Some history on Bethnal Green in London

London | Bethnal Green

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© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

An early Edwardian view of Saint Jude's Church on Old Bethnal Green Road. The building was one of ten new churches erected in Bethnal Green between 1839 to 1849. An active supporter in this initiative was William Cotton, Governor of the Bank of England.¹ The grand scheme of Bishop Blomfield was panned by The Satirist, or the Censor of the Times in which it was written : "A whole district is famishing for want of food and employment, and lo, this exemplary prelate stuns the general ear with lamentations over their spiritual necessities. Their stomachs are empty, and all the Bishop does is to bellow for more church-room." ² In August 1846 the Bishop of Calcutta preached a sermon in St. Jude's on behalf of the Guardian Society Female Penitentiary, an institution established in North Street to afford a refuge for penitene females.³ In 1925 the Rev. John Ough was appointed vicar and was reportedly a very popular figure in the East End of London. It was a great sorrow to him to see most of his parish destroyed in air raids and the church so badly damaged that it had to be pulled down.⁴

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

I do not have an exact year for this photograph but it was bundled with other images from the mid-1950s. It shows Ivy Travers with a cast of children for her pantomime production of "Babes In The Wood" at York Hall in Bethnal Green. With a dance school based in Hackney, her troupe often performed at the York Hall swimming baths in Old Ford Road. I have seen an article for a similar production at the Poplar Civic Theatre in December 1949 ⁵ but I do not think this photograph records that event. With fifty children, Ivy Travers also put of a production of "Aladdin" at the King's Hall at Hackney in 1962.⁶ But I have not stumbled on an article for "Babes In The Wood" at York Hall. Daughter of the Pearly King Cockney Singing Comedian, Nat Travers, the musician and dance class teacher would put on a pantomime every year.⁷ Famous people who attended the Ivy Travers School of Dance include Anita Dobson, later publican of the Vic in "Eastenders" and Irene Peters, who later appeared in a wide range of television shows including "Man About The House" and as a dancer on "Top of the Pops." As a youngster, the West End musical singer and actor Sharon D. Clarke also attended the classes of Ivy Travers.

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"George Mayo, of Temple Street, Bethnal Green, was charged with assaulting Albert Nightingale, a barman, by throwing a glass tumbler at his head, and further with breaking a plate-glass window. George Joseph Richardson, licensee of the Camden's Head, Bethnal Green Road, deposed that the prisoner entered the public bar of the house about twenty-five minutes past ten on the Saturday evening and asked to be served. As the prisoner had been forbidden the house on account of his conduct the witness called the barman's attention to him. The prisoner then picked up a glass from the counter and threw it. This he did several times, and then ran away. There were about a dozen glasses broken by the prisoner altogether. Mrs. Ada Richardson, wife of the licensee, corroborated, and said that the prisoner asked her why she was always "down" on him. He then threw four glasses, and as he was being removed his elbow broke a plate-glass window. Albert Nightingale, a barman, said that one of the glasses thrown struck him on the corner of the left eye, cutting it slightly, and causing a bruise. The prisoner ran out of the house. Police Constable 109 G proved the arrest, and the prisoner was remanded."
"A Bethnal Green Assault"
Eastern Post : January 8th 1910 Page 3

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References
1. "Bethnal Green New Churches" : Morning Chronicle; May 24th, 1849. p.2.
2. "Spiritual Benefits To Bethnal Green" : The Satirist, or the Censor of the Times; July 10th, 1842. p.6.
3. "Guardian Society Female Penitentiary" : Morning Post; August 22nd, 1846. p.5.
4. "Vicar Of Loscoe Bereaved" : Ripley And Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press; June 20th, 1947. p.3.
5 "A Children's Pantomime" : East End News and London Shipping Chronicle; December 30th, 1949. p.2.
6 "Fifty Children in Alladin" : Holloway Press; January 12th, 1962. p.4.
7. "Children's Pantomime at Mile End" : East End News and London Shipping Chronicle; February 7th, 1936. p.8.

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