not have been surprised at myexcitement on reading them. I refer to theemails from Paul Busby on the sad death ofGwyneth Morgan, which was linked toChinatown in Limehouse, and the familyinformation from Diane Savage, who found alink with the Old Five Bells, a pub in StLeonard's Road, Bromley by Bow. The thirdpiece is an update on Bromley Hall. I am sureour members will find these pieces of news asinteresting as I did, and I do hope that some ofyou may have something to offer theseresearchers.

Silver Lion. Court Limehouse

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ELLIS Newsletter Summer 2004

EAST LONDONHISTORY SOCIETYPROGRAMME 2004-05

Thursday 91h September 2004

Frederick Treves and The Elephant Man

Speaker: Jonathan Evans

Saturdayrd October 2004

Coach Trip to Wisbech & Peckover House

See back cover of newsletter for details

Thursday 14th October 2004

The War Story of the Port of London

Speaker: Bob Aspinall

Preceded by A.G.M. at 7.00

Thursday le November 2004

The Gas Industry in East London

Speaker: Mary Mills

Thursday 2nd December 2004

Work, Wait, Win: the Brothers Davis ofWhitechapel and their LondonBuildings.

Thursday 24th February 2005

Your Victorian Ancestors – Facts you may notknow

Speaker: George Smith

Thursday 17th March 2005

Details of everyday life – a closer view oflocal postcards

Speaker: Philip Mernick

Thursday 146 April 2005

The Life and Legacy of George Peabody

Speaker: Christine Wagg

Thursday 12th May 2005

Open Evening – Where we went for daysout and holidays

Note:

The lectures are held on Thursday eveningsat 7.30 pm in the Latimer CongregationalChurch Hall, Ernest Street, El. ErnestStreet is between Harford Street andWhitehorse Lane, off Mile End Road(Opposite Queen Mary and WestfieldCollege). The nearest Underground Stationsare Mile End and Stepney Green. Bus 25.

The Programme

Suggestions and ideas for future topicsSpeaker: Isobel Watson and/or speakers for our Lecture

Programme are always welcomed. If youThursday 27th January 2005 can suggest someone or indeed if you would

like to give a talk yourself, please do comeBeneath the City Streets – London's Unseen along to the Open Evening in May, andHistory meet David Behr, our Programme co-

ordinator. Alternatively, email ourSpeaker: Peter Lawrence Chairman Philip Mernick at

phil@ mernicks.com with your commentsand suggestions.

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twashiaaessabasesseatostaCORRESPONDENCEsuataapsisA Limehouse Mystery — The Death ofGwyneth Morgan

The text below has been compiled from severalemails sent by Paul Busby:

I live in South Wales and am attempting towrite a biography of Gwyneth Morgan'sbrother, an eccentric poet and aristocrat namedEvan Morgan (1893-1949), who succeeded tothe title of Lord Tredegar in 1934.

Gwyneth Erica Morgan was born in 1895, theonly daughter of Courtenay Morgan(who became the 2nd Baron Tredegar in 1913)and Lady Katherine Carnegie (theartistic daughter of the 9th Earl of Southesk).Both Evan and Gwyneth were wildlyunpredictable and gained a certain notoriety insociety. Evan became a minor poet, whereasGwyneth's interests lay in art, and sculpture inparticular. (although I have yet to discover anysurviving artistic work of hers.)

Brother and sister were very close. They stucktogether when the rest of the family frowned attheir antics. When Evan, to the horror of hisfamily, converted to Catholicism in 1919,Gwyneth supported him by wearing a crucifix.Her brother returned the favour by giving hissister a turquoise pendant shaped like a bird(Evan had an incredible affinity with birds,and in later years he was often seen with hispet macaw perched on his shoulder) as a goodluck charm.

On December 11 1924, Gwyneth Morgandisappeared from her home in Lancaster-avenue, Wimbledon. At first this did not causeany real surprise. Gwyneth was a very wealthyyoung woman, and would often head off toEurope, without informing her family. Asweeks went by with no word of her, however,the situation seemed much more serious.

Scotland Yard became involved andGwyneth's father, Lord Tredegar, ordereddetectives to scour Europe for any trace of hisdaughter.

For months this search was in vain; then, onMay 25 1925, Sgt Mathers of the ThamesPolice discovered a body under a barge nearWapping Reach. The body had been in thewater a long time and was only identified bytag on the decaying clothing which read 'G.E.Morgan', and by the smashed bird-shapedpendant that hung around the neck. Gwynethwas 29 years old.

The coroner reported that Gwyneth had diedfrom drowning, but that there wasno evidence to show how she came into thewater. He returned an open verdict.

It is interesting to note that Gwyneth's brother,Evan, claimed to have a 'very strong' bondwith Limehouse from that day on. His sister'sdeath devastated him. In 1929 when hedecided to stand for parliament, he turneddown several safe Conservative seats offeredto him (no less than 22 members of his familyhad been MPs down the centuries!), and choseinstead the extremely tough seat ofLimehouse. He was comfortably defeated byClement Attlee.

On September 16 1926, the Washington Postran a feature about drugs in Limehouse in theirmagazine. The article was entitled: LONDON'SSHAME BARED BY DOPE KING'S WAR:APPALLING REVELATIONS OF THECUNNINGLY ORGANIZED COMMERCE, INCOCAINE, HEROIN AND OTHER NARCOTICDRUGS.

Chang was described as the "wildest orientalever fattened on vice". The article goes on tosay:

" The suicide of the Hon. Gwyneth Morganwas followed by startling disclosures showingthat she had been a victim of the Chinaman'salmost hypnotic powers and that he had beenthe evil genius of her life, transforming her

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from a bright, happy society girl into that the police (which became public in the

pitiable, broken thing, a drug fiend! newspapers) that Gwyneth was alive and had

been living in Copenhagen.These revelations helped the police and ashort-time afterward the snake-like Chinaman I have also found a letter from her brother, thewas arrested, charged with some of his many Hon. Evan Morgan, written in Decembercrimes, imprisoned and finally deported." 1925, to the author CK Ogden, where he tells

of the terrible strain placed on his father'sI would be very eager to learn more about health by the shocking events. The year afterthese 'disclosures' and about Chang's links to Gwyneth's death, Evan privately published aGwyneth Morgan. It is a very sad story. At volume of poetry about his sister entitled 'InTredegar House (where my research is based) Pace'. A sometimes 'uneven' poet (to put itthere is a very small photograph of Gwyneth kindly!) Evan's best work can be found in thatbut we do not have an awful lot of information book, where, without a trace of his usualon her life. She was originally buried at Putney pretention, he reveals in verse his grief andVale Cemetery, but when her brother, Evan, anger about his sister's death.succeeded to the title and estate, he arrangedfor her body to be brought to South Wales, and Evan Morgan once claimed that he could havere-buried it in the Tredegar Family Vault. On a revived Gwyneth had he been allowed tonote that, I think, the superstitious Gwyneth perform a certain 'spell or ritual' over herwould have appreciated, the re-burial occurred body. This, of course, was said for effect. Aat midnight and the grave was bricked up. A great story teller, Evan often drifted into thevery elaborate memorial to Gwyneth realms of fantasy. He did have occult(designed by her brother) can be seen in the connections, however. He was a good friendchurch today. of the notorious occultist Aleister Crowley,

who wrote of how impressed he had been atHere are a few other snippets that I recently seeing Evan's 'magick room' at Tredegar Park!uncovered: The startling thing is, Evan was a Chamberlain

to the Pope for over 15 years! Next time youGwyneth's suicide did not shock all of her read about Tredegar Square just reflect on howcontemporaries it seems. I recently found a odd the Morgan family of Tredegar became inletter from a friend of her brother's, who later years!claimed "it was no surprise when I learnt thathis sister killed herself. She was an The artist Augustus John recalled bursting intounpredictable girl and always seemed to have Evan's rooms at the Pontifical Beda College inan air of danger about her. The word was that Rome to find: "Evan, in tears, bedecking ashe had become addicted to heroin." shrine to his unfortunate sister Gwyneth."

Talking to an old servant last year, he told methat the 'gossip of the Servants Hall atTredegar House in 1925 was that Gwyneth hadbeen pregnant at the lime and that The babywould not have been white'. I'm not sure howmuch truth there is in such a wild rumour, butI should imagine that speculation was at feverpitch during Gwyneth's disappearance.

A few months before her body was recoveredfrom the Thames, a cruel claim was made to

Gwyneth's mother, Lady Katherine, was notwell enough to attend her daughter's funeral atPutney Vale Cemetery. She suffered fromwhat was later diagnosed as 'a schizoidtendency'. She was acutely sensitive to noiseand had the bizarre hobby of building birdsnests (this is perfectly true!). She becamesomething of a figure of fun in society, thediary of Marie Belloc Lowndes recordshearing tales of Lady Tredegar 'building nestsbig enough to sit in, and of sitting on eggs and

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getting broody at certain times of the year."Aldous Huxley laughed off this descriptionclaiming: "Well, if that's the case, the biggestthing she hatched was Evan I"

It is true that Evan Morgan looked strikinglyavian, and could do anything with birds. Hehad his own private key to the bird enclosureat Regents Park zoo, and he would often travelwith cages of exotic birds at his side. Thishelps explain the bird-shaped pendant (whichGwyneth would never be without) foundaround the neck of his sister's body.

Please feel free to use anything about GwynethMorgan, in your newsletter. I would be veryeager to hear if any of your members have anylight to shed on this whole affair. It has beenfascinating adding more pieces to the jigsawpuzzle, so to speak.

(Paul Busby can be contacted by email at:busbvnaul @hotmail.com)

(Ed Note: I replied to Paul and gave him theinformation I had on Brilliant Bill Chang. In1985, Bob and Pippa Little did a piece onAnnie Li, Chinatown Annie, and in their studythey mention Brilliant Bill Chang, who wascharged in 1922 with manslaughter followingthe death of the dancer Freda Kempton from acocaine overdose However, I have not comeacross the story of Gwyneth Morgan.If anymembers have further information, we'd loveto hear from you.)

John Clarke, 1 Beresford Gdns.,Christchurch, Dorset 131123 3Q*,writes:

Recently I have been browsing your EastLondon History Society website and I havefound it most interesting simply because Ilived in Hancock Rd., Bromley by Bow beforethe war and until September 1940 when wewere bombed out by the land-mine that fell atthe end of Priory Street.

I was most intrigued by Kingsley Royden'sarticle 'A Friend in My Retreat' in which herefers to Priory Street because I had an auntand many friends who lived in that street. AlsoI had many connections with the BromleyChurch as a choirboy and the Cubs and theScouts which were attached to the church.Later on I joined the youth Club at KingsleyHall..

My school days started in the infants at OldPalace School, followed by Maurer St. Schooland then Bow Central School.

This is only a very brief description of myearly years and I would like to hear from anyof the ELHS members who can remember thatpart of East London at that time. I amenclosing a membership application and acheque for £3.

iNotes and News

Archive Awareness Campaign 2004Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section isholding a series of free events from Septemberto December as part of Archive AwarenessCampaign 2004. The series aims to encouragethe use of archives by family and localhistorians. The talks will include theopportunity for attendees to see examples ofmanuscripts, to combine a talk with a visit to arelated City institution, or to tour behind thescenes at Guildhall Library. These free eventscommence in the Guildhall Library LectureTheatre at 2 pm. on the following days:

le September: "Estate maps at GuildhallLibrary", Stacey Gee, Assistant Archivist.(45 minutes)

ft October: "The records of St Paul'sCathedral and the Diocese of London",Stephen Freeth, Keeper of Manuscripts,followed by a visit to St Paul's CathedralLibrary. (2hrs)

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21" October: Behind the scenes tour of theManuscripts Section store andConservation workshop. (lhr)

2"d November: "Using archives to trace thehistory of a community: Stepney 1740-80",Derek Morris, Local Historian, (45 minutes)

25th November: Behind the scenes tour ofthe Manuscripts Section store andConservation workshop. (1hr)

13th December: "Livery Company Recordsat Guildhall Library", Stephen Freeth,Keeper of Manuscripts, followed by a visit toGoldsmiths' Hall. (2hrs).

Numbers are limited. Please book in advance bytelephoning 020 7332 1862/3. You are welcometo come on the day and see if there are anyplaces available.

The Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Libraryis the local record office for the City ofLondon (the "Square Mile"), apart from therecords of the Corporation of London, whichare separately administered. Its holdings datefrom the 11th century and include ecclesiasticaland probate records, records of City wards andparishes, and of around 80 of its liverycompanies. It also holds considerable businessand commercial archives, including theLondon Stock Exchange, Lloyd's of Londonand the London Chamber of Commerce.

For further information contact:Guildhall Library Manuscripts SectionAldermanburyLondon EC2P 2EJTel: 020 7332 1862/3Textphone: 020 7332 3803Email:manuscripts.gu ildhall Ocorpoflondon.gov.ukWebsite: wwvv.cityoflondon.gov.ukilibraries

MS-091SWIE,

A recent discovery in Eastside Book Shop is"Watercress But No Sandwiches :300 Years of the Columbia RoadArea", by Linda Wilkinson. (£10)

It was published by J.H.E.R.A. (which Iassume to mean 'Jesus Hospital EstateResidents' Association) in 2001, but it was anew discovery to me.

As its title indicates, it outlines the history ofthe Jesus Hospital Estate, including ColumbiaRoad, Ion Square and adjacent streets, usingofficial Sources and also drawing heavily onmemories and reflections of residents past andpresent.

The book's illustrations are excellent andsome are from albums of local families. Thelayout is imaginative and although, at times,the typeset is somewhat eccentric and includesa few spelling mistakes etc., the book isattractively produced.

It was the winner of the 'Raymond WilliamsAward' and, according to the Chairman of theArts Council's judging panel, is " animportant, beautifully written and illustratedrecord of an East End area and its People .... attimes funny and moving, but never self-indulgent."Doreen Osborne

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ELMS Newsletter Summer 2004

Shadows of the WorkhouseBy Jennifer Worth , Merton Books, PO Box279, Twickenham TW1 4XQ. Tel. 020 88924949. Fax 020 8892 4950e-mail [email protected](To be published in September 2004)

Exactly seventy-five years ago, in 1929, thePoor Law Act was repealed by Parliament andthe workhouses of Britain closed forever. Acentury of degradation and systematic crueltyto the poor came to an end.Jennifer Worth, author of "Call the Midwife",was a district nurse in the 1950s, working withan order of nuns in the war-torn LondonDocklands, going around some of the toughestareas of the East End on a bicycle.Several people she nursed had been workhouseinmates at some point in their lives, and thescars had not healed. The stories of Frank,Peggy and Jane, whose childhood was spent ina workhouse, makes compulsive reading. Thestory of an old soldier, a Boer War veteran,who ends his life in 1959 in the relics of aworkhouse, will make you weep. Mrs. Jenkins,whose five children died in a workhouse in the1920s, is a tragic and memorable figure.The nuns, who had served the poorest of thepoor for seventy years in Poplar are thebackbone of the book. The strength andwisdom of Sister Julienne is inspiring and runslike a golden thread throughout; whilst theeccentricities of aristocratic Sister MonicaJoan leads to a real whodunit that will keepyou guessing! Comedy is never far away withthis unique author.The atmosphere of the London Docks formsthe background; the changing River; the greatcargo boats; the dock labourers; the slumtenements; the bomb sites; and above all theirrepressible character of the Cockney people.With a rare power over words Jennifer Worthexpresses with depth of feeling andunderstanding the lives of ordinary people.Thousands of readers who have loved "Callthe Midwife" eagerly await this book, thesecond of a trilogy.

etwasssawinatteaveratanowassoweesaRecollections of Hackney DownsSchool 1943-1950Itestaseesesonas

I was born in Homerton in 1931 and the earlypart of my schooling was at Chelmer RoadSchool. Shortly after the outbreak of the Warin September 1939, I was voluntarily andprivately evacuated, along with two cousins,to Otford, Kent, where an aunt and uncle had ahouse, my mother and father staying inHomerton. There were thus children of threefamilies living together in the house with twoof their mothers, one of my uncles commutingto Sidcup, where he worked in an insuranceoffice, and the other, an accountant, whoremained in North London, being with theAuxiliary Fire Service.

After surviving the very cold winter of1939/40, during which I can recall thepresence in Otford of a few young children atthe local primary school who were refugeesfrom Europe, and whom, with the unknowingcruelty of children, were sometimes referred toas "sausage dogs", it was realised that Otford,being on the flight path of anticipated Germanbombers making for the capital, was not agood place to be in. This was the period of the"phoney war", when, while Belgium andFrance had been invaded by the Germans,nothing further in the nature of enemy actionseemed to be happening and the ChamberlainGovernment seemed undecided as to what todo.

I was then taken to stay with a sister of myfather's and her husband who lived at Pilgrims'Hatch near Brentwood in Essex, where Istayed from 1940 until 1943 before returningto London. Uncle Vic had been wounded inFrance in WW1 while with the EssexRegiment and was one of the "OldContemptibles" but he was able to skilfullyroll a cigarette with a hand missing twofingers and had retrained after the War as apainter and decorator. He was a typical oldEssex countryman and had a night shift at the

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Ilford-Selo factory at Warley, the other side of to the text and look at while answeringBrentwood, to which he used to cycle on an them!old 28-inch wheel roadster. When at home, hecultivated a vegetable garden and fruit trees Somehow or other I seem to have passed theand kept over 100 chickens, their eggs being exam, and was awarded a Special Place attaken by an Egg Marketing Board, and he was Hackney Downs School and so had to returnonly allowed to kill chickens which had to London to attend the school, where I foundstopped laying, which generally occurred myself in the Third Form, 3C, to be precise.around Christmas time. The school, which was "formerly the Grocers'

Company School" (although I see that theWhile at Pilgrims Hatch, I attended a two- website of the Worshipful Company ofroom village school at Bentley, and now, in Grocers now only acknowledges Oundlethe course of carrying out research into my School as one of its own), was established infamily history, I keep coming across the 1876 as a consequence of the Education Act ofsurnames in the 18th and 19th century Essex that year as a place for the education of theparish registers of my young schoolmates. sons of tradespeople in London. From itsAfter about two years at Bentley, I moved on appearance, I imagine that it was built atto Brentwood High School, which was staffed, around that time and it was a formidable-like many schools at this time, by teachers looking brick pile with a squat central blockwho had been persuaded to stay on or to return with a tower and extended wings on eitherfrom retirement since all the active younger side, to which a gymnasium and a scienceones had been called up or given more block had been added at a later date.important duties elsewhere. Consequently, thestandard of teaching was frequently rather Little of the august majesty of the Worshipfulpoor and echoed teacher training methods of Company of Grocers of London was evident atthe 1920s and possibly even earlier. I do, the time of my arrival. After three years ofhowever, owe a debt of gratitude to the wartime deprivation, restrictions andBiology Mistress, Mrs Horner, who destruction, the front courtyard facingencouraged my interest in science and who Hackney Downs was largely filled with roofunfortunately had to leave teaching when she tiles and other recoverable bomb debrisbecame pregnant - but at least that indicated stacked neatly in rows, while at the rear, nearthat our efforts to capture frogs in the school the fives courts, were deep ranks ofplaying fields, which we were told were tombstones which we were not allowed tointended for pregnancy testing, had not been clamber over, presumably because they wereentirely in vain. still felt to be "owned" by their dedicatees.

The rest of the rear playground, in the triangleEarly in 1943, when I would have been eleven between the railway lines to Chingford and toyears old, I was encouraged to sit for an Enfield, was mostly covered in rubble.examination which was called, I believe, aMajor County Scholarship. This would have Like many other London schools, it was thenbeen the precursor of the "eleven-plus" exam being used as an emergency supply depot andwhich I think was introduced by the 1944 the semicircular Assembly Theatre inside theEducation Act. I had really no idea at all what school was filled with stacked emergencythis was all about, and can recall going to the supplies, probably bedding and foodstuffs, butHigh School to sit examinations in English, we were not allowed in it and could only peepMathematics and General Knowledge. I was inside, and below the Theatre and under coverso naive that I was unsure whether, having were more emergency supplies. Theread the text in the English paper on which swimming pool in the gymnasium had beenquestions had to be answered, I could go back boarded over (much to my relief) and filled

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with water as an EWS (emergency water confirm our irreligious beliefs in anstorage), so although we could do "gym" there unintended fashion. The Jewish members ofunder the watchful eye of Mr Spanton - ex- the school, who probably amounted to about aNavy and very fit for his age - much of the third of its juvenile complement, had theirschool was no longer available for teaching own Hebrew teacher who used to come to thepurposes. school to attend to their instruction in the

Library.Part of the school had earlier been evacuatedto Kings Lynn under the Headmaster, Mr T 0Balk, where they occupied the premises ofwhat was, I think, St James School, not farfrom the Kings Lynn football ground. Theremainder of the staff and pupils had remainedin, (or returned to ?) Hackney under theDeputy Headmaster, Mr Barton, who had theunenviable task, which he successfully carriedout; of maintaining the traditions and standingof the school in very difficult circumstances.Following the public school traditions of the19th century, we were allotted to "Houses" forthe purpose of competition if for no other thatI can think of, which were named after formerteachers. I was placed in Richards, which hadthe distinction of failing to be top in anythingof note. The other Houses were Britten,Greens, Hammonds, Lucases and Pickfords. Irecollect that Lucases had the best runners inmy time - Barry Supple is a name that comesto mind, and I believe Harold Pinter was alsoof this house, but two years ahead of me - Ihope I may be forgiven for dropping his name,but everybody else does. One of his earlieststage appearances at this time was as Romeoin a co-production of "Romeo and Juliet" withthe girls of Laura Place School from the otherside of Lower Clapton Road.

My first Form Master was Mr Keyes, whoprobably came from the Midlands because Iremember that he pronounced "soot" as "sut".Mr Barron, the Deputy Headmaster, was afriendly and approachable man, but a few ofthe masters were more to be dreaded, certainlyby we Third Formers. Of particular note werethe Maths master, who had a Hitlerianmoustache, and who also took ReligiousInstruction. This consisted largely of gettingmembers of the class to recite long lists of"begat?", an exercise which served only to

The master who taught French and Spanishwas a Mr De La Feld, baldish and built likeJan Sibelius, whose favourite approach tothose who had erred was to grip the offender'shair above the ear and to twist it. In contrast,Mr Medcalfe was a kindly, mild-manneredman - as was the Arts teacher whose nameescapes me - who taught English to the higherclasses and was seldom seen to leave thecomfort of the school library. Scienceteaching was in the hands of Mr Lyons and hiswife and I recall him on one occasionattempting to demonstrate the conversion ofred phosphorus into another allotrope by theapplication of heat to a flask, which exploded,showering his semicircle of ardent observerswith pieces of burning phosphorus. Thesewere the days before the advent of Hazchemand Hazmat and when the study of chemistrycould be really exciting.

Because of the stringent wartime restrictionson the use of paper, school textbooks andwriting materials were in very short supply.Our textbooks had seen many years of serviceand, apart from being out of date, were inshort supply and often in a dismal condition.We frequently had to share them in class, andon several occasions had to take the better-looking ones home and copy out pages ofdeclensions of Latin nouns and conjugationsof French verbs, which my mother sometimesundertook while I got on with my homework,which was frequently three assignments pernight. Copying out Euclid's Axioms was arather more difficult task, almost as hard asremembering their proofs. At that date theonly means of duplicating text was a closely-guarded and messy business involving the useof a silk screen, a blue ink pad and a roller: the

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Xerox copier would not be available for more And so it was that the beginning of the nextthan another two decades. term saw the school reunited in Kings Lynn,

an historic old west Norfolk seaport on theTo make matters even worse, and to add a Wash. We had assembled at Liverpool Streetlittle humour to the situation, many of our Station during the annual school holiday intextbooks were in mixed incomplete sets. So August 1944 and travelled by train the 100it was that, when reading Shakespeare's "Lady miles (160km) to Lynn.Macbeth" in class - a sure way to destroy anyappreciation of the beauty of his language - we I was now in the Fourth Form, and ourwould often come to a point during a education perked up a bit with the new bloodstumbling reading of a passage such as Lady among staff and pupils. Mr Charles AdrianMacbeth's "1 have given suck, and know how Gee was the Senior Science Master and was atender 'tis to love the babe that milks me ...", good and enthusiastic teacher who welcomedwhen one of the class would pipe up, 'Please anyone with an interest in science. His oneSir, that's not in my book I" Yes, we had made weakness, if it can be called that, was that thethe acquaintance of one of Dr Bowdler's introduction of any biological object, such as aattempts at improving upon the works of butterfly pupa, by a boy would unfailinglyEngland's greatest playwright. (Dr T Rowdier divert him from the curriculum, supposing that(1754-1825) published an expurgated there was one, to the study of the new objectShakespeare in ten volumes in 1818.) of interest for several weeks. We learned a lot

about the Privet Hawk Moth in two weeks,The school attempted to maintain standards of including how to make a passable drawing ofdress while recognising the scarcity of its caterpillar, and I doubt that any of usmaterials and the need to conserve clothing suffered through missing what we werecoupons for more practical and necessary supposed to be learning.items of clothing. Boys were expected to weara school cap, a school tie of blue and yellow Our return to Hackney Downs for the start ofdiagonal stripes, grey shorts or trousers, and a the 1945/46 school year found the schooljacket of either grey or blue material to which playgrounds largely cleared of rubble,a school badge of the Grocer's Company crest tombstones and roof tiles, and the Assemblywas to be sewn. All of these items could be Theatre was again open for business. In thebought at an outfitter's somewhere on Stoke basement, the former emergency kitchen wasNewington High Street. Sportswear was now prepared to serve school dinners to theanother problem. Cricket "whites" were pupils but with food rationing still in fullobviously beyond consideration in wartime swing it was not yet up to the standard of theand football boots were expensive and hard to average British Restaurant. Being acome by, so many of us wore second-hand vegetarian at that time, I was faced withboots which were not always a comfortable fit having a meal of frequently frost-blackenedand which had to be liberally dubbined to give potatoes and boiled cabbage, so I soonthem any flexibility at all. persuaded my mother to let me cycle to school

and to come home for lunch before riskingThe first flying bombs were launched by severe indigestion by cycling back with a fullGermany on the night of 12/13 June 1944, stomach.shortly after the invasion of Europe by theAllies had begun, and on 15 June more than Probably about thirty percent of the boys came200 were launched, 73 of which reached from Jewish families, and so when they hadLondon. It was soon felt necessary to consider their festivals of Passover, Yom Kippur andevacuating the school from London. Rosh Hashanah the rest of us had an easy time

of it since our classes could not be continued

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in absentia. For some of us a favouriteoccupation at these times was to take part instocktaking in the science laboratories, wherewe became familiar with all the pieces ofequipment which formed no part of oursyllabus and we practised our typewritingskills on an old Imperial typewriter or helpedto put the chemical stores in order.

At that time it was possible to buy smallquantities of chemicals and pieces ofglassware from the shop of A N Beck on StokeNewington High Street. My first chemistrybook was "A Shilling Practical Chemistry" byE J Holmyard, and I regretted being unable tobuy the concentrated acids necessary forpreparing and distilling nitric acid.Regrettably much of our acquired chemicalskill went into the production of pyrotechnics,but I suppose it exercised our creative talents.

There were several school Societies supervisedby masters at the school during my time.Among other events, the Theatre-GoingSociety organised attendances at the Old VicTheatre, and Hammersmith Theatre. Throughthe Opera-Going Society we saw manyperformances given by the Sadler's WellOpera at Islington. Tickets to these eventswere heavily subsidised by the school and costus little more than the bus fare to the theatre.

On a less professional plane, the moremusically-talented members of the MusicSociety gave talks to the group members onthe Great Composers which were illustratedwith recorded performances of their works on78rpm records borrowed from their father'srecord libraries.

I was now in the Upper Fourth class andformed friendships with a few like-mindedboys with scientific interests. I also joined theSchool Army Cadet Corps, but cannotremember exactly why, perhaps because myfather had been a sergeant in the Home Guardand we had kept a Lewis gun in one of ourcupboards, plus the prospect of attendingsummer camps and firing .303 Lee-Enfield

rifles. Our company was affiliated with theRoyal Berkshire Regiment, which was forsome reason known as the "HackneyGurkhas", possibly because of the smallstature of the average East Ender.

The company was under the direction of RSMParker, the school groundsman and janitor, anold soldier who stood no nonsense and who allthe cadets held in great esteem. The nominalcommanding officer was the GeographyMaster who held the rank of Major and wasmore often than not late for his classes. Noneof my friends joined the Cadets, and when thetime came for National Service they somehowall managed to avoid it while I was swept intothe Royal Signals for two years.

We paraded at school once a week and hadtraining in which we were instructed in map-reading, drill, fieldcraft and how to take apartand put together a Bren gun in thirty seconds,and sat for examinations for the ArmyCertificate 'A' and later the Certificate 'B' forcompetence, which certainly helped when Iwas called up, although I did not let my skillsbe known, but just learned quickly, but not tooquickly, remembering the old soldier's secondmaxim - "Never volunteer!".

In the Cadets we went on several weekendcamps; once to Pirbright rifle ranges; toSandhurst for a big Army Cadet parade wherewe were reviewed by the Minister of Defence(or War), Emmanuel Shinwell; and toCaterham Guards' Depot where we heard theunmistakable voice of RSM Brittain bellowingacross the parade ground and thoughtourselves lucky that were not in his trainingsquad. There were also the fortnight summercamps, the first at Manston aerodrome, wherewe seemed to have spent the early hoursmaking and remaking our beds under theguidance of those of us whose fathers hadserved in the Army and later sought thecomforts of chilly Margate, which had beenclosed "for the duration" and was yet to losethe concrete tank traps and fencing along itsfront, and in later years, at Stanmer Park near

12


Brighton, and at Walton-on-the-Naze. We had court cost 2/- an hour to hire and there was ayet to taste the delights of beer, but smoked kiosk selling cold drinks nearby. Some of usourselves silly on these occasions, probably were encouraged to compete in an Inter-taking years off our lives. Stupid, really. School tennis tournament, but it was played on

gravel courts which we were unused to and soOnce a week we took the steam train from naturally we lost every game.Hackney Downs Junction to Lower Edmonton,from where we walked along Station Road, After our first year in the Sixth Form, whichpausing only to look at the covers of "Health was divided into Arts, Economics and Scienceand Strength" in the newsagent's window, streams, we were encouraged to sit for theuntil we reached the bleak fields near the Great University Exhibition Prizes Examination heldCambridge Road which were our sports at South Kensington, which many of us did.ground. Here we played cricket or football The awards were valued at £25 to £50, whichaccording to the season, and I can think of would not have got us very far at Oxford ornothing worse that trying to do up one's Cambridge, but it was felt that the experiencetrouser buttons with frozen fingers in a of sitting the examination would prepare us fordraughty changing room after a scratch game the Higher School Certificate the followingof football on a snow-covered pitch. year. None of us expected to win anything

because of the intense competition withI was never any good at sports and so always students sitting from all over the country, butfound myself in a scratch team with the other occasionally someone from our school,dregs of sporting society. The annual School usually from Economics, would getSports were also held here and parents, something.relatives and other interested parties wereinvited along to witness our triumphs and Towards the end of the 1949/50 school yearembarrassments. we Sixth Formers sat for the Higher School

Certificate examination, which was held in theThe other annual sporting event was the cross- once more boarded-up gymnasium. I took thecountry run which took place in Epping Forest, Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Physics-with-near the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge. We Chemistry papers and gained my HSC, myhad the use of an adjacent timber shed, even result being phoned to me while at the Cadetmore draughty that the one at Lower Camp at Walton-on-the-Naze. ShortlyEdmonton, for a changing room, and although afterwards, I was advised by letter to report tothe route was supposed to have been marked an address at Wanstead for my Army medical,out with bits of paper they often blew or were which I passed, and chose to go into the Royaltaken away and I suppose Epping Forest is as Corps of Signals because of my interest ingood a place as any in which to become lost. radio construction.Mind you, some of the more knowing onestook short cuts, and thinking back after all Postscript

these years, I should have had the nous to buy Having lived in Australia since 1962, I wasand study a map before taking part in such an unaware of the bungled Government policiesevent. and the events which led to the closing of

Hackney Downs School in the mid-1990s untilWhen I reached the Sixth Form after having I was advised of the fact by an aunt. It issat for and passed the School Certificate rather sad to think that the school at which I

examination in 1948, I was able to avoid these spent my adolescence is no more. Despite theobligatory sports and instead played tennis on lack of further interest which often follows thethe public courts in Hackney Downs; this was end of one's schooldays, and the loss ofmuch more to my liking. At that time a hard contact with people who were once friends

13


and are now dispersed around the world, thereis a thread which binds and bonds us to ourplace of origin.

Although I would never think of returning toBritain to live, there are many aspects of itshistory and society which continue to hold myinterest, particularly in London, and magazinessuch as the East London History SocietyNewsletter, which I have only recentlydiscovered, serve a valuable purpose inmaintaining these lines of connection. Longmay it continue to do so.

Ian Juniper

tatausmeasMEMORIAL RESEARCH710,086S0.6041080026

Doreen and DianeKendall, with DoreenOsborne and a dedicatedgroup of volunteers are

in the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park on thesecond Sunday of every month at 2 pm,meticulously researching graves and recordingmemorial inscriptions. They have been doingthis work with great perseverance andenthusiasm for several years now, and haveassisted scores of people with their familyrecords, whilst adding to our knowledge oflocal history.

SatteltANSeaa

STILL ON SALE:Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth SRN.SCM. Published by Merton Books, Box 279,Twickenham, TW1 1QX. 0208 892 4949".17 black and white photographs of the areain the 1950s. ISBN 1-872560-10-5. Price£14.95.

Jennifer Worth will be donating £2 fromevery sale of Call the Midwife, to the ELHS.

stiaThe Old Five Bells

I have become a Family History 'nut'. Itstarted maybe 15 years ago trying to find outmy Father's origins. By this time all relativeson his side that I knew about were dead sofirstly I set about trailing up to St. Catherine'sHouse to search all the BMD Indexes. Thatwas the easy bit, as with a name likeHARDES there weren't too many entries.Several years searching in church records andlots of certificates later I came to a full stop,stuck in 1802 not being able to find my gt. gt.grandfather's, Richard Hard(e)s, birth ordeath, two marriages and several children, butno birth or death.

My husband and I then moved from midBedfordshire to South Lincolnshire andFamily History took a back seat for a while.

When I got going again I looked at all thesenames, but they didn't mean anything so Ithought I would like to put some 'leaves' onthe branches of the tree and learn more aboutthe people who were on it. Dad was bornHenry James HARDES on 23`a January 1913,I knew his father was James WhiteheadHARDES and he died on Dad's 10th birthday,23M January 1923. I remember Dad saying hewas born in a pub and the name Red Lion wasin my mind, but that turned out to be wrong.As I didn't have a copy of his birth certificateI obtained one, and the address was given as76 Victoria Dock Road, Canning Town, WestHam District. So that was another myth goneas he always said he was born within thesound of Bow Bells. On the back of GodfreyMap for Canning Town and Custom House1914 there are extracts from Kelly's Directoryof Essex 1912 giving HARDES James W.beer retailer, 76 Victoria Dock Road. On thefront of the map is a picture of Victoria DockRoad c. 1904.

On obtaining James W.'s death certificate itgave his address as 152, St. Leonard's Street,

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Bromley — Licensed Victualler. I thenobtained another Godfrey map of Poplar withextracts from Post Office directory for 1914and there it was, 152 St. Leonard's Street, OldFive Bells, James Whitehead HARDES. Sosometime between 1912 and 1914 the familyhad moved from Victoria Dock Road to St.Leonard's Street.

Another of Dad's tales was that after hisfather's death his mother had a 'corner' shop,but I cannot remember anything else he mayhave said about it, but would imagine that itwouldn't have been too far away as his halfsister on his mother's side lived at 55 BromleyHall Road, Poplar. When Mum and Dad weremarried in 1937 they lived in Dagenham.

James Whitehead HARDES was born on 16thMay 1873 at 2 Spring Street, Bow, when hemarried (1) in 1899, Louisa Price Mullard shelived at 5 Wharf Road and he at 206Manchester Road, both Poplar, James is alabourer. In 1904 on his father Richard'sdeath he was also at 5 Wharf Road. When hemarried (2) in May 1912 Elizabeth LouisaWatkins (nee Wells) they were both at 22Beachy Road, Victoria Park, and he is shownas a Cellarman.

Richard HARDES, James' father movedaround quite a bit James' siblings being bornin Platina (?) Street, Tabernacle Walk,Finsbury; Autumn Street and Spring Street,Old Ford Road, Poplar; Camden Gardens,Bethnal Green; before that they were 'over theriver' in Southwark.

This is all very well but I still really didn'tknow much more about my grandfather James,which is when I started looking on the internefor East London and found the East LondonHistory Society, and one of the articles listedwas 'The story of the Old Five Bells'. Whilstthis was really after my grandfather, it was stillextremely interesting and what's more therewas a photo of the pub itself. According to thearticle, The Old Five Bells license lapsed in1922 and James died 23 R1 January 1923 from

cancer so presumably he wasn't able to renewhis license being too ill. Prior to this I hadmade contact with a half cousin (Dad's halfbrother's son on his father's side) who had aphoto of James which was wonderful as I hadnever seen a photo of him before. I have beentrying to find out about the Old Five Bellsthrough the brewery, but this has proved veryimpossible.

I have in my possession two gardening booksVol. I and II of 'One and All Garden Books'by Edward Owen Greening and in one there iswritten 'To Mr. J. Hardes, Cubitt Town withcongratulations and compliments of the editor.Edw. Owen Greening Feb 27: 1911'. Dadnever said what they were for, nor did I ask.There was also a silver cup that was presentedto James, but that disappeared when Dad diedin 1966. Another of Dad's stories was thatJames had 'played for Millwall before theycrossed the river'. I did write to Millwall FCto see if they could enlighten me, but theynever replied.

So I have found some, but I am still lookingfor more 'leaves'.

Diane Savage (nee Hardes)

15


Itatio0030080.000, masaSamuel Vevers - Highwayman(The One That Got Away)foss

Although only in the twenty-third year of hislife when he was executed at Tyburn, on the16th of November, 1724, Jack Sheppard (bornin Spitalfields in 1702) had become sonotorious as a housebreaker and prison-breaker that his exploits were the talk of allranks of society. By 1726 although Sheppardwas dead his fame was firmly established. It isa fame that has dominated perceptions ofNewgate, crime and the criminal ever since.

However, in this year in the court recordsemerges an escape artist to rival Sheppard'sexploits at Newgate. His name was SamuelVevers. His method of escape was somewhatdifferent. By examining this man one can seethat not everyone who appeared at the OldBailey accused of capital offences in fact wenton to hang or be transported. You could makethe courts work for you.

On 31 August 1726 Samuel Vevers appearedat the Old Bailey accused of assaulting aBenjamin Wyersdell, "putting him in fear" andtaking from him 19 shillings on the 24 August1726. The case against him on first readingseems substantial, Wyersdale outlines whattook place,

A Man upon a black Horse (or Mare) rode upto the Coachman, and holding up a Pistol,cry 4 Stand! G- D- ye Stand! Or I'll Shoot yethrough the Head.... The Man came up to me,and Claping a Pistol to my Breast, he said, D-ye deliver. I desir'd him to be Civil, and heshould have my Money. Come, Come, G- D-ye says he, wheres your Gold, and your Watch,I told him I had none. Why then by G- I'll killye says he, I assure ye Sir says I, that I havegiven you all, and therefore 1 beg you wouldnot use me ill. — My Wife then gave me 6 or8s. more. I gave it to him, he still cry 'd, D- yewheres ye Gold! Your Gold! I must have it. Iagain told him that I had none upon which he

tum'd about Cock'd his Pistol, clapt it to myBreast, Swore he'd Shoot me, and then pull'dthe Triger. The Flint struck Fire, but I believethe priming was blown away, so that it did notgo off Then he let the Coach pass, and wethought he was gone, but he quickly came upagain and searched my Fob, he was goinground to the other side of the Coach, and hadlike to have fallen in a Ditch, but recoveringhimself he rode off towards Bednall Green,and we drove homeward, Shoreditch way. Ibelieve the Prisoner to be the Man, I cannotswear positively .. several people said, that itmust be the Prisoner who was a Bricklayer,and liv'd not far from the Black Day, inShoreditch, and keeps his Mare in a Stablenear my House. I have since seen that Mare,and believe her to be the same.

Benjamin Wyersdale's wife and the coachmanalso believe that the prisoner is the guiltyparty. Vevers however exploits elements ofuncertainty to all its potential. Wyersdalewhen questioned again admits that when the"Prisoners boy was Examin'd about the Mare,he said that he rode her to Bartholomew Fair,and retum'd about 7 at Night." After thisVevers calls witnesses who all swear that hewas in a different place at the time of therobbery. A key piece of evidence comes fromMrs Barnet, a woman who owed Vevers aconsiderable sum of money, five Guineas. MrsBarnet produces a receipt for payment whichseemingly proves that Vevers was elsewhereon the evening of the crime. Indeed from thewitnesses called Vevers appears to have beeneverywhere but where the robbery wascommitted including the Salmon and Ballpublic house. The jury acquit Vevers based onthis evidence. The case of Vevers whichemerges seems to be a simple one of mistakenidentity and false accusation. So why is it animportant case that deserves more study?

The importance can be found in the followingyear when once again we find Vevers on trialfor robbery, not once but twice and both timeshe again escapes the thief's fate of taking partin the procession from Newgate to Tyburn.

16


These escapes are as worthy of discussion asSheppard's escapades. On 22 February 1727Samuel Vevers of St. Leonards, Shoreditch,again appeared at the Old Bailey. This timeaccused of stopping "the Chariot of JusticeHall, between Hackney and Dalston, takingfrom him a Watch and Chain, Value sevenPounds, and about twenty five shillings inMoney." On this occasion the evidence againstVevers appears even more damning. JusticeHall some three days after Vevers was held,"distinguished him from among 16 or 18People, though he did not know he had thenever seen him, but on the Night he wasrobbed..." The coach driver also confirms thatVevers was the person who robbed the coachand John Williams a fellow traveller withJustice Hall on the night of the robberytestified that,

he saw the Prisoner at the Bar in Newgatesome Days after he was taken, and that he hadthen so perfect an Idea of the Person thatrobb'd them, that when he came in the Roomwhere the Prisoner was though there wasseven or eight persons in Company, he at oncefir'd his Eyes on the Prisoner with Surprize;verily believing him to be the Person whocommitted the Fact at the Time and Placeaforesaid.'

Thomas Mann, the footman to Justice Hall,testifies that after making enquiries about thehorse the highwayman was riding was told bya Farrier in Shoreditch that the horse belongedto Vevers. When hearing Vevers voice andseeing him Mann, "was sure the Prisoner at theBar was the person that robb'd his Master".Once again however Vevers is acquitted. Theevidence in his favour is given by witnesseswho swear he was in the King John's Head inHolloway at the time of the robbery. Less thentwo months later Vever's was once again inneed of friends.

On 12 April 1727 Vevers was accused of theft.This time Robert Gun accused him of assaultand robbing him of "a Silk Handkerchief,value 21d. 3 Peruk value 5s. a linen Bag 2d. a

Pigeon 6d. and 6 Shillings in Money". Thiscrime took place on the 3 April 1727. Gunrecalls the series of events,

I was emply'd on the 3d of April by oneThomas Weavers to carry a Pigeon to Too —waters, ... the Prisoner at the Bar and anotherperson of lesser size, came up to me, anddemanded my Money, which I gave to thePrisoner, after this, he asked me what I had inmy Bag, I said, a Pigeon, he took it out andpulling off the Tail, let it fly, then taking myWig from off my Head he put it in the Bag outof which he took the Pigeon, telling me, if Ioffer'd to resist, he would cut me cross theFace, - then he threw me in a Ditch, andpulling out a Pistol, said, if I offer'd to comeout he would shoot me.

When asked how sure he was Vevers was theculprit he replied, "I have known him 7 or 8years..." It is in this case that one begins tosuspect that Vevers was a very powerful manindeed with a range of influential friends. It isrevealed by Gun that when he went to theJustice (a Justice Harwood) to report Veversthe Justice at first appeared to agree with Gun.This changed as Gun recalls, "after examininghis Witnesses and Friends, he withdrew, andafter some Time called me aside, told me, if Iswore against Mr. Vevers, he would make mestand in the Pillory if it Cost him 500 L.

The witnesses called for Vevers as in the othercases, "all deps'd (and several others wasready on the same Account) that the PrisonerMr. Vevers was that Morning at his Business,and in his own Neighbourhood...." The finalend to Gun's attempts to prosecute Veverscame in the shape of testimony from RobertPoll who stated that, "the Prosecutor had avery bad Character, associating withMoorfields Sharpers, and idly andextravagantly spending Time with Boys intossing up for Half-pence." Gun was alsoaccused of embezzling his Master's money.Vevers, once more thanks to his friends,walked away free.

17


The most remarkable aspect when discussingVevers is not that he escaped hanging threetimes but that on the 1 May 1728 Vevers wasthe prosecutor. A year after Gun had broughthis case against Vevers he is indicted "forwilful and corrupt perjury, in swearing he wasrobb'd on the Highway, some Time since, bySamuel Vevers..." After the trial of April1727 it is reported that Robert Gun run off toBristol where Vevers pursued him and broughthim back to London and was then held atNewgate. Gun could be used by Vevers toclear his name and to serve as a warning toothers. Evidence for this can be seen in the factthat when Vevers prosecution of Gun came tothe Old Bailey Vevers, "generously dropp'dthe Prosecution..." Gun, perhapsunderstandably, appears at the court "in amiserable Condition, dejected and confus'd..."Vevers' witnesses are willing to testify thatthey heard Robert Gun confess that he hadstripped himself of clothing, flung himself in aditch and self-inflicted a knife wound whenGun had prosecuted Vevers for the crime.Vevers no longer appears in the records of theOld Bailey after this date. One can surmisethat his use of Gun as a warning to othersworked. Vevers lived for another nine yearsdying around October 1737.

This examination of Vevers has shown thatthis one individual escaped the hangman'snoose three times and indeed turned justice onits head. In my opinion a better escape artistthen Sheppard, he never got caught.

Acknowledgements

Dr Chris Reid, of Queen Mary's College,whose superb MA course was the inspirationfor this piece, Dr John Gardiner for hisinvaluable help, advice and friendship, MrAlfred Gardner for his advice and friendshipas always, and Mr Phillip Mernick for theediting of this item. The source for this piecewas the excellent Old Bailey online website.www.oldbaileyonline.org.

Gary Haines

Visit to Bromley Halleatateatetsksiestegalmasetessem

On the 21st of July Harold & I were privilegedto be given a tour of this historic building nowowned by Leaside Regeneration. Until it wasbought by them in 2001 it had been lived in bythe owners of the next door carpet warehouse.It has a long and chequered career beingclaimed to have been the residence of thefather of one of Henry VDTs mistresses. It hasalso been used by missionaries, nurses and agarage. We were shown the building byMatthew Essex, the Senior Project Manager.This building, by far the oldest in Bromley(believed to have been built between 1482 and1495 and reconstructed c1700), is nowbasically a shell, devoid of all the panellingmentioned in the 1930 Commission onAncient Monuments report. I don't know ifthis was due to war damage (it received anindirect hit) or was done later. The Museum ofLondon has done a detailed investigation ofthe structure involving pulling up most of thefloorboards and have made a number ofinteresting discoveries. A previouslyunrecorded sixteenth century doorframe wasdiscovered behind panelling on the groundfloor. Interestingly this is directly beneath oneon the first floor that was noted in 1930. Earlymoulded beams have been found split andreused under the floors. They have also foundthe remains of cellars that seem to predate theoriginal structure but as they may run underthe Al2 Motorway they haven't proceededany further!

Leaside estimate that it would cost about amillion pounds to bring the structure back intouse. They would like to make parts of theground floor available for community use,with displays on the history of the buildingand the area and are hoping to get HeritageLottery funding. To help their application theyhave approached as many local organisationsas they can to try to gauge the level of support.The ELHS certainly hopes Leaside succeedsin its aim. Bromley is probably the least

18

We would be very interested to hear fromanyone who would be interested in making useof such a facility were it to be made available.Uses we have considered to date include avenue for open days, teachingsessions/courses, general meetings and visits,a destination on existing walks or establishingBromley Hall together with Old PoplarLibrary as part of a wider Tower HamletsHeritage Trail. However, at this early stage inthe project we have the opportunity to makeaccommodation for any number of uses aslong as there is sufficient local support.

Matthew Essex,Project Manager, Leaside Regeneration Ltd,Old Poplar Library, 45 Gillender Street,London El4 6RN

Detail of previously unknown doorway

ELI-IS Newsletter Summer 2004

known part of Tower Hamlets with virtually This exhibition would be housed on thenothing older than Victorian (in case you say ground floor of the building and would offer awhat about The Three Mills- they are in meeting room, presentation materialsNewham!). (information boards, handouts, pamphlets and

teaching aids etc) as well as access to the mostPhilip Mernick impressive elements of the internal structure -

the staircase, an original Tudor-arched oakdoorframe and the remains of the cellars of astructure pre-dating even Bromley Hall itself.Appeal for Support

You may be aware of Leaside Regeneration'splans to refurbish the 15th Century, Grade IP'listed Bromley Hall, which stands next to therecently restored Old Poplar Library frontingonto the Al2 in Poplar, E14. It has beenestablished by the Museum of London'sArchitectural Service that this incrediblebuilding, originally thought to be thegatehouse to Bromley Manor, was in fact theMain Hall itself, built between 1482 and 1495.It has been discovered that the building was aresidence of John Blount, father of Elizabeth,known to have been one of Henry \Tiffsmistresses.

Leaside Regeneration purchased BromleyHall in 2001 and has since been attempting tosecure funding to enable works to begin onrestoring the building into serviced office unitsfor small businesses in the area. As part of thiswork Leaside recently approached theHeritage Lottery Fund for assistance and hasbeen invited to put a bid together, it is inrelation to this proposed funding bid that Iwrite to you.

In order to make a successful bid to theHeritage Lottery Fund we need to explore the•

potential future heritage uses of the building.Being such an important historical feature ofthe area there is a great deal of heritage thatcan be drawn upon, but we need to gauge thelevel of support or demand for any facility thatcould be produced.

Leaside is proposing to turn part of thebuilding over to a permanent exhibition of thehistory of Bromley Hall, Bromley Manor andthe links between the estate and the Tudors.

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AUTUMN COACH TRIPSATURDAY 2ND OCTOBER 2004

WISBECH AND PECKOVERHOUSE

Wsbech is an attractive town in N. Cambridgeshire. The main visit will be to Peckover House, the

finest Georgian house in the town. It is a National Trust property. It has a fine interior, and a particularlylarge and attractive garden.

There will also be an opportunity to visit the nearby Wisbech and Penland Museum. Admission is free.

Octavia Hill, one of the founders of the National Trust, was born in Wisbech, and her birthplace is alsoopen from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. It is not NT, and the admission charge is £2.50, or £2.00 for seniorcitizens and NT members.

The admission to Peckover House, party rate, is £3.75. We need to get 15 non-members of the NT forthis, otherwise it is £4.25.

When we arrive, we shall be setting people off near the Museum, allowing for a visit there and/or lunch(own arrangements). We will be visiting Peckover House in the afternoon, where tea will be available.I have not booked a visit to Octavia Hill's birthplace, leaving people free to visit it if they have time.

The pick-up will be at the bus pull-in in Grove Road, round the corner from Mile End Station, at 9.30a.m. The coach fare will be £9.00. I will collect entrance fees, if any, on the coach.

Please fill in the booking slip below and send to me, Ann Sansom, 18 Hawkdene, London E4 7PETel. 020 8524 4506. (Photocopy it if you don't wish to spoil your newsletter.)

AUTUMN TRIPSaturday 2nd October 2004

I/We would like Ticket/s for the coach trip to Wisbeach.

NAME/S

ADDRESS

TEL NO. I enclose a cheque/PO for £

(Cheques made payable to the East London History Society.)

NATIONAL TRUST MEMBERSHIP (IMPORTANT)

YES NO Some of us (please give number)

volume 2 issue 9 summer 2004 0 i - mernick 2/2004 2-09.pdfchurch today. of the notorious occultist...

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