Ragged Schools and Ashton House
Aspin Lane [1] and Dantzic Street is the Charter Street Ragged School and Working Girls Home, a relatively rare surviving example of a purpose-built institution of this type, with a largely intact plan. The work of the mission had commenced in 1847 and a school was built on the site in 1866. The range to Little Nelson Street by Maxwell & Tuke, dated 1891, was an extension of the 1866 building, subsequently pulled down and replaced by the block to Dantzic Street in 1898, also by Maxwell & Tuke. The earlier part has tall channelled chimneys and top floor oriels, the rather plain later building one or two BaroqueGlossary Term [2] touches. The corner entrance to Dantzic Street has the words 'Working Girls Home' over the doorway. Accommodation was provided for servants who would otherwise have to use lodging houses, with kitchens, laundries and individual cubicles. Some of these features survive. Two large halls on two floors on the Aspin Lane side served the ragged school and mission. The changes of level inside reflect the piecemeal building history and the exigencies of a circulation system which separated the working girls from other users.