Great stuff happening at the Local History Archive in Bancroft Road and around the Borough in March.
Women’s History Month 2015
We are hosting two free events as part of Women’s History Month this March. All are welcome to drop in and no booking is required!
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Archive film screening: Granny’s Girls
Thursday 5 March, 6.30 – 7.30pm
Family friendly
Come down for our Women’s History Month archive film screening of ‘Granny’s Girls’. The sixties were just beginning to swing when the BBC broadcast this documentary about the lives and relationships of women from a close-knit Bethnal Green family. This 30 minute film will be followed by an informal discussion of the changing roles of local women.
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Women in the Archive: Open day and zine workshop
Saturday 7 March, 1.00 – 4.00pm
Adults and children 11+
Browse through historical photographs, documents, audio recordings and much more, which illustrate the variety of women’s lives in the East End over the last 150 years. Create your own zine (self-made magazine) about a local woman or an aspect of women’s history or experience, for permanent preservation in our collections.
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Land and Lives in Bromley-by-Bow
Thursday 12 March, 6.00-7.30pm
Talk and exhibition launch
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A title deed showing a plan for a terraced house
on Oban Street, Bromley-by-Bow, c1874
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Over the last 18 months, Project Archivist Mark Ballard and his wonderful team of volunteers have been busy re-cataloguing and indexing our extensive collection of title deeds. As this project comes to an end, we are very pleased to launch the Land and Lives pop-up exhibition – which focusses on what title deeds can tell us about the often overlooked but fascinating history of Bromley-by-Bow. Our archivists will give talks on the highlights of this collection and will launch a new leaflet which explains how to use the deeds for different types of historical research, including genealogy; in addition to a KS2 learning resource we have developed for Tower Hamlets schools. All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be provided. Come down and find out more about what this fascinating project has revealed! If you can’t make the launch, pop in to pick up a leaflet guide, and to check out the pop-up exhibition which will be situated on the first floor from Tuesday 17 March.
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History Hoppers
Wednesday 11 March, 2.30 – 4.30pm
Do you have a passion for old pictures? Fond memories of forgotten streets? Are you curious about archive collections? Our new monthly History Hoppers group offers you and your friends the chance to explore and discuss original historical library and archive sources that help to tell the story of your local area in Tower Hamlets, with a slice of cake and cup of tea to wash it all down! Free, no booking required, suitable for adults and children 11+.
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Radiant Affinities: Artworks by Cornelius McCarthy
Our current exhibition…
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Cornelius McCarthy – Three Hawksmoor Churches, 1960
© Alec Ayres
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The latest exhibition at Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, which launched on Thursday 12 February to mark LGBT History Month, celebrates the work of the British painter Cornelius McCarthy (1935 – 2009). McCarthy was born and brought up in Stepney, educated at local Roman Catholic schools and trained at Toynbee Hall and Whitechapel Upper Gallery before attending Goldsmiths’ College of Art. His work can be found in private collections worldwide but is still relatively unfamiliar to London audiences.
This exhibition marks the acquisition of several of McCarthy’s sketchbooks by THLHL&A, as well as bringing together works from the collections of friends and admirers. McCarthy drew early inspiration for his painting from the waterfront and townscape of the East End, and memories of Stepney remained with him throughout his career. Later work reflected the period of unprecedented social, cultural and political change through which he lived, from postwar London to the sexual politics and ideological struggles of the 21st century. The exhibition is on show until Thursday 7 May.
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Radiant Affinities
Book launch
Saturday 18 April, 2.30pm
You are warmly invited to the official launch of ‘Radiant Affinities’, the first full-length biography of Stepney artist Cornelius McCarthy, with a presentation from its author Peter Dobson.
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Rebel Footprints
Author talk
Thursday 30 April, 6.15pm
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Banner of the London Trouser Makers Union formed in Whitechapel by East European Jewish immigrants
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David Rosenberg is the author of Rebel Footprints: a Guide to Uncovering London’s Radical History, which looks at the rise of social movements campaigning for better lives in London from the 1830s to the 1930s. In this illustrated talk he will focus on the people and movements that grew in the East End, from the matchwomen to the suffragettes, from immigrant anarchists to anti-fascist fighters. The book celebrates both well known and lesser known characters and movements and these will be revealed. Copies of the book will be available on the night.
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Other upcoming events of interest…
Talk: East London Suffragettes
Price: Free
As a part of International Women’s Day celebrations, Sarah Jackson will be giving a talk and reading from her book ‘East London Suffragettes’. This book gives first hand accounts of the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS) A group led by Sylvia Pankhurst which split from the Women’s Social and Political Union.
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Date: Sunday 8 March
Location: Idea Store Chrisp Street
Price: Free
Organiser: East London History Society
Talk: The Spitalfields Nippers
Date: Thursday 19 March 2015
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Latimer Church Hall, Ernest Street, Mile End Road, E1
The Gentle Author will be giving a talk on The Spitalfields Nippers on Thursday 19 March 2015 at Latimer Church Hall, Ernest Street, Mile End Road at 7.30pm.
For more information visit their website
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Organiser: Idea Store Chrisp Street
Talk: East London Suffragettes
Date: Thursday 19 March
Time: 6.45 – 8.00 pm
Location: Idea Store Chrisp Street
Price: Free
East London was the hub for Sylvia Pankhurst’s suffragettes and the fight to gain the vote for women. On the occasion of Women’s History Month, author and tour guide Ian Porter talks about these momentous events, focusing on the places in Tower Hamlets that acted as a backdrop to this historical struggle.
Price: £15
Explore the background to the ever-changing rag trade of Spitalfields. Once the centre of London’s silk and sweated tailoring industries, the same streets today are home to vibrant markets, designer makers and cutting edge fashion. Your tour ends with an exclusive visit to meet Philip and Martin of Crescent Trading, who between them have 120 years of experience in the textile trade.
Box Office: 020 7284 7384 / admin@jewishmuseum.org.uk
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Organiser: Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS)
Exhibition: The Jewish East End and World War II
Date: Sunday 29 March
Location: Aldgate tube station
Price: £10 (£8 for JEECS members
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Organiser: Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS)
Memorial Service: Hughes Mansions Commemoration
Date: Sunday 29 March
Time: 1pm
Location: Hughes Mansions, Vallance Road
Price: Free
Memorial Service to mark 70th Anniversary of the Hughes Mansions Disaster and remember the victims. A total of 134 people died, 120 of them Jewish, when the penultimate V-2 flying bomb attack on Britain hit Hughes Mansions on March 27 1945. There will be speeches, music and refreshments. Hughes Mansions, Vallance Road , London E1 3DE 1.00pm. Free. Booking essential. Book on 07941 367 882 or email c.bettington@jeecs.org.uk