Category Archives: Diary Dates

BelSoc Spring Walk: Boarding Houses, Cinemas and Strudel : Belsize from 1900 to 1945

Join us for a guided walk led by Averil Nottage 13 April 2025 at two times: 11am (link at eventbrite) and 2.30pm (second link at eventbrite)

This walk covers a period when large houses were no longer in demand and they started to be used as maisonettes, boarding houses and hotels, with lots of new flats being built in the 1930s. As wealthy residents moved on, the new underground station at Belsize Park made it easier for young families and single people to move in. Cinemas, new shops and a motor car garage arrived, and there were weekly dances at the Town Hall. From 1938 many Jewish Refugees from the Third Reich moved into the area and gradually organisations were set up to meet their needs.

Book on Eventbrite or contact info@belsize.org.uk

Join us for carol singing on Saturday

Belsize Society will once again be hoping to increase the festive cheer of the neighbourhood by organizing community Carol singing in Belsize Terrace (Belsize Village, outside the pharmacy) at 4.30 pm on Saturday 21 December.

We shall be led by Mathew Watts and we are inviting the Primrose Hill Community Choir to come along to sing with and to us as well. Songsheets with the words will be available. Do come and bring your friends and family: everyone, and especially children, very welcome.

Update from Belsize Community Library

BELSIZE COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND BELSIZE SOCIETY: JOINT EVENT

Organised by the Friends of the Belsize Community Library with BelSoc support, Lester Hillman’s talk “… A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall” described weather events over the last centuries. His presentation opened with the 1975 evening in Belsize/Hampstead when up to 200 millimetres of rain fell in an hour representing one third of a whole year’s rainfall. Memories of that evening were shared, with both the presenter and audience members remembering the 14 August evening. 

Rain was combined with hailstones, immense in size. Lester told us about the Wyldes Farm – the grade II* farmhouse still a feature of North End – that became inundated as run-off flowed through the house down to Golders Green. Its power crushed parked cars. There were numerous flooded areas in and around Belsize Park. 

The talk also highlighted that rainfall was localised other parts of London did not have unusual rainfall. In fact, almost all the rainfall was in a very small area centred on Whitestone Pond. Distant from the formal measurement stations, it was only because the Hampstead Scientific Society had placed a weather station and observatory near the pond, operating since 1905, that data would be collected about this event.

How freakish was this? The rest of the talk then did contextualise the event. We were introduced to the 1091 tornado that flatted 600 houses on St Mary Le Bow mentioned in the Chronicles; and to more recent storms including one that flattened a tree in 2011 in Aspen Grove. Rarity confirmed, the talk concluded, we left the library into a calm evening.

Upcoming Belsize Library Talks

The Friends of the Belsize Library have organised an exciting set of speakers over the winter. Talks will be at Belsize Community Library, Antrim Road, NW3 4XN, starting at 7.30pm. Suggested donation £5

Thursday 21st November, 7.30pm: The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Blackwell. An illustrated talk by Pamela Holmes on the famous 18th century  botanical illustrator who eloped from Scotland to London and later rescued  her husband from the notorious Marshalsea debtors prison.

Thursday 12th December, 7.30pm: Working With Music and Paint. An illustrated talk with live piano music by musician and painter Ruth Waterman.

Thursday 16th January, 7.30pm: Survivors of the Holocaust. A talk by Dr Bea Lewkowicz. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. Dr Bea Lewkowicz chairs a discussion with survivors about their experiences during and after the war.

Thursday 20th February, 7.30pm: Belsize House and other Local Country Estates. An illustrated talk by local historian Averil Nottage.

BelSoc Carol Singing 2024

The Society’s carol singing will take place in Belsize Village on Saturday 21 December, 4.30pm.  Please join us for the event, to enjoy the sing-along and a mince pie or two. Donations will be colle

cted for a local charity. (The Marie Curie Hospice – which we have supported in the past – is currently closed for major works.)

As in previous years, Matthew Watts will lead our singing and we’re again hoping that the Primrose Hill Community Choir members might join us. Members may like to note that the Concert for the Homeless (which Matthew is involved with) is on 24 November, 7pm. Tickets are £25 with proceeds to Crisis and St Mary’s Primrose Hill.

Events at the Library and BelSoc support

BelSoc held a joint event with the Friends of the Belsize Community Library on 18 April. Local historian and former Chair of this organisation, Averil Nottage, presented an illustrated talk about the development of the Chalcots/Eton College Estate in the first half of the 19th century.

The talk started by introducing us to an Elysian Field of pastures and meadows, which was the portion of Belsize that is now home to England’s Lane, Fellows Road and parts of Primrose Hill. The talk introduced us to Cut Throat Lane and to the proposals for Primrose Hill, including a large pyramid, that were rejected so that it was maintained as an open space as it is today.

The well-attended event ended with drinks and a chance to engage with the presenter and catch up with members.

The Friends have an excellent series of talks for the rest of the year, starting with Dr Bea Lewkowicz speaking about the 85th Anniversary of the Kindertransport, on 16 May 2024, 7.30pm at the Library.

Events at the Library

There is an exciting programme of in-person speaker meetings at the Belsize Community Library, Antrim Road. All on Thursday evenings, 7.30pm and  £5 is suggested for donation and refreshments.

16 May –  Dr Bea Lewkowicz speaking about the 85th Anniversary of the Kindertransport.

19 June – Author Jennie Ensor will talk about how lockdown inspired her fifth novel  “The Bad Neighbour”.

19 September – Finding Nemon by Aurelia  Young. The extraordinary life of the outsider who  sculpted the famous. Aurelia Young tells the remarkable story of her father’s career which brought him close to those who shaped and impacted the 20th century.

17 October – Michelene Wandor will talk about her novel “Orfeo’s Last Act”. Set against the backdrop of seventeenth century Italy, Orfeo’s Last Act brings the magic of Mantua, Florence and Venice to  vivid life.

21 November – Pamela Holmes will give a talk about Elizabeth Blachrie Blackwell (c1700-1758) the first British woman to produce an illustrated book on herbs.

12 December – An illustrated talk by Karin Fernald. Hans Christian Andersen. A question of Imagination. Wit, Traveller and Artist

ISOKON GALLERY: EXHIBITION ON EDITH TUDOR-HART

CURRENT EXHIBITION ON EDITH TUDOR-HART

Bauhaus student, photographer and Soviet spy recruiter

Interested in social housing, photography, spies or local history? This exhibition will be a “must” for you.  Edith Tudor-Hart was called the grandmother of the Cambridge Five but was also a groundbreaking photographer whose images showed the ordinary lives of working class Londoners and – from a Belsize perspective – the construction of the Isokon Building in Lawn Road which opened in 1934.  There is a fascinating video on the Gallery’s website to introduce the life and work of Tudor-Hart; and you can visit the Gallery from 11am–4pm every Saturday and Sunday until the end of October. Free entry.  No booking required.  Further details are available at https://isokongallery.org/.

Did you know that the Isokon Gallery relies on charitable donations and the proceeds from the shop to care for the collection?  

What’s coming up at Hampstead Theatre?

On the main stage – Visit from an Unknown Woman, 21 June – 27 July. 

Merril is one of Silicon Valley’s leading software engineers, but her life disintegrates when her younger sister Vienna, 1934. Stefan is one of the world’s most successful authors – widely read, universally admired, and translated into every language. His is the life of a wealthy playboy, enjoying only the finest things in life – from luxurious world travel to the company of his most dazzling contemporaries in Europe’s most fashionable restaurants. Only two things cloud his prospects: the rise of the Nazi Party, and the sudden appearance of a woman who he clearly knows… but who he cannot, for the life of him, remember…

Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of the short story by Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) receives its English Language premiere following a triumphant run at Vienna’s Josefstadt Theater. Winner of multiple awards including two Oscars, Hampton’s plays include Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Tales from Hollywood and The Philanthropist, and he is celebrated for his translations of Reza and Zeller. Chelsea Walker returns to Hampstead to direct following her acclaimed productions of Yous Two and This Much I Know.

Downstairs – Grud, 28 June – 3 August

It’s a new term at college and, after losing the election for student president, Aicha is throwing all her energy into the school’s ‘Extended Physics Project’ – or, as she calls it, Space Club. One afternoon, Aicha is surprised by the appearance of the usually introverted and distant Bo, doubling the membership of Space Club. Whilst Aicha is thrilled to have a mysterious new friend, Bo is distracted by the black hole at the heart of her home life. She’s worked so hard to launch herself into bigger and better things – but will Grud eclipse her efforts and pull her off course?

Writer Sarah Power is an alumnus of Hampstead Theatre’s INSPIRE 2022 programme for emerging playwrights. Director Jaz Woodcock-Stewart makes her Hampstead Theatre debut, with previous credits including Paradise Now! (Bush – 2022 Olivier Award nominated), Civilisation (New Diorama, HOME Manchester, Underbelly Edinburgh) and Electric Rosary (Royal Exchange).

For further details, visit https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/main-stage/ or phone The Box Office on 020 7722 9301, or visit Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage.

What’s coming up at Hampstead Theatre?

On the main stage – Rock ’N’Roll –  6 December – 27 January

1968: Russian tanks have rolled into Czechoslovakia, and Syd Barrett has been dumped by Pink Floyd. Jan, a visiting postgrad at Cambridge, breaks with his old professor Max, a Marxist philosopher, and heads home to Prague with his suitcase full of “socially negative music”. Rock ’n’ Roll covers the ensuing 21 years in the lives of three generations of Max’s family while Jan is caught in the spiral of dissidence in a Communist police state. But it’s a love story too – and then there’s the music…

Tom Stoppard returns to Hampstead after the triumphant revival of Hapgood (2015). Director Nina Raine also returns to Hampstead where her directing credits include her own play Tiger Country (2011 & 2014) and William Boyd’s Longing (2013).

Downstairs – Nineteen Gardens  –  until 9 December 

Nearly two years after the end of their affair, John and Aga meet once more.  Each has filled the void left by the other: he has withdrawn into his world of wealth and privilege; she has found herself working as a chambermaid to support her family.  Both recognise that the spark between them is still there.  Will they rekindle what they had, or is an altogether darker game about to be played out…?

Downstairs – This Much I Know –  13 December – 27 January. 

A tenured professor of psychology, Lukesh enjoys a life as organised and logical as his mind.  But then his wife vanishes, sending only a text message by way of explanation and leaving him to re-evaluate their relationship. He discovers she has embarked on an epic odyssey, crossing and recrossing Russia and delving deep into Soviet history on a quest to unravel a family mystery of which he was unaware – one in which Josef Stalin himself may be involved.

Jonathan Spector’s play is at once a love story and a kaleidoscopic primer in psychology, history, and the use and abuse of power. 

To find out more and buy tickets, visit https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/main-stage/ or phone 020 7722 9301. 

Mozart for the Homeless

As in previous years, Matthew Watts is hosting  our carol singing in Belsize Terrace on 16 December. 

Also like previous years, he is conducting the London Classical Choir and Orchestra with the Peterborough Choir in a concert of classical masterpieces with proceeds to C4WS Homeless Charity and others. It takes place at St Mary’s Church, on Sunday 26 November, 7pm. Tickets are £16 on the door with online options at londonclassicalchoir.com.

Belsize Walk: From Elysian Fields to Trains and Villas

Until the 1830s the Eton College estate was covered with hay meadows.  Londoners were attracted to these isolated fields to fight duels, protest and enjoy country walks. Then the railway arrived, cutting through the meadows and soon roads and villas followed as well as dairies, nurseries, market gardens and exotic poultry. Find out about all of this, and much more, on our walk led by local historian, Averil Nottage.

“From Elysian Fields to Trains and Villas” will run twice – at 11.00 and 2.30 – on 24 September starting at the junction of England’s Lane and Chalcot Gardens.  Tea and cakes will be provided following the afternoon walk.  Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite.

BOOK YOUR PLACE!

To book your place register on Eventbrite, use the link for 11am, 24 Sept and the link for 2.30pm, on the same day.