A Photographers & Visitors Guide & Timeless Stories

Posts tagged “alms house

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-dsc_7581

All About Canterbury  ⇐

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-DSC_7580

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas is on Canterbury High street and is part of a bridge over a branch of the river Stour.  It isn’t very big but they only ask £2 for a visit.  Visiting ⇒.

The site was created in 1180 as a place of hospitality for poor pilgrims visiting Canterbury Cathedral ⇐ where Thomas (later St Thomas) Becket was murdered in 1170 and became a martyr.  Next to the chapel is an Alms House with 8 occupied flats.

 

 

 

 

 

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-dsc_7582

 

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-dsc_7588

 

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-dsc_7584

 

The Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas in Canterbury-dsc_7586


Wheels on Fire

We have come a long way since the horrors of starvation, disease and widespread homelessness of the past, even though we have some way to go and further still in some parts of the world.  It is not very long since these scenes were quite common, even the heart of one of the most prosperous empires in the world.   Albeit, part of the solution has left us with another problem to solve.  Here is some of the past that made the present.

Viewers can click on any picture to expand and again to magnify.  These pictures are from a temporary exhibition at the Geffrye Museum

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The solution was in part due to the great philanthropists who sought social justice as much as charitable actions.  Amongst them, those proposed for the Beacon Awards, Angela Burdett-CoutsDavid Lloyd George, the Salvation Army (150 years and going strong) and many others.

Amongst the work-houses were the Alms Houses, usually provided for those from specific trades or professions who had fallen upon hard times (pictures from a small exhibit/tour at the Geffrye Museum).  Alms houses still exist, please click here for more.

Lansbury and the Poplar Rate Rebels

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Up You Come

 

Then there were those who courageously fought for common rights.

The formation of workers unions and the fellowship of humanity.

Even Winston Churchill, who started as a Liberal and became a Conservative, said “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries”.

Even surrounded by the pursuits of greed, the slow advance of true humanity has been indomitable. Showing itself as inherent throughout time, it cannot decline, it keeps on being born.

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Amongst these pursuits has been the advantages of coal, steam and steel. An industrial revolution and an extent of hard toil that gave us all the modern advantages, which we largely take for granted.

Alderman A E Draper 3.

Our societies have been the foremost in receiving the advantages of the industrial revolution and therefore the foremost in creating the resulting problems of climate damage.   It is those who have yet to follow this route who will suffer the most damage before they receive any major benefit.    It is up to us, who have the benefits,  to be the foremost in resolving the matter.   Those who may wish to know more about how, could click here ⇐, and maybe one day ~

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Woodscaper

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And, thank you for visiting Freed From Time.


Geffrye Museum – Interiors

The Geoffrye Museum is very close to Hoxton station on the London Overground Line.   There is a front and back garden area, which is worth seeing, and entrance to the museum is free.    The interior has a long row of rooms which depict interior decor and furniture throughout the ages.  There is also an exhibition area in the basement and one may join a tour of a small Alms House exhibit.

Here is a taste of the museum.

Geffrye Museum - Ornate Vases

 

Geffrye Museum - Hall in 1630

 

Geffrye Museum - Paintings

 

Geffrye Museum - Painting

 

Geffrye Museum - Vase

 

Geffrye Museum - 4

 

Geffrye Museum - 5

 

Geffrye Museum - 3

 

Geffrye Museum - 6

 

Geffrye Museum - 7