Vestry House Museum

07/12/2019

It's nearly time for our annual festive celebration. Here's what we've got planned:

1pm - 4.30pm
Children's arts and crafts: make your own Christmas cracker
🌲
Explore genuine artefacts from a Victorian household. Can you work out how they were used?

2pm - Dramatised reading of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Hear this classic tale read out loud by The Red Headed League (20 min duration - repeated at 3pm)

2.30pm - Sing traditional Christmas carols with local choir Sing17 (30mins duration)

Festive refreshments - including mulled wine - on sale all afternoon

Free entry (suggested donation £3)

16/09/2019

Ever wondered how artists can go on strike? Head to Vestry House Museum this Friday 20 September - the day of global #climatestrike - to find out!

08/09/2019

Today: BeeWild Family Day
Join OrganicLea for a bee and flower hunt in the garden, and create beautiful prints based on what you find!
Free, drop-in, 1.30-3.30pm

05/06/2019

Invitation! Be among the first to see our new display of work by Cornelia Parker and Rachel Whiteread, part of the London Borough of Culture #waysofseeing project. Join us tomorrow from 6.30pm.

03/06/2019

**Coming soon**

Swarm: artists respond to the pollinator crisis
14 June 2019 - 26 January 2020

Artists Anna Alcock, Hannah Ford, Miyuki Kasahara, Alke Schmidt and Sandie M Sutton present new work reflecting on the alarming decline of bees, wasps, butterflies and other pollinators. Featuring painting, printmaking, textiles, sculpture and installation, the exhibition is both a call to arms and a celebration of these wondrous and hard-working insects.

Find out more: https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/whats-on/swarm-artists-respond-pollinator-crisis/

29/04/2019

Sweet Harmony: Radio, Rave and Waltham Forest, 1989-1994 - Rendezvous Projects

Our friends at Rendezvous Projects have received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to explore the pirate radio and rave scene in Waltham Forest during the years 1989-1994.

They want to hear from you if you were part of the dance music scene in the borough at this time, or if you'd like to help with research for the project.

Find out more at: www.rendezvousprojects.org.uk/work/sweet-harmony

Rendezvous Projects is delighted to announce that we have received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to undertake a project in London Borough of Waltham Forest to explore the …

10/04/2019

Waltham Forest History and Heritage Network

Become a Trustee at Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum.

See more details here: https://walthamforesthistoryandheritage.net/news/

Walthamstow’s Pumphouse Museum is housed in and around a Grade II listed former Victorian wastewater pumping station, with collections relating to this and to local innovation in transport, technology and manufacturing.

A volunteer-run site, The Pumphouse Museum has just undergone a review of governance and operations which will help prepare plans for exciting future development. As a result of this they are looking to expand their Board and are seek applicants.

09/04/2019

Wonderful prints from today's family learning workshop 'Print an Easter rabbit' organised by Waltham Forest Adult Learning and led by artist Claire Willberg.
Thank you to all our volunteers who supported the session.

04/04/2019

Waltham Forest History and Heritage Network

This Saturday 6th April 2-5pm Radical Childhoods in Waltham Forest - including a guided tour of the beautiful Churchyard at St Peter's-in-the-Forest Church, 18 Woodford New Road, #Walthamstow E17 3PP.

2. p.m. Talk: “Radical Childhoods in Waltham Forest, c 1600-1900” – Dr. Mary Clare Martin (University of Greenwich). A talk about the childhoods of #WalthamForest residents who went on to become political, religious and social radicals.

3. p.m. Talk: “Finding your family history through parish registers” – Barrie Burton (Waltham Forest Family History Society)

3.20p.m. Activity choice of the following:

Research: Barrie Burton will be available with his database of St Peter’s parish registers to help anyone interested track their family history.

Walk: David Boote (Waltham Forest Walks) will lead a walk entitled “Children and young people round and about St Peter’s and Forest School”.

Walk: Churchyard tour with Dr. Mark Carroll and Tim Valder-Hogg (Waltham Forest Family History Society)

4.15 p.m. Talk:“Growing up in Waltham Forest in the 1930s” – Dr.Mark Carroll (Waltham Forest Family History Society).

Protest songs will be sung throughout the afternoon, led by guitarist and campaigner Louis Martin (Fossil Free Newham).

Children are welcome and activities will be provided.

Tea and cake will be available throughout.

Many campaigners for social, political and religious change, grew up in Waltham Forest. How did their childhoods influence their activism as adults? Did the environment affect their future development?
This event will explore the relationship between activism and environment in Leyton and Leytonstone, as well as Walthamstow and beyond, across social classes. From female Methodist preaching, nursing in the Crimea, to socialism, feminism, and campaigns for fair treatment in South Africa, this event will highlight the links between the effect of the forest and the increasingly urbanised nature of Waltham Forest.
The afternoon will provide opportunities for hands-on activities, exploring gravestones in St Peter's churchyard , the local environment and their associations, making links with family history, and hearing individual stories about growing up here from our local experts.

Waltham Forest, London Borough of Culture 2019

25/03/2019

Vestry House Museum

A small selection of some of the amazing images at our latest exhibition: 'We Weren’t Expecting to Stay and Other Stories' which explores the first-hand experiences of Muslim communities who moved from South Asia to Britain in the 1950s. The material, including interviews, was gathered by the Everyday Muslim project. Till 17 May.

13/03/2019

Walthamstow: From Monoux and Morris to Beer and Bacon Jam

This Sunday, discover the fascinating history of Walthamstow with expert guide Joanna Moncrieff from Westminster Walks. Starts at William Morris Gallery.

There’s so much more to Walthamstow than just its famous mile-long Market. Its history is not what you might think either but the grand tombs in St Mary’s Churchyard offer a bit of a clue. We start our walk at the teenage home of William Morris which was later home to plagiarist and publisher Ed...

25/02/2019

Click here to support Joy Division Walthamstow poster auction bid organised by Mark Hart

Just a couple of days left to support Walthamstow Rock 'n' Roll Book Club's crowdfunder to bring a piece of Walthamstow musical history back to E17: an ultra rare original Joy Division poster from when the band played Walthamstow Youth Centre 40 years ago. If successful, the poster will go into our collection for future generations to discover.

Joy Division one of rock music's most influential bands played Walthamstow Youth Centre twice in 1979. To promote the first gig on 30th March 1979 a memorable/infamous poster was created by Martin Comey & Dave Pils of support band SX. Printed on the youth centre's equipment it got centre manage...

21/02/2019

Vestry House Museum

Not long to go before this crowdfunder closes - will you help save a piece of Walthamstow's music heritage?

Forty years ago Joy Division played Walthamstow Youth Centre - two days later they began recording Unknown Pleasures. Now Peter Hook is selling his unique collection of Joy Division/Factory Records, which includes this very rare poster for the gig.

Mark Hart from Walthamstow Rock 'n' Roll Book Club has launched a crowdfunder to buy the poster - if successful, this piece of E17 musical history will go into Vestry House Museum's collection. Please support it if you can.

07/02/2019

Click here to support Joy Division Walthamstow poster auction bid organised by Mark Hart

Forty years ago Joy Division played Walthamstow Youth Centre - two days later they began recording Unknown Pleasures. Now Peter Hook is selling his unique collection of Joy Division/Factory Records, which includes this very rare poster for the gig.

Mark Hart from Walthamstow Rock 'n' Roll Book Club has launched a crowdfunder to buy the poster - if successful, this piece of E17 musical history will go into Vestry House Museum's collection. Please support it if you can.

Joy Division one of rock music's most influential bands played Walthamstow Youth Centre twice in 1979. To promote the first gig on 30th March 1979 a memorable/infamous poster was created by Dave Pils, one of the organisers. Very few original posters have survived but one was obtained by Joy Di...

31/01/2019

Can you help us record the lives of Waltham Forest’s Windrush generation?

We have over 80,000 photos in our archive. But only a handful depict the lives of the Windrush generation, those who left the Caribbean from the 1940s to 1970s and made a new life for themselves here in Waltham Forest.

Now we need your help to fill that gap.

If you or your family have photographs featuring members of the Windrush generation we’d love to make them part of our archive. The photos don’t have to be professionally taken and could depict any aspect of life: celebrations, family, religion, food, sport, work or anything else.

Find out how to submit your photos at https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/windrush/

28/01/2019

**New exhibition**

Motive / Motif: Artists commemorate the Suffragettes
Until 9 June 2019

To mark the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, Vestry House presents an exhibition of embroidered handkerchiefs designed by 20 contemporary artists, including Rachel Whiteread, Mona Hatoum and Sarah Lucas.

The starting point for the exhibition was a piece of cloth embroidered in 1912 by Suffragettes imprisoned at Holloway Prison. Most of the 78 women who embroidered their signatures participated in demonstrations organised by the Women’s Social & Political Union. They were denied the status of political prisoners and many were force-fed.

The contemporary handkerchiefs are presented alongside the historic cloth embroidered with the names of seventy-eight Suffragettes, courtesy of The Women’s Library Collection at LSE. The exhibition also included photographs and information about each of the Suffragettes through an AV installation prepared by London College of Fashion, UAL.

Exhibition organised by London College of Fashion, UAL.

05/01/2019

Vestry House Museum

Last year’s orchard wassailing.. come join us tomorrow.. starts at 1.30pm.

Wassailing in the Museum Garden!

05/01/2019

This morning, our Learning and Outreach Officer Teanne Andrews and Walthamstow Wassail organiser Lucy Gibson were invited on BBC Radio London with Jason Rosam and Kelly Ann Smith, to talk in more detail about tomorrow’s Wassail event.
Thanks for having us
If you missed the interview (and a sample of Lucy’s Wassail singing!), you can listen again here:
bbc.in/2QmNGYQ 📻

04/01/2019

Word is starting to spread...who else spotted Sunday’s Walthamstow Wassail event in the Metro today?

25/12/2018

Happy Christmas from all of us at Vestry House Museum!

This photograph from our archive shows a 1949 toy appeal for "hospitals, orphanages and kiddies in need" organised by the Walthamstow Post and Granada Cinema.

19/11/2018

Join the Community Steering Group for Raw Materials: Plastics

Bow Arts have a new project called Raw Materials: Plastic, looking at the history of plastic production in east London. They're keen for people to join the project steering group - find out more and apply here.

Are you an east London local who is interested in learning about your area’s history and visiting archives? Do you want to learn new skills? Would you like to get to know new people in your area, and work together as a group to be part of a major local history project? Bow Arts are looking for peo...

21/09/2018

Vintage Playing Cards specialises in greeting cards, frames and gifts. Stylish, retro and unique - each Vintage Playing Card piece is a true original. Now available as one of the E17 Designers​ at Vestry House Shop. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/shop/

13/09/2018

Nuppeppo are a ceramicist and illustrator duo who specialise in hand-crafted pottery suitable for home and kitchen. One of the E17 Designers​ now at the Vestry House, their work includes fine wheel-thrown pieces, decorated with eye-catching and characterful designs.

http://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/shop/

12/09/2018

From the photo archive:

Milking cows at Bulls Farm, Higham Hill, Walthamstow, 1910

Most dairy producers at this time supplied J Hitchman and Sons Dairies, started by John Hitchman when he bought Chestnuts Farm in 1867. The company continued to expand until it became part of Unigate empire in the 1960s. Hitchman’s were still keeping cows in the Walthamstow area in the 1920s.

10/09/2018

Uncover the gems of the Victoria line

To celebrate the Victoria line turning 50, we’ve partnered with Transport for London to give away a free limited edition postcard, uncovered from our archives and hand-selected by curators. To claim yours just bring along a copy of this week's Time Out (out Tuesday 11 September) or show us this article on your device.

The Victoria line turns 50 this month, so why not mark the occasion by spending a day discovering its lesser-known treasures?

07/09/2018

Family day this Sunday!
Try some paper-marbling for the first time ever at Vestry to make a Victorian-themed cover for your own personal journal.
Don’t wear your best clothes as it will get messy! Drop in, 1.30pm -4pm, free.

06/09/2018

From the photo archive:

F. Barrett, family fruiterers and greengrocers shop, 256 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, c1908. Now home to Priya Maamala's South Indian restaurant.

Vestry House Museum is home to the Waltham Forest Archives and Local Studies Library. If you want to discover more about your family history or the development of your local community, do get in touch.
http://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/archives/

06/09/2018

Prints and homeware from Karin Åkesson Design, with their unique and optimistic sentiment for everyday living and giving, are now available as part of the E17 Designers collection at Vestry House Museum shop.

Swedish born designer Karin and her husband David produce stunning homeware and stationary products from their studio in Walthamstow.

https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/shop/

30/08/2018

Stork to Swan create prints and greeting cards for children BIG and small. With a new collection of hand printed designs, Stork To Swan​ is one of the E17 Designers​ at Vestry House Museum shop, which is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.

https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/shop/

30/08/2018

From the photo archive:

Fundraising football match in fancy dress for new ambulance station, 1916.

On December 30th 1916, a 'Grand Comical Football Match' was held in Lloyd Park to raise money to equip the Walthamstow Ambulance Station. This is a photo of the players who took part.

29/08/2018

Don't forget to join us for the Walthamstow Village Food & Drink Fest this Saturday - we're serving refreshments from 12pm to 5pm.

https://villagefestival.wordpress.com

24/08/2018

From the photo archive:

The Roe 1 Triplane on Walthamstow Marshes, 1909

Designed and built by Alliott Verdon Roe, the Roe 1 Triplane was the first all-British aircraft to fly. Roe started work on it in July 1908 and a patent was filed for its design in January 1909. Construction began in Putney and it was then transported to a new flying ground that Roe had found on Walthamstow Marshes, where he rented two railway arches beside the river Lea.

23/08/2018

Hannah Rummery is a designer with a passion for illustration, calligraphy, and crafting in all of its forms. A Walthamstow resident, Hannah recently started her own business doing graphic design and illustration across London.

We're very happy to have some of Hannah's products at the Vestry House shop, as part of our E17 Designers​ collection. Our shop is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.

https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/shop/

22/08/2018

Come to Vestry House for the Walthamstow Village Food & Drink Fest on Saturday September 1st. We'll be offering refreshments to enjoy in our award-winning garden and around the village you'll find live music and stalls offering a diverse (and delicious!) range of food and drink.

https://villagefestival.wordpress.com

21/08/2018

A few memories from our wonderful family day on the 12th August. Mark Holbrook shared his knowledge of forest skills and devised a fantastic eco art workshop, making animals and creatures that you might find in the forest. Artist Rachel Lillie also surprised us with a visit to see how her exhibition inspired our activities. Our next Family Day will be on the 9th September - more details coming soon!