| Description | Centralisation of the Mothers' Union in 1896 resulted in the appointment of a Central Secretary, for whose use a locker was hired in Church House, Westminster, and from 1899, rooms. Mrs Wilberforce, the Central President, proposed in 1916 that a central headquarters for the Mothers' Union be established in London. In April 1917, while funds for building suitable offices were being accumulated, the Mothers' Union established temporary offices at the first 'Mary Sumner House', at 8 Dean's Yard. In 1923 the foundation stone was laid for permanent headquarters nearby at Tufton Street, which were opened in July 1925. The House was entirely financed and furnished by the membership. At the heart of the building, which included offices, a hostel and restaurant, was a chapel built as a memorial to the husbands and sons of members who had died in the Great War. |