Plaque

Wash-house foundation stone

Erection date: 1892

Inscription

Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses
The united parishes of St Margaret and St John the Evangelist adopted the Act of 1846 on the 8th Jany. 1847 and purchased this freehold site and erected the former building thereon. These baths and wash-houses were rebuilt AD 1892 upon an enlarged site.
Commissioners
Z. A. Berry
G. F. Danielli
James Gibson
H. O. Hamborg
W. L. Josephs
C. C. Piper
G. W. Tallents
F. J. Smith FRIBA - Architect
Stimpson & Co - Builders
J. C. F. Warrington Rogers - Clerk

This stone was laid by C. C. Piper

Seems likely that the F. J. Smith is the same architect as the one who built Caxton Hall with William Lee.

Andrew Behan has researched some of these names and points out that in the same year that these baths were rebuilt Commissioner Danielli was initiated into Commissioner Berry's Masonic Lodge, which had been co-founded by Commissioner Gibson, a few years previously.

Site: Wash-house foundation stone (1 memorial)

SW1, Great Smith Street, Westminster Archives Centre

The foundation stone is immediately to the right of the entrance.

The second floor bay window has some lovely relief work by Henry Poole showing swimmers - naked classical Greek young men. Ornamental Passions has good photos of these. Bas relief is not the ideal medium for showing bodies underwater.

In the 1990s the baths were replaced with the Westminster Archives Centre, a community centre and meeting space called the Abbey Centre. Historic England has an 1893 photograph.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Wash-house foundation stone

Subjects commemorated i

William Lee and F. J. Smith

Architects active in 1882.

Read More

Stimpson & Co

Builders of the 1892 Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses.  

Read More

Z. A. Berry

A Commissioner for the 1892 Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses.  Geni h...

Read More

G. F. Danielli

A Commissioner for the 1892 Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses. Andrew...

Read More

James Gibson

A Commissioner for the 1892 Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses. Andrew...

Read More

Show all 10

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Wash-house foundation stone

Created by i

Charles Christmas Piper

A Commissioner for the 1892 Westminster Public Baths and Wash-houses.  1889 c...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Amen Court

Amen Court

EC4, Warwick Lane, Amen Court

This cast of characters also appear on the nearby St Paul's Choir school plaque, erected 5 years earlier when Claughton was still only a ...

6 subjects commemorated
Eric and Stella Newton

Eric and Stella Newton

WC1, Cumberland Gardens, 3

Somewhere we read about this house where the "surname is recorded in a rebus in the tiling of the front step". On our first visit, 2008, ...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Spurstowe Almshouses

Spurstowe Almshouses

E8, Sylvester Path, 1-11 (odd)

From the dates, this plaque was erected first in 1689 on the original 1666 almshouses and then re-erected on their 1819 replacement.

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
New Cross V2 attack - plaque 2

New Cross V2 attack - plaque 2

SE14, New Cross Road, 277 - 281

The photograph was taken some years ago and sadly since then, this plaque has been vandalised by being painted over. It is not clear ther...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Sir Raymond Unwin - blue

Sir Raymond Unwin - blue

NW3, North End, Wyldes

In 2022 Philip Broke told us that the plaque on this house is blue not purple. We revisited and we have added our photo here. The blue pl...

2 subjects commemorated