X-Nico

Maria Rye

Encouraged by the earl of Shaftesbury and The Times newspaper and with the financial support of William Rathbone, M.P., she purchased in 1869 Avenue House, High Street, Peckham, and with her two younger sisters, in spite of public opposition and prejudice, took there from the streets or the workhouses waifs and strays from the ages of three to sixteen.

see also