Architecture Group Visit - Day Trip to Brighton, Wednesday, 24th April, 9:30 am to 4.30pm

Wednesday, 24 April, 9:35 am or 9.45 am trains leave London Bridge for Brighton.

Meeting at 11.00 am at WH Smith, Brighton Station so that we can walk together to 13 Brunswick Square, Brighton BN3 1EH. This is a 25-30 minute walk.

Join us for our first day out travelling to Brighton for a four-part visit: 

• 11.30 am to 1 pm: We will have a guided tour by Nick Tyson, the curator at The Regency Town House, a building of the 1820s by architect Charles Busby.  

• 1.30 to 2.30 pm: Lunch at Bankers Fish and Chips, 116A Western Rd, Brighton BN1 2AB 

• 3 pm: Visit to Embassy Court, of 1935 by architect Wells Coates, Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 2P 

• Walk back towards Brighton train station spotting some of the other landmarks and public spaces in town. 

The Regency Town House at 13 Brunswick Square, is a grade I listed terraced home in the heart of Brunswick Town, a Georgian estate in the City of Brighton & Hove. Built in the 1820s, the Town House is today being developed as a heritage centre and museum, with a focus on the local architecture and social history between 1780s and 1840s. Our visit will include nearby no.10, which is currently being restored to its former glory by specialists and our team of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers.  

Embassy Court is an eleven-storey block of flats on the Brighton seafront, designed by Wells Coates and completed in 1935. It is amongst the most outstanding examples of pre-war Modernism in the UK, and has a grade II listed status. This beautiful, elegantly proportioned building contains seventy-three flats with direct sea views and is considered by many to be one of the coolest places to live in Britain. Its sculptural staircase and balconies echo Coates’ other building of 1934, the Isokon in Hampstead.    

Tickets £20 available from Eventbrite. Travel and lunch is to be paid individually and separately.  

Click on the link to go directly to the booking page.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-group-day-visit-to-brighton-tickets-837439322557?aff=oddtdtcreator

Numbers are limited. If you book a place and find that you are unable to come, please notify the Blackheath Society Office or Ana Sutherland. Email: office@blackheath.org

Architecture Group Visit to Stiff + Trevillion Architects Studio

Wednesday, 20 March

Meeting at 16 Woodfield Road, London W9 2BE, a 5-10 minute walk from Westbourne Park Station (Hammersmith & City Line)

Stiff +Trevillion practice was founded in 1981 and is now a 65 large studio working across all areas. Join us for a visit led by founding partner Michael Stiff to learn more about who they work and the exciting projects they have been involved with lately.

Stiff+Trevillion aims to design elegant, human-centered architecture that stands the test of time working with clients, artisans, builders and bureaucrats to create tangible, three-dimensional outcomes. Their work aims to be confident, unpretentious and tasteful, using simple materials in a painterly way to sit with poise within its context. In the face of the climate emergency, Stiff+Trevillion sees the best action as architects is to make that change through their work, building on the fundamentals of volume and light, minimizing waste and putting the existing fabric first.

Tickets £10 available from Eventbrite. Click on the link to go directly to the booking page.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-group-visit-to-stiff-trevillion-offices-tickets-837566884097?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join other members for a drink and/or a meal at The Princess of Wales, Blackheath. An opportunity to chat with other members. No need to book, join us.

Thursday, 29 February, 11am

Meeting at 10 Stock Orchard Street, London N7 9RW, a 5 minute walk from Caledonian Road Station (Piccadilly Line)

Join us for a visit to the pioneering Straw Bale House by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects.

First built in 2001 the building was recently upgraded. Today, the building is approaching its 25‑year anniversary, and its designers Sarah Wigglesworth and Jeremy Till – who are also its residents – continue to openly embrace its unresolvedness; a few years ago, they retrofitted their famous green building.

Stock Orchard Street is a jigsaw of bio‑based, reused and self‑made components. Around the house, the famous ‘hairy ’walls comprise stacks of 550 Cotswold barley straw bales, inside a slim timber frame and ventilated steel rainscreen – this allows moisture to escape, protecting the bales from rot. Some 1,700 sandbags form the wall adjacent to the nearby railway line, cushioning the sound of the trains.

The mixed-use complex is occupied by the practice’s studio as well as being Sarah and Jeremy’s home. The conference room, for example, doubles as a dining room. With home and office adjacent to one another, the walk to work is through a couple of doors. It represents an ecological, grounded and resilient way of life in the city.

The visit will be led by Jeremy Till.

Tickets £10 available form Eventbrite. Click on the link to go directly to the booking page.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-visit-to-the-bale-house-islington-tickets-768900962477

Join us for a fascinating zoom in which Professor Alan Downie will reveal the mystery surrounding the death of Christopher Marlowe. Why was Marlowe in Deptford? Was he a spy? Why was he killed? Or did he not die at all but lived to write ‘Shakespeare’s’ plays? Was Marlowe a friend or rival of Shakespeare?

Professor Downie from Goldsmiths College, University of London, an authority on Marlowe’s life, will reveal all.

Members will be sent the link to join the zoom or please contact the office

Meeting at The Studios, 8 Royal Street, London SE1 7LL, a 15 min walk from Waterloo East Railway Station

Join us for a visit to the award-winning architect’s studio and the adjacent Waterloo City Farm.

The studio is designed as a demountable structure, built of a Douglas fir timber frame clad with corrugated Onduline bitumen sheets. The materials are redolent of agricultural building forms, reinterpreted for its actual purpose to house an emerging team of architects.

Waterloo City Farm is a community farm located on a previously unused strip of land adjacent to the studios. The first phase of the pro-bono scheme provided a series of timber-framed animal pens to house the farm’s pigs, sheep and chickens, a composting toilet, planting areas and two polytunnels. A large timber framed barn was built as part of the second phase to provide the farm with much-needed educational facilities.

The site, which is owned by Guy’s and St Thomas ’Hospital, has been developed as a meanwhile use and all the buildings on the site have been designed to be demountable, allowing it to be taken down and reconstructed on a new site once its time on this one comes to an end.

The visit will be led by one of the team.

Tickets £10 available from Eventbrite. Please click on the link to go directly to the booking page.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-visit-to-feilden-fowles-architects-waterloo-city-farm-tickets-768956488557

January shake up!

Enjoy a short walk with other members led by Jonathan Causer around the vicinity of Canon Street station and Walbrook. Visit the stunning altar at St Stephens Church, St Mary Abchurch and more.

Meet at the plumber’s statue by Platforms 5-7 in Canon Street Station at 10.15.

Tickets £5. Please book your place via Eventbrite.com. Click the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/walking-walbrook-with-the-blackheath-society-tickets-763987135087?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join other members for a social occasion. Chat, drink and/or eat at the Princess of Wales, Blackheath Village. Come and join us.

Alan Terrill, the web master for The Folly Fellowship, will define a folly then tell us more with some history he will illustrate all the different types (Towers, grottoes, ruins etc). This will include Severndroog Castle on Shooter’s Hill and a less well known folly in Forest Hill. He will end with a glimpse of follies built by himself.  

This will be timely inspiration for those landscape gardeners among us.

Members will be sent the link to join the zoom.

Join us for this very special visit.

Founded in 1947. His Majesty’s Mounted Ceremonial Battery, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery role includes the firing of Royal Salutes to mark the grand occasions of State, including The King’s Birthday Parade, Royal Birthdays and Births. 

We will watch the Troop conduct a practice parade and then have a tour of the lines with a trip into the forge, saddlers and tailors. The exact programme is subject to change but will be interesting and enjoyable. A very special occasion.

Meet at 8.50am at The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery , King George VI Lines, Repository Road, Woolwich, LONDON, SE18 4BB.

Numbers are limited so please reserve your place through Margaret Drummond who is kindly organising the event. Margaret’s email address is, drummond_margaret@hotmail.com A suggested donation of £5 to the King’s Troop on the day.

Come and join the Christmas celebrations in the Village. We have two Christmas trees this year!

(Montpelier Vale, the slip road by Everest Inn, will be closed all weekend.)

Montpelier Vale from midday will be hosting a classic car show alongside music, mulled wine and the Blackheath Morris Dancers.

At 1.00pm Blackheath Creatives Pop Up and Cafe will be Lantern making, Face painting and making Santa Hats. Join the fun and join the Vintage Trail.

At 4.00 Torch Light Procession will be led by All Saint’s School Choir from Montpelier Vale to the Crown for the Switch On Ceremony. Bring your torch and join the carol singing.

Events at The Crown begin with music at 3 pm with singer Peter Savison, the Blackheath Morris Dancers and Carol Singing. Mulled Wine will be served.

The Grand Switch on Ceremony begins at 4.20 and will be lead by The Chairman of the Blackheath Society, Paul Watts. Father Nicholas of All Saint’s Church will give The Christmas Blessing. Actor Nicholas Day will roll in the Christmas spirit and lead the Count Down for switching on the Christmas Lights of the Christmas tree in Tranquil Vale.

After the ceremony Laurence O Band will play in the Crown Garden.

At 8.30 The Amelia Duo will be playing guitar and ukelalie, their own music and covers. They will perform inside the Crown.

Mary’s Living and Giving are holding A Christmas Designer Event. Goodie Bags, prosseco, mince pies and more when you go shopping at their store.

All Saint’s School Choir will being singing outside Shepherd’s Supermarket from 3.30 in aid of Lewisham Food Bank before they lead the procession from Montpelier Vale to The Crown for the grand Christmas Light Switch on ceremony.

The two Christmas Trees have been donated by Jimmy Botton Family Funfair. Thank you.

Bring a torch and join us.

CORK HOUSE by Nimtim Architects

Wednesday 29th November, 10 - 11.45 am

Meeting at 67 Algernon Road SE13 7AS, a 10 min walk from Lewisham Railway Station

The striking use of cork both inside and outside and the use of cheerful colour elements are some of the key attractive points in this unique extension and loft conversion project.  Completed in 2019, it was a process of co-creation with the clients and shortlisted for the AJ Small Projects award.

Commenting on the use of cork, Nimtim stated: ‘The extension is clad internally and externally with cork that complements the existing brickwork on the original house and will weather to a silvery-grey over time. The cork achieves all required u-vales without the need for any additional expanded foam insulation. It absorbs noise internally, is breathable, free from synthetic resins, chemicals or harmful materials and is fully compostable/ recyclable.’

 The visit will be led by Nimi or Allie, practice directors. Both the architect and the owners will be available for questions.  

Tickets £10 from Eventbrite. Click the link to go directly to the booking page. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-group-visit-to-cork-house-in-lewisham-tickets-738838845877?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join other members for a drink or lunch at our informal meet up at the Princess of Wales pub in Blackheath. No need to book, just come.

David Whittaker, society member and long time resident of Maidenstone Hill will repeat, but a shorter version, his walk full of surprises. The Hill is a well known topographical feature north of Blackheath Hill, but exists now only as a road name. Over the years the area has seen many changes, it has been an important source for building materials some of which have had unfortunate results. The area housed the Pest House, Workhouse and a Plague Pit. We will locate the homes of interesting past residents and businesses. Needless to say there are some tragic stories to be told.

Meet at 10.00 at The Banana Tree (formely Cafe Rouge), Stockwell Street, Greenwich for coffee.

Please book your place through Eventbrite, link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-walk-talk-maidenstone-hill-revealed-tickets-687373431437?aff=oddtdtcreator

Meet at Talbot Place Play Area.

Join our team of volunteers to help keep the Heath clean and tidy. Every year the Society teams up to support Lewisham and Glendale colleagues, in their efforts to keep the Heath tidy, for an annual special Clean Up.

We will be issued with appropriate gear (but you may want to bring your own gloves) and rewarded with tea. Another good idea is to bring your own reusable cup.

Meet at 2pm at Talbot Place by the new play area.  We are keen to show our support with as big a turnout as possible.

A unique opportunity to visit a striking house with arguably the best view in London. Facing the Royal Naval College Buildings and an ever-changing river view of passing boats, open sky,  Greenwich Park beyond.  

The project was conceived by Dr Michael and Jenny Barraclough, and designed by Stout and Litchfield in the 1970s, as the starting point for a self-build community on the Isle of Dogs.

Originally envisaged a development of up to 44 homes on the plot, only four homes – three houses and a flat – were built. These are now listed, as is other work by Stout and Litchfield. The Barraclough family went on to make a very active contribution to the local community including the development of Mudchute farm.  

Meet at the exit from the Brunnel Foot Tunnel at 9.45 on Island Gardens.

Tickets £10. Please book your place through Eventbrite. Click the following link to take you directly to the booking page. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-visit-to-ferry-street-tickets-736461866267?aff=oddtdtcreator

Images copyright Historic England  

Jonathan Causer, Society member will lead a walk with a very compact compass near the Piazza, covering the area’s history, some nuns, some prostitutes, one murder, two actors, two painters, two poets, too many policemen and more.  Inspiration, aspiration, desperation and perspiration.

Meet under the portico of St Paul's church in the Piazza, and we will finish at Russell Street.

Tickets £5 .

We now make this small charge for our Walk & Talk Events, instead of asking for a donation at the beginning of the walk.

Please reserve your place via the Eventbrite link

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-members-walk-in-covent-garden-tickets-687192610597?aff=oddtdtcreator

Paul Wright, Blackheath Society member, and guests will give a talk on some of the famous (and not so famous) residents of the churchyard of the old St Margaret's Church, Lee. Hear about a Restoration actress, the lutenist at the Court of Queen Anne of Denmark, the parachutist who fell to Earth, the claimant in an infamous eighteenth century aristocratic dispute and of course Edmund Halley and the local dignitaries for whom Dacre Park and Fludyer Street were named. The talk will be richly illustrated with a musical interlude.

Time & Place: 7 for 7.30pm at St Margaret’s Church, London SE13 5DL. This is at the junction of Lee Terrace and Brandram Road, Blackheath.

Non resident street parking is available in the area after 7pm.

Tickets £15 include wine, from Eventbrite use the following link

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/forgotten-neighbours-tales-from-old-st-margarets-churchyard-tickets-676030123297?aff=oddtdtcreator

Come and join other members at the Blackheath pub the Princess of Wales for a lunchtime drink and chat. Everyone welcome, perhaps bring a friend, no need to book. See you then.

Ana Sutherland, local architect and member of the Blackheath Society will lead two tours, morning and afternoon, of the Span Houses of the Cator estate as part of the Open House Neighbourhood Festival. The first tour will be from 10.00 am to 12.00 and Ana will repeat the walk from 3.00 to 5.00pm.

Most of the buildings on the walk faced major opposition when first built. Today, as modern architecture is celebrated and more widely recognised, they form a unique group of architectural treasures that contribute to the rich historic fabric of this area of Blackheath.

The walk features buildings from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, by a number of architects including four who were particularly prolific in the area: Eric Lyons, Patrick Gwynne, Peter Moro and Walter Greaves. We will cover both developer-led housing - Span estates - and bespoke houses, as well as one public building, St Michael’s Church Hall. 

We are very fortunate that we will be able to visit the inside of two or three of the Span houses during the walk. Ana’s book, Tradition of Change, Modern Buildings in Blackheath and Greenwich 1950-2000 will be published later in 2023.  

Please book you place for one of these interesting walks through the Open House website.

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR!     

In association with the Greenwich Historical Society, we are delighted to present ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR! a presentation by Horatio Blood.

Horatio Blood is the Secretary of the Greenwich Historical Society and Neil Rhind the Vice President. It is as a gesture of grateful thanks for all of Neil's support and endeavours for GHS over the years that there is no charge for this Event. Please note however to secure a place, registration is required via Eventbrite using the link below.

Greenwich Fair was held twice a year at Easter and Whitsun, hordes of pleasure seekers descended upon Greenwich by road, river and rail for three days of rumbustious revelry.The glorious heyday of the fair was the 1830s when the enormous favourite fixtures of Richardson's Theatre and the Crown and Anchor Dancing Booth held court. The unrivalled attractions included menageries, swingboats, the first roundabout in England, Punch and Judy, waxworks, gingerbread, tumbling, roley poley, drink and debauchery.

Drawing upon a wealth of literary material and pictorial imagery, Young Blood evokes ALL THE FUN OF GREENWICH FAIR from its obscure origins to its eventual suppression in 1857. This is the tale of PLEASURE FOR THE PEOPLE being suppressed by the Snobbery, Priggery, Bigotry, Religiosity, Hypocrisy and Respectability of the Establishment who thought they knew better. Oh no they didn’t! False noses and silly hats are encouraged. BE IN TIME!

Admission free: Please register to reserve your place via Eventbrite using the following link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/all-the-fun-of-the-fair-tickets-675903273887?aff=oddtdtcreator

Time & Place: 7 for 7.30pm in The Nelson Room, at the Trafalgar Tavern, Park Row, Greenwich, SE10 9NW

Join other members for this popular informal gathering for a drink and/or lunch at the Princess of Wales pub Blackheath. This event goes from strength to strength, come and join us.

A visit to the redevelopment of a 1930’s former furniture warehouse in Hackney by Ian Chalk Architects.

Using CLT panels and glulam beams, the existing four-storey building has been extended to include a new building over the yard as well as a new studio space on the top floor of the main building.

Conceived as a workshop and event space, the new floor level was been designed to promote collaboration featuring a flexible, column free space with four rows of 10m long, north-light, windows maximizing indirect light. To the side of the existing building, a lightweight CLT extension complementing the new sawtooth roof structure sits over the original yard, creating light-filled space for meetings, alongside a new stair and lift core and a new covered entrance to the building.

The project was the winner of the 2022 AJ Retrofit Awards and the 2021 Structural Timber Awards and has been shortlisted for consideration of various RIBA awards.

Tickets £10 available from Evenbrite

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-group-visit-to-chart-street-studios-tickets-637333179697

The studios are an 8 minute walk from Old Street Tube station, Northern Line from London Bridge.

Join members at the London Mithraeum, Walbrook, and afterwards at the Roman Ampitheatre under the Guildhall.

The Temple of Mithras was originally constructed around AD240, and was first discovered in 1952. The remains are now part of an exciting immersive experience of the temple, in its original location, beneath the Bloomberg building at 12 Walbrook, London EC4N 8AA. There are remarkable Roman artefacts, illustrations and storyboards to accompany the exhibit.

The entrance hall contains a changing art display, at present the stunning ceramics of Oliver Beer in his work entitled ALBION WAVES.

Admission is free. To join other members, please book your ticket for the 10.30 slot through www.londonmithraeum.com. They require the QR code that comes on each ticket.

We can follow this visit whilst in the Classical mood by a trip to London's Roman Ampitheatre not far away at the Guildhall. There is no need to book for the Ampitheatre. You are welcome to decide on the day.

Travel tip: The London Mithraeum is in Walbrook street which is directly opposite Cannon Street station. The Mithraeum is on the left hand side of Walbrook Street, opposite Waitrose Local. If you would like a coffee before the visit, Liz will be at Birley Sandwich cafe, Walbrook Street, from 10 o’clock onwards. See you there.

Join us for a glass of wine and the AGM, 7 for 7.30 pm at St Mary’s Hall, Cresswell Park, SE3.

Details to be announced.

David Whittaker, Blackheath Society member and long time resident of Maidenstone Hill will lead a fascinating walk round an area that was a well known topographical feature north of Blackheath Hill, but exists now only as a road name. Over the years the area has seen many changes, it has been an important source for building materials some of which have had unfortunate results. The area housed the Pest House, Workhouse and a Plague Pit. Needless to say there are some tragic stories to be told. We will locate the homes of interesting past residents.

Meet at 10.15 at Cafe Rouge, Stockwell Street, Greenwich for coffee and an introduction to the area.

Please book your place through Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-members-walk-talk-maidenstone-hill-revealed-tickets-593131912517

There is no charge for this walk, but donations to the Blackheath Society will be requested on joining the walk.

Join us for a talk on Walter Gropius by author Magnus Englund and Leyla Daybelge.

 Walter Gropius, the architect, designer, and visionary founder of the Bauhaus School was one of the most influential pioneers of International Modernism. By his own reckoning, this 20th Century Renaissance man lived three distinct lives. His “first life” in Germany, as a young architect and Director of the legendary Bauhaus school of design and architecture, is widely known. His “third life” in America as head of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard and a founding member of the 'The Architects Collaborative' (TAC) partnership, where he inspired an international dynasty of younger architects and built controversial projects, such as New York’s Pan Am building, is also well documented.

But Gropius’ “second life”, the years between 1928 and 1937 have often been unfairly overlooked. Hounded out of the Dessau Bauhaus by Right Wing forces, he took a road trip across Jazz-Age America before setting up as an independent architect in an increasingly hostile, Nazi-dominated Berlin. During this period, he designed furniture, cars, important high-rise housing developments and even an unrealized Palace of the Soviets in Moscow, before fleeing to London. There he lived as a penniless exile, at the centre of England’s artistic avant-garde, leaving a small handful of private architectural commissions and developing ideas, which would inform his later American practice.

 Leyla Daybelge and Magnus Englund, authors of Walter Gropius, An Illustrated Biography, published by Phaidon in October 2022, explore the legacy of Walter Gropius’ life between two worlds. Daybelge and Englund also co-authored the 2019 book Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain, and are both trustees of the Isokon Gallery Trust. They have delivered dozens of highly acclaimed lectures on Isokon and Walter Gropius, both in Britain, across Europe and in the US.

 7 for 7.30pm at St Michael’s Church, Pond Road, Blackheath, SE3

Tickets £10, discount for students, includes a glass of wine, from Eventbrite.

Magnus will have signed copies of his book for sale on the evening.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackheath-society-architectural-group-lecture-on-walter-gropius-tickets-591468246447