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Westminster Kingsway College

Today, 6th May, we had planned to visit and enjoy lunch at the catering college in Vincent Square to support students on the Professional Chefs Diploma.  We look forward to visiting you next year instead.

 

 Westminster Kingsway College

 

St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row

We had been looking forward to member John Turpin's talk and visit to St Stephen's on 4th April, but it's back in the diary for 2021 !

 

St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row

 

 

Spring-Summer 2020 Newsletter

 

Spring-Summer 2020 Newsletter

Thorney Tales (19) Revd James Palmer and Palmer's Village

 
If you chanced to visit James Palmer at St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street in the early 17th century you may have found him asleep in the steeple. This was not because he was eccentric but because as vicars go he was very frugal - and Thorney Island was the beneficiary of this.
 
The Revd James Palmer was born in 1585 and baptised in St Margaret’s Church where he is also buried. At the north end of the church there is a rather blackened memorial to him as a priest and philanthropist, praising him as “a most pious & charitable man”.  His priesthood was mainly spent at St Bride’s but he gave regular sermons on Thorney Island including to both houses of Parliament. 
His philanthropy is still remembered today by Palmer Street which runs from Victoria Street by the side of the Albert pub to Caxton Street - close to the almshouses he established for 12 elderly men and women and the school for 20 pupils (boys). They occupied the land between today’s Palmer Street and Christchurch Gardens (currently in the course of reconstruction). The school, known as the Blackcoat school - not to be confused with the Bluecoat, Greencoat or Browncoat schools - was one of the founding parents of today's Westminster City School. (For more on the history of local schools, please see articles in our Newsletters Autumn/Winter 2018 and Spring/Summer 2019)
 
To ensure the survival of his endowment, the Revd Palmer established an extraordinary venture called Palmer’s Village nearby (roughly between Victoria Street and Howick Place - see map) which has been described as a recreation of Merrie England complete with pub, village green, blacksmith and even a maypole. It was all the more remarkable for being encroached on one side by the squalid deprivation of what came to be known as the Devil’s Acre (between Christchurch Gardens and the Abbey) and on the other by the swamps of Tothill Fields. Palmer’s Village lasted until Victoria Street blasted its way through in the mid 19th century. 
 
James Palmer’s almshouses eventually merged with others including one set up by Emery Hill (who also has a thoroughfare named after him, Emery Hill Street). Both charities were incorporated in Westminster Almshouses which can be seen on the corner of Rochester Row and Emery Hill Street. Looking some way up the wall, you will see memorials to them both.  A fitting reminder of how the philanthropy of a bygone age is still producing benefits today.
 
  
 
Thorney Tales (19) Revd James Palmer and Palmer's Village
 
 

The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre

UPDATE!  February 2020

On February 11th, WCC Planning Applications Sub-Committee unanimously supported the principle of building a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre but REFUSED the application to do so in Victoria Tower Gardens. 

The main issues of planning policy were loss of protected park space, risk to the mature trees and negative impacts on two conservation areas, the World Heritage Site and several listed buildings and monuments (including the Buxton Memorial and Spicer wall).  Here is the summary of the event and decision by WCC:  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/opinion-holocaust-memorial-planning-application

The application will now be reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  An inquiry will spend 12 days in total before making a decision at the end of May.  The cost of legal advice to continue the fight to protect Victoria Tower Gardens is being funded by donations to a CrowdJustice site.  Please give generously to help save this precious park.  Thank you.    https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-victoria-tower-gardens/
 
 

Environmental Statement, Our Response - December 2019

We have now submitted our response to the new Environmental Statement documents, submitted by MHCLG/UKHMF in October 2019 as part of the planning process.  To view our response, CLICK HERE

 

 
WE STRONGLY SUPPORT THE SAVE VICTORIA TOWER GARDENS CAMPAIGN. 

https://www.savevictoriatowergardens.co.uk/

 

 

 

Read more: The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre

Workshop by Jens Jakobsen, Master Florist at the Blewcoat School - March 2020

A lucky group of members spent a few hours in the 300 year old schoolroom of the Blewcoat School and treated to a workshop by Jens Jakobsen.  Jens has created a beautiful garden around the building which has become a local treasure.  Sadly the occupier of the schoolroom, Ian Stuart wedding dresses, has left and a new tenant is being sought by The National Trust.  We do hope the new tenant can share the building and Jens can remain in the basement where he runs his acclaimed florestry business and operates a shop.  To read further about the workshop, see page 7 in our Spring/Summer 2020 Newsletter (to be published soon) and do pass by to admire his beautiful seasonal creations.

 

Workshop by Jens Jakobsen, Master Florist at the Blewcoat School - March 2020

 

Ignatius Sancho, Short Talk by Victor Keegan - February 2020

This was the 2nd of our 35th anniversary series of short talks and we were treated to Victor Keegan's personal research into the unique and intriguing C18th Thorney Island resident, Ignatius Sancho. 

Reading like a guest list to a royal garden party, Victor highlighted the numerous aristocrats of the day who subscribed to a book of Sancho's letters published after his death by Joseph Jekyll.  The book became a bestseller which was quite extraordinary at the time for the memoirs of a black man born on a slave ship whose mother died of disease and his father from suicide.  At 2 years old he was given to 3 sisters in Greenwich whose treatment and regard for him is not very complimentary and it was they who named him Sancho. 

It was not until he met the Duke of Montague who took him under his wing, he learned to read and write and he flourished as a thinker of the day.  He worked for the Montague family for many years until after the Duke's death and with money from the family, he moved to Charles Street, now King Charles Street (between the Treasury and the Foreign Office) and opened a small grocery shop.  Married at St Margaret's Westminster, he lived with his wife and 6 children, not all of whom survived.  They would have walked over Westminster Bridge, the only bridge in the area and strolled through St James's Park. 

He had many important acquaintances and was a prolific letter writer to politicians, newspapers and reknowned thinkers and authors of the day.  He urged them to talk and write about the abhorrant slave trade.  He also wrote poems, plays and music.  It was clear that this extraordinary man had a unique life in London at a dangerous time, at the height of the trade, when he could have been press-ganged, kidnapped or deported at any time.  Clearly highly regarded, his portrait was painted by Thomas Gainsborough in 1768 and he is buried in what is now Christchurch Gardens and has no known decendents.

Ignatius Sancho, Short Talk by Victor Keegan - February 2020 

 

 

Christchurch Gardens Reconstruction Short Talk - January 2020

 
Illustrative CGI used for previous public consultation in June 2018
 
We were delighted to welcome David Beamont, from Victoria Business Improvement District (BID), to launch our 35th birthday events and short talk series, fulfilling our plan to use our Archives for talks on planning and history.
 
The reconstruction of Christchurch Gardens in Victoria Street is now in full swing.  The design and planning were extensive due to this very historic site including arrangements in the event of archaeology discoveries.  Dating back to the 17th century this was the burial ground of St Margaret's, Westminster, prior to the construction of Christ Church in the 19th century, which was destroyed in the Blitz.  Among those buried there are Captain Blood, who famously tried and nearly succeeded in stealing the Crown Jewels, and Ignatius Sancho who was born on a slave ship but educated himself to become a distinguished man of letters in Georgian England (more about Sancho in our February Talk).

David explained how with great reluctance they cut down a number of plane trees which prevented sufficient light from reaching the grass and gardens. New flowering trees are being planted and although it will be a long time before they have the same impact on carbon reduction, most people accepted that this had to be done if the gardens were to be made attractive for visitors and increase bio-diversity.  New lighting and benches are being installed together with a new paved performance area.  Flower beds would be re-installed with well chosen shrubs and permeable resin pathways would further aid drainage.  The Purcell sculpture will be moved slightly to enhance its visability, the Suffragettes sculpture will stay where it is and then the back wall, against the ugly BT building, will be covered in flowering jasmin.  To remember the history of the site, we have contributed to the content of a series of information noticeboards which are displayed together with a historical map.

With thanks to David and his team and we look forward to the new gardens opening in late summer.
 
Christchurch Gardens Reconstruction Short Talk - January 2020
 
 
 
 

Christmas Party 2019

Our Christmas Party at the Rochester by Blue Orchid Hotels was loud and fun with the South Westminster Community Choir and accompanying brass section.  Many thanks to all for a great evening.

 

 

Richmond House, Whitehall - The Northern Parliamentary Estate

The Government has just applied for planning permission to radically alter their Northern Estate. They have been working towards the Restoration and Renewal project in the Palace of Westminster and the full decant of all the people who work there into the various buildings in the ‘northern estate’ – the block that contains Portcullis House at the south end and Richmond House at the north. It has been decided that the two parliament chambers will move, the House of Lords into the Queen Elizabeth ll Conference Centre, and the House of Commons into a temporary replica chamber. It is claimed that the only possible site can be achieved by demolishing the interior and rear façade of Richmond house.

SAVE Britain’s Heritage is leading a campaign to save the whole of Richmond House from demolition – see https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/item/550/Richmond-House-a-building-worth-fighting-for

We will also object strongly to the demolition of the interior of Richmond House. Facadism might be acceptable in certain circumstances, but for the sake of a temporary building it should not be countenanced. We will also object to the alterations to the buildings facing Whitehall and encourage a more sympathetic treatment of the various gateways to the Estate than currently exists.

The Planning application can now be viewed at:    https://tinyurl.com/wqryu5t

It would be good if as many people as possible make their views known as a Comment through this web page.

 

  1. 20mph Throughout Westminster ? YES !
  2. Duck Island Volunteer Project
  3. The Society's 33rd AGM, 12th November 2019
  4. Autumn-Winter 2019 Newsletter

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Articles

  • St John's Smith Square Online Concert - 15th February 2021 at 8pm
  • The Buildings of Green Park, A talk by Andrew Jones via Zoom - 2nd February 2021 6.30pm
  • Visits & Events 2021 - Details
  • LIVE Carols & Thorney Christmas Quiz via Zoom - Monday 7th December
  • Thorney Tales (20) A History of Parliament in Two Glimpses
  • Refurbishment of 7 Millbank
  • The Society's 34th AGM & Talk via Zoom - Tuesday 10th November
  • The definitive book on the history of VTG ......
  • A History of St James's Park through Trees, Talk by Greg Packman - October 2020
  • Westminster Coroner's Court
  • 10 Greycoat Place - Developer's Consultation
  • Visit to the RHS Lindley Library
  • St. James's and The Green Park Update and Movement Strategy - 10th July 2020
  • Caring for the Poor and Vulnerable on Thorney Island, Guided Walk
  • Stephen Myers
  • The Truth behind the National Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens
  • Bearskins, Bayonets and Bravery - New Guards Museum podcast
  • Victoria Tower Gardens - Judicial Review brought by the London Gardens Trust
  • Two Africans with strong links to Thorney Island escaped slavery to become role models in London over 250 years ago
  • Collecting fine bookbindings Zoom Talk - June 2020
  • RUSI, The Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall
  • London History Day, 31st May 2020 - 10 Old Pye Street
  • Urban Tree Festival 2020 - Online
  • Live Video of Feeding St James's Park Pelicans
  • St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row
  • Westminster Kingsway College
  • Save Victoria Tower Gardens - Planning Inquiry 6th October - 13th November
  • Thorney Tales (19) Revd James Palmer and Palmer's Village
  • Dear Members
  • Workshop by Jens Jakobsen, Master Florist at the Blewcoat School - March 2020
  • Consultation Begins - Southside, Victoria Street
  • Ignatius Sancho, Short Talk by Victor Keegan - February 2020
  • Christchurch Gardens Reconstruction Short Talk - January 2020
  • Christmas Party 2019
  • 55 Broadway - Planning application
  • Richmond House, Whitehall - The Northern Parliamentary Estate
  • 20mph Throughout Westminster ? YES !
  • The Society's 33rd AGM, 12th November 2019
  • Visit to the Palace of Westminster & Jewel Tower - October 2019
  • Thorney Tales (18) The Buxton Memorial Fountain
  • Mission: Invertebrate, The Green Park - August 2019
  • Tour of Buckingham Palace Gardens - August 2019
  • From Beer to the Bard - A Victoria Walk by Anthony Davis - July 2019
  • Special Tour of Westminster Abbey - July 2019
  • Gems of Thorney Island, A Walk by Victor Keegan - July 2019
  • The Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks - Volunteers
  • Victoria Tower Gardens, poem by Elizabeth Witts
  • The Green Park Tree Walk - May 2019
  • Visit to Bonhams Auctioneers - May 2019
  • Visit to Westminster Cathedral - May 2019
  • Visit to The Speakers House - April 2019
  • Ann Carlton our Co-founder
  • Thorney Tales (17) Westminster Coke and Gas Company
  • Duck Island Volunteer Project
  • Illuminated River
  • Visits & Events 2021
  • Dolphin Square Redevelopment
  • AGM 2018
  • Centenary of Armistice Cenotaph Service and Exhibition in St James's Park
  • Visit to The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - September 2018
  • Thorney Tales (16) College Hall, Westminster Abbey / School
  • Relocation of Emmeline Pankhurst statue from Victoria Tower Gardens
  • Visit to The Church House - August 2018
  • "The Devil's Acre before Peabody" Talk - August 2018
  • Visits to Westminster School - July 2018
  • Purcell Musical Tour of Westminster Abbey - June 2018
  • Reception to mark the opening of The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - June 2018
  • Proposals for Christchurch Gardens, Victoria Street - June 2018
  • Thorney Island Sources Tour of Westminster Archives - June 2018
  • Visit to the Institution of Civil Engineers - May 2018
  • St James's Park Tree Walk - May 2018
  • Unveiling of Millicent Fawcett Statue in Parliament Square - April 2018
  • Visit to Watts & Co, Ecclesiastical Furnishers & Outfitters - April 2018
  • Broadway & Carteret Street
  • Thorney Tales (15) Henry Purcell's Birthplace
  • AGM 2017 & Talk
  • Townsend House, Greycoat Place
  • Thorney Tales (14) Siegfried Sassoon
  • Chelsea College of Art & Design Collaboration
  • Introducing our New Chair
  • Lambeth Bridge Roundabout
  • Tour of St James the Less church in Pimlico - September 2017
  • Local Tree Walk with Paul Akers, WCC Arboriculturalist - September 2017
  • Visit to HM Treasury building - July 2017
  • Thorney Tales (13) - Elizabeth Woodville
  • Suffragist Millicent Fawcett - First women honoured in Parliament Square ?
  • Visit to St Margaret's Church - July 2017
  • Parks: Our Shared Heritage Exhibition - July/August 2017
  • Consultation by WCC on Future Growth/Building Height
  • Proposed memorial statue to Lady Margaret Thatcher in Parliament Square
  • Thorney Tales (12) The Jerusalem Chamber
  • 61-71 Victoria Street
  • Vauxhall Bridge Road/Tachbrook St Draft Development Opportunity
  • Visit to Tate Britain's Archives & Library, November 2016
  • Thorney Tales (11) - The Abbey Garden
  • St Andrew's Club - 150th Anniversary, October 2016
  • June Stubbs 1927 - 2016
  • Henry V's Chantry Chapel Visit, October 2016
  • Thorney Tales (10) - Oliver Cromwell v Charles I
  • The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre
  • Old War Office, 57 Whitehall
  • Our visit to Parliament's hidden medieval places, 28th July 2016
  • Westminster Fire Station
  • Thorney Tales (9) - Governor of Duck Island
  • Thorney Tales (8) Westminster Opera House
  • Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
  • Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
  • New Scotland Yard, 10 Broadway
  • What is Thorney Island ?
  • Millbank Tower grows taller
  • Welcome
  • Thorney Tales (7) - Storey's Gate
  • Thorney Tales (6) - St Margaret's Church, the amazing history of a window
  • Paddington Tower
  • WCC say "No" (AGAIN!) to proposed sculpture outside Westminster Central Hall
  • Objection to proposed cycle stands in Queen Anne's Gate
  • A visit to the hidden archives of Westminster Abbey, 4th November 2015
  • Visit to new Parliamentary Education Centre, 28th October 2015
  • Thorney Tales (5) - Westminster Hall Roof
  • Thorney Tales (4) - The tomb behind one of Britain's biggest fortunes
  • Thorney Tales (3) - The Jewel Tower
  • Visit to the RHS Lindley Library, 14th July 2015
  • Thorney Tales (2) - The River Tyburn
  • The Garden Bridge Controversy
  • Visit to Bridgewater House
  • Queen's Walk Cycle Route, The Green Park
  • Thorney Tales (1) - Britain's Hidden Treasure Trove
  • AGM 2016 & the Panorama of The Thames Project
  • Annual Review 2014-15

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