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Catholic Charitable Endeavour in London, 1810–1840. Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2015

Brian Carter
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Extract

The primary focus of this article centres on the two decades that form the prelude to Catholic Emancipation although reference is made to activity outside this time frame and to cities other than London. Charitable endeavour is taken to include all individual voluntary effort to sustain and support Catholic churches, schools and other Catholic organisations in need of assistance. It also relates to assistance given to individuals in need of help. Such ‘endeavour’ also encompasses group and community-based voluntary activity. While it may seem unnecessary to define charitable endeavour, Mary J. Oates in a recent study on the Catholic philanthropic tradition in America heavily circumscribes what she means by the term, and excludes a number of subjects from her examination, thus:

Not all contributions to the Church are philanthropic. For example, contributions to support the local pastor, Church, and parish programs which chiefly benefit the congregation itself, do not qualify as charitable giving. Nor do gifts by individual Catholics to extra-ecclesial philanthropic causes.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Catholic History , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , May 2001 , pp. 487 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © Catholic Record Society 2001

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References

Notes

1 Oates, Mary J.: The Catholic Philanthropic Tradition in America. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. 1995 Google Scholar.

2 Ibidem, pp. xi-xii.

3 Gilley, Sheridan: ‘The Roman Catholic Mission to the Irish in London 1840–1860.’ Recusant History. Vol.10. No.3. Oct. 1969. pp. 123–145 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. ‘Protestant London, No-Popery and the Irish Poor. 1830–1860.’ Part I. Recusant History. Vol.10. Jan. 1970. pp. 210–230 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. Part II. Recusant History. Vol.11. No.1. Jan. 1971. pp. 21–46 Google ScholarPubMed. ‘English Catholic Charity and the Irish Poor in London.’ Vol.11. No.4. Jan. 1972. Part I. 1700–1840. pp. 179–195, and Vol.11. No.5 April 1972. Part II. 1840–1870. pp. 253–269.

4 Donovan, Robert Kent: ‘The Denominational Character of English Catholic Charitable Effort, 1800–1865’, in The Catholic Historical Review. LXII. No 2. April 1976. pp. 200–223 Google Scholar.

5 Ibidem, p. 204.

6 Bourne v. Keane. Law Reports. Appeal Cases 1919. pp. 815–926.

7 Kitchen, J.: ‘The Catholic Poor School, 1800 to 1845.’ Parts 1 & 2, in Journal of Educational Administration and History. 1. No.2. June 1969, pp. 1–8 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and II., No.l. Dec. 1969, pp. 1–12.

8 Marmion, John P.: ‘The Beginnings of the Catholic Poor Schools in England,’ Recusant History. 17. No.1. May 1984. pp. 67ffCrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 The Associated Catholic Charities was formed through the merging of 1. The Charitable Society for Educating Poor Children, established in 1764. 2. The BenEficient Society for Apprenticing Poor Boys, established in 1784. 3. The Laudable Association for maintaining Poor Orphans established in 1797.

10 Ibidem, p. 69.

11 Gilley, Sheridan: ‘The Roman Catholic Mission to the Irish in London, 1840–1860,’ Recusant History. 10. 1970. p. 125 Google Scholar.

12 The Orthodox Journal. Volumes 1–8. 1813–20. Volumes 9 and 10. 1823–24.

13 Cobbett, William, A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland. Part I and Part II, London 1824 and 1827Google Scholar.

14 Ibidem, para. 4.

15 Ibidem, para. 4.

16 Ward, Bernard: The Dawn of the Catholic Revival in England, 1781–1803, 2 vols. London 1909 Google Scholar. Ward, Bernard: The Eve of Catholic Emancipation, 3 vols. London 1911-12Google Scholar.

Ward, Bernard: The Sequel to Catholic Emancipation, 2 vols. London 1915 Google Scholar.

17 Ward. Dawn. Dedication. Vol.1.

18 Ward. Dawn. Dedication. Vol.1.

19 Population figures and demographics of the Catholics has proved to be a difficult subject. For a good review of the situation see: John Bossy: The English Catholic Community 1750–1850, Part Three. Birth of a Denomination, 1770–1850.

20 Prothero, I. J.: Artisans and Politics in Early Nineteenth Century London. Dawson, Folkestone 1979 Google Scholar. For helpful definitions see pp. 4–5.

21 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. II., 1814. p. 281 Google Scholar.

22 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. VII, 1819. pp. 194–6 Google Scholar.

23 Society of Charitable Sisters. [Annual Report]. Printer, J. Hill, [London] 1824. pp. 1–2 Google Scholar. Privately printed.

24 Prochaska, F. K., ‘Women in English Philanthropy. 1790–1830,’ International Review of Social History. Vol. XIX., 1974. Part 3. p. 426 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

25 Prochaska, F. K.: Women and Philanthropy in England in the Nineteenth Century, Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1980 Google Scholar.

26 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. VI., Feb. 1818, pp. 78–80.

27 The provision of facilities for lying-in women proved to be a complex issue as the mothers were expected to provide details of marriage and the father’s name. In many cases this was difficult or impossible and thereby raised the question of how ‘deserving’ they were.

28 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. VI., Feb. 1818, pp. 78–79 Google Scholar.

29 Society of Charitable Sisters. [Annual Report]. Cuddon Printer, [London] 1826, p. 9 Google ScholarPubMed.

30 Society of Charitable Sisters. [Annual Report]. Printer, Hill [London] 1825, pp. 9–10 Google Scholar.

31 Rev. Thomas Dobson [1787–1835].

32 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. VII. May 1819, pp. 194–5.

33 Ibidem, p. 195.

34 Ibidem. Vol. VIII. April 1820, p. 154.

35 ‘Irish Catholic Marriages in London. Lying-in Hospital Records.’ Catholic Ancestor. Vol.7, No.3, Nov. 1998, pp. 102–08 Google Scholar.

36 The Orthodox Journal. Vol. VIII, April 1820, p. 156 Google Scholar.

37 Society of Charitable Sisters. [Annual Report]. Printer, Hill [London] 1825, p. 7 Google Scholar.

38 The Royal River, The Thames from Source to Sea, London 1885. Reprinted Bloomsbury Books, London, 1985, pp. 305–6.

39 The Catholic Miscellany, Vol.1, July 1822, p. 232 Google Scholar.

40 The girls’ school at Poplar was established about 1820/1 by the Rev. A. B. Barber [1791–1838], parish priest from 1818 to his death.

41 The Greenwich Schools were founded c.1823 by Fr. Alexander McCabe.

42 The Stratford Schools were founded by the Abbé Chevrollais [1753–1823], the boys in 1816 and the girls in 1818.

43 There had been a boys’ and a girls’ school in the East London [Virginia Street] area which had been run separately until 1821, when they united under single management.

44 The Chelsea Orphanage was established in 1819 and reorganised in 1821. Its President before his elevation to the episcopacy was the Rev. Thomas Weld.

45 The Orthodox Journal, Vol.VII, May 1819, p. 196 Google Scholar.

46 These ‘Friends’ were formed into a society in 1818.

47 The Rt. Rev. Thomas Weld. [1773–1837]. After the death of his wife in 1815 and the marriage of his daughter in 1818, he trained for the priesthood in Paris. Ordained in 1821, created a Bishop in the mid 1820s, and a Cardinal in 1830.

48 The Catholic Miscellany, Vol.9, March 1828, p. 220 Google Scholar.

49 [1751–1838], see note 40.

50 London and Dublin Orthodox Journal, Vol.11, Jan. 1836, pp. 6–7 Google Scholar.

51 See note 40.

52 London and Dublin Orthodox Journal, Vol. 11, Jan. 1836, p. 6 Google Scholar.

53 Ibidem, p. 7.

54 Ibidem, p. 6.

55 The Right Rev. William Poynter. 1762–1827. Vicar Apostolic of the London District from 1812 until his death.

56 This later society was established in May 1842 as the Marylebone and Paddington Lying-in-Charity. It declared that ‘Few Charities in this country can boast of so distinguished a list of patronesses.’ It was headed by the Duchess of Norfolk, in whose train followed one Princess, 1 Marchioness, 6 Countesses, 17 Ladies, and 5 Hons. One woman, Mrs. John Keene, appeared on the list as the sole commoner and acting patroness and treasurer. [Mrs. Keene was the founder of the Charity].

57 For an interesting article on bazaars, see Prochaska, F. K., ‘Charity Bazaars in Nineteenth Century England.’ Journal of British Studies. Vol.XVI, No.2., Spring 1977, pp. 62–84 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

58 Society of Charitable Sisters. [Annual Report] 1826. Cuddon Printer, London [1826], p. 8.

59 Fr., Joseph Dunn. [1746–1827]. An important figure in Lancashire Catholicism.

60 ‘The Friends of Civil and Religious Liberty’ became a very efficient tract society in the mid 1820s with branches in different parts of the country. W. E. Andrews was a prime mover and ensured its radical credentials.

61 The British Catholic Association, formed in early 1823, was suppressed in 1825, and a ‘New Catholic Association’ formed later in the year. The BCA claimed to be the main representative body of the English Catholics in its campaign for emancipation.

62 There is some potential for confusion here as there appear to have been two persons of the same name in English Catholic affairs at the time. Fr. Emanuel Dias Santos [c. 1765–1834] was of Portuguese extraction but born in England; he entered the Dominican friary at Bornhem and later attended Louvain. He escaped to England at the Revolution. He was ordained in 1899, and after his father’s death in 1813, came into a significant inheritance and moved to Pilgrim’s Hatch, South Weald, Essex. The other Emanuel Dias Santos, who was very active in Catholic affairs in London, was described by Marlow Sidney in 1827 as ‘a young man of some independent means.’ It would seem to be out of the question that such a description could fit a 62 year old priest.

63 The Truthteller, Vol.VI, March 1827. p. 387 Google Scholar.

64 Ibidem, p. 387.

65 There is a reference to the Society in The London & Dublin Orthodox Journal, Vol.XX, Feb. 22. 1845, p. 127 Google Scholar.

66 The Orthodox Journal, Vol.VIII, April 1820, p. 155 Google Scholar.

67 Milner, J. M.: Supplementary Memoirs of English Catholics, Keating and Brown, London 1820, pp. 101–2 Google Scholar; The Orthodox Journal, Vol.IV, June 1816, pp. 229–34Google Scholar.

68 The Orthodox Journal, Vol.IV, p. 230 Google Scholar.

69 The Truthteller, Vol.11, Jan. 1826, p. 482 Google Scholar.

70 The Truthteller, Vol.1, Nov. 1825, p. 178 Google Scholar.

71 Ibidem, p. 178.

72 The Truthteller, Vol.IV, July 1826, p. 71 Google Scholar. Creevy died on 6 July 1826.

73 The Catholic Miscellany, Vol.1, Sept. 1822, p. 426 Google Scholar.

74 Ibidem, p. 426.

75 The Catholic Miscellany, Vol.1, Sept. 1822, p. 429 Google Scholar.

76 I. J. Prothero, Artisans and Politics in early Nineteenth Century London. Manchester 1979. This contains an excellent brief account of the Queen Caroline affair.

77 Ibidem, p. 143.

78 John Cartwright [1740–1824], a leading radical reformer.

79 Thomas Wooler [17867–1853], a leading radical journalist.

80 The Orthodox Journal, Vol. 8, Sept. 1820, p. 369 Google Scholar.

81 Ibidem, p. 368.

82 Ibidem, Vol.IV, Nov. 1816, p. 430.

83 Ibidem, Vol.IV, Aug. 1816, p. 295.

84 Ibidem, Vol.VI, Mar. 1818, p. 119.

85 The first meeting was reported in The Truthteller. Vol.I, December 1825, pp. 369–70.

86 Speech by the Rev. Mr. Spooner at the Anniversary Dinner for 1826. The Library ‘was commenced early in 1822, and established in the year 1823,’ The Truthteller. Vol.V, Nov. 1826, p. 513.

87 ‘Ciculating Library for Catholics’ and other names describing Cuddon’s Library can be found on the dust wrappers of The Catholic Miscellany. For a few months in 1824, Cuddon advertised his as the ‘London Catholic Library,’ i.e. an identical title to the Library referred to in note 86. To add to the confusion, Cuddon placed two notices on the printed dust wrapper of The Catholic Miscellany for October 1824. One at the top of the outer back wrapper was printed ‘London Catholic Library, 2 Carthusian Street, Charter House Square.’ On the inner back wrapper is a second note: ‘Catholic Circulating Library, No. 2 Carthusian-street, Charterhouse-square,’ followed in the latter case by a few lines of details relating to the Library’s subscription and purpose.

88 Inner printed wrapper to the December 1822 issue.

89 Inner printed wrapper to the October 1823 issue.

90 Advertisement page of Cuddon for 1825.

91 Cuddon’s Catalogue of Books for 1824, back cover.

92 Inner printed wrapper to the August 1824 issue.

93 Inner printed wrapper to the August 1824 issue.

94 The Truthteller, Vol.11, Feb. 1826, p. 686 Google Scholar.

95 Ibidem, Vol.1, Nov. 1825, p. 223.

96 Ibidem, p. 223.

97 The Orthodox Journal, Vol.X, Oct. 1824, p. 413 Google Scholar.

98 Ibidem, p. 413.

99 The Truthteller, Vol.1, Nov. 1825, pp. 221–2Google Scholar.

100 Ibidem, p. 224.

101 Ibidem, p. 224.

102 The Catholic Miscellany, Vol.V, March 1826, p. 150 Google Scholar.

103 Ibidem, p. 149.

104 Ibidem, p. 151.

105 The Truthteller, Vol.1, Dec. 1825, p. 389 Google Scholar.

106 Ibidem, Vol.11, Jan. 1826, pp. 465–6.

107 Ibidem, p. 466.

108 Gillow, Joseph. A Literary and Biographical History, etc., Vol.1, London 1885, pp. 605–7Google Scholar.

109 This wording appeared in most notices in connection with Cuddon’s advertisements.

110 The schools of the East London Catholic Charitable Institution go back to 1778 when a simple level of schooling was organised for teaching about thirty Irish boys. In 1807 the Rev. James Delaney [1768–1847] established a girls’ school, and these two schools continued under separate management until they merged in 1821.

111 The Truthteller, Vol.11, Feb. 1826, p. 686 Google Scholar.

112 This description could be an alternative description for a ‘mechanic’, but may well indicate an unskilled worker.

113 The Truthteller, Vol.11, Feb. 1826, p. 686 Google Scholar.

114 Ibidem, p. 686.

115 The Orthodox Journal, Vol.X, Oct. 1824, p. 415 Google Scholar.

116 Ibidem, p. 415.

117 London and Dublin Orthodox Journal, Vol.XV, Sept. 1842, p. 172 Google Scholar.

118 Ibidem, p. 171.

119 The London and Dublin Orthodox Journal, Vol.VIII, Feb. 1839, p. 126 Google Scholar.

120 Ibidem, p. 244. For Confraternities, Sodalities and Guilds in a later period, see Heimann, Mary; Catholic Devotion in Victorian England. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1995. pp. 124–136 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

121 Ibidem, p. 244.

122 Ibidem, p. 245.

123 Ibidem, p. 245. The Precursor Society was formed c.1838 in Ireland. Closely associated with Daniel O’Connell, it would appear that the London Precursors were established in 1839. Chairman of the Directing Council in London was the Rev. Dr. Magee, and the Council met at Mr. Walsh’s Pavilion, Newcastle Street (also the headquarters of the Children’s Shoe Society, founded in 1832.)

The Precursor Society met with an immediate positive response from the Irish community in London and within weeks branches were created in Hammersmith, Poplar, Tottenham Court Road, Lincoln’s Inn, Westminster Road, Smithfield, Blackwall, Marylebone and St. John’s, each with its own committee of Irishmen. The Society was also referred to as the Precursors of Reform, a central platform developed for the repeal of the Union. This aim was considered too radical for some members of the Society who favoured advance by the ‘instalment principle’, where the objective could best be gained by the strategy of progressive steps or instalments. The Society appears to have come to an abrupt end in London when it was suggested that the funds of the Society were at the disposal of Daniel O’Connell. Eneas MacDonnell wrote to The Times and, apparently, gave the impression to another reader that ‘the Precursors were a gang of swindlers.’

As the Precursors faded from the scene their place was immediately taken by two other associations: one, the Hibernian Literary Institution, which got under way in October 1839 and looked after the cultural and educational affairs of the resident Irish in London; and the other, the United Repealers, or The Repeal Association of the United Reformers, also launched about the same time. The aim of this latter group was ‘the repeal of the legislative union between Great Britain and Ireland.’ Both groups made rapid advances in London and were yet another manifestation of the attempt to unite the Irish in the city.

Information about the Precursors in London is scanty, but The Penny Catholic Magazine of 1839/40 is a useful source, although tantalisingly intermittent. John Charles Fitzgerald wrote a pamphlet Precursors in England, published in late 1839, but it has not been possible to locate a copy in preparing this article.