London – Page 2 – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….31st December 1892

On this day in history : 31st December 1892 – The first hostel for homeless men, Rowton House in Vauxhall, London opens….

It was the brainchild of Tory Peer and philanthropist Montagu William Lowry-Corry (1838-1903) – otherwise known as Lord Rowton – who put £30,000 of his own money into the venture….a considerable amount in the day – equating to over £3.5 million in today’s terms….

Montagu William Lowry-Corry – Public domain

Lord Rowton had been Private Secretary to Disraeli and had helped to set up the Guinness Trust in 1890 – helping homeless people in London and Dublin…. He had inspected common lodging houses in the East End of London on behalf of the Trust and was appalled by what he saw…. It was then he made the decision to open the hostel on Bond Street (now Bondway) in Vauxhall….

Lord Rowton (pictured right) with Benjamin Disraeli – Leslie Ward – Public domain

His was a completely new concept in helping down-and-out or low paid working men…. The aim was to provide decent, cheap accommodation, that was far superior to the squalid lodging houses which were the only alternative at the time….

“Lord Rowton’s Lodging House” ~ the Poor Man’s Club, where he finds a Comfortable Home, Good Food and Wholesome Recreation ~

The accommodation comprised of 470 bedded cubicles; each man would be supplied with clean sheets and had the use of facilities to wash and dry his clothes…. In the bathrooms there was an ample supply of hot water….and each wash basin had above it a hook for him to hang his hat and coat – so he could keep an eye on them…. There was a large dining room and a library….all for the price of 6d (sixpence) a night….

Rowton affectionately referred to his venture as ‘the Beehive’…. He even had one of the beds installed in his own home – so he could try it out….

On the first night of opening only 77 out of the 470 cubicles was occupied…. However, news spread quickly – in the first year 140,105 beds were let – and the hostel returned a profit…. Such was its success that Vauxhall became the first of six such establishments across London….

It wasn’t all plain sailing from the start though…. In the early days there was a high turn over of staff – and it was hard to maintain a constant, smooth running establishment…. In the first few weeks every book in the library had disappeared – so lockable bookcases had to be introduced and a paid librarian employed…. During the first fire drill it emerged all of the copper fittings on the hosepipes had been stolen…. It was also decided that soap was going to have to be charged for as such huge quantities were being ‘used’…. Eventually a superintendent was employed – a former sergeant major – who soon had things in order….

Nowadays Rowton House is occupied by the Centrepoint Vauxhall Hostel…. The Centrepoint Charity provides accommodation and support for homeless people aged between 16 and 25 years-of-age…. Before she died Princess Diana was its patron – her son Prince William has been patron since 2005….it was his first patronage….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….17th December 1983

On this day in history: 17th December 1983 – An IRA terrorist car bomb explodes outside Harrods Department Store, in Knightsbridge, Central London – killing 6 people and injuring a further 92….

At 12.44pm a call, using a code word, was made to the Central London branch of the Samaritans…. The caller said there was a car bomb outside Harrods and a further two bombs inside the store…. The car registration number was given but not a description of the car…. It was also claimed that further bombs had been placed on Oxford Street and in the Littlewoods store on Oxford Street…. Much of the message proved to be false information – and the police had already received 22 similar calls about suspicious devices that day – all of which were false alarms…. However, following receipt of the warning, the police immediately started to search – but did not evacuate the area….

At just before 1.30pm, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, a Saturday just before Christmas, a car bomb containing 25-30lb of explosives and detonated by a timer, exploded…. It had been placed inside a 1972 blue Austin 1300 GT 4-door saloon car, parked close to the side entrance of Harrods, in Hans Crescent…. Five people died at the scene and another later in hospital…. Of these six, three were police officers and three were members of the public; a reporter, an American citizen and a young mother…. Another 92 people were injured, including 14 police officers….

Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, expressed his revulsion at such a cold-blooded and cowardly attack…. The day following the bombing the IRA admitted responsibility….

As a result Scotland Yard increased security in Central London – hundreds of extra police and mobile bomb squads were drafted in…. Harrods, despite the damage, reopened three days later….the owners said they would not be defeated by acts of terrorism….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….5th December 1952

On this day in history : 5th December 1952 – ‘The Great Smog’…. A terrible killer fog descends on London and causes the death of thousands of Londoners….

A high pressure weather system had stalled over the South of England, causing a ‘temperature inversion’ – meaning the cold air at ground level becomes trapped by a layer of warmer air at a higher level…. A thick fog had formed – and with no breeze to disperse it – was unable to escape…. It was soon to turn a sickly yellowy-brown colour, as it filled with sulphur pollutants and soot, mainly from the many coal fires as people tried to keep their houses warm in the cold snap…. Smoke from factories and fumes from vehicles also contributed….

Nelson’s Column during the Great Smog – N T Stobbs CC BY-SA 2.0

Londoners were used to ‘pea-soupers’ – but this was like nothing before…. Visibility was so poor that the transport system (other than the underground) ground to a halt…. Even the ambulance service stopped…. School children were kept home, sporting events called-off…. The smog seeped into buildings….theatre performances were cancelled and cinemas closed as people were unable to see the screens…. Criminals had a field day, as looting, bag snatches and burglaries became epidemic….

But by far the worse impact the fog was to have was on people’s health…. Most at risk were the young, elderly and those with respiratory problems – heavy smokers were particularly vulnerable…. It is estimated 4,000 died during the period and immediate aftermath – although experts claim the number to be more like 8,000 lives lost due to the smog – the most common causes of death being pneumonia and bronchitis…. Well into the summer of 1953 the death rate remained well above normal levels…. With that taken into consideration the final smog-related death toll could amount to as high as 12,000…. A further 100,000 are estimated to have been made ill….25,000 Londoners claimed sickness benefit during the period….

The smog finally lifted on Tuesday the 9th of December, the sulphurous cloud drifting out over the North Sea…. A government investigation resulted in the Clean Air Act of 1956 being passed by Parliament – authorising authorities to set up smoke-free zones and the restriction of burning coal in urban areas….

The Great Smog of 1952 is recorded as the tenth deadliest disaster ever to have hit Britain….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….23rd October 1843

On this day in history : 23rd October 1843 – Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, erected to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805, is finally completed….

In February 1838 a group of 121 Peers, MPs and dignitaries formed a committee to organise a monument to Lord Nelson…. It was funded mainly from private donations, including very generous help from the Tsar of Russia – and the British Government agreed to provide a site in Trafalgar Square, in front of the National Gallery….

A competition was held for the design – with a budget guide of between £20K-£30K…. (The end cost was actually £47K, over £3 million in today’s terms)…. The winning design came from William Railton; however, after criticism of how the completion was organised, it had to be run again…. After making slight revisions to his original design, Railton still won….the wining entry was chosen by a sub-committee, led by the Duke of Wellington….

Excavation work on the site began in July 1840 and on the 30th of September 1840 the first stone was laid – by Charles Davison Scott, honourably Secretary of the committee and also the son of John Scott, who had been Nelson’s secretary….

Nelson’s Column under construction 1843 – William Henry Fox Talbot – Public domain

Built from Dartmoor granite, with a Craigleith sandstone statue of Nelson, designed by E.H.Baily, the monument has four bronze lions at the base – which were added in 1867…. The lions were designed by Sir Edwin Landseer and have come into some ridicule over the years…. Landseer had been given a dead lion by London Zoo, as a model to work from….but unfortunately it rotted and he had to resort to artistic licence….

One of the lions at the base designed by Landseer – Image credit : Anthony O’Neil CC BY-SA 2.0

The pedestal is decorated by four bronze relief panels, one on each side….and were cast from captured French guns…. They depict the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, Battle of the Nile, Battle of Copenhagen and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar…. The statue of Nelson himself faces down Whitehall towards the South – to HMS Victory at Portsmouth – and further beyond towards Southern Spain and Cape Trafalgar…. Fourteen stone masons were responsible for hoisting the statue up to the top of the column – and they held a dinner party up there on the plinth before doing so….

During World War 2 the German Luftwaffe were ordered not to bomb Nelson’s Column – as the intention was to move it to Berlin after they had ‘won the war’….

The sandstone statue of Nelson by Edward Hodges Baily – Image credit : Beata May CC BY-SA 3.0

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….19th October 1991

On this day in history : 19th October 1991 – Performances at London’s Royal Opera House are cancelled due to a pay dispute with orchestra members….

Royal Opera House at night — Royal Opera House – Peter Suranyi CC BY-SA 3.0

The 118 members of the orchestra argued that they were the only performers at Covent Garden who were expected to supply their own clothing and instruments…. They sought a 24% pay increase….

At the time the state-subsidised Royal Opera House was having acute financial difficulties…. On becoming Chairman in 1991 Sir Angus Stirling had inherited a £2.5 million accumulated deficit – because of this the ROH could only offer a 5.5% increase….

The orchestra retaliated by refusing to wear the required evening dress and dinner jackets for performances and turned up wearing jeans and casual clothing…. To take their protest even further they announced plans to observe all intermissions called for in the original score of any ballet or opera….thus ignoring the artistic discretion of the conductor and director…. For example: an upcoming production which was to start that coming week would have a total of ‘four’ intermissions instead of the proposed ‘one’ – and one of those breaks was to occur after an act of just eight minutes long….

As a result it was decided all performances would be cancelled until the orchestra ended its protest and the matter be resolved….