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Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 14 B – Spending a Penny
Spending a Penny (B) is the second part of the talk by Tim Davies. In this part George Jennings marries his first wife Mary Ann Coates Gill in 1836. They had four children.
George Jennings established his company in Paris Street, Lambeth, in 1837. At this stage he worked virtually single handed.
Mary died in 1844. In 1850 he consulted on the sanitary needs for the Great Exhibition. His ‘necessary convenience’ at the Crystal Palace was used by over 827,00 people. The move to Sydenham required day and night working by his team.
In 1848 George Jennings married 16 year old Sophia Budd. They had 11 children.
The spring of 1865 saw a fire that destroyed his works. The insurance had lapsed! He built a new, larger works, nearby. The business thrived. George Jennings was keen to open public facilities but had to fight against the reactionary stance of many councils.
In 1872 he built a house in Nightingale Lane, Clapham, where he lived until he died 10 years later. The firm prospered and by 1887 employed over 1,000 people. The podcast takes you through the departments in Lambeth. It also talks about the South-Western Pottery and Terra-Cotta Works at Parkeston in Dorset.
We hear about the 0-4-0 saddle tank steam locomotive named ‘George Jennings’ that was still in use when the works closed in 1962.
Please click on one of the images as you listen to the talk to open the gallery.
The Farnham U3A site is at Farnham U3A Home Page.
AKM Music has licensed Media Magazine for use as the title music.
© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham U3A History Group 2019
