Ahead of a talk for the Wanstead Historical Society about local women of note, Lynn Haseldine Jones reflects on the life of Margaret Meekings Johnson OBE (1875–1940)
Although March was the month of International Women’s Day, I shall be marking the occasion in April by giving a talk for Wanstead Historical Society on ‘Women of Note of Wanstead and Woodford’.
This area has been the birthplace, home or working place of many women of note, and my talk will include a wide range of personalities, from teachers, philanthropists, artists and writers to businesswomen and church figures. I have tried to mix the well-known with the not-so famous, but all have made a considerable contribution to the community, whether it be at a local, national or even international level.
One woman of note of Wanstead was Margaret Meekings Johnson, who was born in West Ham in 1875. She was the daughter of industrialist Samuel Henry Johnson, whose company was SH Johnson of Carpenters Road, Stratford. The family originally lived at West Ham Hall, in Sebert Road, Forest Gate. The house was required for railway expansion, and this necessitated a move for the Johnson family. They acquired at auction in 1890 Warren Hill House in Manor Road, Loughton.
Following Samuel’s death in 1909, his widow Annie and her daughter, Margaret, moved to Vale Grove, which was situated on Loughton High Road. This is where Annie died in 1919. After her mother’s death, Margaret chose to move to Wanstead, where she lived at a property she called West Ham Hall. She bought this at auction in 1920. The house was built in 1914 by architect Charles Living of Stratford and was called Ronceval. She renamed it West Ham Hall, after the family home in Forest Gate, which had been demolished by then. The house is still on The Green in Wanstead, but is now, confusingly, called Wanstead House, although it has no relationship with the Wanstead House demolished in the 1820s. The building is now used as a community centre, and although it is called Wanstead House, the railings include a gate which still displays the name West Ham Hall.
Margaret was appointed OBE in 1936 for public services in Essex. She donated £10 to the Westminster Abbey Fund in 1920 and was present at the consecration of the new Church of St Andrew’s Ilford on Saturday 31 May 1924.
Miss Margaret Meekings Johnson OBE of West Ham Hall, Wanstead died on 30 December 1940. She left, among other bequests, £2,000 consols to Christ Church, Stratford, £500 to Queen Mary’s Hospital for the East End, Stratford and £250 to her secretary and friend, Ethel Watts.
Margaret is only one of many women I shall be discussing at this event.
Lynn’s talk will take place at Wanstead Library on 13 April from 8pm (visitors: £4). For more information, call 07949 026 212
