| AdminHistory | The Red House Coffee Palace, 115-119, Commercial Road, was a temperance establishment founded by the Reverend Harry Wilson, vicar of St. Augustine's Church in Settle Street. It was begun in 1900 and completed in 1902 and provided 1st, 2nd and 3rd class dining rooms, with hostel accommodation for working men. In 1909 an association by name of The Red House, Stepney (Incorporated) was formed, one of the objects of which was "To carry on Religious, Charitable and Social Work for the benefit of the Poor in the East End of London and Elsewhere".
In 1914 the Association received as a gift the "Rose and Crown" at Five Oak Green, Paddock Wood, Kent, which was used for missionary work among the hop pickers and as the Little Hoppers' Hospital. This had been established by the Reverend Richard Wilson brother of and successor to Harry Wilson as vicar of St. Augustine's, Stepney. In 1915 the catering business at the Red House was contracted out which it was hoped "would prove to be less unprofitable than managing the the business ourselves had been". In 1930 the Chairman reported the "great loss incurred in running the house at 119 Commercial Road" and in 1931 the remaining 28 years of the lease of 115-119 Commercial Road were sold. It appears that the running of the mission and Little Hoppers' Hospital in Kent became the Association's main activity.
Following the decline of the annual hopping excursions through mechanisation, the premises at Five Oak Green were renovated and re-opened in the early 1980s as a holiday centre for persons from the East End of London.
In the 2000s, surnames of the company directors included: Chessun, Dennen, Paddock, Vaughan and Wilson. |