Page 4 - HGS Suburb News 132 - Autumn 2017
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FROM THE  ARCHIVES






                                                                After various other academic appointments, in 1846 Maurice
                                                             was elected Chaplin of Lincoln’s Inn and resigned from his duties
          Frederick Denison Maurice                          at Guy’s hospital. His sermons were popular with young barristers
                                                             and were constantly well attended. His hearers included Thomas
          and the Christian Socialists                       Hughes and John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow (1821-1911) who
                                                             soon both became involved with the Christian Socialist
                               How much attention do you give to   movement. He was already friends with the theologian, poet
                                  the origins of the street name   and writer Charles Kingsley (1819-1875 – best known for his
                                    that you live in? Do you live   book ‘The Water Babies’) whom he had met in 1844. Together
                                    in Kinglsey Way or Close,   with other members of staff at Kings College London they
                                     Maurice Walk, Ludlow Way,   founded Queen’s College for the higher education of women
                                       Holyoake Walk, Denison   -something I am sure Henrietta Barnett would have approved of.
                                       Close, Neale Close,      The mid 19th century saw much disquiet amongst the working
                                       Vivian Way or Gurney   classes both in Europe and in the United Kingdom. The Chartist
                                      Drive and wonder about   movement formed in the United Kingdom existed from 1838 to
                                     the name?               1857. It took its name from the People’s Charter of 1838 and
                                       These streets are named   was a national protest movement. Support for the movement
                                    after prominent Christian   came to a peak on 10 April 1848 when petitions signed by
                                   Socialists and people     millions of working people were presented to the House of
                                  instrumental in the co-    Commons after a demonstration on Kennington common.
                                 partnership movement. The      Kingsley and Ludlow were both sympathetic to their cause
                                 term Christian Socialist was   and present at the demonstration. The Chartists used the scale   With Ludlow he set up co-operative societies inspired by
                                   coined by the curate C.B.   of support, which these petitions and the accompanying mass   what Ludlow had learned of French associations and Christian
                                       Dunn of Cumberworth   meetings demonstrated, to put pressure on politicians to   communism from a recent trip to Paris. They were subsidized by
                                          and John Sabire of   concede manhood suffrage. Kingsley realized that the Charter   Edward Vansittart Neale (1810-1892) and helped by the
                                           Birmingham in     would not go far enough to secure genuine freedom and reform   subscriptions of middle-class sympathisers.
                                            time for Frederick   and that politics and religion needed to be re-united.  Unfortunately the Christian Socialist Co-partnership
         Denison Maurice (above), Charles Kingsley and John Ludlow to   Maurice saw the need for society’s moral and social   workshops were not profitable, which brought about friction
         form the first Christian Socialist movement. Inspired by poets   regeneration because of the “spiritual destination” of the times.   amongst the founders. Neale also founded the first co-operative
         and philosophers such as William Blake and Samuel Coleridge   Ludlow had first- hand experience of socialist and revolutionary   store in London, and advanced capital for two builders’
         and prompted by social unrest, the aim was to rescue   groups when living in Paris and was far more practical than   associations, both of which failed. In 1851, he started his own
         Christianity by being opposed to the view of the Bible being   Maurice, understanding the requirements of effective political   initiative, the Central Co-operative Agency, similar to the later
         divinely dictated. On the contrary it was held to be a breathing   action. Thomas Hughes, the author of Tom Brown’s School Days   Co-operative Wholesale Society. Maurice was more interested in
         organism and they claimed that Christianity had the legitimate   and Edward Vansittart Neale (1810-1892) also followed the   education, Kingsley did not gain approval for his outspokenness
         authority to speak out on political and economical matters and   movement, and they all looked to Maurice as their spiritual   with his fellow churchmen, and Maurice himself was eventually
         re-asserted a faith bound into human life experiences but the   leader. With Ludlow he edited a newspaper, ‘Politics for the   dismissed from his post at Kings College London for not
         first Christian Socialist Movement was short lived but had a   People’, which was first published on 6 May 1848 and rose to a   disowning Kingsley’s utterances. By 1854 the Christian Socialist
         renewal of interest in the latter half of the 19th century   circulation of about 2000 copies          movement was over.
         particularly in terms of co-partnership movements.     The term Christian Socialist was officially taken up by   Maurice continued to write theological essays and to be
            Interestingly, at Brentham Garden Suburb founded in 1901,   Maurice for his movement in 1850, which he declared   Chaplain at Lincoln’s Inn. He continued to express his concern
         several of the street names almost mirror some in Hampstead   committed him “to the conflict we must engage in sooner or   for the education of the working classes and in February 1854
         Garden Suburb with a Denison Road, Ludlow Road, Holyoake   later with the unsocial Christians and the unchristian socialists.”   drew up a scheme for a working men’s college which opened
         Walk (and Holyoake House), Brunner Road and Neville Road, so   Maurice himself believed hierarchy was essential to society. He   on 31 October 1854 in Red Lion Square, London with 120
         the Brentham names must have been the inspiration for naming   disliked competition as unchristian and wished to see it replaced   students and Maurice as its principal. It was a product of Christian
         these roads in the later developments in the Suburb. In this   by co-operation, as expressive Christian brotherhood.   socialism and an expression of its ideals. He was assisted with
         article there is only space to concentrate on the founders of the                                      teaching by notables such as Vansittart Neale, Tom Hughes,
         movement but I am grateful to the Brentham Society for                                                 John Ruskin and the painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
         permitting the reproduction of images from Aileen Reed’s,                                                 In the 1860’s he was elected to an academic theological
         Brentham, A history of a pioneer garden suburb 1901-2001.                                              professorship at Cambridge, but later, due to ill health, he had
            John Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872) is one of two                                            to give up being the principal at the Working Men’s College. He
         individuals to have two roads named after them using two                                               continued to write widely and accepted the offer at St Edward’s
         different names. Denison Close and Maurice Walk got their                                              Cambridge for pastoral work at Trinity Hall. This he resigned
         names from Maurice, while Arthur Winnington-Ingram, who                                                from on 30 March 1872 and died two days later.
         was Bishop of London when the Suburb was being built, gave                                                Although it was suggested that he should be buried in
         his names to Winnington Road and Ingram Avenue.                                                        Westminster Abbey, his family’s view was that he would not have
            Frederick Denison Maurice had a varied legal and controversial                                      wished it and he is interred in the family vault in Highgate Cemetery.
         theological career. He was the fifth child and only son of Michael                                        The Christian Socialist movement may have failed in its aims
         Maurice and his wife Priscilla. His father had been disowned by                                        in the earlier part of the century, but there was a revival in
         his own father for changing his theological viewpoint when he                                          interest in co-partnership organisations in the 1880s. With Henry
         was preparing for the dissenting ministry, but then deciding to                                        Vivian (1868 –1930) as secretary of the Labour Co-Partnership
         become a Unitarian preacher.                                                                           Association, and the idea that co-partnerships could extend to
            The family were always having religious disputes and,                                               housing, we can see how the basic ideas of Christian socialism
         following the deaths of two of Maurice’s sisters, two of his older                                     could be applied to the housing schemes of the early Suburb.
         sisters and his mother changed their religious convictions to the                                         George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906) was greatly involved in
         Calvinistic doctrine. These disputes led to Maurice’s subsequent                                       the movement and often organised Co-operative Festivals. From
         guiding principle in his belief in religious unity.                                                    1911 the festival was re-invented as the Co-partnership Festival
            After a strict puritanical education, he went to study at                                           and was held that year in Hampstead Garden Suburb. A pageant,
         Trinity College and Trinity Hall Cambridge. Whilst at Cambridge,                                       Three Scenes from History, was performed by Suburb resident
         and later in London he started various critical thinking                                               Kate Murray, herself a close friend of Sybella Gurney, who was
         magazines in which he demonstrated his praise for Coleridge.                                           an activist in the Co-Partnership and Garden City movement.
         He also changed his beliefs from the Unitarianism of his                                                             Marilyn Greene, Trustee, Garden Suburb Archives
         upbringing and resolved on ordination in the Church of England.                                        Picture Credits: By Permission of Brentham Archives and reproduced in Aileen’s
         In 1836 he accepted the chaplaincy of Guy’s hospital where he                                          Reed’s Brentham A history of the pioneer garden suburb 1901-2001
         also lectured students twice weekly on moral philosophy.                                               Frederick Denison Maurice Founder of the Christian Socialist Movement, Hutton
            ‘The Kingdom of Christ’, which became one of his most                                               Getty Picture Collection
                                                                                                                Seven of the most prominent and early co-operators and co-partners Hutton
         significant works, was published in 1838. The book, expounds a                                         Getty Picture Collection
         firmly ecclesiastical theology grounded in scripture and tradition.                                    Photos from Hampstead Garden Suburb and of the Holyoake memorial in
         It examines in turn the beliefs of a Quaker, an orthodox                                               Highgate Cemetery by Marilyn Greene
         protestant, a Unitarian and a rational philosopher, revealing
         notable insight and understanding in each case and looks for
         signs of a “spiritual and universal kingdom” by which one-
         sidedness could be transcended.















                                                                                                                                                The Hampstead
                                                                                                                               Garden Suburb Archives Trust
                                                                                                                 exists to preserve the history and culture of the Suburb
                                                                              Website: www.suburbarchives.com · Contact: 020 8455 8813 or 8455 2877 · Email: suburbarchives@gmail.com

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