BROMLEY BOROUGH LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY President: His Worship the Mayor

JUNE 1993

programme year has finished with the June meeting and we will not meet again until September. There will however be plenty of events going on in the district and we hope you will be able to attend some of them.

SUBSCRIPTIONS & MEMBERSHIP

We were able to report in the April newsletter that subs were coming in fairly well - since then they have been nearly at a standstill and 83 members are still outstanding. If you are one of the guilty ones please send in to Sheila Pritchard without delay.

We extend a very hearty welcome to three new members

Miss A. Levey Orpington Mr S. Mitchell Beckenham Mr Scawan Shirley

THE FIRE CHIEF - MR EYRE MASSEY SHAW

At our May meeting Dr. Ron Cox gave us a most interesting talk on the life story of Eyre Massey Shaw the first and most famous Chief of the London Fire Brigade.

Saturday 22nd June 1861 was a scorching hot day in London. Shortly before 4.30 p.m. a passerby saw wisps of smoke coming from a warehouse in Tooley Street, Southwark. The local turn cock was sent for and by the time the first fire engines had arrived he had got the water turned on. That fire, in spite of its ordinary beginnings, was to change the entire organisation of fire fighting in London and indeed eventually throughout the United Kingdom. When the fire was finally put out, five weeks later, the fire chief was dead, eight huge warehouses had been totally destroyed, loses amounting to about £2,000,000 in 1861 values had been incurred, and the body which for the past 28 years had provided London's fire service, was well on the way to deciding it could do so no longer. That body was the London Fire Engine Establishment which was a consortium which had been formed by ten insurance companies in 1833. It had 19 stations and 80 paid men. The stations were mainly in and around the City of London and none of them were west of Hyde Park or east of Holborn, so that the new and ever increasing London suburbs were completely uncovered by this establishment.

All the time in London in Victorian times the nature and extent of the work was becoming more complex and greater. London's population was increasing, buildings were ever getting taller and larger, gas lighting, the phosphorus friction match, parafin oil lamps, women's fashions, the uncontrolled spread of housing close to warehouses and factories, all these were making fires more common and fire-fighting more difficult and for the London Fire Engine Establishment the Tooley Street fire was the last straw. Immediately after it the Establishment left the government in no doubt that it could no longer run a good public fire brigade. In the meantime the Establishment had appointed a successor to the dead fire chief. He was

Page 1 Captain Eyre Massey Shaw. He was only 33 years of age and his total experience as a fireman was 15J months, and that had been in Belfast where he had run a Fred Karno outfit of seven appliances and 22 trained men. His age and lack of experience mattered little to the Fire Engine Establishmnent because it was going to close down anyway, but in any event there had only been one other applicant for the post. And yet, so rapidly did Shaw make his mark that when the Metropolitan Board of Works took over the brigade four years later he was offered the Chief's job without even having to apply for it.

The Shaw family were of Scottish descent but great grandfather Shaw was a merchant in Dublin, and grandfather Shaw became collector of the port of Cork. He married the daughter of a merchant in Cork and they went to live in Monkstown Castle just across Cork Bay. Capt. Shaw's father was also a merchant in Cork and a County magistrate. Capt. Shaw himself was born in 1828. He entered Trinity College, Dublin at the age of 15 years and his class marks from the 1840's still survive today. He registered as a divinity student but records show that he never attended a lecture. He eventually ran away to sea and probably crossed the Atlantic several times as a crew member on a sailing ship engaged in the Quebec to Cork timber trade. His family later intervened and got him a commission in an Irish Militia Unit, in the North Cork Rifles where he stayed for 6 years. During the Indian Mutiny he came with his unit to Sheerness in June 1858 for dockyard and garrison duty and later on to Aldershot. In February 1860 the regiment was back in Ireland and shortly after his 32nd birthday Shaw resigned his commission. He had married a Portugese girl in 1855 and they eventually had six children but Shaw did not get on with any of them. His mother in law was a very rich woman and gave them much financial support.

Shaw was adventurous, and had great physical stamina. He was over 6 ft tall, fair haired and very handsome. He had a goatee beard, was muscular and military looking and had a commanding presence. He was brave and extremely conscientious but he was impatient and not a good delegator. He was very arrogant and yet in the 1871 census he described himself simply as a 'fireman'. He was proud to be a fireman but the Brigade did not love him. They respected him and feared him. Although he was modest enough to call himself a fireman he moved easily among princes and dukes. He visited King Leopold of the Belgians and at least twice stayed at Sandringham.

He was a thoughtful technician and a self taught one at that. There was no training organisation as such in any fire service and virtually no literature on the subject. He remedied both these deficiencies and in the 1870’s became a most prolific writer on fire matters. His most important book and certainly his most important technical work was in connection with fires in theatres. This book called 'Fires in Theatres' was published in 1876 and reprinted in 1889. It was a subject of great concern because of the introduction of gas lighting with its naked flames in close proximity to inflammable scenery and costumes. The vogue was for very large theatres and this caused very heavy fatal casualties - St. Petersburg 1836, 800 killed, Carlswood 1847, 631 killed, a Chinese theatre in 1845, 1,670 killed. It was luck which prevented these tragedies in London and most theartre fires there had occurred after the audiences had gone home. But after the Vienna fire the Home Secretary requested the Metropolitan Board of Works to report on all the theatres in their area, showing their present condition as regards security from fire and what precautions would be necessary to prevent loss of life in the event of a fire. This gave Capt. Shaw the most massive task in the whole of his 30 years fire servivce in

Page 2 London and the resultant papers are most fascinating. He reported on the physical structure of every single theartre in London.

Capt. Shaw found that the majority of the theatres had no separation between the stage and auditorium; there was indiscriminate storage of props and rubbish; swinging and unguarded gas fittings; below ground theatres with fresh air supplied only by fans which could equally well introduce smoke and fumes; an absence of gangways in the gallery so that patrons had to climb over the seats to escape; gallery staircases very narrow; and escape doors broken. Shaw's report made a great impression on London and in the next 17 years there were only 5 major theatre fires in the capital. When you next visit the theatre and witness the safety curtain being lowered between the acts spare a thought for Capt. Eyre Massey Shaw whose far sighted imagination so improved the fire fighting methods in this country.

NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTIES NEAR BROMLEY

On June 1st for our last meeting of the season we were entertained by a most interesting display of slides of various National Trust properties close to Bromley, given by Miss Kathleen Dibley. The nearest was Hawkswood and Pettswood, the 340 acres of woodland and farmland. We learnt how the oak and birch trees were devastated during the great gales. The area had been bought by private individuals in 1927 and given to the Trust thirty years later.

Toy's Hill had also been severely damaged by the gale and a little way up from there we saw Emmetts Gardens, the highest gardens in Kent. Quebec House at Westerham, the Tudor house where General Wolfe spent his childhood. There is lovely furniture to see there and the old stables are purely Tudor.

Our next viewing was of Chartwell. Parts are very old, other parts Edwardian. It was offered to the Trust in 1927 but turned down. It was later bought by Sir Winston Churchill and left to the nation on his death complete with its contents. 9,000 new trees were planted at Chartwell after the hurricane.

The largest house in England is close by at Sevenoaks. Knole was first referred to in 1291 and in 1566 Queen Elizabeth gave Knole to her cousin Thomas Sackville whose fmily have owned it since that time. We saw slides of the Great Hall and Long Gallery as well as the grounds. Ightham Mote is in the process of extensive restoration work. Sissinghurst Castle, another Tudor house was the last home of Victoria Sackville West, who did so much to repair the buildings and create a garden which is worthy of a visit at all seasons of the year.

The next slides showed Scotney Castle, the H/Q of the Kent National Trust. The beautiful gardens have a wooded valley with a stream, a lake and fine trees. Then on to Smallhythe Place near Tenterden. We cross into East Sussex for a look at Bodiam Castle the 14th century moated ruin. The South Foreland lighthouse and Burling Gap finished our tour of the south coast and we returned to Southwark to see St. George's galleried tavern.

The final slides took us further afield to Norfolk to view Blickling Hall where Anne Boleyn was born. When she was beheaded the Blickling sword was used and legend has it that on May 6th, execution day, a coach and horses can be seen with a figure carrying a head in her lap.

Page 3 HELP

In our last letter we requested help for Mrs Rason who had bought a card in Norfolk which she thought showed a Bromley church. Within a few hours of the newsletters going out you had supplied the answer. Mr. Burr rang from Bromley to say it was St. Michael's church in Nightingale Lane where he and his wife had married many years ago. He was also able to tell us that the writer of the card, E. Buxton, had been his teacher 70 years ago. Mrs Edvards phoned from East Sussex with the name of the church and told how when Bickley and Widmore C of E school was bombed in the 1940's they used a nissan hut next door to the church which was divided into three classrooms by curtains. A deaconess from the church would visit the school.

PENGE & BECKENHAM, GROUP

At the meeting on May 12th about 60 members saw a fine display of cards of Old Beckenham by Bob Larg. On Wedenesday July 14th we will have a talk on the history of Scouting by Mrs Betty Lashmar. You don't have to live in Beckenham or Penge to attend these meetings - all members are welcome at 2.30 p.m. on the 2nd Wedenesday of alternate months. For further information please phone me on 081 777 8861.

Our chairman has agreed with Mr K.F. Miller and Mr J.W. Mantle, the latter heing the owner of the copyright, that we will organise the transfer of his film entitled 'Greater Beckenham’, already shown to the Beckenham & Penge Group, on to video and the sale of copies to interested parties in return for an agreed donation to the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund. We should have further details of this in the August newsletter.

ALEX FREEMAN COMPETITION

The judges have unanimously agreed that the best entry for the Alex Freeman Competition was the one entitled;

'Mabel Winifred Knowles, 1875 - 1949.

The Angel of Custom House.'

This entry was submitted by Mrs Jean Wilson of Hayes who will be awarded the prize.

As there was only one Junior entry it has not been possible to award the proposed prize for the best entry. However, the committee are making a gift of a book token to the entrant.

WEST WICKHAM

Please note that the opening time for the fete at Wickham Court on July 10th has been changed from mid-day to 2.30 p.m.

HAYES FESTIVAL

More events in connection with Hayes Village Association's Festival

Sunday 4th July 2 - 5 p.m. CPRE Countryside Day - Opposite The Greyhound at Keston.

Page 4 Saturday 10th July 2.45 - 5 p.m. Summer Flower Show in Hayes Village Hall

Saturday 10th July 2 - 5 p.m. Village Fete in Hayes Library Gardens

Thurs-Sat. 19th -21st August Photographic Exhibition by Angela Cook on the local flora in the parish churchyard. In Hayes Village Hall

Sunday 19th Sept. 2.30 p.ra. Hayes Historical Walk. Led by Jean Wilson and Trevor Woodman. Meet on Hayes Common by the fountain.

BASTON SCHOOL

There will be an Open Evening at Baston School from 4.30 - 8.00 p.m on July 9th in celebration of their diamond jubilee. There will be a photographic display of Baston over the last 60 years.

THE FAVERSHAM SOCIETY

The Faversham Society Open House Scheme will take place this year on July 3rd, 10th and 17th. 28 properties will be open. Admission to all properties is by programme from the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, Preston Street, Faversham. There is also a 'Faversham Walking Tour' a guided tour of the city every Saturday morning at 10.30 a.m. For further information please contact Jane Harmsworth 0795 534542.

THE ELTHAM SOCIETY

Thursday 5th August 'The Hidden High Street' A Treasure Hunt starting at Christchurch Parish Centre at 7.30 p.m.

'Bygone Eltham' - Social evening on Thursday 2nd September to start off the new season.

For further information on these events please contact Paul Bennett 081 850 6305

BEXLEY

The libraries and museum department of London Borough of Bexley have produced their first catalogue of the growing list of local publications which they have available. For further information please contact Mr. L. Reilly, Local Studies Librarian on 0322 526574 Ext. 217.

DID YOU KNOW?

The population of West Wickham in 1991 was 18,341? The figure has been declining since 1961 when 21,051 residents were registered. Source: 1991 Census - Joyce Walker

BOOK REVIEW

The Society has received a copy of a book by Dr. Ronald Cox entitled 'At the Going Down of the Sun'. This book is an account of Croydon's War Memorials and lists 336 of them in its 48 pages. Dr. Cox who is a member of our society started researching for the book in 1990 and has certainly

Page 5 spared no effort in covering every church, school and club house etc. where there might be a memorial. The resultant text is easy to read, informative and extremely interesting. It not only lists location, dates, to whom dedicated, but in many cases the artist and also the present state of the memorial. It is a book which should not be missed by anyone interested in the history of Croydon and the surrounding areas, nor by anyone interested in matters relating to the wars. It is available at Croydon Bookshops price £3.75 or from Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society at 20 Queenhill Road, Selsdon, South Croydon, CR 2 8 DN (plus an extra 50p for postage) cheques made payable to CNHSS.

NEWS FROM BROMLEY MUSEUM

Since the arson attack on the museum's store last October much of our work has been to clear up the mess and repack the collection. The fire destroyed about 100 items, mostly costume, damaged others and affected the packaging of all the 13,000 objects in the collection. We have just about recovered,. Almost all the objects have been repacked and returned to a refurbished store.

Despite the fire damage the museum has continued its education work, lending objects and visiting schools. The museum has also continued to mount exhibitions in The Priory as well as smaller displays at Orpington, Anerley and Bromley Central Libraries. The museum will continue to mount these showcases at various sites in the Borough so that residents can see items from the collection.

The remains of Crofton Roman Villa were officially opened in April and the site is open to the public on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 - 5 p.m. and on Sundays 2 - 5 p.m., admission 60p adults and 30p children. For information phone Bromley Museum (0689) 873826 or Brian Philp (081) 462 4737.

The plans to open a third permanent room at the museum were delayed by the fire but are now back on course. The displays will cover the 20th century history of the Borough to 1940. There will be a recreation of a dining room of c. 1937. Our appeal for objects from this period has been most successful and many recent donations will be on show. We are still on the look out for a 1930s standard lamp and telephone so if you have one that you would be willing to donate please phone me, Sue Davies, on (0689) 873826. We should open the room in September 1993 and can arrange for a group visit by members when it is open.

Sue Davies, Assistant Curator

Once again many thanks to all who have sent in news and contributions. Please keep up the good work.

Page 6 PUBLICATION OF THE BROMLEY BOROUGH LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

June 1993

BASTON SCHOOL, HAYES

DIAMOND JUBILEE 1933 - 1993

It was on 20 September 1933 that the doors of Baston House, situated on Hayes Common, opened to greet 11 little boys and girls. Today it is both a day and boarding school catering for around 350 pupils from preparatory to 'A' level.

The school's founder, Miss Marian Langley Stafford Smith, a scholar of Girton College, Cambridge, former senior classics mistress at Leeds High School and headmistress of Durham High School from 1911 - 1932, had always wanted to run her own school. It was natural that she would look for a suitable place near to her family home and Baston Farm, as it was then, seemed to offer a good opportunity.

Assisted by her sister, Miss Margaret Stafford Smith (who was to become the first woman Mayor of Bromley) the school rapidly expanded and by the outbreak of the Second World War had over 100 pupils. A school hall and gymnasium were built and two new classrooms added to the original two at the front of the house.

At the beginning of the war attempts were made to keep the school open but as the air raids became more frequent evacuation arrangements were made to the Grand Hotel, Hope Cove in Devon. Miss Margaret remained behind at Baston which now became used as a guest house for families of soldiers in the neighbourhood. The period of evacuation proved a formative time in the history of the school since it resulted for the first time in the school being both a boarding and day school. Academic life went on in relative tranquillity whilst the girls made their contribution to the war effort by assisting on the local farms - weeding, planting and harvesting - and by knitting scarves, gloves, etc. for the soldiers and sailors. They also learnt to 'make do and mend' being instructed in the art of repairing their own shoes and Wellington Boots.

In 1942 the school was forced to move from the Grand Hotel which was requisitioned by the RAF and were fortunate to transfer to Barrow Court, Galhampton, the lovely home of Colonel Boles, MP for Wells. With the ending of the war preparations were made to return to Hayes. At their last service in North Cadbury Church, with which the school had been closely associated for three years, the Rev. Leng preached to the girls about the importance of doing faithfully day by day the small things and then they would always be ready for what lay ahead. From this advice Miss Marian took the school motto 'In Minimis Fidelis' (Faithful in the smallest things).

When the school reopened in Hayes with 140 pupils it included a number of girls from Devon and Somerset and therefore provision was made at first at 83 Baston Road, and later Five Elms, for pupils to board. In Devon the school house names had been Raleigh and Drake but now they became ones of local historical significance - Pitt, Wilberforce and Darwin.

Page 7 By 1951 Miss Marian's health was beginning to fail and she asked Mrs Joy Wimble, who had been at the school since 1937 to become headmistress. Although beginning to go blind Miss Marian remained as Principal maintaining a close interest in all school activities until her death in 1953. She had set a fine example of keen personal concern for the needs of each one of of her pupils and this tradition was continued by her successor. Baston School grew and prospered and when Miss Margaret Stafford Smith died in 1956 it was purchased by Mr and Mrs Wimble.

The succeeding years have been a time of almost constant development and change to keep abreast of modern requirements. The main school buildings have remained but many changes have taken place in the 13 acres of the grounds of Baston. New classrooms have been built, a pavilion, a swimming pool, art and pottery rooms, a library and a science block. Plans are now in hand for a new music block.

In 1982 Mrs Wimble's son, Charles, joined the school as Deputy Head and the following year became Headmaster. Mrs Joy Wimble still remains, after 56 years at Baston, actively involved as Principal.

To mark the School's sixty years and also the Hayes Village Association's Diamond Jubilee a tree is to be planted outside the Old Church Schools on 26 September 1993. This will be followed by a reunion lunch for all former pupils and members of staff. It is hoped that some of the original pupils from 1933 will be present to celebrate the event.

Jean Wilson

JOHN DANDO SEDDING, FRIBA 1838 - 1891

Ernest Newton, Norman Shaw and Philip Webb are three of several exponents of the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement, examples of whose work is visible and well documented in the London Borough of Bromley. Not so well known in the area is John Sedding, another important figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement, who lived for a brief while in West Wickham where examples of his work may be seen.

John Sedding the second son of Richard and Peninnah Sedding and younger brother of Edmund Sedding, was born at Eton in 1838. In 1858 he was articled to George Edmund Street, in whose office Edmund had also trained. In 1863 after the completion of his architectural training, during which he had made a close study of ecclesiastical work and decorated work in churches, John Sedding worked in Cornwall and the West of England spending some of his time designing church metal-work, embroideries and wall papers. In 1872 he planned the church and vicarage of St. Clement's, Bournemouth, after which his architectural practice steadily grew.

John Stedding was appointed Diocesan Architect for Bath and Wells and designed a pastoral cross for the cathedral. Being primarily a church architect, much of his work consisted of repairing and restoring churches in the best available materials and keeping contact with local building materials, notably at Holbeton, Ermington and Meavy in Devon.

In 1876 John Sedding made the acquaintance of John Ruskin and for a time drew under his guidance and who told him that "he must always have pencil

Page 8 and chisel in hand if he were to be more than an employer of men on commission".

Elected FRIBA in 1874, John Sedding had, by 1880, an office in Oxford Street, next to that of Morris & Co. Here he took on as assistants, Henry Wilson and John Paul Cooper who both became silversmiths and jewellers, and Ernest Gimson, later to become a furniture designer. A few years later Alfred Powell joined Sedding as an assistant. Alfred Powell was to decorate pottery for Wedgwood and to teach painting on china.

In 1879 Mrs Thomas Wardle, wife of the owner of Wardle & Co., the Staffordshire firm where William Morris's earliest chintzes were printed, founded the Leek Embroidery Society. Both Norman Shaw and John Sedding designed embroideries which were worked by members of the Society.

Between 1880 and his death in 1891 John Sedding built, among other works:-

All Saints' Vicarage, Plymouth Church of the Holy Redeemer, Clerkenwell St. Augustine's, Highgate St. Edward's, Netley All Saints, Falmouth St. Dyfrig's, Cardiff Salcombe Church, Devon The Children's Hospital, Frindsbury St. Peter's, Ealing (with Henry Wilson) Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Sq. (unfinished)

The Art Workers' Guild was established in 1884, formed in part by Norman Shaw's assistants who included Ernest Newton. This Guild became the architectural centre of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and John Sedding became a member of the Guild and its second Master.

In June 1888 John Sedding moved house from Charlotte Street in Bedford Square and negotiated a 21 year lease of The Croft, an 18th century house standing in Wickham Street (later renamed High Street), West Wickham. The redoubtable Emily Hall, who lived nearby at Ravenswood, was the owner of The Croft and the negotiations were somewhat protracted because John Sedding required a great many improvements and alterations to the property, to which Emily was reluctant to agree, despite describing him as a "nice- looking man, just the manner one would expect from an Architect, but with great taste and enthusiasm". Eventually all was settled with John Sedding making improvements of his own to the house which he had offered to purchase.

John Sedding and his wife Rose soon became members of West Wickham parish church, St. John the Baptist, where he offered his services and financial help in re-designing the interior of the church. The faculty, subsequently approved, allowed the removal of existing seats, floors, organ and heating apparatus; the removal and re-fixing of the font and pulpit; the erection of new oak seats; the erection of an organ chamber opening into the chancel; the formation of a vestry in the south transept (tower porch); and the opening out of the old vestry to receive the font. John Sedding also designed the organ front with linenfold and twisted carvings to the panel and frame, complementing the cl500 rood screen decorations. He had a deep love of flowers and used flowers and leaves constantly to decorate his work - much in -evidence in St. John's choir stall ends.

Page 9 Emily Hall and her sister Ellen were very annoyed by the loss of their private pew caused by the alterations in the church, especially as it was their tenant who was the prime mover in the scheme.

In 1890 John Sedding designed a house in West Wickham - called Springfield. Emily Hall, wrote in her diary in August 1890, that "Mrs Thomsett is building a huge house opposite that German tradesman (Gustav Mellin oF Wickham Hall) - and to shut her out McAndrew has bought the remainder of the field from Sir John Lennard...Mr Sedding is architect - not my taste - but rather good".

This "rather good house" has survived having been used for a variety of purposes since it became home to the West Wickham Social Club in 1930. It is now a Dr. Barnado's non-residential school known as Knotley School. The building is on the 'local' list, but should not such an important building be subject to a preservation order?

While engaged on restoration work at Winsford Vicarage, Somerset, John Sedding contracted pleurisy and died on 7 April 1891 at the relatively early age of 52. His wife, Rose, who had travelled to Somerset to nurse her husbvand, died eight days later from the same malady, leaving four young children (the youngest was only five months old) to be brought up by aunts and uncles. Both John and Rose Sedding are buried in St. John's churchyard where their tombstone is aptly decorated with trailing flowers and leaves. Nearby is the First War grave of one of their sons, George who had died of wounds received in France. John Sedding had been a sidesman and later a churchwarden at St. Alban's church, Holborn for which he had designed a funeral pall, embroidered by his wife. This pall, used for their own funerals, may still be seen, hanging in the church hall of St. Alban's.

After John Sedding's death his practice was carried on by his chief assistant, Henry Wilson who completed a number of outstanding commissions.

In his short tenancy of The Croft John Sedding had become an enthusiastic gardener and wrote Garden Craft._Old and New - a posthumous publication. Also posthumously published was Art and Handicraft in 1893.

Who knows what else John Sedding might have accomplished if his career had not been so suddenly cut short?

Sources: Dictionary of National Biography; The Arts & Crafts Movement - Steven Adam; Arts & Crafts - Malcolm Haslam; Emily Hall's Diary; St. John the Baptist Church archives.

Joyce Walker

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