We were delighted that our former Chair Averil Nottage could conduct a stroll through parts of Belsize centred around the artists, refugees and spies who lived in the Parkhill and Lawn Roads area of Belsize in the 1930s.
It was a sunny day and 40 individuals in each of the two sessions were guided to around 10 buildings, with Averil connecting together a fascinating collection of biographies and insights into architecture, art and politics. Highlights included the Mall Studios, Tasker Road.
Between about 1933 and 1939, artists living around Parkhill Road pioneered the British Modernist art movement, whilst spies living around Lawn Road were at the centre of Soviet espionage in Britain. The political turmoil in Europe, and arrival of exiles escaping Fascism, had a significant impact on both these developments. You can find out more about culture and chicanery in Belsize in those extraordinary times in this guided walk. You can download Averil’s handout from our website.