Theft at Bell House

On Saturday 2 December 1769, Thomas Wright was the victim of theft in his new house at Dulwich. James Simpson was accused of stealing a woollen coat, value twenty shillings. Wright’s coachman, Rubon Cannicot, gave evidence at the Old Bailey:

The coachhouse where the theft took place

‘I am coachman to Thomas Wright; he lives at Dulwich; our coach was locked up, and the great coat on the coach box. The key was left in the door, on the outside; the yard gate was all fast, and the yard is walled all round; whoever got the coat must get over the wall. I know nothing of the prisoner, I never saw him to my knowledge before I saw him here at the bar, it, (the coat) was missing last Saturday morning.’

Was this the coat stolen from Thomas?

Simpson took the coat to Cheapside, offering it to a clothes-dealer called Hugh Riley. Riley and Simpson then went to a pub in Paternoster-row where Riley offered Simpson fourteen shillings for the coat but would not pay until Simpson could prove it was his to sell. Riley was also a watchman for the City police force and becoming suspicious the coat was stolen, took Simpson to the lord mayor. Rubon Cannicot (the coachman) accurately described the coat to the lord mayor ‘before he saw it’. The prisoner’s defence:

‘My brother was a coachman; I had this coat of him; he was coachman to Mr Hutchinson in Southampton. I offered it to this man; (I) am bricklayer; my brother has been dead some time; I am a Guernsey man.’

Simpson was found guilty and transported to the American colonies. Simpson must have reflected on his bad luck that when he stole a coat five miles from London he then tried to sell it a stone’s throw from Thomas Wright’s business, a place where its livery was likely to be recognised and that the person he offered it to was a member of the City's own police force.
 

"Study smarter, not harder" - Revision tips for dyslexic students

Do you learn best by listening? By reading? By looking at colours? By moving around as you learn? For many people, especially dyslexic children, the answer to this question could be the key to unlocking the secret to the most effective revision techniques. As Caroline Bateman explained to a room full of parents at Bell House Dulwich, the answer for everyone is different. We should embrace this, and use our individual learning styles to help the revision process. 

“Study smarter, not harder”. This really was the theme running throughout Caroline’s talk, as she steered a group of parents with dyslexic children towards a set of techniques that could help with revision. The group was made up of parents who had children of varying ages, which made for great discussion, and opportunities to learn from each other. 

Instead of reinventing the wheel, Caroline showed us easy ways to transform existing resources into effective and, dare I say it, fun ways to revise. For example, take a PowerPoint presentation used in the classroom. A pupil can turn this into a quiz, so they can test themselves on information they have just learnt. This is a relatively low-tech way to use resources which are already there, and make them more interactive. Caroline underlined the importance of self-testing; it’s the best way for children and teenagers to truly engage their brains, and assess what they have truly absorbed. And a great way to incentivise revision!

We also discussed a range of practical tips which are beautifully simple to implement. For example, fitting school folders with a small plastic wallet containing coloured pens, glue, hole-punch, and post-it notes. This saves time when revision rolls around, and kids know exactly where to find all their revision stationery. Seeing such an organised, well-equipped file made lots of us in the room at Bell House wish we had these tips when doing our own school exams!

At the end of the two hour session, all the parents left Bell House feeling reassured that revision is not impossible, and armed with a new portfolio of revision techniques to try with their children. Due to the fantastic response from this evening, Caroline Bateman will be repeating her talk at Bell House Dulwich on 20th March. Please visit bellhouse.co.uk/events for more information, or get tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parents-discover-how-to-support-your-childs-revision-tickets-43018171509

The Wrights Move to Dulwich

After their marriage, Thomas and Ann Wright set up home near London Bridge, close to Thomas’s business. They had three children, though only their daughter Ann survived childhood. They decided to move south, joining the exodus of families from the City which was becoming a place of business and manufacture rather than residency. The rapid improvement in roads and the building of Westminster and Blackfriars bridges enabled Thomas to commute much more easily and Dulwich, with its country air and spa at Dulwich Wells, provided an attractive alternative to the city. Commuting was a novelty as shown in this poem by Robert Lloyd written in 1757, just ten years before the Wrights moved to Bell House:

Some three or four miles out of town,
(An hour’s ride will bring you down),
He fixes on his choice abode,
Nor half a furlong from the road:
And so convenient does it lay
The stages pass it ev’ry day:
And then so snug, so mighty pretty,
To have a house so near the city!

In 1767 Thomas built Bell House and a year later replaced two ancient cottages nearby with what is now Pickwick Cottage. The eponymous bell is inscribed with the date 1770 so must have been installed a little after the house was built. In 1783 Thomas leased three more fields and the use of the mill pond on Dulwich Common with the ‘right to take fish out...by angling and no other method’. The gardens stretched to what is now the lake in Dulwich Park and also included part of Frank Dixon Close. The Wrights continued making improvements such as planting trees including perhaps the beautiful medlar tree which still stands outside the kitchen window. 
 

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Lease of Bell House showing extent of garden. Source: Dulwich College