Meridian House is located on No. 115 Poplar High Street. It was built in 1801-2 by the East India Company, to house the chaplain serving the company's almshouses and chapel. The chapel later became the Church of St Matthias,[1] and Meridian House its vicarage, in 1867. When the church closed in 1976, Meridian House was sold as a private residence.[2] It is a Grade II listed building.[3][4]
 | |
| Full name | Meridian House |
|---|---|
| Address | 115 Poplar High Street |
| Location | London |
| Owner | Private residence |
History
editHugh Greete, a diamond trader for the East India Company, was sent home from India a prisoner in 1618 after allegedly buying diamonds for the company's use but keeping the finest ones for himself. After his death in 1619, the company seized Greete's diamonds and other goods to make up for the fraud.[5] Since Greete's will specified that his estate should be used to make a school or a hospital, the company earmarked the money to build an almshouse for disabled seamen, their widows and orphans.[2]
The almshouse opened in 1628, and it was maintained by a levy on the wages of East India Company employees, known as the Poplar Fund.[6][7] This fund financed the building of Meridian House.[2]
Architecture
editMeridian House was presumably designed by East India Company surveyor Henry Holland. It is made of stock brick and carries a pediment with the East India Company's arms. A long brick entrance porch was added in 1826, which was removed in 1964 for road widening and replaced by a hood and columns designed by Cecil Brown.[2]
References
edit- ^ POPLAR ALMSHOUSES AND POPLAR CHAPEL.
- ^ a b c d "Poplar High Street: The East India Company almshouses | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Historic England. "St Mattias's Vicarage (1357883)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Tower Hamlets, Council (5 March 2008). "St Matthias Church, Poplar - conservation area" (PDF). Tower Hamlets Council. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Ogden, Jack (2018). Diamonds : an early history of the king of gems. New Haven. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-300-21566-3. OCLC 1002643677.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Catalogue description. Poplar Fund Pensions. East India Company.
- ^ Makepeace, Margaret (2010). The East India Company's London workers : management of the warehouse labourers, 1800-1858. Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K.: Boydell Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-84615-877-3. OCLC 774293886.