Raine's House, sometimes called Raine House, is a
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
house in Raine Street,
Wapping
Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...
, London E1. This listing recognises the building's special architectural or historic interest.
History
This structure was built in 1719, and founded as a
charity school
Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...
by Henry Raine (1679–1738),
who had made a large sum of money from selling alcohol. As a devout Christian, he felt that he should be philanthropic, and decided to found a school where poor children could get a free education. This school was built in the neighbourhood where he lived and he named it "the Lower School". It originally accommodated 50 boys and 50 girls.
[Website of the Anglican parish of St George-in-the-East with St Paul]
(accessed June 10, 2015).
In recent years, this building has been used as a community centre, and as offices of the
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. The original school moved, and is now called the
Raine's Foundation School
Raine's Foundation School was a Church of England voluntary aided school based on two sites in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England.
It was situated in the north of Bethnal Green, just to the east of ''Cambridge Heath ...
, on Approach Road,
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...
.
Physical features
The building has a
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
front, with giant
pilaster
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s.
[Cherry, Bridget et al. ]
London: East
', p. 29 (Yale University Press, 2005). There is a stone plaque over the door, at the center of the building: "Come in & learn your duty to God & man. 1719".
Two of the window openings on the second floor have
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
ed niches. Those niches were originally occupied by two contemporary figures of a boy and a girl, but they and other original objects from the school were moved when the school moved, and they are still preserved.
The niches are now filled by replicas.
External links
National Archives Records of Raine's Schools Foundation, Arbour Square, Stepney, London E1"Schools: Raine's Foundation Schools"
British History Online
Further reading
*Rose, C.M. ''Raine's Foundation: an East End Charity School 1716–80'' (University of Bristol thesis 1985)
*Fuller, Tony. ''Henry Raine, Brewer of Wapping'' (2001)
*''Raine's Prospect 1719–1969'' (Raine's Foundation 1969)
*''Raine's Foundation: Its Origins and History'' (1914)
*''Henry Raine and the History of Raine's Schools'' (edited by Alan Johnson for the Old Raineans, 2004)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raine's House
Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Wapping