Westminster (London, England) -- Description and travel
The name of Artillery Row is connected with the artillery practice at
the butts, which stood near here in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. At the
end, if we turn to the left, we come into Old Rochester Row, and so to
Greycoat Place, in which stands the Greycoat Hospital. This building,
one of the few old ones left in the parish, has a red-tiled roof and
dormer windows, projecting eaves and heavy window-frames. Two wings
enclose a courtyard, which is below the level of the road. Above the
central porch, in niches, are the figures of a boy and girl in the
old-fashioned Greycoat garb. In the centre are the Royal arms of Queen
Anne, and a turret with clock and vane surmounts the roof.
This hospital was founded in 1698 for the education of seventy poor boys
and forty poor girls. In 1706, by letters patent of Queen Anne, the
trustees were constituted a body 'politic and corporate.' In this year
also the school was established in the present quaint building, which
had been a workhouse, perhaps that referred to in the vestry reports of
1664 as the "new workhouse in Tuttle ffields."
The boys then wore a long gray skirt and girdle, something similar to
the Christ's Hospital uniform, and the girls a dress of gray. The
hospital originated in the charity of the parishioners. Various
additions have since been made to the building, and class-rooms have
been added. The older class-rooms and board-room are wainscoted. In the
latter are oil-paintings of Queen Anne, Bishops Compton and Smalridge
(of Bristol), and various governors. The corporate seal represents two
male figures tending a young sapling, a reference to 1 Cor. vii. 8. An
old organ, contemporary with the date of the establishment, and a
massive Bible and Prayer-Book, are among the most interesting relics.
The latter, dated 1706, contains the "Prayer for the Healing" at the
King's touch.
The hospital is a very wealthy foundation, and is able to support the
strain of its immense expenses without difficulty. The governors have
recently erected a row of red-brick flats to the west of the garden,
which will further augment the income. The garden is charming with
flower-beds and grass plots, while the vine and the ampelopsis climb
over the old building.
Rochester Row owes its name to the connection of the See of Rochester
with the Deanery of Westminster, which continued through nine successive
incumbencies. The row was considered by the Dean and Chapter as a
private thoroughfare until the beginning of the present century, but
they had no reason to be proud of it. A filthy ditch caused much
complaint; even in 1837 the state of the row was described as "shameful
and dangerous." At the north-east end stood the parish pound-house. St.
Stephen's Church and Schools are handsome, in a decorated Gothic style,
and were built in 1847 by Ferrey, at the cost of the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts. The spire rises to a height of 200 feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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