Pearly Kings and Queens, known as pearlies, are an organised charitable tradition of working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

 culture in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England.

The practice of wearing clothes decorated with pearl buttons originated in the 19th century. It is first associated with Henry Croft, an orphan street sweeper

Street sweeper

A street sweeper or street cleaner can refer to a person's occupation or a machine that cleans streets, usually in an urban area.-History of street sweeping in the United States:...

 who collected money for charity. At the time, London costermonger

Costermonger

Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...

s (apple sellers) were in the habit of wearing pearl buttons along the seams of their trousers. Croft adapted this to create a pearly suit to draw attention to himself and aid his fund-raising activities. In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley

Finchley

Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...

, north London.
Croft died in January 1930 and his funeral was attended by 400 followers from all over London, receiving national media coverage. In 1934 a memorial was unveiled to him in St Pancras Cemetery

St. Pancras and Islington Cemetery

The St. Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley, North London while situated in the London Borough of Barnet is actually two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, Camden and Islington...

 and at a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised £5,000 for those suffering in London's hospitals. The statue was later moved to the crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...

, Westminster. The inscription reads:
The pearly organisation is now known as the Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association. Following disagreements, a rival London Pearly Kings and Queens Society has also been set up and another called the Pearly Guild. Each group is associated with a church in central London and works to raise money for London-based charities.

External links

• flickr
  Flickr
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  - Henry Croft, Pearly King
• www.pearlies.org.uk