Caius House, Battersea

In January 2008, AOC Archaeology Group undertook a programme of Historic Building recording and Field Evaluation at Caius House, Battersea.

Caius House, originally a church and community centre, was opened as part of the Caius Mission in 1892 as a joint venture between St Mary's Church, Battersea and Caius College, Cambridge. Caius was one of a number of missions established in London during this period by Cambridge and Oxford colleges, and is described in The Royal Guide to the London Charities: “educated men and women, putting theory into practice, take up their abode with the poor, striving by force of example to raise the moral tone of the district in which they have settled.”

Caius House has continued as a place of worship and community activity to the present day and is due to be demolished and replaced by a larger modern community centre.

The archaeological evaluation in the grounds uncovered no archaeologically significant material. However, the building recording did uncover a detailed sequence of development at the mission.

The Church was altered and extended several times, predominantly in the first sixteen years of its incarnation as funds became available. The mission was altered over the years, often as a result of changing community needs. A series of annotated historic plans were consulted, often giving the functions of each room.

Notably, a boxing club was established in 1912 and was famous for sending boys to major championships including the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

The most impressive feature of the building was a stained glass window located in the western gable on the first floor. It has been identified as a design by Sir Edward Burne-Jones by the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833 - 1898) was an English artist and designer closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

This window commemorates the lives of four young men who died tragically in a drowning accident in Saltdean in August 1912 while the Caius Summer Club was in session at Rottingdean near Brighton. Lady Georgiana Burne-Jones had a home in Rottingdean and, upset by the tragedy, offered to release an Edward Burne-Jones memorial window to the memory of the four boys (Edward Burne-Jones had died in 1898).

It is intended that the window will be removed carefully during demolition and reinstated in the new building.

AOC Project Manager:  Andy Leonard
AOC Project Supervisor:  Tim Carew
Client: Thornsett Homes Ltd