Islington Eyes Explore MontCalm

Our Place Too* is a project working with older people living in two neighbourhoods either side of City Road. With a focus on improving the health and wellbeing of older people living in these areas, the project seeks to achieve this by facilitating discussion about the massive changes that are taking place on their doorstep.

One such recent change has been the building of M by MontCalm as part of the larger ongoing development around the City Road and Old Street or Silicon Roundabout area, which is fast becoming a major hub for tech media companies. As part of the project, Islington Eyes, one of our older people's groups, visited the newly opened hotel on City Road.

Located opposite Moorfields Eye Hospital, the 23-storey boutique hotel’s striking façade and angular structure immediately evokes ideas about optics and the visual. The design concept for the hotel was created by architects Squire & Partners, with 5plus Architects as the Executive Architect and SGP Contracts overseeing its construction.

The building is one of first in world to use a horizontal transom on the façade. This along with its height, size and location makes the hotel unique and eye-catching, though has divided opinions not least within the Islington group. 










 

The group was warmly welcomed by Kubilay Tunc, the hotel’s Cluster Business Development Manager, and his team. On the visit, the group were shown around the public spaces of the hotel, including the various lounges and restaurant areas. The Skye Lounge in particular on the 17^th Floor offered some fantastic views of Tech City below. The eager eyes of the Islington group were also treated to a tour of two of the 269 guest rooms, the M Spa, the Versace-tiled swimming pool, and the hotel gym.



MontCalm exudes contemporary luxury, integrating art, music, design and technology into the exterior and interior of the building. While some may view the hotel as overindulgent – both architecturally and in terms of its ethos, the visit was an eye-opening experience. It provided the group with a chance to see inside a contemporary building, to learn about its design and how it functions, along with its users. It also provided a different perspective of this rapidly changing area. 

Sometimes there is more to a building than initially meets the eye, and it's worth getting an inside look to develop a more informed point of view.

*Our Place Too has being funded by the People’s Health Trust, using money raised from Health Promote through the Health Lottery.

Wandle Treasures Map Goes Live!

While our Wandle Treasures project has now officially come an end, we hope its legacy will live on.

As part of this legacy, we have created a Google Map plotting all the treasures researched by our volunteers. We would like to share this map, which hopefully demonstrates not only the rich heritage of the Wandle River area, but also the range of research work carried out by the project’s participants over the past year.

The treasures displayed on the map have been divided into different categories including Historic Buildings & Structures, Arts & Crafts, and Industrial Heritage. We hope that this helps to make the map a user-friendly resource that can continue to reveal and inform people about the fascinating history of this area of London, as well as be a rewarding tribute to the Wandle Treasures project itself.

Have a look at the map here:

* The Wandle Treasures is a volunteer-led local heritage project where we identify heritage treasures along the course of the River Wandle, which spans four London boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Croydon). The final selection has been drawn by artist StephanieTheobald and will be uploaded to a website along with an interactive map. 

The project has been delivered in collaboration with Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme as part of the Industrial Heritage Recording Project.  

   

 

Wrapping Up Along the Wandle!

Earlier this month, our Wandle Treasures community heritage project culminated with a celebratory event held at the Wheelhouse at Merton Abbey Mills. This fantastic venue, in-keeping with the spirit of the project, is situated on the banks of the River Wandle. The Wheelhouse is set in a working watermill, which generates the electricity to light the building, and houses a stoneware pottery workshop.

The event gathered all the volunteer researchers together, along with participants from a variety of local organisations who had contributed to the project. It provided an opportunity for all those involved to see artist Stephanie Theobald's illustrated treasures map in full and to reflect on the project over cake, strawberries and a glass of Pimms.

The event provided a lovely opportunity to bring the project to a close, to say thank you and celebrate the hard work of the volunteers, and to present the illustrated map – a treasure in its own right.

And while all good things must come to an end, this is not the end for the Wandle Treasures… We are developing plans for extending the life of the project by touring the illustrated treasures map across the four Wandle River boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Croydon). We aim to announce more details about this very soon.

*The Wandle Treasures is a volunteer-led local heritage project where we identify heritage treasures along the course of the River Wandle, which spans four London boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Croydon). The final selection has been drawn by artist StephanieTheobald and will be uploaded to a website along with an interactive map.

The project has been delivered in collaboration with Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme as part of the Industrial Heritage Recording Project. 

 

Senior BEEs See the Goodsyard Sights

Recently our Senior BEEs older people’s group had the opportunity to visit the soon to be transformed historic Goodsyard site at Bishopsgate in Shoreditch. The site straddles the London Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and has been derelict since the 1960s.

  

Kitted out in steel-capped boots, high-vis vests and hardhats, the Senior BEEs were treated to a tour of the site, which spans over four hectares in area and is abundantly rich in history (embedded in the buildings, materials and textures it holds). 

Photo Courtesy of Soundings

Coordinated by Soundings, public engagement organisation, and with the developer Hammerson, the tour first took the Senior BEEs under the Braithwaite viaduct with its arches and barrel vaults along to Brick Lane at one end of the site.  

Photo Courtesy of Soundings

This part of the tour uncovered a disused swimming pool and hydraulic lift, along with old cobblestones and brickwork creating cavernous spaces currently concealed from the eyes of passers-by. 

The evocative setting stimulated memories of past and present which were shared between group members through animated conversation.

 

 

The tour then took the group above the traffic along an elevated section, revealing an unexpected expanse of urban countryside - again currently not visible at street level. 

Photo Courtesy of Soundings

 

  

This plateau of urban wilderness will be landscaped in similar vein to the New York High Line, transforming it into a raised public park. The blue skies and summer sunshine made for wonderful views, providing the BEEs with new perspectives of familiar buildings.

Photo Courtesy of Soundings

In an area, indeed a city, that is rapidly changing, the site has not escaped controversy, and regeneration plans continue to be developed. For our Senior BEEs, the tour provided a unique opportunity to explore a part of London's industrial heritage. It also served as a celebration of people and place by highlighting the importance of voicing and sharing memories past and present in order to help shape the future hopefully for the greater good.

 

Photo Courtesy of Soundings

 

Wandle Treasures Wading to an End

As our Wandle Treasures project draws to an end, the last few Treasures have been flowing in and we’re making plans to share the fascinating heritage findings of our volunteer researchers, including the history behind lavender fields (below).

Photo courtesy: Clare Sinead Egan

Over recent weeks, we’ve been participating in several events, talking about the Treasures project and highlighting the wonderful hard work of the participants. Two of our volunteers, Stuart Swan and Roger Keens, stole the show at a recent Wandsworth Heritage Festival event, speaking passionately and knowledgeably about their research and the learning experience of the project. We also presented the project as part of the Croydon Heritage Festival programme and were overwhelmed by the level of interest, the number of questions and engaging discussions that followed – we almost didn’t make it back to the office!

Volunteers talking at the Wandsworth Heritage Festival

We’re currently compiling a digital map, which will soon be available online. The map will locate and display all the Treasures, and share the researched information, including images taken by our volunteers.

In addition, we’re very excited to announce that the illustrated map by artist Stephanie Theobald  is almost complete! We’re looking forward to revealing the map in full very soon, but in the meantime here’s a sneak preview:

Illustrated Treasures map by Stephanie Theobald

The full-sized illustrated map will be exhibited at our upcoming celebration event, and we’re also developing plans to tour the map at different venues across all four Wandle boroughs, so be sure to watch this space...

*The Wandle Treasures is a volunteer-led heritage project where we identify heritage treasures along the course of the River Wandle, which spans four London boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Croydon). The final selection has been drawn by artist Stephanie Theobald and will be uploaded to a website soon along with an interactive map.

The project is delivered in collaboration with Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme as part of the Industrial Heritage Recording Project.  

Summer’s Strolling On for the Senior BEEs

The summer programme for our Senior BEEs began last week with a walking tour in Hackney and Islington. The tour focused on exploring developments happening in both boroughs on either side of City Road – an area that is fast transforming and combined with its rich history, makes for fascinating discussion and walking discoveries.

The group met on 1 May at a local café for a catch up chat after our short spring break. Located on the crossroads of Provost Street and Vestry Street, the café was an ideal meeting point to start the walk by venturing towards City Road for the first of a few discussion stops.

Although there was tough competition from traffic noise, the discussion at the City Road stop focused on the new skyscraper buildings that are increasingly dominating the skyline to the north of Old Street. As construction continues, the area is rapidly developing with old and new clearly juxtaposed on opposite sides of the road: modern towers on one side, and the 19^th Century Moorfields Eye Hospital building on the other. 

  

Crossing over City Road and walking to the back of the hospital building, the group learned that the hospital had struggled to survive at the beginning of the 20^th Century and was saved from closure by a generous donation from the Prince of Wales’ Hospital Fund. In the 1930s, the hospital raised funds to build an extension to the City Road building.

Walking further behind the hospital building, the group reached the most recent extension: the award-winning Children’s Eye Centre designed by Penoyre and Prasad Architects. This innovative building’s entrance features a series of aluminium fins creating an interesting and textured façade. Some of the group admired the eye-catching façade which despite its ultra modern look and feel adds a light and quirky flare to the streetscape.

Walking through St Luke’s Estate and passing by the Pleydell Estate, the group circled back to City Road to view the 1930s art-deco inspired Eagle Black residential development from Mount Anvil and designed by Farrells. From this street perspective, it was interesting to see how the building heights taper, getting lower and lower the further north of Old Street along City Road one goes.  

From here, the group herded up Shepherdess Walk passing the renowned Eagle pub and the former grounds of the 18^th Century St Luke’s Workhouse which later became St Matthew’s Hospital, demolished in the 1980s.

The walk continued along Nile Street and Jasper Walk, where the group learned that the street had been named after A. S. Jasper, author of A Hoxton Childhood – a book of memoirs depicting London life in the area during the First World War.  Although the area has vastly changed, its history remains alive in street names and a small number of surviving building facades and brickwork.

 

The walking tour ended by coming full circle back to Provost Street and taking a brief look at the Provost Estate.

The Senior BEEs were able to contribute and exchange their varied historical knowledge of areas covered on the walk, with some sharing personal memories. The group also learned about and discussed the current changes and developments occurring in an area which reminds us that London throughout history remains in constant flux.

 
The walking session was a great way to saunter into the summer season, and we’re looking forward to more exciting explorations over the summertime months!  

In addition to kick-starting the summer programme for our Senior BEEs, the tour also marks the beginning of our exciting new project Our Place Too. We have been awarded funding from the People's Health Trust (using money raised from Health Promote through the Health Lottery) to work with older people living in two neighbourhoods either side of City Road. Our Place Too will recruit older people living in these areas into our existing older people's groups with the aim of increasing health and wellbeing, and facilitating discussion about the enormous changes taking place on their doorstep.