House of St Barnabas
The House of St Barnabas, at 1 Greek Street, Soho, is a Grade I Listed Georgian building in London notable for its rococo plasterwork interiors and for other architectural features.
Since 1862 the House has been run as a charity to help those who have experienced homelessness. The name of the organisation was changed from the "House of Charity" to the "House of St Barnabas" in 1951. The building functioned as a hostel for women until 2006.
The not-for-profit members' club at The House of St Barnabas opened in October 2013 and closed in January 2024.
History
In March 1679, Richard Frith and William Pym were developing Soho Square, then known as Fryths Square. A timber merchant, Cadogon Thomas of Lambeth, held a lease for a great corner house, coach house and stables. Aristocrats who lived in the Restoration house included the second Baron Crew, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and the dowager Countess of Fingall but the longest residence was of William Archer MP from 1719 until 1738. By May 1742 the original house had been demolished; the new house was built between 1744 and 1747, but it remained unoccupied until the lease was sold to Richard Beckford in October 1754.It is likely that the elaborate rococo plasterwork was added by Richard Beckford. Upon his death in 1756, the house was sold to Sir James Colebrooke with a conveyance stating that the previous owner had made some 'useful and ornamental furnishings'.
In 1811 the house ceased to be a residential property and was let to the Westminster Commissioners of Sewers, and its successor the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers after 1849. In 1856 the house was used by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and became the office of Sir Joseph William Bazalgette. It was during this time that the 19th century additions were made at the back of the house.
Research published in The Dickensian in 1963 suggests that the rooms and gardens of the House of St Barnabas were the blueprint for the imagined lodgings of Dr. Manette and Lucy in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, published in 1859 and set between the turmoil of Paris during the French Revolution and the comparative tranquillity of London. Subsequently, the road on which is the Chapel entrance was renamed Manette Street.
The 'golden arm' now resides at the Dickens House Museum but you can see a modern replica sticking out of the wall near the Pillars of Hercules pub at the western end of Manette Street.
Charitable work
The House of Charity, founded in 1846, moved from its home No. 9 Rose Street to the new premises at 1 Greek Street in 1861, which had been purchased for £6,400.Behind the House of Charity was an ideal of practical Christianity, spurred on by the Oxford Movement. The first list of members included William Ewart Gladstone.
One of the original functions of the Charity was to keep families together when the husband of a family went into a workhouse. Between January 1847 and February 1851, 487 people were admitted. Of these, 103 were families ranging from a single mother to a family of ten with both parents and eight children. These families were a typical example of the way in which the House of Charity set out "to offer to those who are sunk in the depths of temporal, and frequently spiritual, wretchedness, the example of the discipline of a Christian family".
The House of Charity described itself as one of the few institutions in London where men, women and children of all walks of life, were able to 'apply for aid without a loss of self-respect'. Temporary guests of the house included 'all who found themselves in a condition of friendlessness and destitution that is not the manifest result of idleness or vice.'
World War II and beyond
Between 1862 and the outbreak of World War II, the Charity broadened its functions and over the years helped the homeless of London in many different ways: it helped people who were emigrating to Australia and were awaiting the long sea journey, people who had to come to London for surgery in hospitals, servants who had lost their jobs, teachers between positions and émigrés from Russia and the Balkans – an association which still continues to this day with the monthly services of the Macedonian community in the chapel.After the outbreak of World War II, during the blitz, the nuns moved back to Clewer and the house was requisitioned for war duty. In November 1940 a bomb fell on the house, causing sufficient damage though fortunately no fatalities. The Air Training Corps used the premises as a headquarters during the war, having first applied to repair the bomb damage sufficiently to allow use of the building. Following this, London County Council was granted use of the building for 'the purpose of training Students in Child Welfare'.
After the war the house opened as a women's hostel, originally helping ex-service women, and at one time providing 'as many as 802 beds'. The hostel had many supporters and friends, among them Joyce Grenfell, the comic actress, who was a constant visitor and fundraiser. The house closed as a women's hostel in 2006. All the residents were re-housed.
The individual stories of the people who made the house their home over this long period are recorded in the house archives, which are now kept in the Westminster Archive. Then, as now, the charity was overseen by a board of trustees.
Now
The House of St Barnabas has the vision "to create a future where sustained employment is a reality for those affected by homelessness." It has been constituted as a members' club since 2013. The club hosts music and entertainment events, and also showcases visual art from established and emerging artists. The founding members of the club were Andrew Weatherall, Gilles Peterson, Sav Remzi, Miranda Sawyer, Ekow Eshun, Brian Cox, Margot Bowon, Richard Strange, Rob Da Bank, Rankin, Hew Locke and Jarvis Cocker.In July 2019 it was reported that the house was running a 12-week scheme in which participants work in the club, in hospitality and administrative roles, alongside attending workshops, before graduating with a City and Guilds qualification. Graduates are provided with a minimum of one year post-programme support to help them back into lasting paid work and to help break the cycle of homelessness.
After a ceiling collapse in July 2023, the club announced its permanent closure in January 2024.
The House
The Entrance Hall
The interior detail, the moulded plasterwork, is one of the finest examples of the English Rococo style surviving in London. Whilst it is not known for sure who instigated this work, it is probable that Richard Beckford commissioned the additions to the House's interior. Similarly, the designers of the elaborate plasterwork are thought to be George Fawkes and Humphrey Willmott, the plasterers employed at Mansion House at around the same date, though there is no solid evidence to support this.The front door is original and the Charity still has the large key for the lock; 18th century London was a dangerous place, hence the enormous safety chain.
The simple decoration of the hall was a deliberate device to attract the visitor's eye to the decorated staircase leading to the rooms on the first floor.
The wrought-iron balustrades of the staircase are original. The original chandelier held candles and the mechanism for raising and lowering still exists. The Angel on the landing is the oldest object in the house. It dates from the 1600s, is made of wood and is Flemish. This has been embellished by the artist Nancy Fouts.
There is a galleried landing from which the plasterwork can be viewed more closely: there is a deep relief of female busts, a lion's head and scrollwork. In Richard Beckford's time, the panels would almost certainly have held oil paintings, probably of members of his large family. Their places are now occupied by paintings by the artist Alan Rankle.
The Soho & Dickens Rooms
The office for the Charity's Hostel Director and Personal Support Workers, who provided the one-to-one counselling, advice and support to the residents, was almost certainly the dining room, known as The Soho Room. This room, together with the Dickens room that leads from it, has plasterwork from the 1750s, although it is not quite as ornate as the decoration in the rooms above.The Dickens Room has a fireplace with four roundel paintings of nuns, installed when the House of Charity moved into the buildings.
These rooms now hold the members' restaurant and private dining facilities.
The Drawing Room
The ceiling of The Drawing Room has in its corners heads representing the Four Seasons. The central oval medallion shows four putti, holding in their hands the symbols of the four classical elements: earth, water, fire and air.At the top of the wall panel in the drawing room opposite the chimneypiece are two dragons made of papier-mâché. These are the dragons of the city of London which, as an alderman, William Beckford was permitted to use. It is believed, although there is no concrete evidence, that the plasterers William used for Mansion House were engaged to plaster this, his brother Richard's house, as there are distinct similarities between the plasterwork, including the presence of the city of London dragons.
When the House of Charity acquired the property three of the marble chimneypieces from the House, including the Council Room chimneypiece, were sold to fund the building of the chapel. The overmantel and chimney piece were designed as part of the restoration in 1960 by Lawrence King.
The Drawing Room is the largest member's lounge in the club.
The Silk Room
The Silk Room is a silk-lined room which also has its original plasterwork ceiling and carved wooden chimneypiece. It is also called the Withdrawing Room, because in Georgian times it was the room that ladies would have withdrawn to.The Silk Room is currently used as both a board room and private dining space.