Wandsworth Heritage Festival
The Wandsworth Heritage Festival starts on 25th May and runs through to 9th June. This programme of events has been brought together by Heritage Wandsworth: the local history and historic environment partnership for the Borough of Wandsworth. If you have any access requirements, due to the nature of some of the events and/or restrictions of the venues, please inform the relevant organisation before booking a place.
For access requirements relating to events which do not require advance booking, please contact heritage@gll.org or 020 7223 2334
The archives and local history library for the Borough of Wandsworth are located on the first floor of Battersea Library. For more information including opening times please visit our website https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/wandsworth-heritage-service Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Better_WHS and browse our historic images collection www.boroughphotos.org/wandsworth
The Wandsworth/GLL Heritage Awards For Schools 2019 runs until Friday 7th June. The competition is aimed at Key Stage 2 students and there are two award categories – Best Class and Best Individual. More details can be found here https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/news/the-wandsworth-gll-heritage-awards-for-schools-2019
MUSEUM TOUR: THE ANTIQUE BREADBOARD MUSEUM
Organised by the Antique Breadboard Museum
Learn about political boards, famous owners and carvers in this hands-on collection, personally curated by the collector’s daughter. Take photos, ask questions, share reminiscences and enjoy a generous cream tea. Gather friends and family, and make a day of it!
• 17 Lifford Street, Putney SW15 1NY
• Various dates
• £60 admits 4 visitors and includes a cream tea
• Booking required – contact: theantiquebreadboardmuseum@gmail.com
EXHIBITION: THE HISTORY OF BATTERSEA POWER STATION
Organised by Battersea Power Station
Learn about how the power station worked, how it was designed, and the transformation taking place at the recently opened Heritage and Learning Hub at Battersea Power Station.
• Located under Grosvenor Bridge at the entrance to Circus West Village SW11 8AH
• 9am–7pm throughout the festival
• FREE • No booking required
SELF-GUIDED WALK: THE BALHAM TO TOOTING BEC TRAIL
Organised by Neighbourhood Network SW12 and SW17
A podcast and map take you on this fascinating historical walk along Balham High Road, where people who lived and worked here tell you their stories. Walk the trail any time with anyone!
• Access from www.neighbourhoodnetworksw17.org.uk
• Maps and MP3 players also available from Balham and Tooting libraries.
SATURDAY 25TH MAY – 2–5PM
BOWLS MATCH: BOLINGBROKE V MERTON PARK
Organised by the Bolingbroke Bowls Club
Come to the bowling green on Wandsworth Common and watch and enjoy this competitive match featuring Bolingbroke Bowls Club who are celebrating their centenary this year.
• Wandsworth Common Tennis and Bowls Centre, Dorlcote Road SW18 3RT
• FREE • No booking required • Light refreshments available
SATURDAY 25TH MAY – 2PM
BOOK LAUNCH: THE COMMON STORY
Organised by the Tooting Common Heritage Project and Tooting History Group
You are invited to the launch of The Common Story: A History of Tooting Common, published as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund supported project. Come along to hear the fascinating story of this much-loved open space.
• Tooting Bec Lido Pavilion, Tooting Bec Road SW16 1RU
• FREE • No booking required
SUNDAY 26TH MAY – 2PM & 3PM
TOUR: HENRY TATE GARDENS, STREATHAM
Organised by the Streatham Society
View Tate’s Grade II* listed mansion Park Hill (exterior only) and explore the historic garden with its Grade II listed features, including the Pulhamite grotto, Victorian folly, lake and temple.
• Meet at the lodge gates, Henry Tate Mews, Streatham Common North SW16 3HA
• FREE (donations welcome)
• No booking required
• No parking or toilets onsite
SUNDAY 26TH MAY – 12PM
GUIDED WALK: WOMEN OF LAVENDER HILL
Organised by the Battersea Society
Led by Jeanne Rathbone. Featuring Jeanie Nassau, first woman civil servant; Charlotte Despard, socialist suffragette; Caroline Ganley MP; Marie Spartali, Pre-Raphaelite artist; Deaconess Isabelle Gilmore; Laura Barker, composer; and Pamela Hansford Johnson, author.
• Meet outside Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN
• £5
• No booking required
MONDAY 27TH MAY – 2.30PM
GUIDED WALK: BALHAM HILL
Organised by the Balham Society
John Rattray will lead this walk around the Balham Hill area, where the town of Balham began and where three historical parishes meet: Streatham, Clapham and Battersea. Includes a cinema,a music hall and a 19th-century sports ground.
• Meet outside Clapham South station, Balham Hill SW12 9DU
• A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Balham Society)
• No booking required
TUESDAY 28TH MAY – 7PM
TALK: THE AMAZING IMPACT OF THE MUSIC HALL ON BATTERSEA & WANDSWORTH
Organised by Wandsworth Historical Society
Discover with Neil Robson, editor of the Wandsworth Historian, how the music halls brought fun and entertainment to the area in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
• Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN
• FREE
• Booking required via www.bac.org.uk or 020 7223 2223
WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 11AM AND 2PM
CHILDREN’S SHOW: THE MAGIC WATCHMAKER
Organised by Wandsworth Libraries
Watchmaker turned stage magician John Neville Maskelyne lived in Albert Bridge Road in Battersea in the late 19th century. Join him at Battersea Library or Wandsworth Library for some magic tricks interspersed with weird and wonderful facts from the borough’s history!
• 11am at Battersea Library, Lavender Hill SW11 1JB
• 2pm at Wandsworth Town Library, 11 Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ
• FREE (suitable for ages 5+) • No booking required
WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 2PM
GUIDED WALK: PIONEERING TOOTING – THE TOTTERDOWN ESTATE
Organised by the Tooting History Group
The building of the LCC’s first ‘village estate’ in the early years of the 20th century marked the start of a new era in social housing.
• Meet at Edward VII statue, Tooting Broadway tube station
• £5 for non-Tooting History Group members
• No booking required
WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 6.30PM
GUIDED WALK: HERBAL HERITAGE – WILDFLOWERS IN ST NICHOLAS CHURCHYARD
Organised by South London Botanical Institute
An exploration of wild plants, and a discussion of their past uses.
• Church Lane Entrance of St Nicholas churchyard, Tooting SW17 9PP
• Collection in aid of the South London Botanical Institute
• No booking required
WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 7.45PM FOR 8PM SOLD OUT
MURDER MYSTERY: A WANDSWORTH LITERARY WHODUNNIT
Organised by Wandsworth Libraries
Putney publisher George Newnes is aghast. Someone has murdered the most famous fictional sleuth of all time: Sherlock Holmes! Can he borrow a time machine from HG Wells to bring Putney’s literary giants back to solve the crime?
SOLD OUT
THURSDAY 30TH MAY – 6.30PM
TALK: CORRUGANZA! MARY MACARTHUR AND THE BOXMAKERS
Organised by Summerstown 182
In the summer of 1908, a vicious pay cut was forced on young women workers at the Corruganza box factory in Summerstown. Mary Macarthur roused them to a famous strike action. Her biographer, Dr Cathy Hunt, tells their story.
• Tara Arts Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield SW18 4ES
• £5.50
• Booking required via www.tara-arts.com or 020 8333 4457
THURSDAY 30TH MAY – 2.30PM
GUIDED WALK: THE ISLAND OF BATTERSEA
Organised by Jon Newman
A 3-mile walk to the river at Nine Elms along the course of the vanished Heathwall, South London’s least understood waterway and originally the tidal channel of the Thames that created the island of Battersea.
• Falcon Glade Park, 119 Falcon Road, Battersea SW11 2PE
• £8 – includes copy of Jon’s newly published book The Heathwall: Battersea’s Forgotten River
• Booking required via eventbrite: https://island_of_battersea.eventbrite.co.uk
FRIDAY 31ST MAY – 12-5PM
FAMILY DROP-IN SESSION: ARCHAEOLOGY ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Organised by the Wandsworth Historical Society
Discover the history of where you live with archaeologist Pamela Greenwood, who will help you identify historic maps and archaeological objects such as Roman pottery. Bring anything interesting you have found in the ground!
• Roehampton Library, 2 Danebury Avenue SW15 4HD
• FREE • No booking required
FRIDAY 31ST MAY – 10.30AM
GUIDED WALK: MAGNIFICENT TREES OF PUTNEY
Organised by the Putney Society
A walk round the venerable trees in West Hill and Parkside – many were planted in the grounds
of long lost Victorian Villas.
• Meet at the junction of Castlecombe Drive and Beaumont Road, SW19
• FREE • Book via eventbrite: https://westhilltreewalk.eventbrite.co.uk
SATURDAY 1ST & SUNDAY 2ND JUNE – 10AM–1PM & 2–5PM
OPEN WEEKEND: WANDSWORTH PRISON MUSEUM
Organised by Wandsworth Prison Museum
The prison’s history displayed in over 400 objects. Stories of staff, prisoners, escapes and hangings. Features Oscar Wilde; acid bath murderer John Haigh, traitor William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw), and great train robber Ronnie Biggs.
• Prison Museum, North Gate Car Park, HMP Wandsworth, Heathfield Road SW18 3HR
• FREE • No booking required
SATURDAY 1ST JUNE – 10.30AM
GUIDED WALK: A SLICE OF WANDSWORTH TOWN
Organised by the Wandsworth Society
David Kirk will lead a walk down East Hill to the High Street, discussing a variety of sites nearby of entertainment, ‘recreation’ of all sorts, some listed buildings, the Huguenot past and the changing character of the area.
• Meet in front of Book House, Huguenot Place, Wandsworth SW18 2EN
• A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Wandsworth Society)
• Booking required – please contact davidcameronkirk@hotmail.com or 020 8874 9167
SATURDAY 1ST JUNE – 11AM
TOUR: HISTORICAL EMANUEL SCHOOL AND ITS GROUNDS
Organised by Emanuel School Archives
The Emanuel School Archivist will take you on a 90-minute tour of the buildings, interiors and grounds, whisking you back to the days when it was a boarding school and orphanage.
The School Archive will also be open with a pop-up exhibition.
• Emanuel School, Battersea Rise SW11 1HS (Entry via bridge in Spencer Park)
• FREE
• No booking required
SUNDAY 2ND JUNE – 10AM–11.30AM
TOUR: GRANADA CINEMA
Organised by Tooting History Group and the Cinema Theatre Association
A chance to visit one of Tooting’s most celebrated buildings. Opened in 1931, this famous Art Deco building not only screened films but also played host to such stars as Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.
• Buzz Bingo, 50 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA
• £5
• Book via Eventbrite: https://granadatooting.eventbrite.co.uk
MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 1-3PM
DROP-IN SESSION: BACK IN BATTERSEA
Organised by The National Archives
For the last few weeks, elders at Katherine Low Settlement have been sharing their memories of life in Battersea and creating memory boxes prompted by archive material. Come along and see what they have created, take part in a creative activity, and share some memories of your own.
• Battersea Park Library, 309 Battersea Park Rd, London SW11 4NF
• FREE • No booking required
MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 6.30PM
GUIDED WALK: DEVELOPMENT OF A VICTORIAN SUBURB
Organised by the Clapham Society
Timothy Walker, author of Twixt the Commons will lead this walk looking at the development of the area between Clapham and Wandsworth Commons, from the 18th to the 21st century.
• Meet outside Clapham South tube station, Balham Hill SW12 9DU
• FREE • Booking required – please contact tehwalker@uwclub.net
MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 7.30PM
TALK: PUTNEY VELODROME AND THE PUTNEY ESTATE
Organised by Putney Society
Join author Pat Heery for a talk on one of the earliest velodromes in the UK. The Putney Velodrome, open from 1891 to 1905, could attract up to ten thousand spectators, as the immensely popular spectator sport of track cycle racing reached its heyday.
• Community Church, Werter Road, Putney SW15 2LL
• £3 for non-members • No booking required
TUESDAY 4TH JUNE – 2PM
TOUR, TALK & EXHIBITION: PAGEANTRY AND REVELS AT WHITELANDS COLLEGE
Organised by Whitelands College, University of Roehampton
Whitelands College has been celebrating May Day for 138 years, and has a fascinating archive of dresses, May Day Crosses and photographs to show for it! The tour will take visitors through the college and end in the college archives.
• Whitelands College, Holybourne Avenue, Roehampton SW15 4JD
• FREE • Booking required – please contact gilly.king@roehampton.ac.uk
TUESDAY 4TH JUNE – 6.30PM
TALK: THE OTHER LAVENDER HILL MOB
Organised by Sue Demont and Wandsworth Libraries
Hard-working women between the wars had limited scope for leisure. Come and hear how future Labour MP Caroline Ganley and the Lavender Hill Women’s Co-operative Guild kept the women of Battersea and beyond entertained when time and money were scarce.
• Battersea Library, 265 Lavender Hill SW11 1JB
• FREE • Booking required – https://whf_lavenderhill.eventbrite.com
WEDNESDAY 5TH JUNE – 6.45PM
TALK: THE HISTORY OF PUTNEY’S CINEMAS
Organised by Wandsworth Libraries
Three purpose-built cinemas were opened in Putney in 1911, though films had been shown in adapted premises before then, and a fourth – an Art Deco gem – in 1937. All sadly now lost, but Philip Evison will tell their story.
• Putney Library 5–7 Disraeli Road SW15 2DR
• FREE • Booking required – please contact charlene.coleman@gll.org or 020 8780 3085
THURSDAY 6TH JUNE – 6.30PM FOR 7PM
TALK: GROWING UP IN WARTIME BATTERSEA
Organised by the Battersea Society
What was it like to be a child in Battersea during World War II? Local historian Carol Rahn shares highlights of filmed interviews with men and women recounting their childhood experiences during the war. It is a fascinating story of the terrors of bombing, disrupted schooling and youthful independence. This is a reprise of last year’s War Comes Home event.
• Royal College of Art Dyson Building, Hester Road SW11 4AN
• £5 (accompanied children free) • No booking required
FRIDAY 7TH JUNE – 2–4.30PM
DROP-IN SESSION AND EXHIBITION: QUEEN MARY’S HOSPITAL THROUGH TIME
Organised by Queen Mary’s Hospital Archive and Museum Group
Learn more about the history of Queen Mary’s Hospital, starting from 1915 when it was opened for the care and rehabilitation of the First World War amputee war wounded.
• Lower Ground Floor entrance, Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton Lane SW15 5PN
• FREE • No booking required
FRIDAY 7TH JUNE – 5.30PM
TALK: WANDSWORTH PRISON IN FACT AND FICTION
Organised by Wandsworth Prison Museum
Find out more about Wandsworth Prison’s presence in film, theatre, books, and music.
• Wandsworth Prison Museum, North Gate Car Park, Heathfield Road SW18 3HR
• FREE
• Strict booking procedures apply due to security – please contact
wandsworthprisonmuseum@hmps.gsi.gov.uk for details of how to book
SATURDAY 8TH JUNE – 10.30
TALK & GUIDED WALK: THE CRAIG TELESCOPE
– ONE TIME WONDER OF WANDSWORTH COMMON
Organised by The Friends of Wandsworth Common
In 1852, the biggest refracting telescope in the world stood on Wandsworth Common – the brainchild of the Reverend John Craig. Join Greg Smye-Rumsby of the Craig Telescope project to learn about this remarkable but long-since-disappeared structure and why it never fulfilled its promise.
• The Althorp pub (Stable room at the back) 20 Bellevue Road SW17 7EB
• FREE
• Booking required – contact friends@wandsworthcommon.org
SATURDAY 8TH JUNE – 2PM
GUIDED WALK: WALK THE LANE!
Organised by Summerstown 182
Every step tells a story. Few roads in Wandsworth are as soaked in history as the 2½ mile length of Garratt Lane. Geoff Simmons leads an informative and entertaining walk from Wandsworth to Tooting, finishing near the home of Victorian nurseryman Peter Barr, ‘the Daffodil King’.
• Meet outside Wandsworth Town Library, 11 Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ
• £5 (all proceeds will go towards the cost of an historic plaque commemorating Peter Barr)
• Booking required – please contact rgbsimmons182@gmail.com
SUNDAY 9TH JUNE – 2.30PM
GUIDED WALK: BALHAM HIGH ROAD
Organised by the Balham Society
A walk, led by John Rattray, along the southern and central parts of Balham High Road, covering its history and development. Over the years this stretch has seen its fair share of entertainment with cinemas, dancing studios, billiard/snooker halls and a casino.
• Meet on Balham High Road, opposite the junction with Ritherdon Road SW17 7AJ
• A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Balham Society)
• No booking required
SUNDAY 9TH JUNE – 2.30PM
GUIDED WALK: THE 1951 FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN
Organised by the Friends of Battersea Park
A walk on the north side of the Park, looking particularly at remnants and reconstructions
associated with the Festival of Britain Pleasure Gardens, with its funfair and other attractions.
• Meet at Albert Gate, Battersea Park, Albert Bridge Road SW11 4PJ
• £5 (proceeds to the Friends of Battersea Park)
• No booking required