auction

(PLEASE NOTE: This sale is the collection of the Robert Browning Settlement and does not in anyway reference the sale of the Robert Browning Society. We apologise if any confusion has arisen. For more information please feel free to contact us) BY ORDER OF THE BROWNING SETTLEMENT, BY THE REVEREND CLIVE DUNNICO, HONORARY WARDEN REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 243447 A National Charity Commemorating an International Poet. In Locksfields, Walworth, (now a part of the London Borough of Southwark), on land in York Street (now Browning Street), having been acquired in 1789, the building of a new non-conformist Chapel began. The new Independent Chapel was completed in 1790 and was originally known as The Locksfields Meeting House. It rapidly became the centre of active religious life. In 1804 the Reverend George Clayton was ordained and the Chapel was renamed the York Street Chapel of the Independents; (a forerunner of the Congregational Church). In 1804 Sarah Ann Wiedemann became a member of the Chapel and in 1808 became a Sunday School Teacher. Another attender at the Chapel was a Bank of England official, Mr Robert Browning. He and Sarah fell in love and were married in 1811 On 7th May, 1812 Robert and Sarahs first child was born. It was a boy who they named Robert, who was destined to become one of Englands greatest poets. The baby Robert was baptised by the Reverend George Clayton on 14th June 1812. Roberts parents lived in a house in Camberwell. Roberts sister, Sarianna was born in 1814 and she too was baptised in the Chapel as were many of Roberts relatives In the gallery on the west side, almost adjacent to the pulpit, was located the Browning family pew, which is held in the Settlements collection, During her life Sarah was a dedicated servant of the Chapel. She was an active supporter of the London Missionary Society and she kept a collection box for it. Her cash ledger is held in the collection. The young Robert was a regular attender at the Chapel until he was sixteen years of age, but his attendance then dwindled. Records inform us of him being a handsome restless youth, who sat with his parents in their family pew. Indeed, it is recorded how Mr Clayton stopped in the middle of service to reprimand for restless and inattention Master Robert Browning, This incident had a great effect on the young Robert, as after that rebuke his attendance decreased. However, Robert Browning never spoke in any but a respectful way of the little community where he received the sacrament of Baptism. Writing to Elizabeth Barrett in 1845 (4th August) he said playfully, can it be you? You are a frequenter of Independent Chapels and you confess this to me, whose father and mother went this morning to the very Independent Chapel, where they took me all those years back to be baptised, and where they heard this very morning a sermon preached by the very minister who officiated on that other occasion. The embarrassment of being rebuked there at the age of sixteen must have remained in his memory, as his son Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning (nicknamed Pen), in a letter written in 1906, refers to the place where my father feared to tread. The poet did, however, have fond memories of the services performed in the Chapel, because in a letter to his sister describing the Baptism of his son in Florence in 1849, he said that the ceremony was at the same as Mr Clayton's (NB. The Chapel in 1923 became known as Browning Hall). Robert Browning died on 12th December 1889 and was buried in Poets Corner Westminster Abbey on 31st December 1889. The Elders of the Chapel decided to form a charity in memory of the poet. The Robert Browning Settlement was founded with the enthusiastic support of the poets son and daughter-in-law. In 1895, The Settlement was designated a World Memorial to the Great Poet, Robert Browning the Chapel as its spiritual centre. Pen became President of the Settlement in 1906 and in that year he presented the original marble bust of his father to the Settlement. His widow, Fanny Barrett Browning, gave us many personal items, photographs and paintings, which now form an important part of our collection. In May 1928, the Settlement was honoured by a visit by HRH Duke and HRH Duchess of York (later to be Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). The work we carry out now is social and religious. We have a legal advice and counselling service; we make visits to the sick and elderly, wherever they are located in London or Essex. Although we are a Christian charity, we offer our services to all at no cost. If we cannot be of assistance, where professional knowledge is required, we introduce enquirers to advisers offering a public service. The Settlement always seeks to identify new needs and to find ways of assisting those who need help. The Pandemic severely had a negative effect on our financial resources. We were restricted by law from carrying out all the services we offer. With a heavy heart, we are now selling our Collection of Browning Memorabilia and Historical Records, with the assistance of Stacey's Auctioneers to enable us to continue our services to those who seek our help. *marching breast forward, never doubting clouds will break, never dreaming, though right may be worsted, wrong will triumph. (*epilogue to Asolando - Robert Browning). Honorary Warden Image. Photograph of Robert Browning, Part of Lot.2013.