Edward Pilgrim
Encyclopedia
Edward Alexander Pilgrim (December 12, 1904 – September 24, 1954) was a British
homeowner whose suicide
was hastened by bureaucracy
. He was a working class
individual with a slight education who worked as a milkman
before marrying his wife, Margaret, in 1931. In 1949, he moved to Marlborough Road in Romford
and worked as a tool maker for ten pound sterling
a week. He took out a ten-year mortgage
on his house to purchase a 2,200 square metre lot next to his house to use as a buffer zone between himself and neighboring children, spending £
400 for the lot.
What Mr. Pilgrim did not know was that the Town and Country Planning Act 1947
had allowed local councils to purchase lands for development for current usage values. Thus, fallow land (and specifically empty lots such as his buffer) would be purchased for its potential value in agriculture
rather than its value as housing or commercial space. Owners of empty land could lodge a claim to request compensation for lost development rights, but only if they did so before July 1949. The previous owner of Mr. Pilgrim's lot had not lodged such a claim and had sold to avoid having to take what the council would offer. Indeed, when Romford council began its Mawney Road housing development in July 1952, they offered Mr. Pilgrim only £65 for the lot – a value that was confirmed by the assayer. Pilgrim, however, did not even know of the offer (and purchase) by the government until the project began, and he did not appeal until February 1954, when construction on the site actually began. The Romford council had a housing waiting list of 1,600 people, and so it would not remove Mr. Pilgrim's lot from its scheme. They determined that he was merely an imprudent land speculator who had not bothered to inform himself of the legal issues surrounding his purchase.
Pilgrim tried to reach the Housing Minister Harold Macmillan
, the prime minister
Winston Churchill
, and the Queen. Macmillan's civil servants agreed with the local council that Pilgrim was simply a man who had not done due preparation. A Unity housing high rise went up on Pilgrim's lot, until, according to Pilgrim, it blotted out the sun and he needed electric lights even on sunny days. The lot that he had purchased to ensure a natural buffer was now, in fact, destroying both his view and his quiet. On September 24, 1954, after a weekend of depression
, he hanged himself in a tool shed on the disputed land.
The Daily Express newspaper made Pilgrim's suicide a cause célèbre
and campaigned to have it remembered. The Crichel Down scandal was also in the news at the time, and Winston Churchill accused Harold Macmillan of killing Pilgrim. A revision of the Town and Country Planning Act in 1954 included a "Pilgrim clause" which allowed future land owners in Pilgrim's place to be compensated. The local council in Romford offered Mrs. Pilgrim £335 (to be added to the £65 already paid to equal the original purchase price), but this left her still paying interest on the loan.
The story of Edward Pilgrim has become an archetype
for the well-intentioned abuses of bureaucracy, especially in the United Kingdom
. The figure of Arthur Dent
in Douglas Adams
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, for example, repeats numerous details of the Pilgrim story. The character of Harry Buttle/Harry Tuttle in the Terry Gilliam film Brazil
also suggests some of the same disquiet with self-satisfied bureaucracy that Pilgrim experienced.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
homeowner whose suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
was hastened by bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
. He was a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
individual with a slight education who worked as a milkman
Milkman
A milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...
before marrying his wife, Margaret, in 1931. In 1949, he moved to Marlborough Road in Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
and worked as a tool maker for ten pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
a week. He took out a ten-year mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
on his house to purchase a 2,200 square metre lot next to his house to use as a buffer zone between himself and neighboring children, spending £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
400 for the lot.
What Mr. Pilgrim did not know was that the Town and Country Planning Act 1947
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the post-war Labour government...
had allowed local councils to purchase lands for development for current usage values. Thus, fallow land (and specifically empty lots such as his buffer) would be purchased for its potential value in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
rather than its value as housing or commercial space. Owners of empty land could lodge a claim to request compensation for lost development rights, but only if they did so before July 1949. The previous owner of Mr. Pilgrim's lot had not lodged such a claim and had sold to avoid having to take what the council would offer. Indeed, when Romford council began its Mawney Road housing development in July 1952, they offered Mr. Pilgrim only £65 for the lot – a value that was confirmed by the assayer. Pilgrim, however, did not even know of the offer (and purchase) by the government until the project began, and he did not appeal until February 1954, when construction on the site actually began. The Romford council had a housing waiting list of 1,600 people, and so it would not remove Mr. Pilgrim's lot from its scheme. They determined that he was merely an imprudent land speculator who had not bothered to inform himself of the legal issues surrounding his purchase.
Pilgrim tried to reach the Housing Minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and the Queen. Macmillan's civil servants agreed with the local council that Pilgrim was simply a man who had not done due preparation. A Unity housing high rise went up on Pilgrim's lot, until, according to Pilgrim, it blotted out the sun and he needed electric lights even on sunny days. The lot that he had purchased to ensure a natural buffer was now, in fact, destroying both his view and his quiet. On September 24, 1954, after a weekend of depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, he hanged himself in a tool shed on the disputed land.
The Daily Express newspaper made Pilgrim's suicide a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
and campaigned to have it remembered. The Crichel Down scandal was also in the news at the time, and Winston Churchill accused Harold Macmillan of killing Pilgrim. A revision of the Town and Country Planning Act in 1954 included a "Pilgrim clause" which allowed future land owners in Pilgrim's place to be compensated. The local council in Romford offered Mrs. Pilgrim £335 (to be added to the £65 already paid to equal the original purchase price), but this left her still paying interest on the loan.
The story of Edward Pilgrim has become an archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
for the well-intentioned abuses of bureaucracy, especially in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The figure of Arthur Dent
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist and anti-hero in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams....
in Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
, for example, repeats numerous details of the Pilgrim story. The character of Harry Buttle/Harry Tuttle in the Terry Gilliam film Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
also suggests some of the same disquiet with self-satisfied bureaucracy that Pilgrim experienced.