Time-travel back to 1833 with me as we stand before Caroline Gardens. Once known as the Licensed Victuallers Asylum, Caroline Gardens wasn’t always council housing. It began as a sanctuary for retired pub landlords. Imagine that.
The Licensed Victuallers Asylum opened its doors to provide homes for 43 retired victuallers. Demand grew quickly. Over the next few decades, it expanded to become the largest almshouse complex in London.
Back then, the word “asylum” meant sanctuary. These weren’t psychiatric facilities. Caroline Gardens offered a home to elderly, impoverished landlords. They received a small weekly allowance, coal, medical care, and medicine. This was important because the welfare state was still over a century away. Almshouses were often the only alternative to destitution.
An impressive 10,000 people attended the opening ceremony. This happened even though North Peckham was mostly rural with market gardens and fields. Architectural historian Nicolaus Pevsner called the six-acre complex “the only grand composition among the many almshouses of Camberwell.”
The chapel was the heart of the Caroline Gardens community. Services were described as “bright and partly choral”. The Licensed Victuallers’ Choral Association contributed to the excellent singing. The association was mainly made up of younger family members who attended the Asylum Chapel.
The chapel thrived thanks to its congregation, contributions, and benefactors. It featured a handmade Messrs Bevington and Sons organ. Its walls displayed costly tablets to the memory of benefactors including HRH the Duke of Sussex and HRH the Prince Consort. Many of these carved stone memorials remain today.
In 1858, the Albert Wing opened adding 31 more dwellings. Prince Albert himself opened it. A 16-foot statue of Albert was unveiled in 1864 after his death.
During World War II, the Licensed Victuallers Benevolent Institution evacuated its tenants to Denham. The chapel suffered a direct hit from an incendiary bomb. The interior was gutted. But remarkably, the stained-glass windows and carved stone funerary monuments survived.
After the war, the chapel was stabilised. The crypt was filled with concrete. A basic asbestos-cement roof was added. The LVBI preferred their new site. In 1959, the last tenants moved to Denham.
In 1960, Southwark Council bought the Asylum and renamed it Caroline Gardens. The name honored Caroline Secker, a former resident. Her husband James Secker was said to have caught Nelson when he fell at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Although the cottages are still used as social housing, the chapel remained unused for years. It wasn’t until recently that it found new life.
In 2010, Jo Dennis and Dido Hallett began using the space for art projects. They established the arts and conservation not-for-profit company “Asylum.” In 2013, they formed Maverick Projects to run “Asylum Chapel” as a creative project space with a wedding license.
Between 2018 and 2020, conservation work began on the portico and exterior. The George Drew memorial window was restored.
Today, Caroline Gardens stands as a testament to resilience and community. The chapel, with its scarred beauty, offers unique experiences to Londoners. It’s a place where history meets art. The chapel is available to hire and retains its atmospheric charm. The Licensed Trade Charity which founded the almshouses still operates today.