The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-06-26 00:00:00

MR. SPURGEON'S BIRTHDAY.

The 46th anniversary of the birthday of Mr. C. H.
Spurgeon was celebrated on Tuesday by a festival held
at the Stockwell Orphanage, and attended by many
hundreds of his friends and admirers. The programme
included a concert by the Southwark Choral Society,
instrumental music by the band of the Children's
Home, Victoria-park, a sale of useful and fancy
articles, and open-air meetings in the beautiful
grounds of the institution ; but the special feature of
the proceedings was the inauguration of another of the
beneficent works which, supplementing in practical
form his ministrations as a Christian preacher, have
strengthened Mr. Spurgeon's widely-recognised claims
to public regard.
In 1868 Mr. Spurgeon founded, on the cottage
home system' his non-sectarian orphanage for boys,
where some 250 fatherless lads are now regularly
housed and educated. Last year, the suggestion
being made tc him that he should establish a similar
institution for orphan girls, he cheerfully took up the
work, and so potential was his appeal for aid that in
a few months the house known as "The Hawthorns,"
costing £4,000, and a large meadow, both adjoining
the boys' orphanage, had been bought and paid for.
A site being thus secured, it was decided to build a
block containing houses for the residence of 250 female
orphans, with schools over, and a small family of
girls is being maintained in the meantime at " The
Hawthorns."
- - - - - -

The foundation stones were laid on Tuesday of four
of the six contemplated houses or homes of which the
block is ultimately to consist. The foundation stone
of the first was laid by Mrs. Spurgeon, whose appear-
ance was evidently the source of much satisfaction
to the assemblage, and who used the silver trowel
which had been presented to her for a like purpose
in 1868.

After prayer had been offered by the Rev. J.
M`Connell Hussey, Mr. Spurgeon, who was received
with enthusiastic cheers explained that the estimate
for the whole of the buildings to accommodate the
350 girls amounted to £ll,lOO, but that being a larger
sum than he had reckoned on he had agreed with the
builders that they should at present proceed with the
building to the extent of only £.8,000. That sum had
been already raised, and on the previous day he had
received many additional contributions. One gentle-
men wrote, "Put me down. for £600," and from those
who came to congratulate him on his birthday he re-
ceived in his right hand 17900 in half-crowns and
five shilling pieces. The result was that his hand
was in a very ugly condition; he hoped nobody would
want to shake it, for it shook of itself. He had no
doubt now that the balance of the £ll,OOO would be
soon forthcoming. He had carried on the work of the
Lord always with marvellous success, and willing
friends had always gathered round him, but he had
never before achieved such a triumph as this. That
house of which his wife was to lay the first stone was
to be called the "Sermon House." Tl:e cost was given
one half by the author of the sermons—himself—and
the other half by the publishers of them, Messrs. Pass-
more and Alabaster. The building was to commemo-
rate the goodness of God in connection with those
I sermons, to which his college, his orphanage, and
other works owed so much. He had a little church
of 5,500 members at Newington-butts, but he had a
larger church scattered through the United Kingdom
and the Colonies, consisting of the people who read
his sermons' who were always ready to help him, and
many of whom, as they told him in their letters, had
come to think of him as their minister. He felt
deeply thankful that his sermons had been produced
week by week for 25i years, and that they had now
reached the number, in regular order, of 1,542.

_
The cheerful speech was warmly applauded through-
out, and a dedicatory hymn was afterwards sung.
Mr. Spurgeon himself laid the foundation stone of the
second house, "The Limes," the gift of Mr. W. R.
Rickett, in tender memory of his five deceased chil-
dren.

The ceremony at the third home, "The Olives,"
given by Mr. Samuel Barrow and friends, was per-
formed by Mrs. Barrow; and the foundation stone of
the fourth, or "Trustees' House," given by the
trustees of the orphanage, was placed in position by
Mr. Wm. Higgs.