Life in Victorian West Hampstead

Hampstead Cemetery
Originally uploaded by outblissed

Northwest 6 has received an email from someone tracing her family history:

My great grandfather Benjamin OVENS, a policeman, lived with his family at 19 Ravenshaw Street from 1889. Can anyone help me with ideas of where the children would have gone to school, which church the children might have been baptised, and where the very young children might have been buried in 1890 and 1895?

For such questions Kilburn and West Hampstead Past is an invaluable source.

It tells us that Beckford School was open for business by this time, although it was called Broomsleigh Street school at this stage (its name was changed in 1931). As the nearest school to Ravenshaw Street, it is the most likely possibility for the one that the Ovens children attended. It was built specifically to cater for the increasing numbers of children in the proliferation of streets being developed in West Hampstead in the late 19th century, of which Ravenshaw Street was one.

Another possibility is Emmanuel School, on Mill Lane. This was a well-established school by this time but, then as now, was too small to meet demand.

Emmanuel Church at West End Green had not opened at this time. The children may have been baptised in its predecessor, the Emmanuel mission church which stood on the corner of Aldred Road and Mill Lane. (Presumably this was the corner opposite The Pavement, the row of shops on Mill Lane which begins at this corner and which dates from 1888.) If the minister at Emmanuel wasn't to the Ovens family's taste, the children may have been baptised at St Cuthbert's church in Fordwych Road which opened in 1887.

Finally, where were the very young children buried? Almost certainly at Hampstead Cemetery, at Fortune Green. Now "full up", the cemetery had been relatively recent developed in the 1890s having been consecrated for burials in 1876. However, even by then it must have been filling up rapidly as it was extended in 1901.

If you have any further knowledge or memories which can help answer this query, then please share them here.

2007 revisited

Some unfinished business from earlier in the year.

Back in April, Northwest 6 reported on plans to build a four-storey block of flats on Ravenshaw Street.  It seems, for the time being at least, as if those particular plans won't be proceeding.  According Camden's planning website, they were withdrawn.

Proposed developments to The Alliance pub, on the corner of Ravenshaw Street and Mill Lane, did receive planning approval.  There's been no sign so far of the installation of a terrace at the back of the pub - possibly because the plans were overtaken by events when there was a fire in the upper floors of the building.

In March, we reported that Sainsbury's were sending out daily patrols to collect trolleys abandoned around West Hampstead and other areas near its store on Finchley Road.  They seem to have been as good as their word, with a noticeable improvement in the trolley blight along the railway path.

Also in March, there was concern about the work beside the railway to clear vegetation.  One resident was concerned that this might have presaged extensions to the track or building works.  Network Rail failed to respond to our enquiries but, as it turned out, the work was benign.

That's it.  See you in 2008.

Jingle Bell Rock

Bopping Santa, 2005

More on the Cheery House. The little Santa may not bop away with the same vigour that he displayed in previous years. But he can still belt out that catchy tune.

But what is he singing?

Jingle Bell Rock was originally released in 1957 by Bobby Helms, who went on to record several further versions. Before gaining its current renown on the West Hampstead cultural scene, the song was also recorded by Brenda Lee and, more recently, Billy Idol. Further details on Wikipedia.

As a service to Northwest 6 readers, I've tracked down the lyrics so that you can call to mind the words during those annoying moments over the Christmas period when you can't get the tune out of your head. Enjoy.

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh

Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell rock

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh

Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell rock

(Continue ad infinitum)

Cheery House, 2007

This is fast becoming an annual landmark. This year more than ever, it's impossible to walk by this house on Broomsleigh Street without seeing a little gathering outside admiring the illuminations, or a car pull up to disgorge a payload of children keen to experience the sight.



Can there be a better decorated house in West Hampstead?

New blog in town

The Liberal Democrat's prospective parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, Ed Fordham, is blogging at  http://474towin.blogspot.com/.

It's not all shameless electioneering.  There are some nice pieces reflecting the character of north west London.   Check out this one which discusses our corner of West Hampstead.    I also like his efforts to capture the disappearing antique advertisements painted onto the walls of buildings - a project I've been meaning to undertake myself.

You've found Northwest 6 at its new address

Welcome to Northwest 6 at its new home.

Please bear with me over the next few days while I update links and images to work at this new address. If you have linked to Northwest 6 I'd be grateful if you could point your links to the new address.

Are our recycling collections any good?

Trash One
Originally uploaded by blech.

One of the earliest posts on Northwest 6 concerned the way all material collected for recycling is mashed up together in a traditional dustcart.

Camden justified this practice by saying that although it was more costly to sort out materials after collection, it encouraged more people to recycle things.

Now a new national campaign is trying to call time on this approach.   According to the Campaign for Real Recycling:

Collection systems that gather a range of different materials in one bag or bin and then compact them could permanently undermine the environmental and financial benefits of recycling.

The Observer investigated the issue and reported that mixing and mashing materials for recycling reduces the environmental benefits significantly:

If you happen to participate in a co-mingled scheme, it is thought that somewhere between one tenth and one fifth of your waste could end up in a landfill, forming part of a noxious stew belching methane into the atmosphere. By contrast, less than 1 per cent of all materials collected through source-separated systems is wasted.

The waste contractor Veolia is quoted in the article as contesting the amount wasted through co-mingling - putting it at between five and eight per cent.  Veolia says part of this is caused by people putting household waste in their recycling bins.

If you are concerned about this issue, the Campaign for Real Recycling suggests you should lobby your local council.  To do this locally, depending on where you live, you should contact either Fortune Green councillors or West Hampstead councillors.

Alternatively, you could make sure that your recycling waste is clean before you put it out for collection.

School inspections

Ofsted, the school inspectors, have been busy evaluating schools in West Hampstead.

Closest to home, Beckford Primary School in Dornfell Street was rated good. Ofsted's report says:

Teaching is strong because lessons are well prepared, teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve are high and relationships are very good. This helps the pupils to feel secure, raises their self-esteem and hence boosts their learning.

Beckford School

Ofcom describes the personal development of pupils at the school as outstanding.  But it says more could be done to raise the achievement of more able pupils, and has set this as an area in which the school should improve.

In another inspection, Fordwych Nursery School, on the corner of Mill Lane and Fordwych Road, has been rated as outstanding.  Fordwych is the school which makes headlines as far away as the Middle East for its annual ritual whereby local dads queue all night in the playground to be among the lucky few to get their children into the school.  Ofsted did not feel a need to recommend any improvements.  It says:

Children have a lovely time at this nursery. The play rooms are set up to promote all areas of learning and children have independent access to all of the toys, resources and materials...  Children are highly skilled communicators and frequently initiate conversations with staff, visitors and each other. The communication is supported by staff as they talk with the children throughout the day. Children express their views of their nursery which include, "I like sticking the triangles", "Riding the new tractors is great fun" and "I like staying for lunch".

Inspection reports for other local schools can be found on the Ofsted website.

West Hampstead excavations

You can't have failed to notice the huge roadworks being carried out throughout the neighbourhood.  Navigating between Mill Lane and West End Lane is like a game of snakes and ladders with many of the roads blocked off.

Local resident, Ed, emailed Northwest 6 to ask if we could shed light on what's going on. 

Do you know what the council are fixing by digging the enormous hole at the bottom of Broomsleigh St by the railway line? I live on Narcissus Road, not too far away, and we've 2x similar holes on Solent and Holmdale roads respectively. They seem to be filling them with a concrete cylinder and filling them over.

In fact, the works are being undertaken for Thames Water to improve flood defences.  Apparently, the cylinder being driven beneath Broomsleigh Street will extend all underneath the railway to the Peace Park on the other side. 

The work was initiated in response to flooding in the area in 2002.

Friends of Fortune Green launched

Never far from a litter bin

Northwest 6 noted efforts in the summer to establish a group to look after Fortune Green.

Now the Friends of Fortune Green have held their inaugural meeting. According to the organisers, about 20 people attended. They've identified 10 short term improvements such as getting the railings repainted, reinstating the signs for dog-free areas, and installing new notice boards outlining the history of the green. The group are also keen to improve the quality of trees and plantings around the green

It's hoped there may be some improvements to the playground before long, thanks to lobbying by local mums.

The Friends of Fortune Green can be contacted at fortunegreen@gmail.com.

Changes proposed for local roads

Camden Council is seeking your views on plans aimed at making local roads safer for pedestrians.  There would be a 20mph speed limit in the roads around Beckford School (Broomsleigh, Dornfell, Glastonbury and Ravenshaw Streets) and a raised junction at the end of Dornfell Street where it meets Ravenshaw Street.

It is also proposed to add two new zebra crossings to Mill Lane.

If you live in this area of West Hampstead, you should already have received a consultation pack.  You have until 11 January  2008 to submit your views.