The Pepper Pot Centre (PPC), also known as the Pepperpot Club, is a British charity based in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

, West London, that for four decades has been supporting elderly people from the African, Caribbean and BME communities in the

London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

, offering a meal service as well as information and advice on social and health issues and benefits. The Pepper Pot was founded in 1981 by Pansy Jeffrey, a community activist from the

Windrush generation British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...

, with the original aim of providing "a culturally sensitive drop-in centre for recently retired, redundant or disabled members of the elderly African Caribbean community". The Pepper Pot Centre was visited by

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

on its opening in Ladbroke Grove in 1981. and again on its 25th anniversary, in 2005. In October 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the centre was visited by

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

, who witnessed how "this hub for older people has continued to support vulnerable members of the community throughout lockdown".

History

The Pepper Pot Centre (PPC) was established in 1981 by Guyanese-born social worker and nurse Pansy Jeffrey (8 February 1926 – 30 March 2017), the first centre to serve the needs of and act as a "safe haven" for elderly members of the growing generation of Caribbean people in West London affected by racial discrimination, isolation, depression and loneliness. Pansy Jeffrey had moved from

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

to England in the early 1950s, an era when many from the Caribbean responded to Britain's nursing needs in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and she worked as a nurse for

St Charles' Hospital St Charles' Hospital is a health facility in North Kensington, London. It is managed by the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust. History The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 1879 and it was officially opened by the Prince ...

, midwife for

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...

and a health visitor for the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. After being appointed as a social worker by Kensington

Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...

(CAB) to try to improve race relations in the area following the

Notting Hill race riots The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially motivated riots that took place in Notting Hill, England, between 29 August and 5 September 1958. Background Following the end of the Second World War, as a result of the losses during the wa ...

of 1958, she helped set up the Notting Hill Social Council and the Notting Hill Housing Trust. It had become apparent to her by the end of the 1970s that many elderly people of Caribbean origin were suffering in increasing numbers from isolation and loneliness, so in 1980 she opened a drop-in centre for them from her office, and this evolved into the Pepper Pot Club, which later relocated to operate as a day-centre from purpose-built accommodation in Ladbroke Grove, with Jeffrey as President for Life. The PPC's name derives from a popular Guyanese dish, of

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

origin, known as "pepperpot".

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

was at the opening of the Pepper Pot Centre in 1981, visited it on its 25th anniversary in 2006, and on Pansy Jeffrey's 90th-birthday in 2016 sent a letter expressing good wishes.

, visited the PPC on 21 October 2020, joining a video call to hear about how the members of the centre had been participating in virtual group activities throughout the

. The PPC, which provides its community of almost 500 users with meals, care and advice on access to services for the over-50s, has continued to support its members during the pandemic through a meal delivery service and regular phone calls. The current chair of the Centre is Howard Jeffrey MBE, son of founder Pansy Jeffrey and her husband Lionel Jeffrey (9 January 1926 – 31 October 1993), who was also an activist and a founding member of

Caribbean Labour Solidarity Caribbean Labour Solidarity (CLS), founded in 1974, is a group that "sets itself the task of informing the concerned about labour issues in the (Caribbean) region as a whole", and "continues to support the national and anti-imperialist fight in ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
1981 establishments in England Charities based in London