Map of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London

Kings Cross St Pancras

Euston Station

Maida Vale

Euston

Regent’s Park Old Street

Passmore Edward’s Settlement

Euson Square Warren Street Regent’s Park Warwick Avenue

Grafton Hotel

Great Portland Street

Russel Square

Marylebone

Farringdon

Goodge Street

Westbourne Park

33 Bloomsbury Square

Edgware Road

Moorgate

Chancery Lane

Tottenham Court Road

Aldgate East St. Paul’s

Oxford Circus Paddington Marble Arch

Bayswater

Liverpool Street

City Temple

Holborn

Paddington Station

Royal Oak Ladbroke Grove

Barbican

King’s Weigh House Church

Bond Street

Essex Hall

Covent Garden

Doré Art Gallery

Lancaster Gate

Leicester Square Piccadilly Circus

Queensway

52 St Martin’s Lane

Aldgate

133 Salisbury Square

Bank

Mansion House Mansion House

Fenchurch Street Canon Street

Blackfriars

Temple

Monument

Tower Hill

Eustace Miles Restaurant Charing Cross

Notting Hill Gate

Embankment Green Park

Hyde Park

Holland Park

Kensington Gardens

35 St James' Place

Serpentine Bridge

London Bridge

Waterloo Hyde Park Corner

Borough Westminster

Knightsbridge

137A Kensington High Street

High Street Kensington

Caxton Hall

10 Cheniston Gardens

34 Queen Anne’s Gate Westminster St. James’s Palace Hotel Park

Salvation Army Shelter

Kensington Olympia

22 Queen’s Gate Gardens Gloucester Road

Victoria

59 Cromwell Road

97 Cadogan Gardens

South Kensington

31 Evelyn Mansions

Lambeth North

Church House St John the Divine

Elephant and Castle

Victoria Station

Sloane Square

West Kensington

Kennington

80 Elm Park

West Brompton

Albert Bridge

River Thames Oval

Fulham Broadway

Battersea Park

Parsons Green

Imperial Wharf

‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ IN LONDON Stockwell

106A High Street Battersea

Putney Bridge

Clapham Junction

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London The following places have been listed alphabetically for easy reference with the map at the back of this page. Page numbers noted at the end of entries correspond to the 2021 publication “In the Footsteps of Abdu’l-Bahá”.

Battersea Park Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper would drive ‘Abdu’lBahá to Battersea Park, where He would walk around the lake for an hour. pp.39, 56

Doré Art Gallery, 35 New Bond Street ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave an address to a Higher Thought meeting here in the afternoon of 19 January 1913.

Essex Hall, 2-3 Essex Street (demolished) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed The Women’s Freedom League at this Unitarian church. Much of Essex Street was demolished during the Blitz. p.47 Eustace Miles Restaurant (demolished) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and 16 others were invited by Mr. J W Sidley to dine at a famous vegetarian restaurant. The location would be on the north side of the now William IV Street, immediately west of where the buildings start to run northeast to go up Chandos Place.

Euston Station Where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived from Liverpool and travelled to Edinburgh during His second visit to London. pp.32, 51 Grafton Hotel Where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the Woodcocks, a Canadian Bahá’í family, on 29 December 1912.

Caxton Hall During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s second visit, He spoke three times at Caxton Hall. The building was opened as Westminster Town Hall in 1883 but ceased to be the local seat of government in 1900. It served as a venue for musical concerts and a variety of public meetings, and was a key site in the campaign for women’s suffrage in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s time. pp.33,55,56 Church House ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had a front-row seat at the very first dramatic performance of His life -“Eager Heart: A Christmas Mystery-Play”, where Lady Blomfield’s daughter was playing the title role.

The original Church House, designed by Lady Blomfield’s husband, Sir Arthur Blomfield, was opened in 1896. The current Church House is a 1930’s replacement of the original building. p.38

City Temple ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first ever public talk here on 10 September 1911, to a Western congregation of over 2,000 people. The pulpit Bible which He had written in was destroyed with the church during the Second World War. After its reconstruction, Queen Elizabeth II rededicated the City Temple to “The Glory of God” on a stone plaque outside the building. p.12

Westminister Palace Hotel (demolished) Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper arranged for ‘Abdu’lBahá to give a public address at this luxury hotel on the evening of 20 December 1912. The hotel was converted to offices in the 1920s and demolished in 1974. The site is now occupied by a branch of Barclays Bank. p.36

Hyde Park ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had often been driven through or walked in Hyde Park. Once, while crossing the Serpentine Bridge, the rows of shining lamps beneath the trees prompted Him to say, “I am very much pleased with this scene. Light is good, most good. There was much darkness in the prison at ‘Akka.” p.34 Kensington Gardens ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walked for nearly an hour here at noon on 21 December 1912.

King’s Weigh House Church, Duke Street ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave an address here. The building today serves as the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile. pp. 44-45

Mansion House ‘Abdu’l-Bahá breakfasted with the Lord Mayor of London the day before He was to leave London.

Mansion House has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London since 1758, and although refurbishments have been made, the listed building retains its original character. p.22 Paddington Station ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled by train to Oxford and Bristol from Paddington Station. pp.16-17,46,57

35 St James’ Place ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited twice the home of Henry Leitner, son of Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner who founded the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking. p.59 52 St Martin’s Lane, Quaker Meeting House ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave an address on the meditative faculty at Quaker Meeting House. The building entrance is the same, but the north side in particular has been lost. p.55 59 Cromwell Road ‘Abdu’l-Bahá pays two visits to His Highness Bhawani Singh, Raj Rana Bahadur of Jhalawar. p.45, 60

Passmore Edward’s Settlement, Tavistock Place Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper organized a farewell evening for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Settlement was founded to bring working-class adults to classes, concerts, clubs, and activities in the evenings and weekends, and to offer after-school recreation and instruction to poor children during their parents’ working hours. The Settlement, managed with energy by Mary Ward until her death in March 1920, was renamed the Mary Ward Settlement in 1921. Its name was changed to the Mary Ward Centre in 1970. p.19 Regent’s Park ‘Abdu’l-Bahá once walked with some friends without any interpreter, and taught them some Persian words. pp.34,48 Salvation Army Shelter, Westminster The Salvation Army is a worldwide evangelical Christian church and charitable organisation.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited and spoke at the shelter on the north end of St Ann’s Street at Christmas 1912, where dinner was provided to the homeless.

80 Elm Park ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the home of Felix Moscheles, painter and peace activist, and spoke of peace, economics, and universal language. p. 61

10 Cheniston Gardens, Higher Thought Centre The Centre was well known to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the place where the Bahá’ís held their weekly meetings under the direction of Miss Rosenberg, and an invitation to the Centre was accepted by him just two days before his departure. p.21 22 Queen’s Gate Gardens, Persian Legation Where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was invited to dinner with the Persian diplomatic mission. The legation used to be on the north side, 2nd door from the east. p.56

97 Cadogan Gardens Lady Blomfield’s apartment, where ‘Abdu’lBahá resided during His stays in London. Every day, streams of visitors of all backgrounds came to the house to meet him. pp.67,17,19,22,32,34,37,38,40,43,47,49,51,58,59

p.42

106A High Street Battersea, Cedars Club House ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was driven here via Albert Bridge to speak here. In 1924 a newly formed Anglican settlement opened a girls’ club there- the current Katherine Low Settlement. p.43

St. John the Divine Church, Smith Square At the invitation of the Archdeacon of Westminster, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the congregation after evening service on 17 September 1911. A fine representation of English Baroque architecture, the redundant church was restored as a concert hall in the 60’s following firebombing in the Second World War. St. John’s Smith Square has become the new home of Southbank Sinfonia since April 2021. p.14 Victoria Station ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left London from Victoria Station for Paris at the end of His two visits to the UK. p.23,62

31 Evelyn Mansions, Carlisle Place, Victoria Home of Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper, the first Bahá’í in England. Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper personally arranged many of the meetings for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and made her automobile available to Him during His visits. pp.9,13,19,37,38,39,41,45,46,48,

133 Salisbury Square, Christian Commonwealth ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the office of Mr. Albert Dawson, the editor of the Christian Commonwealth. Presently, the location would have been the northern-most or second-tonorthern-most building on the east edge. p.56

50,51,55,56,61

33 Bloomsbury Square (demolished) Residence of Sir Richard and Lady Stapley. The whole terrace of housing has been demolished since and replaced by 37-63 Victoria House. In its time, it would have stood exactly in the middle of the east edge. p.55 34 Queen Anne’s Gate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited Lord and Lady Glenconner’s home. The western-most house on the north side. p.58

137a High Street, Kensington Home of Misses Marion Jack and Elizabeth Herrick, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited. p.15