Passmore Edwards in London

A name that has often popped up in my walks around London is that of a certain Mr Passmore Edwards. Seeing his name etched on the façade of the Whitechapel Gallery complex, then more recently on public buildings in Bow and Hoxton, I realised that this was a man was worth finding out a bit more about. Passmore Edwards turns out to have been an all-round good egg - a modest man whose quiet philanthropy helped improve the lives of countless poor Londoners and whose legacy still lives on.

Born in Cornwall in 1823, John Passmore Edwards came to London in 1845 to pursue a career as a journalist. He later became a newspaper proprietor - buying up the city’s first ½ d daily newspaper, the London Echo, in 1876. A radical Liberal, Passmore Edwards was a member of all the major political associations and an active member of the Peace Society (and a vociferous opponent of the Boer War).

Passionate about implementing social change, in 1880 Passmore Edwards was elected MP for Salisbury but he became increasingly disillusioned with politics, frustrated at not being able to bring about genuine change. Instead, from the late 1880s onwards he devoted himself more and more to philanthropic causes, directly funding the building of libraries and other public institutions with the aim of encouraging people from all walks of life to access culture and learning, and generally improve their quality of life.

The first project with which his name was associated was in

Whitechapel Gallery and library

Whitechapel. In the 1870s Canon Samuel Barnet and his wife Henrietta had arrived in this part of the East End, an area characterised by abject poverty and the poorest of housing. They set out to improve the lives of the local people and, being firmly of the belief that “the social problem is at root an educational one”, threw their weight behind what became known as the Free Libraries initiative. Construction began on a library in Whitechapel High Street but with the necessary funds slow to materialise, Barnet approached Passmore Edwards for a contribution. The response was immediate – a cheque for £6,454 (enough to cover the total construction cost) plus an additional £1,000 to stock the shelves with books. “It is a distinguished privilege, lightening the lot of our fellow East End citizens”, he said. Libraries had been at the centre of Passmore Edwards’ vision for some years. He had campaigned to support William Ewart and the first Free Libraries Act in 1850 and often wrote about the lack of library provision in the UK versus Europe and the USA.

Former Hoxton library

The Whitechapel Library opened its doors in 1892 and this venture marked the start of Passmore Edwards’ long association with this part of London. Other libraries followed in Haggerston, Shepherd’s Bush, Limehouse and Bow.

Passmore Edwards Cottage Hospital, Acton

During the next 14 years, over 70 public buildings were established as a result of Passmore Edwards’ funding. In addition to 14 libraries (the one in Camberwell came complete with an adjoining wash-house for the local populace!) his projects included museums, hospitals, drinking fountains, art galleries and convalescent homes. He also established the Passmore Edwards Settlement in Bloomsbury and was a significant donor to the Workers’ Educational Association, still going strong today.

Sailors' Palace, East India Dock Road

Today many of Passmore Edwards’ buildings are no longer used for their original purpose, Although some of the libraries are still open - Plaistow, Dulwich and Acton for example - a few sadly stand derelict. However, a number have undergone a new lease of life. The Whitechapel Library is now a beautifully-restored annexe to the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Haggerston Library and the Sailors’ Palace have been converted to housing. The Shepherd’s Bush library has recently re-opened as the Bush Theatre, while the old Hoxton library is now the Courtyard Theatre.

When Passmore Edwards died in 1911 (a blue plaque hangs on his house in Netherhall Gardens in Hampstead), his Times obituary read: "He did more good in his time than almost any other of his contemporaries". His philosophy, that by “funding the ladder” through philanthropy, he could encourage poorer people “to climb” is as valid today as ever.

   

References:

   http://spitalfieldslife.com/2016/04/04/passmore-edwards-libraries-in-the-east-end/