History
It was founded in 1837 as a friendly society to provide financial assistance to its members in times of hardship or sickness
It celebrated its centenary in 1937 with a dinner at the Holborn Restaurant (The Times, 21 June 1937)
It was still operating in the 1980s, amid warnings of increasingly dire financial problems (Registry of Friendly Societies, Report of the Chief Registrar 1981–1982)
It no longer exists
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What was reforming about it?
It was one of many friendly societies which flourished after the Industrial Revolution as a way for workers to protect themselves against unemployment and the workhouse
Where in Bloomsbury
It was originally based in the Covent Garden area
It was at 11 John Street by 1907; having previously led a peripatetic existence, it remained in John Street for at least the next 50 years and possibly for the rest of its existence
Website of current institution
It no longer exists
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Books about it
It published its own journal, the Royal Oak Magazine, at least in the early twentieth century; copies are held in the British Library
Archives
None found
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