St Alban Parish, Holborn, London.

[benny1982]

Hi

My ancestors lived in this parish from 1878 to 1889. They lived at Leather Lane, Portpool Lane, and Evelyn Buildings, which was a new tenement block for the poor built in 1881 and the original building is still there today, adjoined to the church of St Alban The Martyr, Holborn.

I have done extensive research on this Central London parish and have maps of the area from 1873, 1894, 1914 and 1965. The church of St Alban was built in 1862 in the Holborn slums. Reverand Alexander Heriot Mackonochie (1825-1887) was the first vicar of the church and he was the brains behind the construction of many model dwellings in the paish including Tyndall Buildings, Evelyn Buildings and St Alban's Buildings.

Most residents of these buildings were soap boilers, tailors, clothes makers, labourers and mechanics. Menial occupations for poor families. They were built for the poor of the parish. Most of the old 3 and 4 storey townhouses were either demolished in 1905 to make way for the Bourne Estate or bombed in WW2.

St Albans School was founded in 1885 and there were several schools in the area before that. The Workhouse was Farringdon Road up to 1880 then it was Grays Inn Road Workhouse and Holborn Infirmary and City Road Workhouse. Many of the streets in the parish were named after aincent Lords such as Brooke Street, Greville Street, Beauchamp St and Dorrington Street.

Ben

[joycem]

Hi Ben
Your ancestor seems to have lived in the same streets as mine - Portpool Lane, Baldwins Gardens. My interest is around these areas and my ancestor was Richard Isham. What was the name of your person?
joycem

[benny1982]

Hi Joycem

Mine was the Roberts family who lived at 69 Leather Lane in 1878, then moved just round the corner to No 9 Portpool Lane in the 1881 census, and in April or May 1882, they moved to Evelyn Buildings, Dorrington Street, and there was a few alleyways connecting Dorrington Street to Baldwins Gardens.

the family consisted of Thomas and Mary Ann Roberts and their children Kate, Alice, Elizabeth, Frederick, Minnie and Ada. Marriage spouses surnames was Coombs, Anstey, King and Walker.

Ben

[joycem]

Hi Ben
My ancestor was at 33 Portpool Lane in 1881. His last address was Evelyn Buildings in 1890, the year he died.
It is mind-boggling how many families were crammed into each place. I can remember my father taking me around that area when I was small but unfortunately I was only midly interested then. Last time I visited London I made a point of retracing those footsteps to Baldwins Gardens and other nearby places. It is difficult to imagine the poverty endured then compared to today's relatively affluent society.
Have you looked at the Charles Booth website? There is a very good sketch map of the area and Evelyn Buildings is clearly shown.
joycem

[benny1982]

Hi Joycem

I have many, many photos and maps of the Baldwins Gardens area of Holborn. I have mentioned the dates of the maps in my original thread. Would you like copies of any?

There was indeed two Evelyn Buildings right next to each other, one fronting Dorrington Street and the bigger one facing Baldwins Gardens. Amazingly the Dorrington Street one is still there after 127 years, having survived two world wars and numerous rebuilding of London streets. The buildings were completed in 1882.

The Baldwins Gardens one was bombed during WW2 and afterwards was a car park before a new block of flats was built there in the 1990s.

That is amazing as my Roberts ancestors sister lived at 33 Portpool Lane when she got married in July 1890.

Ben

[benny1982]

I have set up a Facebook Group all about the parish of St Alban's Holborn. Just type in A Historical Portrait Of St Alban's Holborn and it should come up. I am no good at posting hyperlinks.

It contains photos, info of Rev Alexander Heriot Mackonochie who was vicar of the parish for 20 years, and a story of my ancestors, who lived a typical Victorian life in a Holborn tenement block Evelyn Buildings.

Ben

[bluestockingdaisy]

Hello. Do you have any information on the Thanksgiving Buildings, Pontpool Lane? My grandfather died there, my father was born there with his siblings -1896-1923. I have one drawing of it from the Camden Revue
Also, do you know of any school records for St Albans School? I have a book awarded to my father by the Sunday School attached to the church in 1912.
I have written to the church with no answer.
Any help would be much appreciated

[Peter Goodey]

do you know of any school records for St Albans School?

There's a reasonable survival rate of LCC and ILEA school regsisters. The admission and discharge registers for St Alban's School, Baldwin's Gardens covering 1885-1932 are available at the London Metropolitan Archives.

[benny1982]

I can tell you that Thanksgiving Buildings were built in around 1850 or 1851. I do have a few photos of Portpool Lane on the site, but is is only of the huge printing factory down there.

Those school registers, I have looked at them myself when researching my Holborn ancestors.

Ben

[bluestockingdaisy]

Thank you Ben and Peter. There must be a photo somewhere. I'll try the LMA for the school