Travel Back to Putney’s Past
With the ninth annual Wandsworth Heritage Festival from May 26 to June 10
‘Children’s Lake’, Putney Heath – a view of Grantham pond, c.1910 ©Heritage Service
This year the Wandsworth Herigate Festival celebrates open spaces and features talks, walks, workshops, and exhibitions including a talk about Thomas Cromwell in Putney.
Highlights include:
• A talk on the life and times of Tooting jazz pioneer Sadie Crawford
• A scything taster session
• A talk on the wartime MI5 London Reception Centre on Wandsworth Common
• Art and photography workshops
• A talk and workshop on textile printing in the Wandle Valley
• Talks on growing up in wartime Battersea, Thomas Cromwell in Putney, the story of Tooting Bec Lido and pets in the lives of 20th Century Londoners
• Family drop-in sessions on local history and family art
• A guided walk on the notable graves at Putney Vale Cemetery
• An open weekend at the Wandsworth Prison Museum
• Several walks exploring some of Wandsworth’s most appealing parks and gardens.
Putney Events:
Exhibition - Pets in the Archives
Produced by the AHRC-funded Pets and Family Life Project at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of Manchester
The display focusses on the diary of late Putney resident, Florence Turtle, and her pets and is part of a project that explores how pets became such an important part of British homes and families.
• Putney Library, 5/7 Disraeli Road, Putney SW15 2DR
• During library opening hours throughout the festival
• FREE
A Walk in the Park
Produced by Royal Photographic Society, London Region
Photographs taken as part of the RPS’s Breathing London Project, a London-wide photo project to capture the diversity of London’s public green and open spaces – the lungs of the City – over the course of a year.
• Putney Library, 5/7 Disraeli Road, Putney SW15 2DR
• 4th-23rd June during library opening hours throughout the festival
• FREE
Monday 4th June – 7.30pm
Talk: Thomas Cromwell and his family in Putney and Wandsworth
Organised by Wandsworth Historical SocietyThomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s right-hand man, grew up in Putney at the mercy of his violent father, Walter, according to historians and novelists. But groundbreaking research by WHS chairman, Dorian Gerhold, paints a very different picture of Cromwell family life.
• St Mary’s Church, Putney High Street, SW15 1SN • £5 (proceeds to WHS)
• Please book via Eventbrite: https://thomascromwell.eventbrite.co.uk
Wednesday 6th June – 6.45pm
Talk: A Walk in the Park
Organised by Wandsworth Libraries
Public parks are such a cherished part of everyday life, you might be forgiven for thinking they have always been there. Acclaimed author Travis Elborough traces their extraordinary history in an illustrated talk based on his book ‘A Walk in the Park.’
• Putney Library, 5-7 Disraeli Road SW15 2DR
• FREE
• Please book in advance: Charlene.Coleman@gll.org or 020 8780 3085
Thursday 7th June – 10.30am
Guided walk: Putney Lower Common: understanding its history
Organised by the Putney Society
Peter Haldane, the Wimbledon & Putney Commons Conservators’ Conservation & Engagement Officer, will lead this walk, explaining how the Common has developed from the days when it belonged to the Lord of the Manor, Lord Spencer.
• Meet on the Lower Richmond Road at the junction with Commondale - by the 22 bus stop
• FREE
• No booking required
Friday 8th June – 2pm
Talk: Pets in the Lives of Twentieth Century Londoners
Organised by Royal Holloway University of London in partnership with Wandsworth Heritage Service
This talk by Dr Rebecca Preston will explore changes in pet keeping in the twentieth century and, by looking at the diaries of local resident Florence Turtle, the place of companion animals in Londoners’ busy home, work and social lives.
• Putney Library, 5/7 Disraeli Road, Putney SW15 2DR
• FREE
• Please book in advance: Charlene.Coleman@gll.org or 020 8780 3085
Many local groups and societies help to document and protect Wandsworth’s heritage and the festival provides an opportunity for them to showcase their work and recruit new members.
The festival is organised by charitable social enterprise GLL, which runs library and heritage services on behalf of Wandsworth Council.
See full details of what’s on. Copies of the programme are also available from local libraries and other public buildings in Wandsworth.
You can also view the Heritage Service's online archive catalogue, at www.calmview.eu/wandsworth/calmview.
June 4, 2018