Mayor officially opens Mary Driscoll House

 

 

Lutfur Rahman, the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, and the great granddaughter of Mary Driscoll officially opened 19 new homes in Bow, named in her honour.

Mary Driscoll was a Matchgirl and the youngest member of the Strike Committee, which negotiated with the directors of the Bryant & May match factory in Bow.

The women and teenage girls working at the factory led the Matchgirls’ Strike in July 1888. The same month 136 years later, council officials and Sarah King, her great-granddaughter, opened the housing development named after her. Graham Johnson, Trustee of The Matchgirls Memorial was also in attendance.

Mrs King said: “Mary Driscoll was my great-grandmother, and by all accounts, a remarkable woman. Only 14 when she joined the strike leaders at the Bryant and May factory in 1888, she went on to marry and have 11 children (four of whom survived to adulthood).

“Following the early death of her husband in a dock accident in 1916, she opened and ran one, possibly two, shops successfully, despite not being able to read or write. She also rented out a back room for extra income, and family history holds that she only turned down one group – Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts.

“I was delighted, and ultimately rather humbled to attend the opening of the community housing block named after her. A fitting tribute to a rather special woman.”

Residents have already moved into the new homes in Shetland Road. Resident Ajharul Kamaly, welcomed the Mayor and invited him into his home to look around and meet his wife Asma Akhtar and their three children.

Mr Kamaly said: “We are now comfortable living in a house that can accommodate my family. The area is pleasant, and we have no complaints.

“I would like to thank the Mayor for building bridges with residents, ensuring that our needs were met via his visit, and I would also like to thank the Council for building great and suitable homes for the residents of Tower Hamlets.”

The Mayor said: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet Mr Kamaly and his family. I am genuinely thrilled to see how comfortable and happy they are in their new home.

“Mary Driscoll House is an excellent example of the Council building spacious, family-sized homes with large living and outdoor areas for our residents to grow into without overcrowding.

“The Council is on track to deliver 4,000 genuinely affordable homes by May 2026, with an emphasis on family-sized units typified in Mary Driscoll House.”

Mary Driscoll House was completed in March 2024 and consists of one, two, three and four-bedroom family homes. At the rear of the building is a communal garden and play area for the new and existing community to enjoy.

Project leader Mark Glock said: “Jerram Falkus Construction Limited has been building communities for 140 years, and was proud to deliver affordable housing for Tower Hamlets, by enhancing the community and providing quality homes for local residents.”

Workers of the Bryant & May match factory suffered poor conditions, low pay, and the use of white phosphorus, which caused serious health complications.

The Matchgirls Strike was a landmark moment for working rights and later social commentators described it as “one of the most important events in the history of labour organisation in any country”.

Following the strike’s success, Mary, who was born in Limehouse in 1874, became a committee member of the new Union of Women Matchmakers.

Samantha and Graham Johnson, Founding Trustees of the Matchgirls Memorial, said: “Our aim is to ensure that the success of the 1888 Matchgirls Strike is memorialised in the East End, so we are delighted that the Matchgirls are remembered in this social housing initiative.

“We hope to follow this with more naming, plaques, and particularly a statue. A heritage trail will emerge.

“The Matchgirls success led to ‘New Unionism’ and no doubt influenced the dockers and their 1889 strike. There were even strikes by school children demanding shorter hours, more holidays and no cane!”