Pearly Kings and Queens, known as pearlies, are an organised charitable tradition of

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London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England.

Henry Croft

The practice of wearing clothes decorated with

mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

buttons is first associated with

Henry Croft Henry Croft (January 15, 1856 — July 28, 1917) was an Australian-born lumber and mining magnate on Vancouver Island from the 1880s to 1900s. Born in Australia, Croft moved to England at a young age and was educated there. He moved to Canada ...

(1861-1930), an orphan

street sweeper A street sweeper or street cleaner may refer to a person's occupation or to a machine that cleans streets. Street sweepers have been employed in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and waste removal became a priority. A stre ...

who collected money for charity. At the time, London

costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...

s (street traders) were in the habit of wearing trousers decorated at the seams with pearl buttons that had been found by market traders. In the late 1870s, Croft adapted this to create a

sequin A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

suit to draw attention to himself and aid his fund-raising activities. In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, north London. Croft's funeral in January 1930 was attended by 400 followers and received national media coverage. In 1934 a memorial, referring to him as "The original Pearly King", was unveiled in

St Pancras Cemetery St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, Camden (formerly St Pancras) and Islin ...

, and in a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised £5,000 for those suffering in London's hospitals.

Pearly organisations

The pearlies are now divided into several active groups. Croft's founding organisation is called the Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association. It was reformed in 1975 and holds the majority of the original pearly titles which are

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

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, Victoria, Hackney,

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, Dalston and

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

. Other groups have also been established over the years. The oldest is the Pearly Guild, which began in 1902. Modern additions include the London Pearly Kings and Queens Society, which started in 2001and the Pearly Kings and Queens Guild. Despite the rivalries, each group is associated with a church in central London and is committed to raising money for London-based charities. A parade of real-life Pearly Kings and Queens was featured at the

2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the pr ...

References

External links

www.thepearlies.co.uk
The Original Pearly Kings and Queens Association
www.pearlies.org.uk
Pearlies of Kings Cross & St.Pancras

The London Pearly Kings and Queens Society

Pearly Kings and Queens Guild
Henry Croft, Pearly King
and other Pearly photos on

flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

History of the Pearlies
*The Pearly Families
The Hitchen Family - Pearly King City of London
by Mary Braid. ''The Independent'', (16 April 2014). Retrieved 13 March 2021.
"One last knees up: What does the future hold for London's ageing Pearlies?"
by Charlotte Leedham. ''Goldsmiths University of London'', (8 January 2018). Retrieved 13 March 2021.
"What's All This Then? – London's Pearly Kings and Queens."
by John Rabon. ''Londontopia'', (23 February 2017). Retrieved 13 March 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearly Kings And Queens Culture in London Charities based in London Working-class culture in England