The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre is part of the Mary Ward Settlement, in
Queen Square, London
Queen Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of central London. Many of its buildings are associated with medicine, particularly neurology.
Construction
Queen Square was originally constructed between 1716 and 1725. It was formed ...
.
History
The centre was founded by
Mary Augusta Ward
Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.
She worked to improve education for the poor and she became the founding President of the Women' ...
, a
Victorian novelist and founding president of the
Women's National Anti-Suffrage League
The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League (1908–18) was established in London on 21 July 1908. Its aims were to oppose women being granted the vote in parliamentary elections, although it did support their having votes in local government ele ...
, better known by her married name Mrs Humphry Ward. The original name of the institution was the Passmore Edwards Settlement, as it was part of the
settlement movement
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...
, and was financed by
John Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards M.P. (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911) ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 ...
. The settlement began in 1890 as University Hall, located in Gordon Square.
Now named the Mary Ward Centre, it is located in
Bloomsbury, an area of
central London known for its literary and educational heritage. Its original 1898 building - still named
Mary Ward House - is located just off
Tavistock Square
Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden.
History
Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...
, was designed by
Arnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Claude Brewer and is considered to be a masterpiece of late
Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
[Article on the Architects, with portraits of them](_blank)
. (accessed 24 February 2008). and is considered to be one of the best
Arts and Crafts buildings in London.
In a speech to mark the opening of the Settlement in 1898 Mary Ward stated its mission as: “education, social intercourse, and debate of the wider sort, music, books, pictures, travel”. She added: “It is these that make life rich and animated, that ease the burden of it, that stand perpetually between a man and a woman and the darker, coarser temptations of our human road”.
According to th
Mary Ward House Conference and Exhibition Centreit is a listed Grade 1 building.
Over time the activities at the Settlement expanded to include fully equipped classrooms for children with disabilities, one of the first in England; pioneering the importance of play within children's education.
[ the equivalent of an after school club; youth club for teenagers and a centre for pre and ante natal advice, among many others.]Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897–1919 led Britain's largest women's rights associati ...
and Mrs Humphry Ward in February 1909, when the host was decisively defeated. In 1920 Mary Ward died and the following year the Settlement was renamed as the Mary Ward Settlement in memory of her work.
Present
The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre is based at 42 Queen Square, and runs over 1000 classes. The Mary Ward Legal Centre is based nearby at 10 Great Turnstile, also in Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its root ...
. The Mary Ward Legal Centre provides free, independent advice to people who live and work in London to help them access their legal rights and entitlements. A small number of classes such as dance, movement and counselling take place at 10 Great Turnstile.
In late 2018, The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre announced in a letter to students their plans to move to new premises in Stratford, East London. In the letter, students were told the organisation had purchased a new building in Queensway House on Stratford High Street, citing the "unaffordable" cost of their current location and the need for specialist educational provision in East London as factors influencing their decision to move.
Art on display
The Mary Ward Centre houses the painting ''John Passmore Edwards (1823–1905)'' by Felix Moscheles
Felix Stone Moscheles (8 February 1833 – 22 December 1917) was an English painter, writer, peace activist and advocate of Esperanto. He frequently painted genre scenes and portraits.
Biography
Born on 8 February 1833 in London to a Germa ...
.
See also
* Guild of Play
References
External links
Mary Ward (Adult Education) Centre website - current activities of the Centre
(Accessed 24 February 2008).
Photograph of Tavistock Place building
on the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Accessed 24 February 2008).
* ttp://www.marywardhousetrust.org.uk/ The Mary Ward House Trust website(not in use at 8 October 2009).
The Mary Ward House Exhibition and Conference Centre
(accessed 8 October 2009).
(accessed 8 October 2009).
Mary Ward Settlement - part of the London Metropolitan Archives Collection
(Accessed 26 November 2013)
{{Coord, 51.5209, -0.1219, type:edu_region:GB-CMD, display=title
Further education colleges in London
Education in the London Borough of Camden
Learning and Skills Beacons
Adult education in the United Kingdom