Born in the London Borough of Southwark, sisters Ellen and Mary Ann Harrington became orphaned as young girls after their parents had both died. They remained close and in the late 19th century were together again at Florence Road in Leytonstone, East London.

Rows of brick terraced homes lined Florence Road and the area as far as one could see. Built in 1879 this working-class housing block ran between Cathall Road and Trinity Street.

The houses of Florence Road were simple “one-up one-down” style brick, terraced buildings. These small homes would have a single room upstairs for sleeping and a living kitchen on the ground floor. There was no washroom or toilet inside the home.

Florence Road was demolished in the 1960s as part of the ‘Cathall Estate’ council housing development, a social housing complex of multiple apartment towers connected by common courtyards. Many of the families from Florence Road were relocated to these…