About the talk
Thomas Twining founded the famous tea dynasty in 1706. He was also an avid property investor, including in Twickenham where he established a country seat together with numerous dockside dwellings which his great, great grandson, also named Thomas, utilised to highlight the conditions of the working class.
Model dwellings companies came about in the 1850s against the backdrop of growing disorder amongst the labouring classes. Number 25, The Embankment, Twickenham (now The Twickenham Museum) is one of several ‘old and ill-arranged houses in the worst localities’ to have benefitted from the Victorian principle of philanthropic intent with capitalist return, the forerunner to modern public housing.
About the speaker
On retiring from the BBC as its Information Officer, Ed Harris went on to become a published author generating an eclectic mix of film, sport, military and London history. His passion for local history is realised as an historian and project manager for The Twickenham Museum and as chair of the Borough of Twickenham Local History Society.
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