Features

Ahead of a family learning workshop about hedgehogs at Wanstead Library this month, Anna MacLaughlin, a nature conservation ranger for Vision RCL, explains how you can help these spiny mammals. The humble hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is one of our most beloved mammals, but sadly, we’re seeing worrying declines across the nation. Evidence shows that over the past 15 years populations have declined by nearly a third in the suburbs and cities and by over half in the countryside, with estimates suggesting there are less than one million hedgehogs left in the UK. Whilst hedgehogs are legally protected from trapping or intentional harm, the legislation does not directly deal with the key drivers of decline. Hedgehogs face a multitude of threats across both urban and rural landscapes. They are faring poorly in the countryside due to an increasing loss of hedgerows and high levels of pesticide use in the agricultural landscape, reducing the invertebrate prey available for them to feed on. Likewise, our towns and cities present a range of challenges to hedgehogs; impermeable boundaries that restrict their movement, over-management of green spaces and gardens, entanglement in litter, fencing and netting and the increased density of road networks. It’s currently estimated...

‘This is Essex’ is the theme for an Essex Art Club competition, which will be judged at the group’s annual exhibition at Wanstead House this November. Mary Springham invites artists to join the historic club and enter. Image July-Thaxted by John Tookey Essex is the theme for our special competition for members of Essex Art Club. The prize is £120 for a picture of 120 square inches, to celebrate the 120th year of the club. We are pleased to announce the submitted works – which will be displayed at our November exhibition at Wanstead House – will be judged by Professor Ken Howard OBE, who was our club president for many years and is now our patron. Essex Art Club has been encouraging artists and holding exhibitions since 1899, and the post of president has been held by Royal Academicians, such as Sir Alfred Munnings and Professor Howard. Sir Frank Brangwyn and Walter Spradbery were vice-presidents, as was John Nash, brother of the more famous Paul Nash. Our current president is John M Tookey, a member of the Pastel Society. An annual exhibition has been held at Guildhall in the City of London many times and one Winston Churchill MP contributed a...

Jef Page, president of the Ilford Historical Society, will be talking about William Hogarth’s painting The Assembly at Wanstead House at an event organised by Redbridge Heritage Centre this month. In April 1728, Lord Castlemaine – Sir Richard Child (1680–1750) – wanted to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife Dorothy (nee Glynne). Nothing too grandiose, he chose a tea and card party held in the ballroom of his sumptuous palace: Wanstead House. To mark the occasion, he decided to record it by having an up-and-coming artist record the event. Twenty-five years earlier, to record his betrothal, he paid for portraits of his wife (sadly, sold on before I had a chance to see them) and himself. Looking resplendent in full-bottomed wig and bright-blue silk gown, he looks self-assured. Those paintings were completed by an unknown artist in the circle of famous painter Michael Dahl. But in 1728 he was too old and Lord Castlemaine decided on a young man who was just starting his career: William Hogarth (1697–1764). The house was completely rebuilt 1715–1722 by Colen Campbell in the new classical style and its palatial grandeur must have impressed everyone. Hogarth’s painting makes the room appear small but in...

Library Development Officer Christine Thompson invites Wanstead’s children to take part in a space-themed reading challenge this summer and read six library books over the holidays. The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge is aimed at children aged four to 12 years and helps get almost three quarters of a million children into libraries to boost their reading skills and confidence. Children’s reading can ‘dip’ during the summer holidays if they don’t have regular access to books and encouragement to pick them up. In 2019, children across the UK will be able to take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, entitled Space Chase, an out-of-this-world adventure inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. It is also the 20th anniversary of the annual reading challenge itself. Children taking part will join our super space family, the Rockets, for a thrilling mission to track down books nabbed by mischievous aliens. There will be loads of fun, loads of prizes and, of course, a medal for each child who completes the challenge. Visit the new Eat It exhibition by Redbridge Museum to gain an extra sticker. This year’s theme will feature bespoke artwork from top children’s illustrator Adam Stower,...

A series of talks will take place at St Mary’s Church this month exploring the building’s history. Canon Professor Mark Chapman, Professor of the History of Modern Theology at Oxford University, is one of the speakers. In the middle of the 19th century church architecture was big business – there was a wholesale rebuilding of medieval buildings and many celebrity architects. Only about a hundred churches were left untouched by the Victorians. Our ideas of what a church should look like come from their rather vivid re-imagination of the Middle Ages. When the Victorians built or ‘restored’ church buildings they had a particular set of ideas they wanted to put into practice: almost always they used Gothic forms, which they felt were properly ‘Christian’ (rather than pagan) and they tended to emphasise ritual, symbolism and colour. This was quite different from earlier church layouts in the Church of England, which emphasised preaching and offered few distractions to the eye. Victorian architecture is just one aspect of a bold and confident social vision, a way of trying to rejuvenate a past with the church at the centre. Nearly all the architects of the Victorian period were deeply conservative and feared the...

In the first of a series of articles looking at Age UK RBH’s Allan Burgess Wanstead Activity Centre, manager Jackie Balman outlines a week of workouts and classes and invites anyone over 55 to pop in. Hello, my name is Jackie Balman and I manage the Allan Burgess Activity Centre in Wanstead for Age UK Redbridge, Barking and Havering (RBH). The centre is located on the corner of Grove Park and Wanstead High Street. We are open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday and from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays for coffee. In this article, I would like to give you some idea of what we offer here at the centre. For Redbridge residents over 55, this place is an absolute must! The activities we offer for a small charge will help to keep you active both physically and mentally. Mondays are all about exercise: there are two Zumba classes and a chair-based yoga class. Tuesdays offer a wide variety of classes: craft group, hourly computer classes, an art class, bridge club, card and board games and clay modelling as well as more chair yoga and Zumba. Wednesdays are a little quieter with our knitting club, book club (monthly)...

Ahead of a series of wool art workshops for children at Wanstead Library, Guli Hamra explains how growing up in Kyrgyzstan provided her with an intrinsic connection to wool and how her creativity unravelled. My name is Guli and I have been living in England for 17 years. I am originally from Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia. People in my country have traditionally been nomads and they have always used wool in their life. I grew up where people make carpets from wool, as well as yurts, clothes and many different things which we still use in modern life. In my childhood, I used to help my mum, our neighbours and relatives to make carpets. So, I know how to work with wool! I used to have lots of craft hobbies until I saw a picture made out of wool on the internet. I couldn’t believe it because it was just like a photograph. My first attempt at wool art was made from my scarf. I laugh at that now, but at that time, I was so proud of myself. And a big thank you to all my family who believed in me and gave me lots of support in my...

James Knight has been experimenting with colour and abstract paintings since his childhood, experiments which have helped prepare him to take part in the 10th Art Trail Wanstead this September. My early years were spent in Shoreditch, and I always had an interest in drawing, painting and colour. My family were printers and worked with colour and form. I remember helping my mother spread ink onto a letterpress printing plate during my childhood. The form of the spread ink was one of my earlier experiments with colour. When I entered secondary school, my two main influences were art teachers Mr Wesley and Mr Swindon. Mr Swindon was a great portrait and caricature artist, whilst Mr Wesley was wonderful with colour and pattern. Both encouraged me to feel free artistically and to experiment. Upon leaving school, I worked for Panoramic Pictures taking photos of entire schools. Anybody who has had their school photograph taken will know the school is formed into a half-circle, with a camera in the middle on a swivel tripod. The great sport was for boys to have their photo taken at one end and then run round the back of the half circle and have their photograph taken...

Despite missing out on the league title, Snaresbrook FC are still a squad of winners, says Millicent Brown, and they count Frank Lampard Snr among their supporters. It’s been another fantastic year for the historic local Wanstead football team Snaresbrook FC, which has been playing on the Nutter Field for decades. Originally named RAFARNO – short for Royal Air Force Army Royal Navy Officers – the club was set up at the end of World War One to provide sporting activities for the local community. Even these days, a fenced-off section with a fir tree remains at the top end of the ground, marking the area where horses and carriages used to drop off passengers. This season, the team has been competing in one of the top divisions of Essex’s highest-flying leagues – the Essex Olympian Football League – and for a long time looked as though they would end up champions. Sponsored by local businessman and renowned soccer legend Frank Lampard Snr of the nearby Nightingale on the Green pub, they had a great start early in the season, and even up until mid-season were the top club with games in hand. Sadly, in the end, Snaresbrook lost the Division...

Probate disputes are on the rise, says Devorah Ormonde of local solicitors Wiseman Lee, who explains why making a will needs professional assistance to discourage claims against your estate after your death. Recent research has found almost half of UK adults have no form of will at all, with 25% of people having no intention to make a will. Of those who do have a will, many are being prepared without professional assistance, as DIY wills can be purchased online quite cheaply. However, the increase in the number of probate disputes being heard at the High Court – which in 2018 totalled 368 cases, up from 282 in 2017 and 227 in 2016 – may be linked to a rise in the number of DIY wills being made in the UK. The Law Society is blaming the rise in probate disputes on people making DIY wills. Creating a will may be a complicated legal process. As a result, when wills are made without professional assistance, they may be unclear, omit key information or fail to comply with the legal requirements a will must adhere to. This can lead to applications needing to be made to the court to interpret the...

Author Joanne Vigor-Mungovin, who is related to the showman who exhibited Joseph Merrick as the Elephant Man in the 1880s, recently discovered the location of Joseph’s final resting place… in Aldersbrook

Following the recent death of Wanstead resident and jazz drummer Clive Fenner – who founded the East Side Jazz Club – Robert Maitland explains how he and fellow musicians will keep his legacy alive Clive Fenner was a popular, respected and well-liked figure on the Wanstead scene and many local people, as well as those from far-off places, have remarked on the sad news of his passing away on 28 April following a two-year battle with cancer. We have lost a warm personality in our neighbourhood and beyond. Clive was born in Writtle, Essex in 1949. He went to teacher training college in Walsall and later went on to complete a Masters in Philosophy. Clive moved to Wanstead after marrying and taught Philosophy of Education at Havering College for 15 years. Clive worked hard at being a jazz drummer, educator and promoter. He founded the East Side Jazz Club in Leytonstone with Martin Hathaway in 1994, featuring the cream of British jazz musicians. To name but a few that have passed through the club’s doors: Kenny Wheeler, Peter King, John Etheridge, Ian Carr, Michael Garrick, Alan Barnes, Jason Yarde, Zoe Rahman and the John Altman Big Band. The club has been...