From the Chairman:

Unfortunately our chairman, Frank Kelsall, is not available at present and I am writing this newsletter as his deputy. Frank’s absence has made me very aware of the considerable number of members who volunteer their time to help the Society.

As a result of the efforts of our librarian Gayne Wells and others the books and maps in the library are now in reasonable order, subject to the vagaries of browsers who return the books to the wrong place. We have approaching 200 maps looked after by Moira Courtman, and 3,300 titles in the book catalogue, the largest of which consists of 40 volumes. I hope that members with access to the internet have discovered our library catalogue and the list of duplicate books for sale on the Society’s website.

If you do not have access to the internet and would like details of books available for purchase please ask for our printed list. We attend a number of book fairs and again had a stall at The London Maze at the Guildhall last month at which sales were brisk. We would, however, prefer that members take advantage of what we have to offer. Prices are very reasonable as, for the most part, they were determined by the late Derek Melluish who based his estimates on prices achieved at auction, which are often way below the prices charged by dealers.

43 volumes of press clippings bequeathed by our former chairman Ronald Ryall have now been catalogued on a computer database under some 2,700 subject headings. To follow will be 274 folders of press cuttings, stored in 5 large boxes, the greater part of which has already been listed on paper by Dr. Tony Longden. Work has begun on a similar programme for our Society’s records and archives.

Jean Sampson, our news-clipper in chief, is retiring shortly after years of valiant service. To help maintain our collection of newspaper cuttings we are seeking a volunteer, or volunteers, who can take over from Jean and let us have cuttings which have a relevance to London’s architecture, planning or landscape. If you are able to help please let us know.

All planning applications to the inner London Boroughs are reviewed by Society volunteers and those with special significance are commented upon. Two of the current planning applications for sites in the City of London are of particular interest.

The first is a huge £700m development at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The building will be triangular in shape and situated between the main square and the Merrill Lynch building to the south. The King George V building, built in the 1920s, will be demolished together with many other buildings but the remaining historic three sides of the quadrangle will be retained. The only external face will be to King Edward Street. The design is bland and repetitive but has been driven by a combination of obtaining value for public money (it is a Private Finance Initiative) and the requirement to have the maximum floor space for hospital use. The new buildings will enhance St. Bartholomew’s cardiac and cancer facilities.

The second is a speculative development at the western end of Smithfield Market in Farringdon Street, Snow Hill and Smithfield Street. The architects are Kohn Pederson Fox Associates and the scheme will involve the demolition of the market buildings fronting Farringdon Road and the triangular Cold Store. Most of the buildings have not been used for decades except for car parking. There are difficulties caused by the railway infrastructure below the site and a requirement to provide for the removal of spoil from Crossrail when it is built. Although the new buildings are quite stylish and provide a great deal of retail space and pedestrian routes through the site there has been a storm of protest from conservation groups. As with the Bishopsgate Goods Yard one wonders where all the protesters have been during the decades their cherished buildings have been decaying. The changing nature of business and marketing means that difficult decisions have to be made about unwanted and unused buildings so that the land can be put to a useful and profitable purpose.

Additionally on the planning front the London Society was asked to help with a planning matter in Helsinki. Anne Thomas, a prospective member, agreed to help and visited Helsinki as a guest of the Helsinki Society. The London Society was very glad to be able to cover the small additional expenses that Anne incurred while acting as our representative. I am very grateful to Anne for her help in this matter which received widespread publicity in Helsinki and achieved the Helsinki Society’s desired planning outcome.

Lizzie Wells, the editor of our Journal, has made a special appeal for your help. The next issue of the Journal (Summer 2005) will appear within days of the official 60th anniversary of VE Day, 8 May 1945. Media interest will be high. We intend to mark this very special occasion with a general feature on the subject, augmented by readers’ personal recollections of that time. If you are able to contribute - a brief paragraph would be enough - please get in touch (editor@LondonSociety.org.uk, or leave a message on the office telephone answering machine). If you have some suitable memories but are reluctant to write anything, get in touch anyway; we might be able to arrange a personal visit with a tape-recorded interview. Any VE Day memories with a London context will be most welcome - celebrations, parties, processions, newspaper headlines, cinema newsreels, trams, buses, trains, souvenirs, unwanted air-raid shelters, etc.

From time to time we hear about other talks and lectures which we think would be of interest to members. On Wednesday November 10th at 6.30 pm the Heritage of London Trust is holding another lecture in their series The Secret Heritage of London. The subject is The Secret Parks and Gardens of London. If you wish to attend please send a sae to The Heritage of London Trust, 23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ET, or telephone 020 7973 2337.

Because the previously selected venue was proving too expensive Joyce Brown, our visits organiser, has arranged for the Society’s Christmas Party to be held at the Art Workers Guild on Monday 13th December 2004. I am sure it will be a most convivial evening and I look forward to seeing you there.

Finally, because of pressure of work, our treasurer, Sanjiv Bendre, feels unable to continue handling our financial affairs from the end of this year. If you feel you can spare a little time to help with the finances please do get in touch, as the London Society needs your help. The treasurer is a member of the Society’s executive committee and the duties would typically include coming into the office twice a month to sign cheques, presenting a monthly financial report to the executive committee and preparing the Society’s annual accounts. Hopefully there is a member out there who will be able to help!

With all good wishes,
Margaret Knights

TheLondonSociety

From the Chairman:

The
London
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