School Names

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Bishop Edmund Bonner – Bishop of London, 1500(?)–1569
He became Bishop during a turbulent time in England’s history. He was a Catholic, but during the reign of henry VIII, England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church (a period known as the Reformation). He was imprisoned in 1549. When Mary I became queen he was reinstated, and was responsible for persecuting many Protestants. In 1559, he was again deposed, as he refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to Elizabeth I, and died in prison. He was buried at the Church of St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark. There is a monument to some of the people he persecuted in front of the church in Stratford Broadway, E15.
See also: http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Bonner

Sir William Burrough – Navigator, 1536-1599
He was born in Devon, but from 1579 he was living in Limehouse. He sailed to Russia several times to establish trade, and was second in command on Sir Francis Drake’s expedition to Cadiz in 1587, during which he was imprisoned for questioning Drake’s decisions. Burrough also captained a ship against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He later became Comptroller of the Queen’s Navy, during which time he captured at least ten pirates, who were hung in Wapping! He also wrote several articles about navigation and drew many charts.
View Year Six children's work about Sir William Burrough

Sir John Cass – Merchant, 1666-1718

In 1712, he became Master of the Carpenters’ Company and Sheriff of the City of London. He was also a Member of Parliament for the City of London in 1710 and 1713 (in those days very few people had the right to vote). When he died in July 1718, he left money in trust for educational and social uses.
See also www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=941923961

Jack Dash – Dockers’ Leader, 1906-1989

He was a committed member of the Communist Party, and also a Trade Union activist, being involved in Docklands to campaign for better wages and working conditions. When he retired from the National Dock Labour Board, he became a London tourist guide, as well as campaigning for better old age pensions, speaking to many pensioners groups in the area. He was commemorated by Jack Dash House on Lawn Close, Isle of Dogs.
See also www.bardaglea.org.uk/docklands/7-voice.html

Sir Cyril Jackson – Educationalist, 1863-1924
He was born into a wealthy family, and following an education at Charterhouse School and Oxford University, it looked as if Cyril was going to enter the legal profession. However, in 1885, he changed direction and became one of the earliest residents of Toynee Hall. From 1886, he was involved in local education, as well as Central Secretary of the Children’s Country Holidays Fund from 1888-1896. This organisation worked to provide children with a holiday outside the capital. In 1896 he left for Australia, and was responsible for organising the Education Department of Western Australia. In 1903, he returned to England and became chief inspector of the Board of Education, and later was elected to London County Council, where he continued to promote educational reform. In 1930, the Northey Street School was renamed Cyril Jackson School, in recognition of his active interest in it.

Elizabeth Lansbury – Suffragette, 1860-1933
Born in Stepney, Elizabeth went to school in Whitechapel. That is where she first met George Lansbury, and they married in 1880. Initially their life was very hard, as they had 12 children, but remained happy together. Elizabeth was a supporter of women’s suffrage and worked along side Sylvia Pankhurst in the East London Federation of Suffragettes.
See also www.cjbooks.demon.co.uk/suffrage.htm

George Lansbury – Politician 1859-1933

His family moved from Lowestoft to Bethnal Green, then Whitechapel in 1868. He went to St Mary School, but left aged 14 to work, unloading coal trucks. In 1884 he emigrated to Australia, but returned in 1885, and became a partner in his father-in-law’s sawmill business. After 1890, he became a committed Socialist, and played an active part in both local and later national politics. George Lansbury was sent to prison in 1921, along with other Poplar Councillors, for his refusal to levy the area’s share of the London County Council, Police and Metropolitan Asylum rates, arguing that local ratepayers were too poor to pay anything further, since the area suffered from high unemployment. He was also a supporter of women’s suffrage, and resigned his parliamentary seat in 1912 to stand on this platform. However, he was narrowly defeated, and wasn’t re-elected until 1922. In the interim he founded the Daily Herald, which became the official paper of the Labour Party. From 1931-1935 he was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. He died on 7th May 1940, and huge crowds attended his funeral. The Lansbury Estate, built in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, was named after him.

See also:
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRlansbury.htm
www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/people/pst_lansbury.html

Susan Lawrence – Politician 1871-1947

She was a pioneer in many respects. Susan started her political life as a Conservative, but she joined the Independent Labour Party in 1912, and moved to Polar. There she worked to improve the lives of local residents first through the London County Council (to which she was the first woman elected in 1913) and Polar Borough Council, then through Parliament (being the first woman elected to represent a London Borough in 1923). Furthermore, she was also the first Labour woman to address the House of Commons, and also the first female Chairperson of the Labour Party.
See also: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUlawrence.htm

Ian Mikardo – Politician 1908-1993

His family were Jewish immigrants, arriving in Stepney in around 1900. They then moved to Portsmouth, where Ian was born and grew up. In 1930, he joined the Labour Party, and after representing Reading from 1945-1959, he was elected MP for Poplar from 1964-74, for Bethnal Green and Bow 1974-1983, and for Bow and Poplar 1983-1987. At all times he worked hard to improve the lives of his constituents, and felt that his own experiences of growing up in an immigrant community helped him understand many of the problems facing the Bangladeshi community arriving in the East End.
See also: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmikardo.htm

Henry Raine – Brewer 1679-1738
He was born in Wapping, and apprenticed to a brewer in the City Of London. By 1723 he was owner of the Star Brewhouse at New Crane Wharf, Wapping. He was committed to ensuring that poor children could have access to education, and founded his first school for boys in 1716 in Gravel lane, Wapping. In 1718, it was expanded to include girls – although their education was more geared to preparing them to work as servants and for marriage. The school has moved several times since its original foundation, with it currently being located in Approach Road, Bethnal Green – where boys and girls are now treated equally.
See also: www.davidaspencer.com/oldraineians/pr01history.html

Marion Richardson -Art Teacher 1892-1946

Marion Richardson was an art teacher and became a pioneer of the child art movement. She believed that children should express themselves and evaluate art, not just copy work, as was happening at the time.

She also developed a system for teaching handwriting based on patterns and natural movements.
Click here for Marion Richardson Schools history project

Click here to find out about her archive

Isaac Rosenberg – Poet and Painter 1890-1918

Isaac’s parents were Lithuanian immigrants, and they originally lived in Bristol, where Isaac was born. In 1897 the family moved to 47 Cable Street, and Isaac went first to St Paul’s School, then later to Baker Street Board School and Stepney Green Art School. From an early age he was painting and drawing, and was writing poetry from the age of 14. In 1911, he went to Slade School of Fine Art, thanks to the financial support of friends. In October 1915, he joined the army, and was killed in action on 1st April 1918. His Poems from the Trenches are now recognised as some of the best war poetry written.

See also: www.liv-coll.ac.uk/pa09/europetrip/brussels/rosenberg.htm

John Scurr – Labour Leader 1876-1932
He grew up in Poplar, and went to George Green’s School followed by King’s College School. He was dedicated to improving the lives of working people, and worked with others including Will Crooks and George Lansbury to this end. In 1900, he married Julia O’Sullivan, the dedicated Suffragette. He played a large role in the 1910-11 Dock Strike, and entered politics first locally then later as a Member of Parliament, during which time he continued to work for social reform as well as supporting women’s suffrage. Like other councillors, he was imprisoned in 1921 for refusing to levy the Poplar’s share of the London County Council, Police and Metropolitan Asylum rates, arguing that local ratepayers were too poor to pay anything further, since the area suffered from high unemployment.

Julia Scurr – Suffragette and Councillor 1871-1927
Julia was born in Limehouse in 1871, to John O'Sullivan, an immigrant from Cork, Ireland, and Martha Rapp. She worked to improve the rights of the Irish community, and later became active in the East London Federation of Suffragettes. In 1900 she had married John Scurr and together they were a strong team working to improve the lives of local people. She was also a Poplar Councillor from 1919-1925. In this role, she was sent to Holloway Prison in 1921 for refusing to levy the Poplar’s share of the London County Council, Police and Metropolitan Asylum rates, arguing that local ratepayers were too poor to pay anything further, since the area suffered from high unemployment. Click her for a pdf from her relative

Sir John Woolmore – Ship Owner 1755-1837
John Woolmore grew up in Whitechapel, and from an early age was working as a sailor on the ships of the East India Company. By 1789, he had become a manager and part owner of the ships. From then on, he was increasingly involved as an Elder Brother of Trinity House – a navigational and pilotage Corporation. This was involved in ensuring that the Thames was fully defended in 1803, against a threatened invasion by the French. Sir John Woolmore played a large part in this, and is commemorated with Woolmore School.
See also: www.mariners-l.co.uk/EICWoolmore.htm