EAST LONDON - RANDOM RAMBLINGS

     I live east of Monopolyland - in Wanstead on the Central Line. Apart from Whitechapel Road and Water Works I did fritter away some time in my own patch during covid, starting with Bow Road, not to be confused with orange property Bow Street ....

November 25, 2020

     Whilst continuing to check out the London Mural Festival I found myself in Bow Road and happened upon plenty to comment about. Then I got a bit carried away. Are you sitting comfortably?

     The only real claim to fame for Bow Church is that in 1795 its rector Samuel Henshaw took out the first patent on a design for a corkscrew. One wonders how they extracted their Duke of Yorks from their Aristotles before then. 

      Fun fact: Cork enthusiasts are helixophiles.

           ...... the reason I came to Bow Road was to tick off this fine mural. It looks like the street artist only realised he’d made the same Bow Church error after he’d finished his masterpiece.

      

     In front of Bow Church is a statue of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898).

    I have to stay alert as this area is obviously crawling with political activists armed to the teeth with post-it notes.

    Gladstone served as Prime Minister spread over four terms. His supporters called him the G.O.M. (Grand Old Man). To Benjamin Disraeli he was God’s Only Mistake. Gladstone never actually owned slaves himself, but his father did. In 1834, when slavery was abolished across the British Empire, the owners were paid full value for the slaves. Gladstone helped his father obtain £106,769 in official reimbursement by the government for the 2,508 slaves he owned across nine plantations in the Caribbean.

    I didn’t notice when I took the photo that Gladstone had a red right hand. One would imagine that it would be a recent BLM addition – but no. Now read on …..

    In 1871, Gladstone’s chancellor Robert Lowe proposed a tax on matches, an essential product in those days, especially in East London where the Bryant and May factory was located. There were mass protests – 10,000 matchmakers marched on Parliament - and Lowe backed down.

    Subsequently Bryant and May commissioned this statue to honour Gladstone. The story (which is probably untrue) goes that it had actually been paid for by the matchgirls having one shilling stopped from their wages. Some of the girls were so incensed they cut their arms and daubed the statue with blood.

    In 1888, the Bryant and May matchgirls, many suffering from lockjaw caused by phosphorus used in the manufacturing process, went out on strike. They garnered huge public support and forced Bryant and May to cave in to their demands for better working conditions. The Matchgirls Strike was an early milestone in labour relations and, in 1988, to mark the centenary someone painted Gladstone’s hands red. Since then, whenever the paint fades or the council removes it, a fresh coat appears magically within a few days.

     Also Bow Road (thanks to my Blue Plaque app) …..

     Barnardo's was founded in 1866. In the following years Dr Barnardo, who never actually completed his medical training, was in court 88 times, mainly on charges of kidnapping children without their parent’s permission. But he was never found guilty, claiming it was philanthropic abduction of deprived children and the ends justified the means.

      Bethnal Green Underground station has a tragic history …. 

      In 1943 84 women, 62 children and 27 men were crushed to death here when rushing for shelter ahead of an air raid. It was the worst British civilian disaster of World War II.

     Nearby is the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. It’s brilliant for us oldies as we can see toys we’d forgotten we used to play with. To avoid appearing creepy it might be advisable to take grandchildren with you, preferably your own. Failing that there’s the philanthropic abduction option.

November 26, 2020

     The London Mural Festival continues, mainly around Stratford …..

    Whilst I was in the International Quarter at the Olympic Park some jobsworth told me photographing the buildings was not allowed. He said it was ok to snap the murals. Thankfully I’d already decided that pictures of office blocks might be a sensitive subject for some of my readers.