Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society Commemorative Plaque
Region ID | UEL | |
Work ID | 625 | |
Manual Reference | GR042 | |
Type | Panel | |
Title | Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society Commemorative Plaque | |
Date of design | ||
Year of unveiling | 1912 | |
Unveiling details | 22 June 1912 | |
Road | Bostall Lane | |
Precise Location | Side wall of Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society supermarket, corner of McLeod Road and Bostall Lane | |
A to Z Ref | 84 B4 | |
OS Ref | TQ468787 | |
Postcode | SE2 | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Don't know | |
Duty of Care | Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society | |
Commissioned by | Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society | |
Notes | ||
Carved tablet set into the side wall of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) store. It bears the inscription commemorating the opening of the store and the RACS name in a central badge. The tablet is of white limestone. | ||
From its beginnings in 1868 the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) had grown by 1889 to the position of twenty-first largest Society out of the 1500 then in existence in the country. Expansion of the Society continued into the twentieth century with several stores being opened around south east London. The Abbey Wood Branch opened in McLeod Road in 1912, replacing a temporary wooden building. This branch is situated in the middle of the Abbey Wood Estate, which had been commenced by RACS in 1900. McLeod Road is named after Alexander McLeod who, with William Rose, had lead a group of skilled workers from Woolwich Arsenal into the foundation of the Royal Arsenal Supply Association. This Association was later to become RACS. ‘In 1899, when RACS members shared in the prosperity brought to the Woolwich Arsenal by the Boer war, the Society bought the Suffolk Place Estate - adjoining the farm purchased 13 years before - for £40,000. Thus Bostall Estate in Abbey Wood (known colloquially as "Tin Check Island") was born. The objective was to build 3,500 leasehold houses - with favourable mortgage terms offered by the Society to help poorer members to purchase their own homes - but this was only partially achieved’.(1) | ||
Marks the opening of the Abbey Wood branch of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS). | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1912 | |
Condition | Fair | |
At risk | No known risk | |
Inscriptions | Incised capital letters, top line is curved round above rest of text: ROYAL ARSENAL CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED / R.A.C.S. / [coat of arms worn away] / THIS STONE WAS LAID ON JUNE 22ND 1912 BY / ROBERT BYFORD / TO COMMEMORATE THE BUILDING OF THE ABBEY ROAD BRANCH / COMMITTEE / RICHARD WALE CHAIRMAN / WILLIAM ASHWORTH JOHN FARRELL / ROBERT BYFORD HARRY KEEBLE / WALTER T. DAVIS FREDERICK LOCKYEAR / JOHN DICKINSON ANNE ROSS (M.B.) / THOMAS ARNOLD JAMES HALL / FRED [letters worn away] WILLIAM BETHELL / [letters worn away] MANAGER | |
Signatures | ||
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Carved tablet | Limestone | 100cm high x 110cm wide |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Corrosion, Deterioration | |
Surface spalling, crumbling | |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
Graffiti | |