History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

Emily Ayckbowm was a remarkable woman who was ahead of her time. Her father Frederic served as the rector of Holy Trinity Church in Chester for 30 years, and at one time, he was tutor to the young Duke of Westminster. Born in Dublin from a German family originally named Eichbaum, Frederic changed this to Ayckbowm. Emily, his eldest child was born in Heidelberg in November 1836. Soon after Frederic took up his post at Holy Trinity, his wife died leaving three children under the age of five. In 1856 Emily and her sister Gertrude returned to Chester after a two-year tour of Germany and Italy where they had witnessed the rich and poor worshipping side by side. In the Holy Trinity Church almost all the pews belonged to wealthy families and the poorer members of the congregation were pushed into the corners of the gallery. Emily said the slums of Chester were just as bad as those of London . She and her sister visited the poor, held classes for adults and children and at...