Guilford Place drinking fountain

This week, we celebrated the restoration of Guilford Place drinking fountain in Bloomsbury. 

This is the thirteenth historic drinking fountain to be fully restored by HOLT across London and the second since the summer.

We were joined by over 30 local supporters as well young people who had been involved as part of HOLT’s Proud Places youth engagement programme. 

The fountain was erected in 1870 in memory of Mrs Francis Whiting by her two daughters, who lived in nearby Mecklenburgh Square. It has a sculptured marble figure of the ‘Woman of Samaria’ pouring water from a jug, from the Biblical story of Jesus’s meeting with a Samaritan woman at a well. The fountain itself survived the Blitz while all the housing around was hit by bombing. In recent years, the marble figure had been damaged with missing stonework, broken steps and it black with pollution, remaining that way since the late 1990s. 

The fountain had not been working for some years. Our recent survey found that 78% of passers-by said they would use it to fill up their water bottle if it was working again and we restored it this summer with the support of the WC Bar below it (a new wine & charcuterie bar converted from historic public conveniences), along with funding from long time HOLT supporter Roger Cline and the Jones Day Foundation.

Work included repairing the stonework, replacement marble pieces, plus the reinstatement of the plumbing.

Over 60 young people including A-level Art & Design students from Westminster Kingsway College were involved with the project as part of our Proud Places programme. This involved meeting conservators working on the site, stonemasonry workshops, poetry workshops, ceramics workshops and taking part in our Proud Prospects careers’ development. Also joining us was HOLT’s Chair Sir Laurie Magnus, our Patrons, a team from the Jones Day law firm and Tim Hyatt, Head of Residential at Knight Frank who had hosted some of the students, along with Coram's Fields Youth Club and Argyle Primary School.

"I'm so proud of Faadouma and so pleased that she could be involved in such a lovely event" said Faadouma Ali’s father. Faadouma, age 10, who is a pupil at Argyle Primary School, read out a poem at the event.

Centuries old East End tradition reinstated

The restored George Green tomb in Trinity Gardens, Poplar was unveiled last week. Green was one of the most important 18th century shipwrights in the East End. His charitable work included the founding of schools, almshouses and a Sailors’ Home and he spent over £100,000, the equivalent of over £11 million today, on philanthropic causes. When he died aged 82, the shops in Blackwall and Poplar were closed as a mark of respect and the population lined the route from his house to Trinity Chapel. Every vessel in the East and West India Docks flew its flag at half-mast. Much of George Green’s charitable work continues to benefit the local community today.

His tomb was isolated and in a very poor state with broken railings, illegible inscriptions and open to further damage. It was restored this autumn in a project working closely with George Green’s descendants (who contributed funding), George Green School, the Mayflower Primary School, George Green’s almshouses charity, The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and Tower Hamlets Council. As part of our Proud Places programme, local pupils learnt about George Green as well as met the stonemasons working on site. 

After decades of abandonment, the centuries old tradition of George Green pupils laying a wreath to their founder has been reinstated. Headteacher of George Green School, Jon Ryder, spoke, alongside George Green school pupils Summayah Begum and Amina Taleb, 15, primary school pupils Ayman, Inara, Sabrina and Maryam, from Mayflower Primary School. 

“This is a very proud moment for me as current Headteacher of George Green's School. Today, the School is thriving thanks to George Green's vision and generosity. Tens of thousands of children have passed through our gates over the past 200 years. All of them have benefitted from George Green's belief in the importance of education. His tomb should stand as a symbol of the importance and significance of education. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of this project."

Jon Ryder, Headteacher, George Green School

Tom Ryland Award for Conservation

We are thrilled to announce that we have received the Tom Ryland Award from the Hammersmith Society for the restoration of the Leaning Woman statue.

This has been a fantastic project, with huge local engagement, including over 400 young people involved in visits and creative workshops, and excellent conservation work.

A big thanks to all who supported the project – the St Peter’s Residents Association, the many generous local donors, the Hammersmith & Fulham Historic Buildings Group and Hammersmith Society and Hammersmith & Fulham Council. Our thanks particularly to CMS Cameron McKenna for their support for our grant.

We’ve had wonderfully positive feedback from the project and look forward to it providing many decades of enjoyment & interest!

HOLT Director Dr Nicola Stacey received the award last night from Deputy Mayor Cllr Daryl Brown from Hammersmith & Fulham Council.