The history of The Royal Philanthropic Society

In 1788 a small group of men concerned about the number of homeless children who earned a living on London streets by begging or stealing met in St Paul's Coffee House. These children would either die of natural causes or fall foul of the law; either way their future was bleak. As a result of the meeting the men got the backing of the Duke of Leeds and set up The Philanthropic Society, whose aim was to aid the reformation of boys who had been engaged in criminal activities.
... .. A Society booklet produced in 1804, some 16 years after inauguration, states the object of the Society thus: - 'to give a good education with the means of acquiring and honest living to some, who must otherwise set out in life under circumstances of peculiar disadvantage ; and who, if not protected and instructed by the charity, would probably fall into bad hands , and become wretched pupils of vice and profligacy. It is notorious that among the number condemned in this country to to death or transportation, many may be found who have been tutored and from their infancy in vicious practices, and who were actively engaged at a very early age in the commission of crimes. Nor is this matter of surprise; children are much fitter instruments for experienced villainy to work with, than accomplices of riper age; being in a less degree objects of suspicion, they have less vigilance to encounter on the part of those, who are to be defrauded or attacked; they may be employed, without being admitted into the secrets of the gang; they can therefore make no material discoveries in the event of detection, and in the case of success, they will be contented with an inconsiderable portion of the plunder.'
... .. The booklet continues to describe the plight of such children who were either the offspring of felons at large, convicted criminals or, in some cases, of parents who had been sentenced to death. Others were street orphans whose parents had abandoned them or children who were living in parish workhouses.
. .. The 1804 booklet describes how the committee met every Friday at 12 o'clock at the St. Paul's coffee house in the St Paul's churchyard, to discuss and decided upon admissions. Children (the booklet calls them objects) were seldom taken younger than eight or nine or older than 12. All cases brought before the committee were considered. The practice of accepting children in the order their cases were submitted had once been used but by 1804 had been discontinued and acceptance now (1804) depended upon the circumstances of the case and the condition of the Society's funds. Rejection did not prevent an application being re-submitted. There were children under sentence of death who were saved from this fate by Society acceptance.
...... At first, in 1788, a small child was sent to a nurse and when the number of children in such care reached 12 a house was rented and the children put into residence. They were taught to knit stocking and make lace. Within two years there were 50 children in four houses and in 1792 an institution was set up at Southwark. Here boys were taught tailoring, shoemaking, printing and rope-making, and the girls needlework, laundry and kitchen skills. There was also a house at Bermondsey called 'The Reform', which was set up in 1802, and a manufactory in St George's Fields for boys with an adjacent building for girls, the two being separated by a high wall that prevented intercourse between the two. Boys were first sent to 'The Reform' where there was stricter regulation and closer confinement.

The 1804 booklet referred to.
(Courtesy Ralph Wycherley)

.... . Following a course of instruction provided by the Society it was, from 1801, the case that boys could be sent out to work for tradesmen and perhaps be apprenticed. Earning were paid in part to the boy and in part held back until that boy left Society care, when it was paid to him in a lump sum to aid his transfer into the world at large. Girls were prepared for menial service and when old enough were placed with respectable families at low wages. They would receive rewards for good behaviour at the end of their first and second years in service. In 1804 there were 18 boys in the Reform, 93 in the manufactory and 49 girls. There were 20 apprentices working out of the manufactory but still under Society care.
... . By 1804 the only uncompleted part of the establishment of the Society was a chapel. This was a project in hand, however, and it was announced that great progress had been made even though, as the booklet stated, 'the present season of war and difficulty is not favourable to works of great expense.' So far £4000 had been spent on the structure and the fitting out, including provision of the organ, was said not to exceed the total cost of £8,000. The original donations received when the plans had been published in 1803 had been £1,362, an amount estimated to provide around £2,000, presumably through investment or more donations, and the remaining £6,000 was being raised through shares of £.50 (which is how it is written in the booklet and is assumed to be fifty pounds) bearing at 5% interest. A list of those holding shares is given. Unfortunately the whereabouts of the chapel is not shown but it was in St George's Fields, Southwark. It opened in 1808 and images of the exterior and interior exist on the internet. .
... . In 1845 a decision was taken to care for boys only. By this time there were one hundred boys. Those who did well were found employment, some emigrated to South Africa.
.....The Chaplain of the Society, the Rev. Sydney Turner, was of the opinion that the institute should not be in the town but in the country, away from the crime ridden streets of London. Several sites were found but from most there was local opposition from people fearful of having a group of delinquents in their area. One concerned resident even offered the Society £1,000 to stay away from her area, a sum that was accepted.
....Funds were hard to come by but in 1848 a decision was taken to set up a farm school at Redhill. The farm originally consisted of 133 acres, later increased to 350 acres on a 150 year lease. Included was an option that the farm could be bought at a fixed price during the term of the lease, this being later realised.

......The move to Redhill was in 1849. The main building was the old 16th century farmhouse which was extended to create a warden's house and offices. The bailiff's house was enlarged for the first boys to arrive before work began on a chapel at the top of the hill, the foundation for which was laid by Prince Albert on April 30th, 1849.

Princes House, the 16thc farmhouse that became offices and the warden's home



	The laying of the foundation stone by Prince Albert in 1849	The foundation stone pictured in the 1990s



	The Farm School from across the railway 1851		Another view of the chapel and main buildings

	The chapel interior.
			All that now remains of the chapel is its entrance. The chapel was damged during WW2 by a V1 but was restored afterwards. The building behind was erected by the RNIB who now occupy the site.

Why was the chapel demolished? Accounts vary slightly. It was demolished at the time the RNIB took over in 1986. People living and working on the Philanthropic Farm School site were dismayed at the demolition and not at all certain why it was taking place. The job was done quite quickly and the result is that a part of Redhill's history and heritage was been lost. It is possible that one of the windows was saved and installed elsewhere, but the location is unknown.
However, an acount from Canon Anthony Thompson, who was connected with the school for a few years until 1986, puts a clearer light on the matter;
. . . 'I recall very clearly that, during my time at the ‘Philly’, concern was being expressed about the vulnerability of the chapel due to its construction having been of Reigate stone which disintegrates with age and exposure to the weather. I remember there being talk of somewhere in the region of £20,000 - £30,000 being needed to ‘save’ the chapel. I remember, at the time, a lot of heart-searching going on regarding whether or not it was worth trying to raise such a large amount of money as that in order to restore a chapel that, by then, was hardly ever used. Clearly, either before or soon after the RNIB took over the Philanthropic buildings, the chapel was demolished. I’m surprised that nobody appears to have known the reason why because, as far as I am concerned, it was common knowledge that the building was in a pretty grim state structurally – it is possible that it may even have been dangerous by then?
. . . 'When I was interviewed for the post of half-time chaplain (March 1982) the numbers of boys at the Philanthropic was well over 100. If I remember rightly between 120 – 130? By the time I took up the post (September 1982), numbers had dropped dramatically. Again, if I remember rightly, it was the number of boys in the community homes that experienced the biggest drop. Consequently, regular chapel services had ceased to be viable. (The service register would indicate this. I presume this may be in the archives of the Philanthropic Society?) During my four years as chaplain, I recollect there being a relatively small number of services in that chapel. I can’t remember how many but probably just a few each year for special occasions. So it was this lack of usage, combined with the cost of repair, that will most probably have led to the decision to demolish.
. . . 'Regarding the stained glass windows, I believe that they were sold to one of those companies that deals in artefacts etc from old churches. I remember receiving an enquiry at some point from someone in Australia who had bought either a complete window or part of one from the chapel. I don’t think it was, however, the east window. My memory is that, whilst the east window was very interesting in that it reflected the genius of the Philanthropic, it was not a particularly good example of stained glass work.'
. . . Canon Anthony E Thompson

History (cont)

Two full size houses for the boys called Queens and Princes were also built. By 1857 there were five houses accomodating 250 boys, each house having a master and a matron. The houses were called Gladstone's, Gurney's (founder Samuel Gurney MP), Garston's, Waterlands, Queen's and Prince's. Boys accepted at the school early on were either voluntary cases at expiration of prison sentences, voluntary cases part paid for by parents who could not manage them at home, or very young boys sentenced to transportation. The Reformatory School Act of 1854 made changes that meant that in place of these three categories the school began receiving boys directly from the courts.


Garston's House, one of the five houses built to accomodate boys.

The aim now was to reform boys already embarked on a life of crime rather than to prevent them getting into crime in the first place, which had been the original aim. This was reflected in the name of the establishment which by 1861 was the Redhill Reformatory School. The numbers of boys at the school rose considerably, and at the end of their time at the school many Victorian era boys were sent to various parts of the British Empire. As many as thirty-five boys were sent abroad each year. Some may have bettered themselves and lived long lives, others may have not fared so well in foreign lands..

		Gurney's house accomodated fifty boys


	On the 1938 map below the location of the five houses can be seen to the east of Earlswood.. Princes House is designated as the warden's house and , with Queen's House is north of the railway line. Waterlands, Gurney's, Garston's and Gladstone's Houses are south of the line. Note also the swimming bath built into the Redhill Brook.

Extract of 1851 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

Chaplain	Sydney Turner, 36	Staff had families and servants with them
Schoolmaster	Charles Hedgelong, 26	and altogether there were 121 people on site
Schoolmaster	John Butcher, 30	of which 89 were pupils, each boy being
Schoolmaster	Thomas Morgan, 24	listed by his full name. Boys' ages ranged
Bailiff	James Bilcliffe, 39	from 10-17.
Farm labourer	George Brown, 25	This was the third year of the RPS at Redhill.
Farm labourer	William Brown
Baker	Joseph Kendrick, 61
Cook	Susannah Kendrick
Carpenter	Thomas Dye

1930s milking team

......Chaplain Turner who had first suggested the idea of a move to the country left to take up the post of the Society's first chief inspector and was replaced by the Rev. Charles Walters in about 1857. Henry Rogers was the school secretary in 1861.
.....Apart from the problems faced in reforming the boys there were also health problems. Redhill was in its infancy with none of the services enjoyed today. Wells were the only source of water and there were cases of typhoid. Keeping everyone fed must have also been difficult as there were also dietary problems at the school. Gas and water would not be piped to the school until the 1880s. In May 190% the Relief of Mafeking was celebrated by an extra piece of cake being given to each boy.

	Extract of 1861 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

Chaplain	Charles Walters, 34
Secretary	Henry Rogers, 31	Along with 275 boy inmates, each one
Schoolmaster	John Lawrence, 51	listed by his initials only, the number
Schoolmaster	John Cowen, 25	of people on the site had grown
Schoolmaster	John Butcher, 39	considerably.There was also a gardener
Schoolmaster	Jabez Howe, 32	and several agricultural labourers plus a
Schoolmaster	John Lawson, 27	bricklayer. Also listed with all those above
Schoolmaster	James Rempshall, 33	is a Pitman at Fuller's Earth, making one
Bailiff	James Bilcliffe, 49	wonder quite how many were not proper to
Matron	Anne Walker, 50	the RPS estate. Nevertheless the total
Baker	James Smith, 43	number listed is 375, making the RPS
Band and Drill master	Edward Holman, 31	organisation a very labour intensive one.



	An early 190%s view of the chapel and what could have been part of Queen's House by a Redhill photographer	The same view in 2012 with RNIB building now dominating the scene


	The house seen in the photo on the left still stands and is called Laurel House. Could this have been the original Queen's House, or part of it before it was expanded?


Queens House is alongside Laurel House

	Extract of 1871 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

Chaplain	Charles Walters, 44		In addition to those shown there were two
Secretary	John Trevarthen, 34		labour masters. They were shown as
Schoolmaster	William Hearne, 37		servants but were presumably connected
Schoolmaster	John Cowen, 35		with the supervision of the boys.
Schoolmaster	John Butcher, 49
Schoolmaster	Jabez Howe, 42	.	248 boys are listed. Altogether there were
Baker	James Smith, 54		328 people on site
Bailiff	James Bilcliffe, 59
Matron	Anne Walker, 65?
Out pensioner & writing clerk	Edward Holman, 40		Note - In 1861 was band and drill master
Gardener	Thomas Buckland 51		Note - Born in Reigate
Brickmaker	Ebenezer Francis

	Extract of 1881 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

Chaplain	Charles Walters, 52
Secretary	John Trevarthen, 44	234 boys are listed. Altogether there were
Schoolmaster	John Butcher, 59	307 people on site. Some of the wives have
Schoolmaster	John Cowen, 45	jobs as dairymaids, etc. Some of the older
Schoolmaster	Jabez Howe, 52	children of employees have jobs outside of
Schoolmaster	William Hearne, 48	the school.
Baker	James Smith, 64
Bailiff	George Bilcliffe, 44
Drillmaster teacher	George William Bathe, 34	The estate is named as a 'Farm School'.
Clerk and bandmaster	Edward Holman 50 *	The boys are named and listed as 'juvenile
Matron	Sarah Bilcliffe, 57	offenders under detention'.
Assistant schoolmaster	George Benfield, 24
Carpenter labour master	Thomas Best, 68
Cowman	Alfed Cooper
Farm labour master	John Marks, 45
Carter	Henry Shuttleworth, 26
Gardener	Thomas Buckland, 61	Note - Born in Reigate

George William Bathe about40 years after he was
drill master at the school. (Photo Peter Bathe)

Extract of 1891 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

	Warden (Chaplain)	George Vine, 40
	Clerk (secretary)	John Trevarthen, 54
	Matron	Sarah Bilcliffe, 63
	Assistant matron	Louisa Cowen, 57	Note - Wife of schoolmaster
	Assistant matron	Jane Howe, 60	Note - Wife of schoolmaster
	Assistant matron	Anne Hearne	Note - Wife of schoolmaster
	Assistant matron	Lucy Walker, 28
	Schoolmaster	William Hearne, 57
	Schoolmaster	Jabez Howe, 60	Note - Son is a solicitor
	Schoolmaster	John Cowen, 56
	Schoolmaster	Charles Walker, 31
	Assistant master	William Hearne, 28	Note - Son of schoolmaster
	Assistant master	Thomas Day, 19
	Cook	Jane Howe	Note - Daughter of schoolmaster
	Cook	Mary Hearne	Note - Daughter of schoolmaster
	Gardener	Charles Pollard, 59
	Baker	James Smith, 74	Notable this year is the number of
	Bandmaster	Henry Mallinder, 48	schoolmaster's relatives who also have jobs
	Bailiff	Walter Brown, 36	on site, especially assistant matrons. Perhaps
	Cowman	Alfred Cooper, 50	there was one in each of the five houses as
	Farmburser ??	Frank Drewett, 39	there would probably have been one master
	Farm labour master	Henry Ford, 56	in each house.
	Farm labour master	James Harman, 31	There are 320 people on site, 235 of which
	General nurse	Mary Hobson, 41	are boys in detention.



Shoemaking in the1870s	Weaving in the 1890s

Extract of 1901 census at the Royal Philanthropic Society

Chaplain and Warden	Marshall George Vine, 50	No assistant matrons this time but probably
Secretary	John Trevarthen, 64	the organisation had not changed with a
Farm Bailiff	Walter Brown, 45	schoolmaster and his wife running each of
Bandmaster and storekeeper	Henry Mallinder, 58	the houses. Their jobs would not have been
Gardener	Charles Pollard, 67	9-5 ones.
Carpenter	James Mailing, 43
Farm labourmaster	James Harman, 42
Farm labourmaster	George Missen, 36
Cowman on farm	Alfred Cooper, 49
Carter	Frank Drewett, 48
Medical nurse	Harriet Smith, 52
Schoolmaster	John Cowen, 65
Matron	Florence Cowen, 36	Note - Daughter of schoolmaster
Schoolmaster in training	William Pollard, 26
Schoolmaster	William Hearne, 68
Schoolmaster	Frank Gouds, 26
Schoolmaster	William Kellaway? 26


	It has been suggested that the remuneration for those working at the RPS Farm School were low but it should be noted that although there are many different names recorded in the above censuses there are those who remained in post for many years. James Bilcliffe, the bailiff in 1851, was still in post in 1871 and served at least twenty years before being succeeded by his son, George. Schoolmaster John Butcher, also first seen in the 1851 census, was still there in 1881, serving at least thirty years. Chaplain Charles Walters appears in the 1861 census and aged 34 and also in the 1881 census aged 52, serving at least eighteen years. John Cowen was aged 25 in 1861 and was aged 65 in the 1901 census, a period of forty years. Secretary John Trevarthen appears in 1871 aged 34 and is still there in 1901 aged 64. Jabez Howe went from 1861 to 1891 at least. Their wives stayed with them and their children grew up at the Farm School creating a permanance that belies difficult conditions or poor remuneration. Perhaps a certain amount of job satisfaction was the reason for longevity in their jobs. Perhaps what they had was better than what was on offer elsewhere in Victorian England.


	RPS staff early 190%s. Here are some of the men mentioned in the census returns above. Presumably the man in the centre is the chaplain and warden, Marshall George Vine. Seated on his left is probably the secretary, John Trevarthen.

	Boys of 1913





	These five photos come from a single postcard, the original photos on it being too small to allow enlargement any greater than shown here, and even then no real facial characteristics are discernable. Each group of boys would have come from one of the five houses on the Philanthropic site, there being between fifty-five and sixty boys in each group.

Another image from the same year of 1913. This time one boy, Bob Backhouse, is identified as being in the third row back, and third from right.

. . . .The Farm

1920s tractor on the farm

......The establishment was also known as the 'Farm School' but 'Farm' seems to have been dropped from the title in the 1920s. The basic training for the boys continued to be working on the land however, probably more with the use of the spade rather than the plough. Trade training was also introduced in the form of tailoring, carpentry and shoemaking and as time went by farming activities gradually ceased to play such a large part at the school . A major event in the calendar had been a 'Harvest Home' when the gates were opened to visitors and distinguished guests from the Borough and further afield came to see the work done there and to observe the final harvest being brought in. Precisely when the 'Harvest Home' days ceased is unknown but farming still seems to have been a major occupation in the 1920s and 30s, with Harvest Festivals continuing. They possibly ceased in the 1940s.

Making hay in the 1920s

......The school would have continued to produce food during the war as part of the economy and 'Dig for Victory' campaign, so perhaps the end of the war is a more likely date when the plough started to become slightly less heavily used. Farming did not cease altogether, but in 1975 a report mentions that the farm had not made a profit for two years, a cause for concern, and bearing in mind that the school had not very many more years to survive, this could well have been the last straw for the farm (to make a rather obvious pun).

Stacking sheaves in the 1920s before the corduroy uniform went out of use

......The school uniform was made of tough brown corduroy with a forage cap. Close cropped hair made the boys look like convicts. The corduroy uniform was abandoned in 1925 in the wake of a national feeling against institutionalisation. Boys rarely left the farm estate and had only one or two days holiday each year.
......In the early years the school ran entirely on voluntary donations plus whatever profit the farm could make but gradually some government funding became available as well as money from local authorities.



The Philanthropic School Farm	A barn, pictured in the 1990s; possibly all that was left of the farm buildings.


Haywagon 1920s-30s	Milking team on the hillside, 1930s


Repairs 1920s-30s	Hay rake 1931


1930s haycart	Reaping and binding 1935


Milking	On the farm in 1931

. . . . Other aspects of the School


The 1930s Metal shop	1950s wood-workers


1950s dining hall	Dining hall with stage at far end, 1920-30s


Sports team, 1928	Boxing team


Choir of 1935 at a side entrance of the chapel	Metal shop 1928


Tailor's shop 1920s-30s	A dormitory, date unknown


Leisure hours 1929	Hospital 1920s-30s

The Miniature Village


	A view of the village with a policeman (presumably one of the boys dressed up) included for scale.

In about 1908 the Rev. Vine, Warden of the Farm School, decided that an old disused gravel pit near the main buildings was unsightly and could be put to better use. He devised a scheme to build a model village. In its construction the boys would receive practice in landscaping, tunneling, model building, gardening and numerous other skills while at the same time the gravel pit would become a great deal easier on the eye. How long it took from conception to completion is unknown but it may have been two to three years. Clearly the miniature buildings would have to stand the vagaries of the weather through the changing seasons so they were sturdily made, some of wood and others, such as the church, of stone. The miniature trees and other plants, as well as the railway and all other aspects of the village were equally strongly made.



	The lock on the river that flows through the village.	The recreation ground complete with grandstand and bandstand.

	....Attention to detail seems to have been paramount. The railway worked and the church clock chimed the hours and quarter hours. The church bells could be rung as if to summon inhabitants to worship just as the would in a real village. Each building was constructed with a lift-up roof so the interiors could be accessed and maintained. The church was fitted with pews, a pulpit and miniature organ. Many houses were fitted with furniture, curtains and had well mantained gardens. The railways worked and the station had model people. A weather-proof background was painted by one of the boys and the village given the name of Fronsham.


	The railway is said to have been in full working order with points, tunnels, sidings, sheds, engines, rolling stock etc. If so then it must have been one part of the village that was susceptible to the weather and therefore required extra protection.

The main road through the village. The windmill may have been a part of the painted background.	The church had pews, a pulpit and an organ and the churchyard had headstones.


The ruins of Fountain Abbey included to scale on the outskirts of the village.	The squire's mansion contained a billiard room properly fitted with a slate bedded billiard table.


Boys inspecting the church interior.	Spring cleaning a cottage. All the buildings were made to open in this way.


Boys working on the village.

What happened to the village is unknown. Did it fall into disrepair or was it dismantled before that happened? Perhaps there was less interest in it after the original builders had left the school. Warden Vine, its instigator, died in 1919.

	Change
	Reform, or Reformatory, schools had become approved schools under the 1933 Children's Act. In 1967 a book laid down new thinking concerning the activities and future direction of all the approved schools in the country. A 1969 Act changed Approved Schools into 'Community Homes'. No longer an adjunct of the prison service, these homes, Redhill among them, now housed boys who were at the school under care instead of approved orders, and who were under the supervision of social workers. .....Previous regimes had been hard and disciplined but major among the changes was the open door approach wherein boys stayed not because they were enclosed within secure walls but because they were a part of a trusting community, a situation achieved at a cost of increased staffing levels, one of the factors that contributed to the demise of the schools. Another factor was that the personal authority of staff members had been eroded and diminished. ... .These changes actually came into effect at Redhill four years after the 1969 Act. Part of the Act's effect was to put the control of the school into the hands of a new administrator, chosen from bids made by areas such as Wandsworth, Lambeth and Surrey, Wandsworth being successful. Although the Philanthropic Society no longer ran the school it was still very much involved in its management, but the resulting structure was heavy and unwieldy. ......The burden of financial responsibility fell on its main administrator, Wandsworth Borough, which ran the school as a business, with profit in mind. It would offer places to other areas, such as local counties and other London Boroughs at so much per week, aiming to house and educate a boy for less and take the profit. Because the new system was inefficient these profits either did not materialise or were there at first but declined as time went by and costs soared. ..... Over the years the school had split into three parts: - The Classifying School, which opened in1955 and was known as the Assessment Centre from 1973 - The Training School, known as the Community Home from 1973 - The Secure Unit, opened in 1965 and became the Intensive Care Unit in 1973. Just before closure a new set of buildings was erected north of the railway for a new Community Home and all of the land to the south of the railway was sold, the proceeds going to fund new projects. Boat builders of 1975 ..... Due to much of the Society's old control being taken out of its hands problems built up, and in 1986 two year's notice to the Secretary of State for Social Services and to the London Borough of Wandsworth that it would cease to provide premises for the Community Home at Redhill. The building programme north of the railway was not completed due to closure of the Farm School in 1988, the Society's Bicentenial year. It had existed at Redhill from 1849, a period of 139 years. The Royal Philanthropic Society itself still exists, for details see bottom of this web page.

	Some of the reform school buildings pictured in the 1990s after their 1988 closure

The Graveyard


The graveyard in the 1990s

Across the drive from the chapel there is a graveyard. This picture of part of it I took in the 1990s. As can be seen it was then well looked after. I returned in 2012 to find it overgrown with long grass and brambles. The RNIB who now owns the site has had to re-assess its priorities regarding the upkeep of the whole areae and the graveyard was not one of those priorities.



A 2012 photo, similar to the 1990s one above

As can be seen from this 2012 photo the graveyard has suffered from neglect. The RNIB is a charity and has to work within strict financial restraints. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RNIB head office estate manager and the local estate manager at Redhill for allowing me access to the site to take these photos, and to the graveyard in order to identify the occupants of the graves.


	Left: a view to the east and, right, a view to the west. Under the brambles are several graves completely hidden from view



	The wicket gate still stands although the gate hinges are rusted and broken, the base is crumbling and the oak timbers are suffering. The plot measure approximately 100 feet by 30 feet.	On the crossbeam of the wicket gate is an inscription that reads 'To the Glory of God and in Memory of Henry Charles Richards K.C., M.P.'. Born at Hackney he was a barrister, King's Counsel, Treasurer of Gray's Inn 1904-1905 and MP for East Finsbury 1805 - 1905. He is said to have spent the happiest hours of a busy life as a frequent worshipper within the walls of St Paul's Cathedral. An amateur archaeologist, in his will he left money for the re-erection of Paul's Cross at St Paul's. His grave is one of those within the graveyard and records his birth on 10th April 1831 and his death on June 1st 1905. On his grave is recorded the fact that he was a founder member of the Committee of the Philanthropic Society's Farm School at Redhill, which explains his presence in the graveyard. (see grave 14 listing below)

A List of the Burials.
Burials are listed in date order (source: the burial register deposited at Surrey History Centre). Not all the graves are marked but those that are have a photo of the headstone included.

No.	Name	Headstone and Inscription	Other information
1	Dudley Jones	Darling little Dudley, firstborn son of Jesse Robert and Annie Jones of Gladstone's House. Died Feb. 11th 1887 aged 15 months.	Buried Feb. 15th 1887. (Burial register records the year as 1886 but as the register was started in 1887 this is a mistake) Lived in Gladstone House. A small headstone; the wording facing away from the main part of the graveyard. Jesse was a certified schoolteacher at Gladstone's House and Annie was the matron there. By 1891 they had two more sons. Jesse died aged 33 and his grave is No. ??? below.
2	Arthur Jackson	Arthur Gregory Jackson. Minister, Pastor, 1882. Born 12th June 1843. Died 23rd April 1887. .	Buried April 28th 1887. Aged 43 at death. He was the warden and in that capacity performed the above burial ceremony. His own burial was performed by W.M.Richardson, Vicar of Woodcote. Lived in the warden's house. His monument is the largest in the graveyard and is about 12 feet high. Before clearance it was completely covered by bramble and ivy.
3	William Wilson (real name Goodwin)	No headstone found	Buried Dec. 19th 1888. Lived in Waterland's House. Died aged 14.
4	Louisa Maria Beatrice Rich	No headstone found	Buried March 18th 1889. Lived in Garston's Cottages. Died aged 17 months.
5	John Beale	No headstone found	Buried May 28th 1889 Lived at Garston's House. Died aged 17 years
6	Hugh Smith	No headstone found	Buried Oct 17th 1890. Lived at Gurney's House. Died aged 17 years.
7	Martha June Harrison	No headstone found	Buried April 15th 1891. Lived at Garston's Cottages. Died aged 6 years.
8	Sarah Bilcliffe	No headstone found	Buried Sept. 30th 1892. Born at Brampton, Suffolk c1827. She was the matron and lived in the Matron's House. She appears earlier on this page in the extracts from the 1881 and 1891 cesuses. Died aged 65.
9	Tom Strain	No headstone found	Buried April 25th 1893. Lived at Waterland's House. Died aged 16.
10	William James Jupp	No headstone found	Buried Sept. 10th 1893 Lived in Garston's House. Died aged 16 years.
11	Henry Martin	No headstone found	Buried March 4th 1894 Lived in Gladstone's House. Died aged 16 years.
12	Jesse Jones B.A.	Erected by fellow officers and other friends in memory of Jesse Robert Jones B.A., (letters gone) years master of Gladstone's House. Fell asleep August 1st 1894 aged 33 years. RIP.	Buried Aug 4th 1894. Jesse was the father of Dudley Jones and Gladstone House schoolteacher mentioned above in burial 1. Headstone originally standing but unstable, now laying down.
`13	Luke Killick	No headstone found	Buried Oct 14th 1895. Lived at Earlswood. Died aged 5 months.
14	ErnestHarold Miller	No headstone found	Buried Jan 15th 1896. Lived at Garston's Cottages. Died aged 2 years 4 months.
15	Mary Brown	No headstone found	Buried August 4th 1896 Lived at Gladstone's Cottages Died aged 61
16	Ernest Valentine Cager	No headstone found	Buried Feb 2nd 1897 Lived at Waterlands House Died aged 15 years
17	Charles James Creask	No headstone found	Buried Mar 28th 1897 Lived at Queen's House Died aged 17 years
18	Emma Brooker	In loving memory of Emma, wife of William John Brooker, died 4th April 1898 aged (letters gone) years.	Buried April 8th 1898 Lived at Glandstone's House Died aged 37 years
19	William Quinn	No headstone found	Buried March 18th 1899 Lived at Gladstone's House Died aged 17 years
20	Hilda Mary Hilton	No headstone found	Buried Sept 2nd 1899 Lived at Earlsbrook Road, Earlswood. Died aged 9 months
21	William Stannard Maude Stannard	William Arthur Stannard, Assistant Secretary 1898-1899. Died on Christmas Day 1899 aged 30 years. Also of Maude Alice Stannard, sister of the above, Matron of Gladstone's House 1902-1908. Died October 3rd 1908 aged 36 years. Erected by the warden, officers, the boys of Gladstone House, members of the family and other friends.	William buried Dec 30th 1899 Burial register stated age was 30 Address given as the Farm School
22	William Tyler	No headstone found	Buried Sept 16th 190% Lived at Garston's House Died aged 16 years
23	Moses Charles Attridge	No headstone found	Buried Mar 3rd 1901 Lived at Hooley Lane, Earlswood Died aged 81 years
24	Hilda Winifred Garton	No headstone found	Buried April 10th 1901 Died aged 5 years Lived at 85 Newlands Park,Sydenham. Burials 3-23 were conducted by Warden M.G.Vine, but this one was officiated over by J.A.Garton, curate of St Martin in the Fields. At some time the drillmaster at the school was named Garton, and this child may have been his granddaughter, and the curate another relative.
25	James Harman	No headstone found	Buried July 24th 1901 lived at Garstons Cottages Died aged 41 years
26	Samuel Thomas Jay	No headstone found	Buried Sept 29th 1901 Lived at Garston's House Died aged 17 years
27	Pearce Naylor	No headstone found	Buried Oct 29th 1901 Lived at Garston's House Died aged 16 years
28	Henry Gleeson	No headstone found	Buried Dec 11th 1901 Livedat Gladstone's House Died aged 16 years
29	Maude Alice Mallinder	No headstone found	Buried Aug 21st 1902 Lived at bandmaster's house. Died aged 19 years Daughter of bandmaster Henry Mallinder (see burial no. ???)
30	Cuthbert Perryman	No headstone found	Buried Sept 4th 1902 Lived in Queens House Died aged 16 years
31	Frances Marjorie Trevarthen, Also Mary Trevarthen	Frances aged 6 years. Died 6th June 1905. Mary, died 25th Aug 1904 aged 9 months. The much loved children of Walter and Edith Trevarthen.	Buried June 9th1903 Lived at Hillmore, Hooley Road, Earlswood. In 1901 Walter Trevarthen, aged 31 and possibly a son of John Trevarthen, was Assistant Secretary at the Farm School and lived in Philanthropic Road. In 1901 Frances was 10 months old.
32	Herbert Albert Mallinder	No headstone found	Buried Oct 3rd 1903 Lived at bandmaster's house. Son of Bandmaster Henry Mallinder (see burial no.37) Died aged 28 years.
33	Frederick Phillip Gillman	No headstone found	Buried Aug 1st 1904 Lived at Waterlands House Died aged 14 years
34	Beatrice Mary Trevarthen	See burial 31	Buried August 27th 1904 Lived at Hillmore, Hooley Road. Died aged 9 months
35	Henry Charles Richards	In memory of Charles Richards K.C.. MP for East Finsbury. Born April 10th 1851. Entered into rest June 1st 1905. Treasurer of the Honourable Society of Grays Inn. A founder member of the Committee of the Philanthropic's Farm School at Redhill.	Buried June 1st 1905 Died aged 54 years Lived in London
36	Charles Pollard	Charles Pollard who died July (1st?) 1906 aged 74	Buried July 5th 1906 Lived in the gardener's cottage at the Farm School, Redhill. Died aged 74 years
37	Henry Mallinder	In loving memory of Henry Mallinder, late ------ (Drum) Major 3rd Batt Grenadier Guards, the beloved husband of Hannah Mallinder, died February 26th 1907 aged 64 years.	Buried March 3rd 1907 Lived in the bandmaster's house. Henry was the bandmaster and storekeeper. Three of his 14 children were born at Redhill (eldest aged 17 in 1901) so he would seem to have been in post for some years. Hannah is not in this grave. (See article on 'Drillmasters and Bandmasters' below.
38	Ambrose Brown	No headstone found	Buried May 27th 1908 Lived in Gladstone's Cottages, Farm School, Redhill. Died aged 83 years.
39	Maude Alice Stannard	See burial 21	Buried October 8th 1908. Lived in Gladstone's House.Died aged 36 years
40	John Arthur Garton	No headstone found	Buried march 10th 1910. Lived at 16 Crystal Palace Park Road, Sydenham. Died aged 9 years. John A. Garton officiated (see also burial 24)
41	Philip Edgar Stone	In loving memory of Philip Edgar Stone, for 17 years master baker of the Farm School, who died October 14th 1910 aged 38 years.	Buried Oct 17th 1910 Lived at 11 Hooley Lane, Earlswood Died aged 38 years.
42	Ernest Hurley	No headstone found	Died April 15th 1911. Lived in Queen's House. Died aged 16 years.
43	John Trevarthen	In loving memory of John Trevarthen, 55 years Secretary of the Farm School. Born 5th June 1836. Died 24th January 1918. (see also burial 47)	Buried Jan 29th 1918. Lived in secretary'd house, Farm School. Died aged 81 years.
44	Marshall George Vine	In memory of Canon M.C. Vine, Warden of the Philanthropic Farm School. At rest September ?? 1919 aged 65.	Buried Sept 17th 1918. Lived in the warden's house. Died aged 68. Marshall Vine conducted almost all of the above burial sevices. His own service was conducted by the Rev. Hall of the Holy Trinity Church, Eltham.
45	Jack Bak	No headstone found	Died Dec 9th 1921. Buried Dec. 11th. Lived in Queen's House. Burial service conduted by the new warde, R.P.McAuliffe.
46	Herbert Charles Hart	No headstone found	Died Nov 5th 1923, buried on 9th Lived at the Farm School. Died aged 31.
47	Ann Ashcroft Trevarthen	No headstone found. Possibly intered with her husband (burial 43) although there is no inscription on his headstone to that effect.	Died Aug 25th 1925, buried on 29th. Lived at the Farm School. Died aged 90.
48	John Cecil Anderson	John Cecil Anderson. Died October 24th 1927 aged 22 months.	Died Oct 24th 1927, buried on 27th. Lived at the bailiff's house.
49	Robert McAuliffe	In affectionate remembrance of the Revd. Robert Paton McAuliffe OBE MA, Chaplain and Warden 1918-1945. Died October 24th 1966 aged 85 years, and his wife, Margaret McAuliffe, died August 4th 1967 aged 88.	Died Oct 24th 1966. Burial of ashes Nov 9th 1966. Lived at 8 Chapel Road, Redhill. Died aged 85 years.

The above is the final entry in the burial register. There is no entry for Margaret McAulliffe above. However, the headstone for Kenneth Woodhead shown below is in the graveyard, as is the cross, also shown below, which bears no inscription. Also in the register was a loose certificate showing the burial of ashes of Ernest Konrad Garlick. It is possible that there are more stones that I did not find.

Additional occupation of the graveyard.

a	Ernest Konrad Garlick.	No headstone found (but see note below)	Certificate in Register Died at the Royal Philanthropic School on 15th Nov 1970. Head of the training school. Burial of ashes.
b	Kenneth Woodhead		Headstone. In loving memory of Kenneth Woodhead, a dear husband and father. Died 18th July 1979 aged 54 years. Engineering instructor ICU 1965-79. Not recorded in the burial register
c	Unknown		There is no wording, just the small cross.

.....It came as a surprise to discover that after finding just sixteen headstones in the graveyard the burial register recorded so many more burials. Enquiries established that in the late 1970s many of the stones were removed for ease of maintenance. It is said that the families of the deceased were contacted and only those stones removed where consent was obtained. What happened to the headstones is unknown. It would make sense to take them as short a distance as possible, When this happens at some churches they are distributed around the edge of the churchyard. Perhaps they are nearby.
.....In the case of the memorial stone for Ernest Garlick, his daughter told me that only 5 or 6 years ago (2007 or 2008) she climbed over the locked gate in order to read the inscription on it, so either I missed it or it has been removed since. The RNIB is a charitable organisation and makes the decisions as to where its money is spent but it does seem a shame that the graveyard has been the subject of reduced maintenance in this way in the past and is left to return to nature now. AJM May 2013

Drillmasters and Bandmasters at the Philanthropic Farm School

Information kindly supplied by email by Peter Bathe

.....We were in contact 9 or 10 months ago about the Philanthropic School and I see from your website that you have much expanded this page with a lot of very interesting information and photographs, including of the grave stones. I think I may be able to help with some more information.
...... You may remember that my great grandfather, George William Bathe, was a pupil of the school in the 1860s and returned 20 years later as drillmaster (You’ve included a picture I sent you). I have been looking at the men who performed the role of drillmaster/bandmaster at the school to see how my GGFather fitted in, as there seem to have been overlaps. It is beginning to appear that the job – at one time performed by just one man – was later split into two so that there was a position of drillmaster and another of bandmaster. The men who held these positions also did other jobs – as clerk, messenger or storekeeper.
..... The Philanthropic Society introduced musical instruction at the Farm School in 1857 as a means of encouraging a disciplined approach to tasks. A Dr Wallis (his doctorate was in music) organised a number of the boys into a military-style brass band. His fees were considered by the committee to be moderate and “the advantages worth the outlay”. The committee also approved the sum of 50 or 60 guineas for the purchase of musical instruments.
....... During 1859, Edward Holman was appointed drill and bandmaster on a “salary of £50 per annum, with lodging and firing”. Rev Charles Walters, resident chaplain, explained Holman’s duties as “an introduction of a small amount of military drill as a useful addition to the machinery of the school by improving the appearance, manners, and bearing of the boys, and regulating their movements”.
....... The band, and the drill squad it supported, was intended to teach boys to respond instantly to orders. The band and marching youths gave performances before members of the Society and the general public, creating a positive image of the establishment. The formation of the band also attracted donations of more musical instruments, as at the 1863 Harvest Home ceremony when the band was presented with a “handsome drum”. Some boys, less suited to field labour because of their small physique, learned to play a musical instrument in the band. In turn, this led to a few being accepted into the regular army as “band boys”.

Edward Holman
....... Edward Holman was born in Portsea, Hampshire, in about 1830 and it would appear that he enlisted in the Army when he was just over 10 years old – on 23 December 1840. By 1851, he was a lance corporal, Royal Corps of Sappers & Miners, based at Woolwich. While still in Woolwich, but by then a 2^nd Corporal, he married Harriott Storey at St Mary Magdalene, on 25 September 1854.
....... Holman left the Army with the rank of sergeant in 1859 and took the post of band and drillmaster at the Redhill Farm School. Over the next three censuses, he was variously described as a “Chelsea pensioner and late sergeant of Engineers” (1861); as “Out pensioner Chelsea Hospital & Writing Clerk in Society Office” (1871); and “Clerk and Bandmaster” in 1881. He had five children by Harriott, the birth of the eldest registered in the Reigate emumeration district (which included Redhill) in 1859.
....... Edward Holman died on 8 January 1882 but even as early as the beginning of 1881, his health was probably failing, so that he couldn’t continue as drillmaster. He left an estate of £334 4s 3d and administration was granted to his widow, Harriott. The probate record described him as Drill Instructor, although that role was fulfil by George Bathe until March 1886.

George Bathe
...... In February 1881, former Redhill pupil and ex-Army Service Corps 2^nd Corporal, George William Bathe, was appointed drillmaster. George William Bathe had been born in July 1847 in Plumstead, but within a few yards of the parish boundary with Woolwich. He was baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, on 7 November 1847 – less than seven years before Edward Holman was married in the same church. He was the son of a police constable who was later promoted sergeant and posted to Deptford. When George was 14, he stole from his father – not for the first time – and clearly his parents decided he needed a lesson, so he was charged and sentenced at West Kent Quarter Sessions to one month imprisonment and four years at the Reformatory. At the end of his sentence, he – like many of his fellow pupils – emigrated to the colonies.
....... George went to Natal, where, after a few years working on farms, he enlisted in the Army with the 20^th Foot, then stationed at Pietermaritzburg. When the regiment returned to the UK George transferred to the Army Service Corps but was invalided out after an injury incurred during the 1874 Ashantee War. George married Evangeline Bradley at St John, Deptford, on 11 April 1875 and then worked at various civilian jobs until early in 1881 when he left one job expecting to become caretaker of a new school in Deptford. That job fell through so George applied to the Redhill Farm School to see if there was a vacancy. In February 1881, he was appointed drillmaster and messenger. He moved his family – Evangeline and four children – to Nutfield, and two more children were born in the parish during his time as drillmaster. His position as bandmaster, however, was taken by Henry Mallinder, former drum major in the 3^rd Battalion Grenadier Guards.

Henry Mallinder
....... Henry Mallinder was born in London in Barracks at Westminster in about 1843, one of the children of another Grenadier Guardsman. He had enlisted and become a drummer in the Grenadiers by 1861. He married Hannah Moore on 23 December 1866 at St James the Great, Bethnal Green. Over the next 15 or 16 years, the couple lived in various barracks in London and Dublin. By 1881, Henry had been promoted to drum major and then he left the Army and became bandmaster at the Redhill School in 1882. They had 14 children, the first 11 being born in military barracks in London and Dublin and the final 3 at Redhill. The missing word of his “rank” is probably “Drum” as in Drum-Major. His wife Hannah went to live in Stoke Newington after his death. She died there in 1914.

Other Bandmasters and Drillmasters
...... While Henry Mallinder was bandmaster, other ex-soldiers took the role of drillmaster. Initially that was George Bathe but by 1891, The Graphic, reporting on the annual Harvest Home in September, named the drillmaster as “Sergeant-Major Garton”. Unfortunately, this man has proved ellusive. A list of staff dated 1890, gave Mallinder as bandmaster, William Gustavus Herne, the son of a house master, William Herne, as assistant bandmaster, and also an (unnamed) drill sergeant.
....... Mallinder was described simply as “Bandmaster” in the census of 1891 and in 1901 as “Bandmaster and Storekeeper”. He died on 25 February 1907 and administration of his estate of £171 16s was granted to his widow Hannah who survived him by seven years.
....... The 1911 census lists the 33-year-old George Herbert Gosling as bandmaster instructor. It is likely that he was Mallinder’s replacement as he was married to a local girl, Olive Linnell in Reigate in 1907. Gosling himself was born in Smethwick, but his family moved to London in the 1880s. It is not known where he was in 1901, so he may have been serving in the Army, possibly in the Boer War.

Gladstone House
...... On another matter, your listings of staff from the various census returns suggest you may have missed Gladstone House. This, the most easterly of the six houses that comprised the school, was in Nutfield parish and therefore appears in the Nutfield census district (unlike the rest of the School, which was in Reigate Foreign). I’m afraid that also means that the total number of boys at the school may be higher by 50 or so. I only discovered this extra part of the school last week when I was looking in the censuses for a particular group of boys who emigrated to Natal. Gladstone House, and a number of cottages owned by the Society which housed various members of staff, appears in Nutfield District 16 in 1871 and 1881 and District 2 in 1891 and 1901. I think the 1861 census for Nutfield may be incomplete – certainly I’ve haven’t been able to find Gladstone House in it so far.
Regards, Peter.

Many thanks to Peter for the comprehensive information above. I had missed Gladstone House but found it a short while ago while researching some of those in the graves. It has still to be added to this page. AJM August 2012

The Royal Philanthropic Society's farm School at Redhill has gone but the Society itself still exists and continues its work with young people all over the country. Its offices are at Office Rectory Lodge, High Street, Brasted, Westerham, Kent TN16 1JE
Tel: 01959 578200

FURTHER READING: A History of the Royal Philanthropic Society 1788 - 1988. This may be available from the above address.

1994 accession at Sy Rec Office 4261: A sketch of the principles and working of the Philanthropic Society, Redhill, Surrey, by John Trevarthen, secretary of the Society, published 1867

http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_3521

Jabez Howe living at 'Hazeldene' St John's Road, Earlswood, in 1899

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