3-017-081 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Entertainment given by Mr. Gurney Barclay, at Leytonstone, to the agents of the London City Mission, 1865. Engraving from a photograph. 'Mr. Gurney Barclay (of the firm of Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, and Co.), with his excellent lady, invited the 390 agents of the London City Mission to spend their customary annual holiday [ie day out] at [their] residence...By twelve o'clock the beautifully laid-out grounds of Mr. Barclay began to assume a very animated appearance; and for a time the healthful game of football or cricket, or the delightful stroll through the beautiful conservatories, consoled those who are accustomed to pursue their benevolent labours amid scenes of squalor and vice in the back slums of this crowded city. At the sound of a gong, however, they were soon all collected in a spacious marquee which had been erected in the grounds. Here were six or seven tables spread for an abundant and most palatable repast, which the missionaries knew how to enjoy...the day's proceedings were concluded with a hearty vote of thanks to the worthy host and hostess...[The missionaries'] work is to pioneer a path among the most wretched and debased of the population'. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.