The Society for the Relief of the Homeless Poor

The Society for the Relief of the Homeless Poor
Founded	30 January 1820
Founder	George Bridges
Type	Not-for-profit
Focus	Housing and homelessness
Location	Wandsworth, London, UK;
Area served	London
Key people	Jackie Dymond; Rodney Brobbey
Website	www.westernlodge.org.uk

Last updated February 28, 2019

The Society for the Relief of the Homeless Poor is one of the oldest homeless shelters in London, dating back to 1820 when it was set up to respond to individuals left destitute after the Napoleonic War. One of the founders and the first Chairman was George Bridges,^[1] an Alderman of London at the time.

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.

History

Additionally, The Society was seen as essential to providing nightly shelter and sustenance to the homeless found wandering about London during inclement winter seasons. One of the founders and the first Chairman was the Rt. Hon. George Bridges, M.P. Lord Mayor of London^[2] and an Alderman of London at the time.^[3] The origin dates back to a public meeting held on 30 January 1820 at London Wall at which it was resolved to open at once a "subscription" in order to aid homeless people. At its peak, The Society housed and fed 550 people, during a later slump in 1856 Charles Dickens wrote in 'Household Words' of his visit to the asylum in Whitecross Street and the residents he observed there; "I believe I have sufficient knowledge of the street-world to tell a professional beggar from a starving man: but I declare I saw no face that passed the hatch but in which I could read: Ragged and Tired, Dead Beat, Utterly Destitute, Houseless and Hungry."

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are still widely read today.

In 1912 it was deemed necessary to register trusteeship and it was decided that there should be representatives from: The Corporation of the City of London, The Westminster City Council, The Bishop of London and Southwark, The Commissioners of the City of London and Metropolitan Police, and The Church Army

The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's financial sector.

Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 41 Conservative Party members and 19 Labour Party members. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Paddington Metropolitan Borough Council, St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council and Westminster Borough Council. The present-day city council provides some shared services with Hammersmith and Fulham, and with Kensington and Chelsea.

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.

These organisations provided the necessary management and support, with the Church Army taking a particularly pro-active role in day-to-day affairs and there founder Revd Wilson Carlile sitting on the board of trustees for The Society for the Relief of the Homeless Poor from 1912 onwards.^[4]

The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation founded in the Church of England and now operating in many parts of the Anglican Communion.

Wilson Carlile, CH (1847–1942) was an English evangelist who founded the Church Army, and was Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral. Known as "The Chief," Wilson Carlile has inspired generations of evangelists.

Western Lodge, Clapham

The current location and working name of the charity is Western Lodge on Clapham Common; the building is a Georgian Mansion house donated to the Society in 1925 by a generous supporter. Western Lodge was built in about 1800 and since its donation to The Society for the Relief of the Homeless Poor. The property has undergone many refurbishments. At its peak it was able to house 27 men in large dormitories which have since been sectioned into individual rooms.

Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is 220 acres of green space, with three ponds and a Victorian bandstand. It is overlooked by large Georgian and Victorian mansions and nearby Clapham Old Town.

Notable residents

The first to live in Western Lodge was Thomas Whitaker, but in the year of Waterloo it was leased by "that genial buccaneer" Richard Thornton a prominent figure on the Baltic Exchange at Lloyd's. A bachelor and a shrewd business man, he made a large fortune and when he died in 1865 he was said to be worth nearly three million pounds.

Richard Thornton was an English millionaire. He died in Merton, Surrey and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London. On his death, Richard Thornton left an estate of £2,800,000, which is the largest fortune to have been valued for probate in Great Britain before 1870. Richard Thornton was a merchant and trader, notably in Baltic goods. He was also a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company, of which he became Master in 1836. He personally funded the new almshouses built for the Leathersellers' Company at Barnet, where his bust is still preserved and a nearby road is named Thornton Road in his honour. The Leathersellers' Company also has a portrait of Thornton painted in 1838 by Frederick Yeates Hurlstone.

The next resident, in 1828, was Sir James Mackintosh, philosopher, historian and Whig parliamentarian who will always be remembered for his work for the repeal of many of the savage penal laws of his day. In November 1829 his niece Emma Wedgwood, who later married Charles Darwin, paid him a visit which his mother describes in a letter: "I have just heard of her arrival at Clapham, and seeing the dining room all lighted up as she drove into the court, and the Historian himself in full discourse (as she saw through the window) with a party of gentlemen. Emma, however, desired to be shown up to Mrs Rich's room, where she had a very comfortable cup of tea and a chat with her. Fanny came up to ask Emma whether she would come down and see Mr William Wilberforce but she declined, and I dare say Mackintosh thought her a great fool for doing so."

In 1843 the house was taken by Charles Trevelyan, then Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, and brother-in-law of Lord Macaulay whose favourite sister Hannah he had married in 1834. The Trevelayans lived at Western Lodge for eight years with their three children, and Macaulay was a frequent and much loved visitor.

The Gentlemen Thief

Perhaps the most notorious of Western Lodge's previous owners was Adam Worth (who was nicknamed The Napoleon of crime),^[5] who purchased Western Lodge in 1875. On 26 May 1876 he stole Thomas Gainsborough's celebrated portrait of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The rolled up painting supposedly remained in the Coach House on the grounds of Western Lodge for a decade.^[6]

Western Lodge, Tooting

It is proposed that the charity moves to another Victorian property in Tooting Bec.

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References

↑ The Times, 14 January
↑ http://www.clement-jones.com/wp04/wp04_019.htm#a
↑ The Times, 14 January
↑ File:Old Trustees at Western Lodge.gif
↑ Macintyre, Ben (1997). "Chapter Two: A Fine War". The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, The Real Moriarty. p. 7.
↑ South West News, February 1998

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[1] The Times, 14 January

[2] ttp://www.clement-jones.com/wp04/wp04_019.htm#a

[3] The Times, 14 January

[4] File:Old Trustees at Western Lodge.gif

[5] Macintyre, Ben (1997). "Chapter Two: A Fine War". The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, The Real Moriarty. p. 7.

[6] South West News, February 1998