Rowton Houses were a chain of hostels built in London, by the Victorian philanthropist Lord Rowton to provide decent accommodation for working men in place of the squalid lodging houses of the time.
George Orwell, in "Down & Out In Paris and London", wrote about lodging houses: "The best are the Rowton Houses, where the charge is a shilling, for which you get a cubicle to yourself, and the use of excellent bathrooms. You can also pay half a crown for a special, which is practically hotel accommodation. The Rowton Houses are splendid buildings, and the only objection to them is the strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc."
The Rowton Houses throughout London were:
• Vauxhall, 1892
• Kings Cross, 1894
• Parkview House in Newington Butts, 1897. Demolished in 2007.
• Hammersmith, 1897, later demolished
• Tower House in Whitechapel, 1902. The building has since been developed into luxury housing. Joseph Stalin stayed there for a fortnight in 1907.
• Arlington House in Camden Town,opened 7th December 1905 by Sir Richard Farrant. The last and largest of the Houses, and the only one to remain in use as a hostel (as of 2009).The memorial plot commemorates former residents who are buried there.It was placed by the Arlington House Irish Association.
George Orwell, in "Down & Out In Paris and London", wrote about lodging houses: "The best are the Rowton Houses, where the charge is a shilling, for which you get a cubicle to yourself, and the use of excellent bathrooms. You can also pay half a crown for a special, which is practically hotel accommodation. The Rowton Houses are splendid buildings, and the only objection to them is the strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc."
The Rowton Houses throughout London were:
• Vauxhall, 1892
• Kings Cross, 1894
• Parkview House in Newington Butts, 1897. Demolished in 2007.
• Hammersmith, 1897, later demolished
• Tower House in Whitechapel, 1902. The building has since been developed into luxury housing. Joseph Stalin stayed there for a fortnight in 1907.
• Arlington House in Camden Town,opened 7th December 1905 by Sir Richard Farrant. The last and largest of the Houses, and the only one to remain in use as a hostel (as of 2009).The memorial plot commemorates former residents who are buried there.It was placed by the Arlington House Irish Association.
Rowton Houses were a chain of hostels built in London, by the Victorian philanthropist Lord Rowton to provide decent accommodation for working men in place of the squalid lodging houses of the time.
George Orwell, in "Down & Out In Paris and London", wrote about lodging houses: "The best are the Rowton Houses, where the charge is a shilling, for which you get a cubicle to yourself, and the use of excellent bathrooms. You can also pay half a crown for a special, which is practically hotel accommodation. The Rowton Houses are splendid buildings, and the only objection to them is the strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc."
The Rowton Houses throughout London were:
• Vauxhall, 1892
• Kings Cross, 1894
• Parkview House in Newington Butts, 1897. Demolished in 2007.
• Hammersmith, 1897, later demolished
• Tower House in Whitechapel, 1902. The building has since been developed into luxury housing. Joseph Stalin stayed there for a fortnight in 1907.
• Arlington House in Camden Town,opened 7th December 1905 by Sir Richard Farrant. The last and largest of the Houses, and the only one to remain in use as a hostel (as of 2009).The memorial plot commemorates former residents who are buried there.It was placed by the Arlington House Irish Association.
George Orwell, in "Down & Out In Paris and London", wrote about lodging houses: "The best are the Rowton Houses, where the charge is a shilling, for which you get a cubicle to yourself, and the use of excellent bathrooms. You can also pay half a crown for a special, which is practically hotel accommodation. The Rowton Houses are splendid buildings, and the only objection to them is the strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc."
The Rowton Houses throughout London were:
• Vauxhall, 1892
• Kings Cross, 1894
• Parkview House in Newington Butts, 1897. Demolished in 2007.
• Hammersmith, 1897, later demolished
• Tower House in Whitechapel, 1902. The building has since been developed into luxury housing. Joseph Stalin stayed there for a fortnight in 1907.
• Arlington House in Camden Town,opened 7th December 1905 by Sir Richard Farrant. The last and largest of the Houses, and the only one to remain in use as a hostel (as of 2009).The memorial plot commemorates former residents who are buried there.It was placed by the Arlington House Irish Association.
Inscription
Many Irish boys made Rowton (Arlington) House, Camden Town, first stop from Mayo……..the soft voices of Mayo and Galway sounding in that gaunt impersonal place fell like warm rain on the arid patches of my imagination"
(from Patrick Kavanagh's "The Green Fool")
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