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The Amwell Society campaigns to protect and promote the area and its architectural heritage and to encourage a sense of community.The Society serves Pentonville Road, Penton Rise, King's Cross Road, Farringdon Road Rosebery Avenue and St. John Street and all the streets within the area.
The Society is open to all residents. For information about becoming a member, telephone 020 7833 1044 or e-‐mail [email protected] Chair – Paul Thornton. Secretary – Francois Smit. Treasurer -‐ Bibra Ronalds. Newsletter editor – David Sulkin.
Merry Christmas to all Amwell Society members,
our friends and neighbours in the Amwell area and further afield.
The artist Pavel Šimon was born in Czechoslovakia in 1920 and died in 1958. He was educated at the Academy of Fine-‐Arts in Prague and graduated in 1946. Since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Šimon’s works have appeared on the market once again. He has many admirers from across the world. To read more about Pavel Šimon and see his work, go to www.tfsimon.com/Pavel-‐Simon.html where there are examples of his paintings, mezzotints, more woodcuts, etchings, aquatints, watercolours and drawings in pencil which give an overall impression of the artist's unique, confident and Czech, First Republic style.
Winter pleasure. Pavel Šimon. Woodcut.
Christmas 2015
Seasonal shopping in Amwell Street Several of our local shops will be open late for a seasonal event on Monday 7 December. You’ll be welcomed at Flor Unikom with snacks and drinks where you can place your Christmas orders. Wallace⧻Sewell [open until 9 pm] will be
holding their very popular pre-‐Christmas sale. Other shops will be open too. See you there!
The Amwell Society -‐ Campaigning on behalf of the locality for 43 years www.amwell.org.uk
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The British Journal of Nursing with which is incorporated
The Nursing Record edited by Mrs. Bedford Fenwick.
28 October 1911
The second house which, as we reported recently, has been added to the headquarters of the Maternity Nursing Association, 63, Myddelton Square, E.C. was formally opened on Wednesday, October 18th when its friends and well-‐wishers assembled in force.
63 Myddelton Square in 2015 The guests were received by the Chairman, Miss Blunt, the Matron, Miss Muriel, and members of the committee, and the members of the staff circulated hospitably around with tea, cakes and other dainties, which were much appreciated.
At half-‐past four a short service of dedication was held, conducted by the Rev. T. Bullock, Vicar of St. Mark’s, Myddelton Square, who in the course of a brief address spoke highly on the good work carried on by the staff of the Home, amongst the mothers in the surrounding district, which he described as quite the best he had seen anywhere. In the houses where the midwives and nurses had been at work he saw the difference at once. Much admiration was expressed for the way in which the new house had been adapted; and the good taste which had influenced the selection of papers, furniture, and pictures, resulting in a harmonious whole, was everywhere in evidence. The sterilising cupboard in the basement, with its ample, zinc covered, well-‐stocked shelves, from which the midwives obtain fresh supplies for their bags, is a department of which the Matron is justly proud. The houses are well supplied with bath-‐rooms, and baths can be had, as one of the staff put it, ad lib-‐a luxury, as well as a necessity, which all who have done district midwifery will appreciate.
The permanent staff of the Home consists of Miss Muriel and her assistant, and three midwives. The pupils who have been sent up for the examination of the Central Midwives Board have been very successful, so that its reputation as a training, school is steadily increasing.
Just now, owing to the extra expenses incurred by the addition and furnishing of the new house, the funds are quite exhausted and the committee ask for generous support for the Annual Bazaar which is to be held at the Finsbury Town Hall, Rosebery Avenue, on Tuesday, November 21st from 2.45 to 7 p.m. Contributions for the stalls will be gratefully received by the Matron and the committee specially plead for left-‐off clothing for sale in the evening to patients. Cakes, country produce, and refreshments should be sent direct to Finsbury Town Hall before 11 am on the day or to the Home on the Monday.
Editor’s note. A chance encounter in a Shrewsbury cinema in 2012 led to an engaging talk with Pat Davies, a retired midwife who had trained at the MNA in Myddelton Square during WWII. She mentioned the poverty of the people of Finsbury especially in the area around Clerkenwell Green. Once, peddling up Farringdon Road at night, in the blackout, after a tricky delivery, with bombers overhead, trying hard not to get the front wheel of her bicycle stuck in the damned tram lines, Pat was apprehended by a policeman who told her that her nurse’s bag had fallen off the back of her bike and that its contents, including what the PC described as ‘medical evidence’, was lying in the road. In spite of the Luftwaffe, Pat sped downhill to scoop up the bag, its contents and the ‘evidence’ before hurrying back to the relative safety of the MNA in Myddelton Square. Pat died in 2014.
Ron Bennett & the New River Company Sally Hull writes: Some members may have noticed a hearse in Myddelton Square on Tuesday 20 October. This marked the death of Ron Bennett who lived all his life on the east side of the Square. Born in 1918, in the house his parents rented from the New River Company, Ron started work for the Company at the age of 16. It maintained tight control on the look of the neighbourhood. Covenant on the houses required tenants to paint front doors in approved colours. A letter to us from Ron in 1989 reprimanded us for not seeking Company approval for changes to a window although approved by LBI and English Heritage. Ron continued to represent the property side of the Company until the 1990s.
Meryl Streep as Mrs Pankhurst addresses crowds from Myddelton Square as part of the film, Suffragette, directed by Sarah Gavron
The Amwell Society -‐ Campaigning on behalf of the locality for 43 years www.amwell.org.uk
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The Myddelton Square Saga. Episode 4
Committee member, Sally Hull writes: Society members and local residents will recall that Marcus Cooper has bought the freehold of the gardens in Myddelton Square. He refused an extension of LBI’s lease in 2012 stating that the square gardens were to be developed. Following this, the company, Myddelton Square Investments Ltd has put in two planning applications to carry out “substantial works of construction” to develop the unrealised economic potential of such public gardens.
His planning applications were dismissed by the LBI and dismissed on appeal in August 2014.
Since then – in April 2015 -‐ Marcus Cooper has reluctantly conceded that LBI has an entitlement to a new lease agreement for Myddelton Square given that they have been successful leaseholders for many years under the New River Company, the Metropolitan Water Board and Thames Water. Under those organisations, LBI paid a peppercorn rent for the gardens. However, Cooper has outrageously suggested that LBI should be pay an annual rent of £100,000, based on a surveyors report that looked at private garden squares in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. So, it seems that negotiations will be protracted and stormy.
Myddelton Square Gardens with St. Mark’s Church
We await with interest the outcome of these negotiations, and will be urging and supporting LBI in its bid to secure a minimum of a 15-‐year lease to continue the right of public access. Myddelton Square Gardens is one of the few areas of green space in south Islington. Islington has the least amount of green space of all London boroughs. We want to see a start to long overdue refurbishment work in the square. The lease conditions will be settled at a court hearing in due course.
The Myddelton Square Gardens Group is monitoring all activities concerning the gardens. Thank you especially to Monica Potts
Help! Heritage at risk!
Emmanuel Maurice of the Wilmington Square Association and Amwell Society committee member writes: For years, residents of Wilmington Square and adjacent streets have despaired about the deterioration of the railings surrounding the garden. The railings, which date back to about 1820, when the square was created, are a key part of its architectural heritage. They constitute rare examples, along with railings on the Lloyd Baker estate and the New River developments, of Georgian metalwork and are Grade II listed.
Sadly the railings have been neglected for years and are in such a poor state that they appear on the Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register which notes that: “Urgent works have been carried out, but currently no funding has been identified for a full repair programme”. The urgent need is for complete restoration of the railings. Sections have been broken and have been removed on both east and west sides. [See the illustration to the right]. The remaining sections continue to be exposed to inevitable corrosion and to vandalism.
In 2004 a comprehensive study was undertaken by a firm of historic metalwork consultants on behalf of LBI which approved the consultants’ terms of appointment and authorised the necessary investigations. A report was written but restoration has not materialised.
Although the railings have continued to deteriorate the conclusions of the study still hold good. Work would require the removal of the concrete plinth walls and a lowering of the ground level around the edge in order to create a space between the garden and the railings.
The restoration of the railings would have two other beneficial effects for the community. It would provide an opportunity to facilitate access to the garden for all by opening a second gate on the west side of the garden and it would also strengthen the security of the square which is compromised by missing sections of railings.
We think that the Community Infrastructure Levy [CIL] which will benefit our area and collected by LBI in connection with the Mount Pleasant development, will be sizeable. The Wilmington Square Association will actively lobby Ward Councillors to ensure that part of this money is earmarked for the full restoration of the railings so that they can be removed from the At Risk Register mentioned here. If you wish to support this action or would like additional information please contact [email protected]
The Amwell Society -‐ Campaigning on behalf of the locality for 43 years www.amwell.org.uk
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London’s traditional, family pantomime at the Hackney Empire
Jack and the Beanstalk Starring Clive Rowe, Debbie Kurup & Kat B
Director. Susie McKennaMusic. Steven Edis
Design. Lotte Collett
21 November - 3 January hackneyempire.co.uk
020 8985 2424
Bus 38 from Sadler’s Wells to Hackney Mare Street
Friends of The Peel Centre invite you to a
Candlelit Carol Concert Our Most Holy Redeemer,
Exmouth Market, EC1
Wednesday 16 December 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm
Tickets £5. Concessions £3 available from the Peel Centre, Holy Redeemer or on the door
With the Clerkenwell Singers and the Choir of Clerkenwell Parochial C of E Primary School.
New River Head. Yet another chapter A message from our chairman, Paul Thornton
Readers with long memories will know that the Amwell Society has been campaigning for years for the creation of a Heritage Centre around the Listed buildings on the undeveloped portion of the New River Head site. Although LBI has supported this aspiration through successive planning briefs the Council inadvertently allowed the site to be sold to a developer, Turnhold (Islington) Ltd, which has proposed various schemes for residential development. which would effectively put paid to any notion of a viable heritage facility.
The most recent proposals came up before the Planning Inspectorate at an appeal hearing in October. Several members of the Society attended and David Sulkin and I both spoke against the scheme. The Inspector also considered two alternative proposals:
1. A scheme from the Heritage of London Trust, which foresees mixed heritage and commercial use of the site, and which was granted planning permission earlier this year
2. A fully commercial option, providing studios and office space for small businesses and start-‐ups. There is a shortage of such units in Islington because so many have been converted to residential use.
The Inspector has now ruled against that part of the Turnhold scheme that was of greatest concern -‐ the conversion of the Engine House to residential use, whilst allowing the creation of a residential studio on a less
sensitive part of the site. The reason for rejecting residential development of the Engine House was that the fully commercial scheme was (a) viable, and (b) would do less harm to the Listed buildings and their setting.
So, we have been able to avert the most serious threat to the site but does that bring our Heritage Centre any closer to realisation? That depends largely on what the developers, Turnhold, do now. Will they come forward with a revised scheme which enjoys the support of the local community, abandon their plans and put the site up for sale, or hunker down and hope for a less rigorous planning regime in the future? Time will tell. In the meantime we will liaise with the Islington Buildings Preservation Trust and others to try and secure the best possible outcome.
In the meantime, may I join our Editor in wishing all our readers and their families an enjoyable Christmas, and a healthy and prosperous New Year.
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Awareness. Amwell area & King’s Cross
In the wake of the Paris atrocities, Commander Chicly of the Metropolitan Police has written to us:
1. If anyone spots anything that they are unhappy about, then they should report this to the police by dialling the useful 101 number, or the Anti-‐terrorist Hotline on 0800 789321. If your concern is really urgent use 999 as soon as you can. 2. At times like this, there is always a risk that the incidence of hate crime will increase. Any such incidents should also be reported to the police immediately, where they will be dealt with promptly by specialist officers
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Save the date. AGM 2016 The ever popular AGM is fixed for Tuesday 10th May. We shall be celebrating Lubetkin’s masterpiece, Bevin Court and the newly renovated Peter Yates mural.