St Marylebone Institutions

St Marylebone Parish Church was the wellspring of charity in the parish; most of the organisations that provided help for people who were sick, poor, vulnerable and elderly were connected to it.

Free education, healthcare and affordable housing were not a right for all until the middle of the twentieth century. Until then those in need had to negotiate their way through a confusing hotch potch of charities to find help. Some were the stuff of nightmares; workhouses in particular were viewed with horror as the place of last resort, where families were split up and inmates treated brutally. Many other charities cared for their recipients with compassion and helped them to flourish. Charity and Church Schools educated thousands of children, and almshouses gave the destitute elderly a comfortable final home. Even workhouse infirmaries were eventually transformed into hospitals, forming the basis of the National Health Service (NHS) – the pride of the nation and envy of the world.