December 2024

For nearly 100 years, St Gabriel’s Church parish hall has united the Aldersbrook community. Now, the community’s help is needed to ensure it can be restored for future generations. Georgina Brewis and Jane Skelding report

St Gabriel’s parish hall opened in 1927, and the original £4,000 building cost was raised by fundraising within the local community. The campaign was kicked off by an article in the West Ham and South Essex Mail in December 1925, which reported that “the present church room” was now “inadequate for the growing needs of the church and its parochial institutions.” The Sunday School and other community groups, including a branch of the Church Lads’ Brigade, had been using a temporary tin hall for meetings and events. This was put up in 1903 alongside the original tin church, which was replaced by the brick-built St Gabriel’s in 1913.

In May 1927, two foundation stones were laid with great ceremony, witnessed by a large crowd that is a testament to the hall’s importance to the local community. One stone was inscribed ‘on behalf of the Sunday School’ and laid by the Venerable Archdeacon PM Bayne, and the other by Viscountess Byng of Vimy. The hall was already complete by October that year. An advertising leaflet boasted of the hall’s “polished maple floor for dancing” and “large stage with dressing rooms on either side.” The original hire price was up to three guineas for an “ordinary evening” of dances and whist drives. The proximity to Wanstead Flats was a key selling point and groups were encouraged to hire the hall for refreshments after “tennis or other games.”

Then, as now, the hall was in constant use by the church and local community, often for fundraising activities. For example, in the parish archive, there is a flyer from 1948 advertising a sale to raise money for the Bishop’s Fund for Post-War Needs. Activities included handicrafts, a book stall and, of course, plenty of tea and cake.

One hundred years on, the hall is in desperate need of internal upgrades. The Friends of St Gabriel’s has been raising funds to make sure it is fit for the community now and for another hundred years. The theme for this regeneration project is sustainability, meaning reuse, upcycling and energy conservation lie at the heart of all the work undertaken. Today, the hall is still filled seven days a week by a pre-school, uniformed group meetings, dance classes, sports and games nights for adolescents with autism. 

Last year, St Gabriel’s ran its first Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign with donations match-funded. Father Martyn Hawkes said: “Last year’s Big Give was so successful we raised enough to complete the installation of a new hall kitchen. This year, we are having another go to raise the funds needed to reconfigure the back of the hall and add accessible and enhanced storage, which will benefit each and every user.”

To help us restore the hall for future generations, please consider donating to this year’s Big Give between 3 and 10 December.

For more information and to donate, visit wnstd.com/biggive

Alerted to major bus problems by local campaigners, Calvin Bailey MP is taking Wanstead’s issues to Westminster and wants residents affected by W14, W13 and W12 changes to contact him. Donna Mizzi reports 

TfL must stop waiting for data and start caring about how its changed bus services are leaving passengers stranded and distraught. That’s the message from local residents, in response to a statement from Calvin Bailey MP. 

At a meeting with Mr Bailey to discuss a number of acute problems created by TfL route changes, senior officials only agreed to consider reinstating Wanstead’s Woodbine Place stop for the W14, subject to data. The MP has decided to formally present a petition to parliament. Meanwhile, local councillors insist they won’t move the zebra crossing and island near Wanstead Church School. TfL wanted to enable its new oversized W-buses to turn and miss the most useful stretches of the High Street, including Woodbine Place.

Nightingale Estate residents are starting to demand that “completely out-of-touch” TfL leaders spend time with them to see how lives and health are impacted by the “carelessly planned bus scheme.” They say transport chiefs should witness how schoolchildren wait at bus stops from 7.30am as buses ride past because they are already full; how people with mobility issues can’t reach GPs and vital amenities; how elderly and disabled people and mums with small children can’t wait in the freezing cold for an unreliable once-an-hour bus, or walk along dark and icy side roads for up to a mile to reach their homes.

Save Our Local Bus Services organiser Liz Martins says: “TfL has imposed infrequent, irregular W14 buses that stop too far from useful points.” The campaign urges TfL chiefs to take the advice of South Woodford resident Prof Norman Fenton, a Turing Fellow and data science expert. He said: “Sometimes, all that is needed is common sense.”

Following his meeting with TfL senior officials, Calvin Bailey MP said: “Officials conceded the lack of accurate timetables since the schemes were introduced on 7 September were not good enough… They said they will consider having the W14 stop at Woodbine Place, subject to data through the winter. As with Whipps Cross, they told me there is not enough time in the schedule to make that happen immediately. I want to temper expectations here, if the W14 is to stop at Woodbine Place, we are looking into the new year… However, I remain concerned about the other issues, and am disappointed that TfL has not taken meaningful steps to address them. That is why I will be formally presenting a petition to parliament… It is important that I now hear from constituents. Please contact my office to register your reports and views on this matter. The more voices, the stronger the case will be when I go back to TfL.”

To contact Calvin Bailey MP, email calvin.bailey.mp@parliament.uk, call 020 7219 7417 or post letters to Calvin Bailey MP, House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA.

To read the MP’s full statement, visit wnstd.com/mpbus

An initiative that seeks to empower women and girls through well-being walks will be launching in Wanstead Park this month.

“Walk It Out has been running for over three years, providing free activities to improve health and well-being and boost confidence… Women should be able to walk anywhere without fear of being attacked,” said organiser April Mehmet.

To join the women-only walk, text 07437 517 177

Wanstead Leisure Centre will temporarily close from 6 December for extensive renovations.

“The project will include major upgrades to the gym floor, with structural improvements designed to elevate the fitness experience at the centre. During this period, the entire ground floor will be impacted… Members have the flexibility to either freeze their membership or access any of our other facilities at no additional cost,” said a Vision RCL spokesperson.

The centre is scheduled to reopen on 6 January.

Visit wnstd.com/wlc