A memorial to those who lived and died in the Strand Union Workhouse between 1790 and 1853, as well as the workhouse physician and healthcare reformer Joseph Rodgers, is to be placed on a wall on a walkway off Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia, if planning permission is given.
An application to Camden Council has been made giving details, required by a previous planning permission to redevelop the former workhouse and Middlesex Hospital Annex, of a memorial on the site.
“The design comprises a figurative bas-relief scene representing workhouse life. The plaque is a cast bronze artwork designed and created by Nick Davis,” states the application.
The relief will be placed on a north-facing wall on Bedford Passage and will have the following inscription:
“In memory of those who lived and died in the Strand Union Workhouse 1790-1853. Commemorating their contribution to modern medicine through the study of human anatomy. Also in gratitude to Joseph Rogers, workhouse medical officer and healthcare reformer.”
Bedford Passage will be a pedestrian walkway linking Cleveland Street to Charlotte Street and will align roughly with an original 18th century route. In 2024 an application was made to change the name of the route to Fitzroy Walk.
Rogers worked tirelessly to improve conditions at the Strand and for workhouses generally.
A recent archaeological investigation at the site recovered 55 intact human burials dating from 1780 to 1853 from three test trenches. The site likely contained thousands of remains at one time but uncertainty was expressed by the investigators as to how many had been removed after the workhouse closed and the building became an extension of the Middlesex Hospital. A final archaeological report is due to be published.
Completion of the highly controversial redevelopment of the former poor house site is due this year. The project has been a long-running battle over social housing since plans were first announced for its redevelopment in the late 1990s.
Just 13 homes for social rent will be provided on the site, far fewer than originally envisaged and required by local planning policy thanks to the incompetence of Camden Council and the rapacious nature of University College London Hospitals and their sibling UCLH Charity.
The main building of the former workhouse for the destitute poor is Grade II listed and has been converted to two town houses and 13 luxury apartments on a small gated private estate. Another 25 flats behind the main building will also be sold on the open market.
Due to an error, the planning application for the memorial is lodged under the wrong area in Camden. The application site is in Bloomsbury ward but it is listed on the planning portal as being in Regent’s Park ward. The Charlotte Street Association residents’ groups has written to Camden’s planners to point this out and ask for it to be corrected.
| Application Number | Site Address | Development Description | Date Registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/1192/P | 44 Cleveland Street London W1T 4JT | Details of a memorial plaque required by Condition 6 of planning permission ref 2021/3087/P dated 01/12/2022 (allowed on appeal ref APP/X5210/W/22/3300894) for Variation of conditions 2 and 3 (approved plans), 4 (accessible units), 5 (wheelchair user dwellings) and 37 (residential mix) of planning permission 2017/0414/P, dated 15/01/2018 (as amended by 2018/1584/P, dated 30/09/2019 and 2021/3088/P, dated 12/07/2021) for the refurbishment of and alterations to the existing former Workhouse Building (Grade II listed) and North and South Houses (fronting onto Cleveland Street) to provide residential units (Class C3); demolition of part of South House and buildings at rear of Workhouse Building and redevelopment to provide a new building comprising commercial floor space (flexible use of Class B1 / D1 healthcare) and residential units (Class C3); and associated works including opening up of Bedford Passage, creation of public open space, landscaping works, and partial demolition of front boundary wall), namely to allow an increase in the overall number of dwellings and a change in housing tenure (reduction in the number of affordable dwellings), changes to 2nd floor window on former workhouse building, changes to internal and external design of new building, including additional basement level at No.44 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JT | 30-03-2026 |
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