Morden College is a long-standing

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

which has been providing residential care in

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, south-east

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 for over 300 years. It was founded by

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Sir John Morden in 1695 as a home for 'poor Merchants... and such as have lost their Estates by accidents, dangers and perils of the seas or by any other accidents ways or means in their honest endeavours to get their living by means of Merchandizing.' Morden College was built (to a design sometimes attributed to Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

, but largely carried out by Edward Strong, his master mason) on the north-east corner of the Wricklemarsh estate. It was described by

Daniel Lysons Daniel Lysons may refer to: *Daniel Lysons (antiquarian) (1762–1834), English antiquarian and topographer *Daniel Lysons (British Army officer) General Sir Daniel Lysons (1 August 1816 – 29 January 1898) was a British Army general who achieve ...

in ''Environs of London'' (1796): The original college buildings were intended to house 40 single or widowed men. Today, Morden College is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

(designated 19 October 1951).Morden College 19, Greenwich, http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-396192-morden-college-19-greenwich. Date accessed: 21 October 2011)

Trustees

Turkey Company Period (1708–1826)

College trustees were drawn from the

Turkey Company Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in S ...

. Lysons reported: FrancisLevett

Subsequent donations to the college by prominent Turkey merchants and their wives helped assure that the college would survive. Lysons recorded those donors and the totals of their gifts:

East India Company Period (1827–1884)

The first

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

Trustee was

William Astell William Astell (13 October 1774 – 7 March 1847), was a Member of Parliament and eminent director of the East India Company. Astell was the second son of Godfrey Thornton of Moggerhanger House, Bedfordshire, a director of the Bank of England. H ...

. He held the position from 1827 to 1847. John Lubbock was Chairman of the Trustees from 1873 to 1889.

Court of Aldermen of the City of London Period (1884 – )

During the 20th century, admission requirements were amended so that the college could accommodate women and married couples, and several new buildings were added. The college also manages other homes in Blackheath and in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

. Today, it functions as a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple i ...

Other key people

Chaplains

Moses Browne Moses Browne (1703 – 13 September 1787), poet and cleric, suffers from uncertainty about the details of his birth. Some records suggest Severn Stoke in Worcestershire, but a London birth is more likely, as he became a pen-cutter in Clerkenwel ...

Notable residents

Henry Newton Knights Henry Newton Knights MBE (1872 – 31 October 1959) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Business Knights, a resident of Dulwich in south east London, started an engineering business in 1908. In 1911 he purchased the Astb ...

(1872–1959), former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament, died here *

Ann Moss Jennifer Ann Moss, (''née'' Poole; 21 January 1938 – 13 August 2018) was a British scholar of French literature and Classical reception studies, classical reception, specialising in the French Renaissance. She was Professor (highest academi ...

, FBA (1938–2018), scholar of French literature and classical reception, died here

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.4695, 0.0192, type:landmark_region:GB-GRE, display=title 1695 establishments in England Blackheath, London Christopher Wren buildings in London Grade I listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Organizations established in 1695