The not so secret past of houses in Hutton Poplars

The other day I told you about the first home I purchased in the 1980s – a converted Victorian school in Wimbledon.

After I left Wimbledon, I moved to Hutton close to Shenfield in Essex. Where I became fascinated by the history of the new houses that were then being built in an area known as Hutton Poplars – in the grounds of a former Edwardian school.

For anyone visiting or passing through Hutton, this building is a familiar sight – Hutton Poplar Lodge.  It looks the same today as it did when this photograph was taken one hundred years ago – shortly before the First World War.

It is one of only three buildings that have survived from a large Edwardian industrial school founded by, among others, George Lansbury in 1906. This building was once the porters’ lodge.

During the final years of the nineteenth century, Poplar Board of Guardians decided to sell their Forest Gate training schools because of the terrible conditions. On New Year’s Day 1890, a devastating fire broke out in the Forest Gate school and 26 small boys died.

Despite this appalling fire and the generally awful conditions, the school continued in Forest Gate until the early 1900s.

Chairman of Poplar Board of Guardians, George Lansbury, a social reformer, paid a visit to rural Hutton (next to Shenfield) and liked what he saw. At Lansbury’s instigation, Hutton Industrial School (also known as Poplar Union Training School) was built in 1906 at the cost of £160,000. 

Originally founded as a residential school for pauper boys from Poplar, the school eventually accommodated both boys and girls based around the concept of a “cottage home”. 

Fortunately, this school did not have same appalling reputation that Hackney Industry School had in nearby Brentwood. The school in Hutton was generally so well-run that the Board of Guardians had to appear before a Parliamentary Committee accused of “extravagances” in the new school!

The school closed in the 1980s and the majority of its buildings were demolished – apart from 3 buildings still present today. 

Today the area is known as Hutton Poplars and contains extensive new housing. 

Is your house in Hutton Poplars? If it is, did you know the story of the area?

Here’s a quiz for you. George Lansbury later became the British Labour Leader in the 1930s. He had a very very famous grandchild – an absolute legend. What’s his grandchild’s name? (No Googling!!)

New Online Course to trace the history of your home…

If you are fascinated about the history of your home, then you’ll be interested in my new online course

🏡 If Walls Could Talk…
Uncover the secret history of your home🏡

Make you note in your diary… signup starts from 19 September 2019.

Course commences on Monday 30 September 2019

Keep an eye on my blog throughout rest of September for more news.

I’m also doing regular posts on my Facebook page about how to

🏡🏡 Uncover the secret history of your home🏡🏡

I hope you’ll join me and take part in this fascinating course. Learn how you can trace the history of your home.

As this is the first pilot version of my course, it’ll be offered at a very special low price that will not be repeated.

Resources for tracing the history of your home

I’ve written a short pdf listing some of the resources that you can use for  researching the history of your house.

Download 25 online resources for uncovering the secret history of your home…

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Post created: September 2019 © Kate J Cole | Essex Voices Past™ 2012-2019