Such are
the beautiful almshouses in the Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, founded in
the early part of the eighteenth century under the terms of the will
of Sir Robert Geffery. They stand in a garden about an acre in extent,
a beautiful oasis in the surrounding desert of warehouses, reminding
the passer-by of the piety and loyal patriotism of the great citizens
of London, and affording a peaceful home for many aged folk. This
noble building, of great architectural dignity, with the figure of the
founder over the porch and its garden with fine trees, has only just
escaped the hands of the destroyer and been numbered among the bygone
treasures of vanished England. It was seriously proposed to pull down
this peaceful home of poor people and sell the valuable site to the
Peabody Donation Fund for the erection of working-class dwellings. The
almshouses are governed by the Ironmongers' Company, and this proposal
was made; but, happily, the friends of ancient buildings made their
protest to the Charity Commissioners, who have refused their sanction
to the sale, and the Geffery Almshouses will continue to exist,
continue their useful mission, and remain the chief architectural
ornament in a district that sorely needs "sweetness and light."
City magnates who desired to build and endow hospitals for the aged
nearly always showed their confidence in and affection for the Livery
Companies to which they belonged by placing in their care these
charitable foundations.
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