Time and Talents

At first I thought the Arts and Crafts frieze on this building, on Bermondsey Street in Southwark, was terracotta, but closer inspection revealed that it was Portland stone. The form of the lettering and numbers I would have expected to be a little earlier than the 1907 build date. Time and Talents' London settlement moved to Bermondsey Street in 1899. It offered classes in arts, crafts, cooking, reading, and writing, a library and canteen, clubs for young people, and from 1913, a hostel even provided girls with a safe, supportive place to live. It remains a vital community centre for Rotherhithe today. The building was designed by by Sir Reginald Blomfield and is listed Grade II.