Pearly Kings & Queens
Part of being able to fully appreciate our pearly kings & Queens, is to know their history, the humble beginnings from whence they came and humble indeed it was. As we all know, back in the 18th century, London's drinking water was practically undrinkable by today's standards and harbinger to many killer diseases such as Cholera & Typhoid, so at the time it was common practice for people to buy an apple to quench their thirst whilst out and about, these apples were Coster apples and sold by Costermongers who were originally street traders (later market sellers), mainly dealing in fruit and veg who would eek a meagre living by selling their goods from baskets, they would wander through the crowds at the likes of Billingsgate, Covent Garden & Spitalfeilds markets in London, loudly calling out their wares to entice the public, (eventually they would progress from baskets to barrows and from barrows to fixed pitches at markets). They were thought vulgar and distasteful by the well to do, who did not appreciate the Costermongers direct and colourful, often cheeky patter which was to become their trademark! (indeed by the 1880's we find many musichall artists who's entire repartee had been heavily borrowed from the cheeky Costermonger!) During the early part of the 19th century wearing Pearls became very popular among the rich, Costermongers, who by this time had acquired a reputation for being somewhat flamboyant, had began stitching a 'flash' of buttons either down their working trousers, across their caps or jackets perhaps in parody of this latest trend!...earning themselves the nick-name 'flash boys' (and here it is worth noting the phrase 'being flash' hailed from!)... the distinctive 'flash' of pearl buttons helped the Costers stand out from the other traders and soon, along with the banter and patter, this became their trade mark... ...But there was another side to the Costermonger, although they worked hard and played hard, they knew how to look after their own, if they didn't who else would, the world which they inhabited was one which was poverty stricken and life was lived very much hand to mouth, day to day, but although families traded independently of each other they would still organise collections and whip rounds should one of their number fare poorly and it is from this provision of care for each other that we can find the humble beginnings of their later association with fund raising & other charitable works, helping those less fortunate, which continues to this day. Most markets elected their Coster king & Queen & in turn, with the expansion of the city of London, each London borough elected its King & Queen 28-30 families in all, with titles being handed down in succession through the family. It was in the 1870's/1880's that we see the final transition from the Coster King & Queen, to the Pearly King & Queen as we know and love them and in order to explain this, we first must meet Henry Croft. Henry Croft was born in 1862 and as far as I can tell, spent his childhood in an orphanage in Somers town, London NW1. Henry left the orphanage when he was just 13 years old and became a road sweeper and rat catcher (later barrow boy) at a local market, life must have been hard and drab for young Henry so it is not small wonder that he found some fascination in the 'flash boys' of the markets, whom he soon made friends with, he would have no doubt admired the way they helped each other when times were hard, pulling together like a family. When Henry found an old tatty dress suit which had been discarded, he set about out flashing the 'flash boys', collecting all the pearl buttons he could find in the streets, he didn't have anyone to teach him to sew so he taught himself and must have spent many long hours, painstakingly sewing on each button, creating various patterns and designs until the entire suit was covered and by his own accord he had inadvertently invented the very first 'smother suit'.. it is still a thriving tradition to this day, that each pearly King does the sewing of all the buttons! Among the patterns on his suit, Henry incorporated the slogan 'all for charity', an indication of his desire to be involved in helping others ... Soon Henry got his wish as he found himself the focus of attention and in demand at hospital and church fund raising events and he began collecting money for those in need, often returning to the orphanage he had resided in, with goods he had collected. He had set himself on a path few could have foreseen for the young Henry and his coster friends. Coster Kings & Queens, soon to be known as 'Pearly Kings and Queens' soon developed their own individual elaborate suits, from the heavily adorned 'smother suit' which can weigh over 30 kilo's to the 'skeleton suit' which is of a more open work design, there are symbols in the designs that often crop up, here are a small selection.... The symbols are still used in their equally elaborate designs today, an acknowledgement to humble beginnings that stretch back through the linage of our current Pearly Kings and Queens... and their princes and princesses in waiting! Henry's association with charitable work was to continue throughout his life, having raised thousands in funds over many years for the poor and impoverished, he made no profit or personal financial gain for himself, but it seems to me that what he did make was a lot of friends.... he REALLY made a lot of friends!... Upon his death in 1930 the funeral procession was filmed by Pathe' news, over 400 were in attendance at his funeral, following the coffin to it's burial spot, the charities he had helped over the years, in true 'Coster tradition' clubbed together to help pay for a statue in his honour and he was given the most regal of Pearly send off's, fit of course for a King! Our Pearly Kings and Queens today were a joy to meet, splendid in all their traditional finery, raising funds and smiles! ...and long may they continue honouring the traditions that are part of their heritage as they continue to provide London with a part of it's heritage that is so uniquely 'London'. 
Prompted by our visit today to Brick Lane market, deep within the historically rich, notoriously poor, heart of Londons east end, where Mister Sykes and myself unexpectedly met some of todays lovely Pearly kings and Queens. It was a rare and delightful happenstance to come across these folk, dapper in their suits and cloth caps, adorned with tiny pearl buttons each hand sewn on in unique design to it's wearer, salt of the earth, cheeky chappies each one with a twinkle in their eyes! one wonders why they are such a rarity when they are part of Englands heritage, and should be one of our celebrated national treasures.
By Miss Demeanor
