Preface

Local history is a booming subject, and 'The Almshouse Stone' by Jack Whitehead is rightly described as a Local History Resource. Yet, as the author points out, the date of the stone has national as well as local significance. For anyone who is interested in Paddington, the record presented by Mr. Whitehead is fascinating. Yet, again, there is a far wider interest in the 'Explanation of Signs' and, indeed, in the story of how 'The Almshouse Stone' was discovered. North Westminster Community School, at the centre of the life of the twentieth-century community, has opened a new window on the past.

Lord Asa Briggs
Master of Worcester College
Oxford

North Westminster Community School would like to thank the following for assistance in the presentation, researching, and re-erecting of the Almshouse Stone:

Trafalgar House plc for a major contribution to the building of the Reception Office and Waiting Room; and for sponsoring this historic booklet.

Travis Perkins plc for contributing the cost of re-erecting the stone. Travis Perkins now occupy the site marked 'Samuel Putney, Saw Mills, Baltic Wharf, on the Goad Map, p.15.

Jack Whitehead for his research into the history of Paddington Green, the school site, and the stone itself, and for the text and design of this book.

Cullum and Nightingale, architects, for the design of the new offices and the setting of the stone.

Ethnographica for the final design and printing of this booklet.

Professor Michael Marland CBE MA
Headteacher
Upper School of North Westminster School
North Wharf Road, London W2 1LF

We are grateful to Trafalgar House PLC for a generous contribution to the cost of publishing this pamphlet.

Published by North Westminster Community School, 1990.