History
It was founded in November 1849 as a home for gentlewomen in reduced circumstances, who paid 7s 6d per week in 1851 and 10s per week 1861 in rent and board to live there (The British Metropolis in 1851: A Classified Guide to London, 1851; Sampson Low, The Charities of London in 1861, 1862)
Its Hon. Secretary was firstly Jonathan Jones (of 35 Great Coram Street in 1850 and 39 Brunswick Square in 1851), and subsequently (by 1862) Rev. Alfred J. Buss (Sampson Low, The Charities of London, 1850; The British Metropolis in 1851: A Classified Guide to London, 1851; Sampson Low, The Charities of London in 1861, 1862)
Its Treasurer during this time was Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, MP (Sampson Low, The Charities of London, 1850; Sampson Low, The Charities of London in 1861, 1862); Kinnaird was also later involved in the foundation of the Home for Working Boys
Both Rev. Buss and Arthur Kinnaird were still working for the Home for Gentlewomen in 1872 (The Times, 28 December 1872)
Its capacity at Queen Square was 60 women, according to its advertisement in The British Metropolis in 1851: A Classified Guide to London, 1851; its advertisements in The Times give a more precise figure of 57
Queen Victoria extended Royal patronage to it in 1851 (The Times, 12 March 1851)
Its last advertisement in The Times appears to be its Christmas appeal of 1872 (The Times, 28 December 1872); the premises had become part of the new Chandler Wing of the National Hospital by March 1876 (The Times, 14 March 1876)
It no longer exists
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What was reforming about it?
It was aimed not at the very poor, but at “the widows and daughters of private gentlemen, officers in the Army or Navy, professional men, bankers, and merchants, suffering under the reverses of fortune” (The British Metropolis in 1851: A Classified Guide to London, 1851)
However, it still relied on bequests, charitable donations, and subscriptions to keep going
Where in Bloomsbury
It originally opened at 5 Harpur Street in 1849, with accommodation for 36 ladies (Sampson Low, The Charities of London, 1850)
These premises soon proved to be too small, and the Home moved soon afterwards to 25 and 26 Queen Square (The British Metropolis in 1851: A Classified Guide to London, 1851)
Website of current institution
It no longer exists
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Books about it
None found
Archives
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