London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution, Camden Town, London
In around 1866, the London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution (LFPRI) established a home for penitent 'fallen' young women at 5 Camden Street, Camden Town, London NW1. It replaced a previous establishment at New Cross.
Mrs Maria Thomas, who had freely given her services as matron of the first LFPRI homes, went on to become visiting matron at the additional homes. She retained this position until her death at 5 Camden Street on April 29th, 1868.
The use of the Camden Street premises ended after the Institution's lease expired in around 1870. A replacement home was subsequently opened at Chelsea.
After the Second World War, LFPRI changed its name to the London Haven for Women and Girls. The organisation was wound up in 1976, with its remaining assets being passed to the Rainer Foundation which later became part of Catch22.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Galleries of Justice, Wolfson Study Centre, The Shire Hall, Lace Market, Nottingham NG1 1HN. Holds Rainer Foundation archives which include LFPRI material.
- The Ancestry UK website has two collections of London workhouse records (both name searchable):
- The Find My Past website has workhouse / poor law records for Westminster.
- London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB. Has some records from 200 Euston Road (1907-47). The LMA catalogue notes "previous papers in parcel now missing".
Bibliography
- Thomas, E.W. Twenty-Five Years' Labour Among the Friendless and Fallen (1897)
- Taylor, W.J. The Story of the Homes (1907)
- Bartley, Paula Prostitution: Prevention and Reform in England, 1860-1914 (2000, Routledge)
- Finnegan, Frances Poverty and Prostitution: A Study of Victorian Prostitutes in York (1979, CUP)
- Hopkins, Jane Ellice, Work Among the Lost (1870, William Macintosh)
- Nokes, Harriet Twenty-Three Years in a House of Mercy (1886, Rivingtons)
- Taylor, William J The Story of the Homes (1907, London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution)
- Thomas, E W Twenty-Five Years' Labour Among the Friendless and Fallen (1897, Shaw)
Links
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.