The WELSH CHARITY SCHOOL, Ashford, Middlesex, founded in 1715, maintains and educates 200 boys and girls, the children of Welsh parents settled in London. Their yearly festival is celebrated on St. David's day, the 1st of March, in honour of the patron saint of Wales; and, preparatory to a grand dinner, a procession of the children then takes place to St. James's Church, Piccadilly,-each boy and girl adorned with the Welsh "leek," the well- known national symbol.

Cruchley's London in 1865 : A Handbook for Strangers, 1865