Samuel Lewis (1837 – 13 January 1901), was an English
money-lender and
philanthropist.
Early life
Samuel Lewis was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
in 1837.
Career
Lewis began work when thirteen years old. He became a salesman of steel
pen
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
s, then opened a jeweller's shop, and finally entered the business with which his name was most identified, that of money-lending. He became the most fashionable money-lender of his day. Nearly every noble family in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
is said to have been more or less in business connection with Lewis. He left nearly twenty million dollars, of which five million went to charity on the death of his widow,
Ada Davis Lewis, a sister of
Hope Temple
Hope Temple, born as Alice Maude Davis (27 December 1859 – 10 May 1938) was an Irish songwriter and composer. She was also known as Mrs André Messager.
Life
Alice Davis was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was known professionally as Hope Temp ...
, the composer.
Death and legacy
Samuel Lewis died in London in 1901. Upon his death, he left an endowment of £670,000 to set up a charitable trust to provide housing for the poor. A huge sum at the time and one that equates to £30 million at today's values.
Samuel Lewis Housing Trust completed its first properties in 1910 at Liverpool Road in
Islington, London. This was followed by other large London schemes at:
*Ixworth Place,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
(1912)
*Warner Road,
Camberwell (1913–1919)
*Vanston Place,
Walham Green
Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons ...
(1920–22)
*Dalston Lane,
Hackney (1923)
*Lisgar Terrace,
Fulham (1927)
*Amhurst Road, Hackney (1931–37)
*Amhurst Park,
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...
(1938–39)
all of which carry the name Samuel Lewis Housing Trust Estate. Samuel Lewis Housing Trust continued to develop and manage rented properties to become one of the largest providers of rented accommodation in the South East.
In 2001 the Trust changed its name to
Southern Housing Group
Southern Housing Group is an among the largest and oldest housing associations in the UK, managing 30,000 homes for over 77,000 residents in London and the south east of England.
History
Southern Housing Group began as the Samuel Lewis Housing Tr ...
to reflect the changing nature and scope of the organization.
References
*Bibliography: Jew. Chron. Jan. 18, 1901;
*The Sketch (London), Jan. 23, 1901.
Southern Housing Group Website
1837 births
1901 deaths
English Jews
English philanthropists
Jewish British philanthropists
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
19th-century British philanthropists
19th-century English businesspeople
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