Guild of the Poor Brave Things
Encyclopedia
The Guild of the Brave Poor Things was established in 1894 by Dame Grace Kimmins
(1871-1954) et al. to provide resources for disabled boys to enable them to make a productive place for themselves in society.
The Guild of the Brave Poor Things provided education for physically handicapped children (in those days the term "crippled" was current and not viewed as pejorative).
In 1894, Kimmins organised a meeting which resulted in the foundation of the Guild of the Poor Brave Things. Child Life
, the journal of the Froebel Society, described the Guild as: a band of men, women, and children of any creed or none, who are disabled for the battle of life, and at the same time are determined to fight a good fight. While this may seem patronising in the 21st century it was typical of the way good quality initiatives were started by women of strong character in the 19th century.
The Guild of the Brave Poor Things spawned the Chailey Heritage
residential centre.
, but at some distance from Chailey itself was the now derelict Heritage Marine Hospital at Tide Mills
on the beach east of Newhaven
harbour.
Grace Kimmins
Dame Grace Kimmins, DBE was described in Punch as ... in her quiet practical way is probably as good a friend as London ever had, a description for the driving force behind the Guild of Play and the Guild of the Poor Brave Things.Born Grace Mary Thyrza Hannam, she became a Wesleyan deaconess and...
(1871-1954) et al. to provide resources for disabled boys to enable them to make a productive place for themselves in society.
History
Play was seen as a major positive addition to the more traditional methods of learning by rote and of other much more drilled aspects of the elementary schools of the time, especially when teaching the physically handicapped. This resonates with teaching in mainstream schools today where play is a part of the UK's National Curriculum for all children.The Guild of the Brave Poor Things provided education for physically handicapped children (in those days the term "crippled" was current and not viewed as pejorative).
In 1894, Kimmins organised a meeting which resulted in the foundation of the Guild of the Poor Brave Things. Child Life
Child Life
Child Life was the Froebel Society journal between 1931 and 1939. However the journal has also been reported as being published, not necessarily continuously, and not always by the Froebel society itself, between 1899 and 1939. Its successors were the National Froebel Foundation Bulletin and the...
, the journal of the Froebel Society, described the Guild as: a band of men, women, and children of any creed or none, who are disabled for the battle of life, and at the same time are determined to fight a good fight. While this may seem patronising in the 21st century it was typical of the way good quality initiatives were started by women of strong character in the 19th century.
The Guild of the Brave Poor Things spawned the Chailey Heritage
Chailey Heritage
The Chailey Heritage was founded out of the Guild of the Poor Brave Things in 1903 by Dame Grace Kimmins.Today the heritage is renowned for orthopaedic care, and the Chailey Heritage School...
residential centre.
Supporters
- Millicent FawcettMillicent FawcettDame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, GBE was an English suffragist and an early feminist....
(1847–1929), the leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage SocietiesNational Union of Women's Suffrage SocietiesThe National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:... - Hugh Price HughesHugh Price HughesHugh Price Hughes , was a Welsh Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition. He was the founder of the Methodist Times and the first superintendent of the West London Methodist Mission, a key Methodist organisation today...
(1847-1902), American Christian theologian, who ran the West London Mission, which provided premises for the Guild of the Poor Brave Things prior to its move first to Bermondsey University Settlement and later to the Chapter House of Southwark CathedralSouthwark CathedralSouthwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge.... - Katherine Hughes (wife of Hugh Price Hughes)
- Mary NealMary NealMary Neal CBE , born Clara Sophia Neal, was an English social worker and collector of English folk dances....
(1860-1944), responsible for the direction of play sessions at Marchmont Hall - Emmeline PethickEmmeline Pethick-LawrenceEmmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence was a Britishwomen's rights activist.Her father was a businessman...
, better known as Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (1867-1954) and a leader of the substantially more militant Women's Social and Political UnionWomen's Social and Political UnionThe Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...
(WPSU) and a 'Sister of the People' at the West London Mission. - Mrs Mary WardMary Augusta WardMary Augusta Ward née Arnold; , was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.- Early life:...
Other resources
Part of the Guild of the Brave Poor Things facilities via the Chailey HeritageChailey Heritage
The Chailey Heritage was founded out of the Guild of the Poor Brave Things in 1903 by Dame Grace Kimmins.Today the heritage is renowned for orthopaedic care, and the Chailey Heritage School...
, but at some distance from Chailey itself was the now derelict Heritage Marine Hospital at Tide Mills
Tide Mills, East Sussex
Tide Mills is a derelict village in East Sussex, England. It lies about two kilometres south east of Newhaven and four kilometres north west of Seaford and is near both Bishopstone and East Blatchington.-The old village:...
on the beach east of Newhaven
Newhaven, East Sussex
Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...
harbour.
External links
- A Great Army of Sufferings': The Guild of the Brave Poor Things 'A Great Army of Sufferings': The Guild of the Brave Poor Things and Disability in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries - Michael Mantin - University of Bristol - History Department (Best Undergraduate dissertations of 2009)
- Chailey Heritage Hospital, From the archives of Sussex County Council
- Sussex Industrial Archeologial Society Visit To Bishopstone Tide Mills
- Owners of the Guild Heritage, Bristol This was the built by the Guild of the Brave Poor Things in 1913.