The Pearly Story ~ "Past"

Pearly Kings & Queens have a unique and proud heritage . . . one which is at the heart of London folklore . . . they evolved from the under-classes; a melting pot of people who came from all corners of the world to seek a living on the mean streets of an overcrowded city ~ so well depicted by Dickens in many of his novels ~ their fascinating story is as old as London Towne itself . . . . .

From the 10th century, through medieval times, to the height of the Victorian era, street hawkers competed to sell their wares in the hustle-bustle of London’s main general Market ~ Cheapside. They learnt that those who cried loudest, longest and with the most panache did the most business. Here the bells of St Mary-le-Bow Church rang out the curfew ~ the signal to extinguish fires, close the city’s gates and an attempt to close trading for the day ~ but to the street trading hawkers the day only ended when the last apple or pie was sold.

The hardiest and most successful of the street hawkers were the ‘Costermongers’ ~ a name derived from selling the popular ‘costard’ apple, which was grown in abundance in the orchards surrounding London. Costermongers specialised in selling all forms of perishable goods ~ from fruit & veg to fish ~ in fact anything which could be bought at London’s wholesale markets such as Spitalfields, Billingsgate and Covent Garden. Costermongers learnt through generations of experience the art of boosting custom with showmanship and the cheeky banter of their rhyming slang. They were so successful at their trade that they were able to purchase donkeys and carts ~ which enabled them to carry more stock and move quicker around town than the hawkers on foot.

All of London’s street traders were originally itinerant and unlicensed ~ continually hounded by the establishment and London’s well-to-do society ~ but they never gave in ~ they knew they were providing an essential service to the poor; selling their wares cheaply and in small quantities. They were self-employed; the harder they grafted, the more they earnt. Those who cried their wares in the City ~ within the sound of Bow Bells ~ were given the derisory nickname of ‘Cockneys’ by out of towners; ‘cokeney’ literally meaning a cocks egg!

Costermongering was essentially a family business ~ popular pitches were handed down from generation to generation. They brought their children up to follow in the tradition ~ they were taught the secrets of the trade at the earliest age. Costermongers also learnt how to live life to the full ~ always willing to entertain others in the Gin Palaces & Music Halls, which were warm & welcoming compared to their squalid hovels.

By the middle ages markets had sprung up all over the City and in surrounding areas such as Lambeth, Bermondsey and Whitechapel. Each market district elected a ‘Coster King’ to fight for the rights of their fellow costers. Coster Kings were adept at organising fundraising for those that were in need of help ~ their cheeky banter enabled them to charm silver where others got bronze.

Although by today’s standards Costermongers had little themselves, they had an affinity for those on the streets who were even less fortunate ~ the orphaned street urchins, child chimney sweeps, the disabled forced to beg for food and fellow traders who fell on hard times. Many Coster Kings became members of friendly societies, and in conjunction with hospitals, took to arranging fundraising fancy dress ‘rag’ parades and carnivals.

By the mid-1800’s, Coster Kings were mimicking the fashions of Royalty and West End society ~ the Kings sewing lines (‘flashes’) of cheap and plentiful mother of pearl buttons on their battered bell-bottomed trousers, waistcoats and caps; their ‘Queens’ wearing huge ostrich feather hats and ‘bobby-dazzler’ earrings. Soon these costers were being referred to as ‘Pearlies’ and the term ‘Flash Harry’ was born. Their children ~ who inherited the parents titles in the same way as the real Royals ~ were being dressed as Princes & Princesses.

As London’s high society grew richer, chiefly by exploiting the working classes, the wealthy began wearing even more grandiose outfits. One famous femme fatale of the era, Cora Pearl from St Pancras, wore an outfit completely studded in diamonds. These high fashions even caught on in the lowly Music Halls ~ one star wore a stage outfit completely covered in over 3,000 buttons.

In their own way, coster funerals were also spectacular occasions ~ in the 1880’s the cortege of the famous ‘Queen of the Costers’ Mary Robinson of Somers Town, who died aged 71, included hundreds of fellow Pearlies on their donkey carts. As per her wishes, the coffin was carried into St Pancras & Islington cemetery by four costers in pure white smocks, followed by twenty-four young coster girls each wearing violet dresses and ostrich feather hats. As the funeral cortege made its way through the streets and markets of North London, such a sight could not fail to have made an impression on a Somers Town boy . . . . .

All these events greatly influenced an orphan named Henry Croft, who was born in 1862. He too developed an affinity with the costers and their charitable outlook on life. He spent his childhood sewing the sacking which formed the beds in his rat-infested St Pancras workhouse ~ his first job at the age of just 13 was sweeping the streets and crossings around the markets. Inspired by the Coster Kings and the Music Hall artists, he realised he could do something to help the Pearlies in their fundraising activities . . .

In the early 1890’s, Henry plucked up the courage to appear at the local market; he was wearing a costers outfit that he had been working on for several months ~ to everyone’s amazement it was ornately covered from head to toe with intricate patterns made from smoked mother of pearl buttons. Soon all London’s Coster Kings & Queens were embellishing their pearly outfits with designs that included symbols of their trade, their superstitions and some just taste & fancy ~ they even began to add the title of their market district on the back, such as "PEARLY KING OF OLD KENT ROAD" . . . . . Pearly Kings & Queens had been born.

Whenever Henry and fellow Pearlies appeared at fundraising events they caused a sensation with their shimmering suits; some, with up to 60,000 pearl buttons, weighed in at over 60lbs! Henry made seven suits in all ~ his most famous was a top hat & tails completely covered in buttons.

When Henry attended the Costers Annual Donkey Carnivals he did so in his civvies ~ such was his respect for their tradition ~- not wishing to steal the limelight from them. In the summer of 1929, at the age of 68, Henry attended his last carnival . . . . .

Henry died on 1st January 1930 ~ tragically and ironically knocked down by a horse-drawn carriage outside the Whitechapel Hospital; his collection tin was still in his hand.

At his funeral over 400 Pearlies made up the cortege ~ hundreds on their donkey carts, many on foot. Wearing black armbands and carrying their pearl buttoned caps in hand, Henry’s closest Pearly friends, including the Pearly King of St Pancras, walked solemnly alongside the coffin. They were joined by representatives from numerous hospitals & institutions carrying the banners which normally adorned their fundraising carnivals ~ only this time the banners were edged in black crepe. The hearse was drawn by four black horses draped in purple cloth. On the coffin, next to his pearl encrusted top hat, lay Henry’s charity medals and ribbons. The whole procession was led by a band of Irish Pipers playing a lament. The grand send-off was organised by one of his closest friends, the Pearly King of Tottenham. Londoners turned out in their thousands to pay their last respects, lining the pavements five deep in places. Henry’s funeral is now a part of London folklore.

Although in his lifetime he raised huge sums for charity, Henry died a pauper. He had 12 children, but none of his surviving family attended his funeral or adopted the Pearly tradition. A marble statue erected above his grave was funded by the hospitals and charities that he had helped during his life. His Pearly regalia and mementoes are now preserved by the Cockney Museum.

By the end of the 1930’s there were over 400 Pearlies representing all corners of Cockney London - by the end of the 1960’s their numbers had dwindled to just a few - with only a handful of surviving original families continuing the tradition. The injection of new blood and new generations rekindling their heritage over the past 20 years has meant that today, the number has again increased to a very healthy 100+ Pearly Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses.

Once again London’s most famous districts and landmarks have active Pearlies giving up their spare time to support all kinds of charitable causes and assist in educating both visitors and new generations in the Cockney traditions. To the North of the Thames there are Pearly Kings and Queens for districts such as Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Bow, Stepney, Isle of Dogs, West Ham, Wapping, Dagenham, St Pancras, Edmonton, Redbridge, Fulham, Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith, Leather Lane, Smithfield Market , Old Covent Garden and Petticoat Lane; representing South London are Pearly Kings and Queens for areas such as Bankside, Battersea, Brixton, Lambeth Walk, Waterloo, Camberwell, Bermondsey, Old Kent Road, Walworth, Peckham, Nunhead, Deptford, Greenwich, Dartford, Plumstead and Woolwich.

Visitors to our shores still expect to see something of our heritage, pageantry and costume . . . . . the Pearly tradition certainly provides something of that . . . . . not forgetting of course, their Cockney humour, spirit & cheer . . . .

Long may they Reign!