Heritage Open Days – Palely Laura

The Golden Hinde (Heritage Open Days)

The Golden Hinde

I’ve been meaning to visit the Golden Hinde in Southwark for years, but never got round to it, until this year’s Heritage Open Days when I finally got a chance to pay a visit (and for free).

The original Golden Hinde – the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world between 1577 and 1580 – rotted away and eventually broke up some time in the mid-seventeenth century (The best of the remaining timber was made into a chair, known as the ‘Drake chair’, which can be found in the Bodleian Library in Oxford). The current ship, located at St Mary Overie Dock on Bankside, is a full-size reconstruction and was built using traditional methods in Devon, launched in 1973. She has also circumnavigated the world, and has travelled more than 140,000 miles altogether, though she has been based at her current location since 1996.

Below deck on the Golden Hinde

It was fun to wander around the ship, imagining how sailors would have lived and worked on such a craft in the sixteenth century. Costumed guides were also on the ship and entertained the children visiting (as well as adults like me) with stories of life on board. I was particularly grossed out by tales of how the sailors wiped their bottoms, but the kids were delighted!

The water in the dock is currently drained as the ship is undergoing conservation work aimed at preserving it well into the future. Tours of the ship are available, and gigs occasionally take place on board, as well as events such as talks about female pirates to celebrate International Women’s History Month.

Inside the Golden Hinde

FACTS

Address: St Mary Overie’s Dock, Cathedral St, London, SE1 9DE

Website: goldenhinde.co.uk

Opening Hours: Daily 10am-5pm

Price: Visitors aged 3 and over £6, visitors aged 2 and under free, families of 4 £18.

Bow Street Police Museum

On Saturday I paid my first visit to the Bow Street Police Museum, a new museum in Covent Garden. I visited in order to attend a talk, arranged for Heritage Open Days, called Performing Justice: How satire created London’s first police force. The fascinating talk explored how writer Henry Fielding, famous for his satirical plays hugely popular on the London stage, applied his keen mind to the role of Magistrate and ended up founding the Bow Street Runners, sometimes called the first police force. Fielding was fiercely critical of the corrupt court system and endeavoured to stamp out bribery and a good deal of brutality when he was in charge. True, he didn’t challenge capital punishment, which was a feature of the period: but he had sympathy for many criminals and understood how circumstances conspired to leave many feeling they had no choice but to turn to crime.

Gallery from the Magistrates' Court Gallery from the Magistrates’ Court

Trials were held at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, which took place in the building next door: notable figures to be tried here include Oscar Wilde. The museum itself shows how the site developed over the years to become an early police station, with police cells built next to the court and used to house prisoners until the 1990s. Many of the original cells can be visited and they hold objects from the Metropolitan Police Heritage Service and videos featuring former Met officers, stationed in this building, telling their stories.

A police cell

The museum is fascinating and an essential resource to explore the history of policing in London, which is linked to the social history of the city and of Covent Garden. The museum also runs regular talks, and occasional walks and special events.

FACTS

Address: 28 Bow Street, London, WC2E 7AW

Website: bowstreetpolicemuseum.org.uk

Opening Hours: Fri-Sun 11am-4:30pm

Price: Adult £6, concession £4.50, under 12 free

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs (Heritage Open Days)

The dinosaur models in Crystal Palace Park, south London, are fairly well-known. Usually inaccessible, they can be admired from afar, located on an island fenced off from the rest of the park. However, on rare occasions it is possible to get the chance to visit them close-up. I got this chance during this year’s annual Heritage Open Days celebration.

How to find them
I personally found it quite hard to find the dinos – I spent ages walking around Crystal Palace Park, and it was an incredibly hot day which didn’t help – but then again I do have a particularly dreadful sense of direction. They are located by the lakes in the south section of the park near the Penge entrance and the Information Centre.

History
The dinosaurs were the first ever dino models to be created, and for that reason alone are of huge significance. Now Grade 1 listed, they were created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, set in a landscape designed by Joseph Paxton which included geological illustrations by Professor David Ansted. The whole display was created between 1853 and 1855, designed to sit alongside the Crystal Palace, which was relocated from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill following the Great Exhibition of 1851. Waterhouse Hawkins used the latest scientific knowledge and consulted with experts, including paleontologist Richard Owen, to create the sculptures, although several choices he made were naturally educated guesses: our ideas about how dinosaurs looked and acted are still in flux today, and the Victorians had even less to go on than we do.

With this in mind, it is still possible to appreciate how impressive the sculptures are despite what we know about their many inaccuracies. For instance, the nose horns on the Iguanodon models are now known to be thumb spikes, and the Megalosaurus is now believed to have walked on two legs, rather than four.

Famously, Waterhouse Hawkins hosted a ‘Dinner in the Iguanodon’, demonstrating just how large the model of this creature actually is. The dinner took place on New Years’ Eve 1853, and guests dined on Victorian delicacies such as mock turtle soup, whiting and pigeon pie.

Experience
When I finally arrived at the meeting spot, by the gate via which we would cross the bridge to the island, there were lots of people milling around and I felt very lucky to have a ticket: many newcomers had not been aware of the HOD tours and were waiting in hope that a space would be freed up. When it was time to go over, we were taken over the bridge and our guide spoke to us about the various models. The previously-mentioned Iguanodon and Megalosaurus are some of the most impressive, but I also liked the winged Pterosaurs and the spiky-backed Hylaeosaurus. Further towards the lake, ancient marine reptiles such as the Plesiosaur and Ichthyosaur can be found; because it had been a warm summer, the water level in the lake had gone down so it was possible to see more of the models.

We heard about the models, their history and conservation: the models are deteriorating in a number of ways including cracks, paint shedding and vegetation taking up root. Money is being raised to ensure the preservation of these fascinating models.

To find out more, visit cpdinosaurs.org/.

Dino selfie with Tatty Devine dinosaur necklace — I wore my Tatty Devine dinosaur necklace, which seemed appropriate.

The Old Savoy – The home of The Deco Theatre, Northampton (Heritage Open Days)

I had been planning to make a visit to Northampton for two reasons: one to see a friend, and two to see a play. When I realised that my visit would coincide with the annual Heritage Open Days, I decided to make the most of my day and look for a venue to visit.

I decided on the Deco Theatre, which is located on Abington Square. Built in 1935-36, it was designed by William Riddell Glenn (1884-1950). It opened as The Savoy on 2 May 1936, as a cinema with an Art Deco auditorium, and originally seated nearly 2,000 people, with an in-house Compton organ which entertained audience during the interludes.

The cinema closed in 1995, struggling to compete with multiplex cinemas, and was bought by the Jesus Army Charitable Trust (who still use part of the building as the Jesus Centre) in 2000. The Deco (not connected with the Jesus Centre) opened as a local theatre in 2004. Stage Right began running The Deco in 2009, and have gone from strength to strength. Plans are afoot to transform the entrance area and the front of the theatre, removing the cross and replacing it with new signage.

Sign reading 'To Balcony' — Art Deco-style sign in the foyer

Even though I’m not from the area I always enjoy visiting a theatre wherever I am. The Deco’s history is not uncommon, but still fascinating, and the efforts of those who work there to maintain it as a venue are admirable. I wish the theatre all the best for the future.

Orleans House Gallery

I’ve been meaning to visit Orleans House Gallery for some time, and the annual Heritage Open Days event provided the perfect opportunity. The Gallery is situated beside the river at Twickenham, south-west London, in beautiful grounds.

Orleans House Gallery

The Gallery is home to temporary exhibitions in both the main building and the stables. The current exhibition in the main gallery is Collection Curiosities, featuring intriguing pieces from the Richmond Borough Art Collection, and it contains many fascinating works including a picture of the ‘Hammersmith Ghost’ and a necklace of human bones. In the Stables Gallery, the current exhibition explores the work of local artist Roger Hutchins, whose varied output is well worth a look and features many local landmarks.

Upstairs, a study room hosts small permanent exhibitions on the French connection to Orleans House, the explorer Richard Burton (who grew up in the vicinity), and the local area. There are also several paintings on the wall with a local connection or theme, and visitors are invited to comment on them by writing on a luggage tag and sticking it alongside the picture. I really liked this interactive aspect and some of the comments were really amusing.

Because of the Heritage Open Day I was able to take part in a tour of the Gallery, learning about its history along the way. James Johnston, joint Secretary of State for Scotland, commissioned architect John James to build a house in 1710. Ten years later, the Baroque Octagon Room was constructed, designed by the Scottish architect James Gibbs. Both George I and George II visited, and Queen Caroline (wife of George II) and her children dined here in 1729. A dinner menu from this time is still in existence. Louis Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, lived here in exile from 1815-1817, and gave the house the name by which it is now known. He became King of France in 1830, revisiting in 1844 accompanied by Queen Victoria. Louis’s son, Henri, Duc d’Aumale, lived here for nearly two decades from 1852, building a gallery and library next to the house.

The Octagon Room has recently been restored, and along with part of the adjoining building is the only remaining part of the original structure, which was demolished in the early twentieth century. The rest of the site was saved by wealthy local Nellie Ionides, who sounds quite a character – she liked poodles and champagne, and combined her two interests by naming her pet poodles after brands of champagne. In the garden, it is possible to see markers showing where rooms of the house would originally have been located, and there is a model of the site inside.

Nowadays, Orleans House is a successful small gallery running numerous exhibitions and events, and is well worth a visit.

FACTS

Address: Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3DJ

Website: orleanshousegallery.org

Opening Hours: Tues-Sun 10am-5pm

Prices: Free

Places of Worship (Heritage Open Days)

Somehow I ended up visiting several places of worship during Heritage Open Days. It made me realise what a variety of history and culture is contained in them.

I started with a visit to St George’s German Lutheran Church in east London on the first Saturday. This church was built in 1762 for the influx of German immigrants during that time. It’s a beautiful, austere church, and there were information boards explaining the history.

St Margaret's of Lothbury — St Margaret’s of Lothbury

The following week I visited St Margaret Lothbury, which is found in the City. This church was built by Christopher Wren and boasts one of only two screens in the City of London made by English woodworkers.

St Alfege's Church, Greenwich — St Alfege, Greenwich

Next I headed down to Greenwich, to St Alfege’s Church. I’ve been here before to attend concerts, and in fact I got there just in time to enjoy an opera recital before my tour of the crypt – my reason for visiting.

There has been a church on this site for over a thousand years, and the current building by Nicholas Hawksmoor dates from 1718. The crypt was built beneath to store bodies. The floor is higher than it used to be because there are bodies beneath the floor, and other coffins are stored in the bricked-in parts of the crypt.

The most famous of these is probably General Wolfe, mentioned in Hamilton by Aaron Burr as the general who “took a bullet in the neck in Quebec”. During World War II, the crypt was used as an air raid shelter for Greenwich locals.

The London Fo Guang Shan Temple is not far from Oxford Street. It was established in 1992 and is also known as the International Buddhist Progress Society. It is one of two British branches of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Taiwan.

The temple is located in a former parish school and Church House of 1868–70 designed by William Butterfield, which is grade II* listed. I got to watch (and sample) a vegetarian cooking demonstration, and then got a tour of the building, including the spaces for meditation and prayer.

My final visit was to St Giles-in-the-Fields, also known as the Poets Church. Here there was a short theatrical performance, based on the life of Alicia, Duchess of Dudley. Distraught when her husband left her for a younger woman, she resolved to dedicate her life to good works and the education of her five daughters, one of whom is buried in the church. In real life, the Duchess was largely responsible for the rebuilding of the church.

Tomb of Alice's daughter — Tomb of Alicia’s daughter

Buried here are poet Andrew Marvell (of To His Coy Mistress fame) and George Chapman, the first translator of Homer’s Iliad into English, referenced in Keats’ On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer. There is also a pulpit formerly used by Charles Wesley.

Overall, then, a fantastically varied selection of places.

Headstone Manor Museum (Heritage Open Days)

For the second day of my Heritage Open Day adventures, I headed to Headstone Manor, which is just north of where I live, for a tour and a day out.

Headstone Manor site

History

Headstone Manor & Museum is the local history museum for the London Borough of Harrow in northwest London. It was built in around 1310, and was once home to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The house is surrounded by a filled moat, the oldest in Middlesex.

Headstone Manor

After Henry VIII became the head of the Church of England, he took control of the Manor and surrounding lands, eventually selling it to a court favourite. It remained in private ownership, undergoing dramatic changes, extensions and restorations, until it fell into disrepair and was bought by Hendon Rural District Council in 1925. The site was opened as Harrow Museum in 1986, and a restoration programme began in 2004.
The Manor is Grade I listed, and is full of information on the history of Harrow: it has records dating to the year 825.

My Tour

The tour started by the visitor centre, which was built in 2017. We headed into the “Small Barn”, which has a display of rural life in the life of Headstone Manor. We were shown the “Great Barn” (often used for special events) and the 18th-century Granary (moved from a site in Pinner in 1991), before heading into the Manor itself.

Being taken around the house by a guide meant that we had various interesting things pointed out to us, including the joins where extra bits of the house had been added on, graffiti on the outside walls, and uncovered bits of wallpaper. The Great Hall originally extended out into the garden, but most of it was destroyed in a fire. The house also has various displays of historical information and objects, focusing on such varied subjects as the construction of the Metropolitan Railway into Harrow, and cookery book writer Isabella Beeton.

Headstone Manor

After the tour, I was able to take some time to wander around the house at my own pace. It is a fascinating place to visit and free to enter, so well worth the trouble.

Back of the house

FACTS

Address: Headstone Recreation Ground, Pinner View, Harrow, HA2 6PX

Website: headstonemanor.org

Opening Hours: Tues-Sun 10am-4pm

Prices: Free

The House Mill (Heritage Open Days)

House Mill

As part of the annual Heritage Open Days, I headed to the House Mill, somewhere I’ve been meaning to visit for a while. The Mill has a rich history and I was able to enjoy a fascinating guided tour.

House Mill

History

The House Mill is an important but little-known Grade I listed building on the River Lea in Bromley-by-Bow, part of the Three Mills complex. The original tidal mills here date back to the Domesday book of 1086, and the present structure of the House Mill was built in 1776 by Daniel Bisson (after a fire in 1802 it was quickly rebuilt). It is the world’s largest tidal mill, with four water wheels, and was used to mill grain for gin distilleries.

Miller's House

In 1989 work began to restore the House Mill site, which included the rebuilding of the Miller’s House, which had been demolished in the late 1950s after wartime damage. The façade of the house was rebuilt to the 1763 design, and used original eighteenth-century bricks.

My Visit

I turned up in plenty of time for my tour, and we were taken into the mill by our guide. The building which is now the entrance area and cafe originally used to be the house, which is why there are fireplaces on this side, but not in the mill itself. It was very important not to risk fire with so much grain and wood around, and in fact there was actually a fire in 1802.

Inside the mill

We started at the top of the building, where bags of grain were winched up to begin their journey. The natural pressure of the grain pushed it down chutes to the next floor down, where it was ground down. Eighteenth-century machinery sits alongside nineteenth-century examples so it’s possible to see the difference in process.

Milling equipment

At the bottom of the building, we saw the original wheels used in the tidal mill, sadly falling into ruin now. The mill, as well as all other mills on this site, worked when the tide went out, so that they would all share in its power. Here it’s also possible to see the doors through which carts would drop off their sacks of grain, and the ropes that would take them up to the top of the building.

Wheel

The people who work at the House Mill are trying to raise money to restore the mill, starting with the wheels. If you happen to have a spare £500,000, do send it their way!

View from the back of the mill

FACTS

Address: The Miller’s House, Three Mill Lane, London, E3 3DU

Website: housemill.org.uk

Opening Hours: Guided tours of the mill take place every Sunday from May to October (11am-4pm) and on the first Sundays in March, April and December (11am-3.15pm)

Prices: £4

Hetton Historical Walk (Heritage Open Days)

With the onset of September it was time once again for the national Heritage Open Days, which take place each year up and down the country. This year I happened to be at home, but being too lazy to get myself to Newcastle or Durham to check out what was on offer, I ended up only attending one event. This was a historic walk around Hetton-le-Hole, where several members of my family live, grew up and are otherwise associated with.

We met at Hetton Centre, a fairly recent building that happens to be on the site of the old Hetton Hall. The exact date of the Hall’s construction is uncertain but it was built in the classical style. It had become dilapidated by the end of the nineteenth century and was demolished in 1923. We headed to the centre of Hetton, passing the old school house (opened in 1872), before stopping off at the point where the first moving locomotives ran, taking coal from Lyons Colliery to the River Wear.

The street is still named Railway Street, and just beyond there are still sleepers from the Hetton Railway. The line was surveyed by George Stephenson in 1822 and was supervised by his brother Robert. Our guide took us to nearby Fairy Street, and explained that it was so-called because of the large hillock here nicknamed the Fairy Cradle, which supposedly dated from the Iron Age.

We stopped off at the Primitive Methodist Chapel. Primitive Methodism reached Hetton in 1823 and this chapel was opened in 1858. I’ve been here plenty of times over the years for weddings and funerals, but this was the first time I had the chance to look around and take things in from a historical point of view. The church was built entirely by the miners. Interestingly, there used to be a public house attached to the church – not owned by it, just next door – somewhat ironic as Methodists are teetotal!

Heading beyond down the road we ended up in a part of town I’d never seen before, and a beautiful though rather run-down building, the former Pavilion Theatre and Cinema, built by Ralph Barton in 1909. The first manager was Linden Travers, father of the actor Bill Travers.

We then stopped at the site of the former Anglican church, now sadly reduced to rubble. A nearby house (Laburnum House) has a blue plaque with details about Nicholas Wood, friend and colleague of George Stephenson, co-founder of the Institute of Mining, and partner in the Hetton Coal Company from 1844, whose grave is in the nearby churchyard.

Nicholas Wood's blue plaque — Nicholas Wood’s blue plaque

Nicholas Wood's grave — Nicholas Wood’s grave

Crossing the road, we passed the Wesleyan Chapel in Front Street (built in 1824) then ventured towards the oldest part of town, taking in Hetton House, one of the oldest houses in the town, dating from approximately the 1720s and bought by the Lyon family (the Earls of Strathmore) in 1746. The house has two extensions, one dating from the 19th century and one from the 20th. It was most recently used as council offices and closed in 2010. Nearby is the former Standard Theatre, built in 1874. It was converted to a bus garage in 1916.

The tour ended in style as we stopped at the 18th-century Old Smithy which has recently opened up for occasional open days once again. I really enjoyed the tour and I learned a lot.