Kingsley Hall is a community centre, in Powis Road, Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It dates back to the work of Doris and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, died aged 26 in 1914, leaving money for work in the local area for "educational, social and recreational" purposes, with which the Lesters bought and converted a disused chapel. The current Hall was built with a stone-laying ceremony taking place on 14 July 1927. A second community centre, also known as Kingsley Hall with a church (KHCCC - Kingsley Hall Church and Community Centre), was later built by the sisters in the neighbouring London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on Parsloes Avenue in Dagenham. KHCCC underwent redevelopment in 2018. During the General Strike of 1926, Kingsley Hall in Bow became a shelter and soup kitchen for workers. Mohandas Gandhi stayed in Kingsley Hall in 1931 and the building now houses the Gandhi Foundation. The room where he stayed has been preserved. In 1935, hunger marchers on the Jarrow March stayed at the Hall. In 1965 R. D. Laing and his associates asked the Lesters for permission to use the Hall as an alternative community, influenced by the World War II Northfield experiments, for treating people affected by mental health crisis. Kingsley Hall became home to one of the most radical experiments in psychology of the time. The aim of the experiment by the Philadelphia Association was to create a model for non-restraining, non-drug therapies for those people seriously affected by schizophrenia. The idea of starting this type of community was an initiative suggested by Mary Barnes an artist and former nurse and, first resident as patient. The hall was designated a Grade II listed building in September 1973.
Origins Doris, Muriel and Kingsley Lester grew up in wealth and comfort, though there was a family connection to the poor East End districts. Their grandfather Henry Lester grew up in poverty, starting work as a bricklayer's labourer at the age of eight. Their father, also called Henry Lester started work at the Thames Ironworks at Blackwall and Canning Town at the age of ten. He latterly owned a ship repair yard in Blackwall and would help finance some of his children's early social work. Both father and grandfather were devout Baptists. Henry Lester bought a cottage in Loughton, (then a countryside district of Essex), to be used as a holiday place by families from Bow. Named after his deceased wife, Rachel Cottage also served to provide holidays for nursery children. In 1912, Doris and Muriel Lester started a Nursery School at numbers 58 and 60 Bruce Road. Children were fed, clothed and cared for at a charge of one shilling (five pence a day). When mothers could not afford fees, children were sponsored by a network of wealthier supporters. The service was soon expanded to include activities for older groups with the aim to provide for the development of the whole person – the mind, body and spirit – in an environment which brought people together regardless of class, race and religion. Kingsley Lester died in 1914, leaving what money he had for work in Bow towards "educational, social and recreational" purposes. Doris and Muriel Lester bought an old chapel on the corner of Eagling Road in 1915, which was then re-decorated and fitted out by local volunteers. It was a "people's house", where friends and neighbours, workmen, factory girls and children of Bow came together for "worship, study, fun and friendship". The premises became known as Kingsley Hall, and operated a Nursery, as well as social events, concerts and adult school. Football, Sunday services and summer holiday schemes were also begun. The aims of the centre were expressed on the membership cards as "a place of fellowship in which people can meet for social, educational and recreational intercourse without barriers of class, colour or creed." During World War I, in the face of criticism, Doris and Muriel remained pacifists. Kingsley Hall ran a soup kitchen and stayed open at night for Air Raid Wardens. At the end of the war, Doris and Muriel joined a march to the House of Commons demanding that milk be sent to Germany, where people were starving. A German child was adopted by the members of Kingsley Hall who paid for her to stay with a local family for two years. After the War, Kingsley Hall maintained strong links with the Suffragettes in east London. Activists campaigned for votes for women in the face of threats. Muriel Lester spoke on street corners and on Sunday mornings in Victoria Park. After her talks, local people contributed towards maintaining services at Kingsley Hall. Muriel became an Alderman on the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar and fought for basic provisions such as milk for children under five. Enough money was saved to build the Children's House on Bruce Road which was opened by H. G. Wells in 1923. The foundation stones represent: Vision, Nature, Rhythm and Music; Beauty, Health, Education, Motherhood, Internationalism and Fellowship. The Children's House continues to be run as a Nursery School.
Powis Road site During the 1926 General Strike, the hall became a shelter and soup kitchen for workers. Larger accommodation was needed as the popularity of Kingsley Hall grew, and a new Kingsley Hall was built on Powis Road, with funds from people in the neighbourhood and donations from wealthy patrons. The architect was Charles Cowles-Voysey. A stone-laying ceremony took place on 14 July 1927. The following people laid stones representing different aspects.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
