35 Albury Street the premises of The Irish National League & Club 1911.

The Irish National League was established by Charles Stewart Parnell (pictured) in 1882 and became a major movement for Irish home rule, with branches not only across Ireland but in England - including in South London. In Deptford, support for Irish Home Rule pre-dated the formation of the League. On 2 October 1876 a public meeting in Deptford was attached by anti-Home Rulers, recalled in the T.D. Sullivan : 'They invaded a hall where a Home Rule meeting was being-held; they "stormed" the platform, and made a determined endeavour to capture the Home Rule banner which was there displayed. But the flag was bravely defended, and after some fierce fighting, the attacking party were ejected from the building'. In the 1880s, the Irish National League rallied at Sayes Court in Deptford and the Post Office Directory lists a United Irish National League and Club at 35 Albury Street, Deptford in 1911. The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League had agitated for land reform, the National League also campaigned for self-government or Irish Home Rule, further enfranchisement and economic reforms. The League was the main base of support for the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and under Parnell's leadership, it grew quickly to over 1,000 branches throughout the island. In 1884, the League secured the support of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Its secretary was Timothy Harrington who organised the Plan of Campaign in 1886. In December 1890 both the INL and the IPP split on the issues of Parnell's long standing family relationship with Katharine O'Shea , the earlier separated wife of a fellow MP, Capt. O'Shea, and their subsequent divorce proceedings. The majority of the League, which opposed Parnell, broke away to form the "Anti-Parnellite" Irish National Federation (INF) under John Dillon. John Redmond assumed the leadership of the minority "Parnellite" group who remained faithful to Parnell. Despite the split, in the 1892 general election the combined factions still retained the Irish nationalist vote and their 81 seats. Early in 1900 the Irish National League (INL) finally merged with the United Irish League and the National Federation (INF) to form a reunited Irish Parliamentary Party under Redmond's leadership returning 77 seats in the September 1900 general election, together with 5 Independent Nationalists, or Healyites.

Information from Wikipeadia.com.

Phipson 1921 Water Colour of Albury Street, then and now (2010)

 

The north side of Albury Street, Deptford, by Evacustes A. Phipson, 1922

The artist Evacustes A. Phipson was born at King's Norton near Birmingham on 9th February 1854. He was christened Edward Arthur Phipson but changed his first name to Evacustes (a Greek word meaning 'ready listener').He lost a fortune on a scheme in Australia and returned to England in about 1889 when he made his living by selling his paintings. He lived in various parts of Britain and painted in many places. Shrewsbury Museums Service has 13 pictures that he painted in Shrewsbury and several of these are illustrated on the Darwin Country website. He died in 1931 at Rye in Sussex.

The Royal George.

Original painting by John Cleveley the Elder


I was quite amazed this mural has not been mentioned in other blogs on Deptford. Its tucked away at the back of the shops on the edge of the public parking bay halfway up Deptford High Street. It is a stunning piece depicting the "Royal George at the launch of another ship of the line "The Cambridge" not shown in this part of the mural. It was painted by John Cleveley the Elder who was famous for his maritime scenes. Can anyone tell me why and who commisioned it to be placed here?




Webpage photo from Lewisham Council
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/ArtsService/PublicArt/DeptfordNewCross/FrankhamStMural/ 

Theres something very spooky going on here when this picture was taken and appeared on the Lewisham Councils website. The mural is in reverse! I took the recent photo above three weeks ago and its the right way around as per the original painting. Somebody must have spotted the fo-par and turned it around the right way!!!

Thanks to the Deptford Dame and The Shipwrights Palace for drawing my attention to it......no pun intended.

Deptford Central Hall

Deptford Central Hall was built on slum clearance land in 1903. It was deliberately designed so that it didn't look too church like to attract people into the building who might be put off by a traditional church. When it opened it had a membership of 221, which grew to 1646 by 1908. The mission always had a deep concern for the poverty in the neighbourhood which arose from the intermittent employment opportunities at the local docks. The mission sought to meet the needs of families through soup kitchens, breakfasts for children, distributions of used clothing and even a fund to enable children to go to the seaside From the 1920's the Mission had a concern for disabled and elderly people, reflected in what was then called "The Cripples Guild" and the "Cosy Corner" drop in, and what we now call the DPC The church was bombed in 1940 and the entire west side of the building was destroyed, including the original worship space and the tower. Planning the rebuilding took a long time, but the Mission as it is now opened in 1956, with a renewed energy for its work in the community The Mission celebrated its centenary in 2003.