H Newsletter of the Ealing Branch: issue 42 January 2015
www.ealinghistory.org.uk
N.B. If you are receiving this newsletter by Royal Mail, please consider providing us with your email
address for future correspondence as it saves money, and allows us to keep you updated with
Association events more regularly. Please be assured that email addresses are not circulated to
other members or other organisations. Philip.woods@tiscali.co.uk
1. Our Forthcoming Programme
10 February at 7.30 – James Wisdom , ‘Museums, Mansions and Landscape The History and the Restoration of the Gunnersbury Park estate’.
James Wisdom has been active for many years, not only in researching and
publishing on Chiswick’s local history, but also in defending that heritage for
posterity. He was the founder chairman of the Friends of Gunnersbury Park
and Museum in 1981. For many years he has been a tireless advocate for
Gunnersbury, helping to create conservation plans, lobbying councillors, fundraising to support the museum, and physically working on restoration projects.
He was also a founder member and later chairman of the Friends of Chiswick
House.
10 March
Professor Nigel Saul, ‘The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta’
14 April
Professor Robert Bickers, 'The Scramble for China’
12 May
Dr Tim Mason ‘Edward Jenner and the Smallpox vaccination’
9 June
Professor John Young ‘Britain and the First World War- 1914’
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at the Parlour of Ealing Green Church, W5
5QT. Please note that during the first half of 2015, while renovations are taking place in the
church) the entrance to the Parlour will be around the corner in the Grove via Hollinser
Terrace. (turn right before you reach road barriers at the Grove).
2. Forthcoming Guided Visits
1. To the City Road area of London to visit the Bunhill Fields burial ground, Wesley’s House and the
Museum of Methodism on Saturday 7 March. We’ll meet at Old Street station (City branch of the
Northern Line) at 10.30 am. Cost £10 per head payable on the day. As the burial ground authorities
limit groups to a maximum of 10, those interested are requested to book early and also to be sure to
let us know if they have subsequently to drop out in case we have a waiting list. Contact Colin
Emmins: colin.emmins@btinternet.com or 020 89984345 or sign up at our next meeting.
2. Visit to Antwerp 29 May to 1 June – Through the travel firm Golden Compass we have arranged a
very interesting and reasonably priced trip to Antwerp.
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We will stay at the Central Hotel, Antwerp, a three star hotel right opposite the central station with
meals taken in its restaurant: b & b plus two dinners, with half day walking tour of the city with
guide on the Saturday morning.
At the price of £320 per head sharing; single supplement £60
Travel details by Eurostar
Going out on the Friday: St Pancras 10.58 – Brussels arr 1405 dep 14.27 – Antwerp arr 15.21;
returning on the Monday Antwerp 14.24 – Brussels arr 15.10 dep 15.56 – arr St Pancras 16.57.
As there is a minimum number required for this trip, please contact Colin Emmins for any details and
let him know by 31 January if you would like to join the group. colin.emmins@btinternet.com or 020
89984345
3. Minutes of AGM – Tuesday 13th January 2015 at Ealing Green Church
Eighteen members were present. They were welcomed by the Chair Peter Hounsell.
He explained that it had been intended to begin with a presentation by pupils of the Alec Reed
Academy on their researches into local involvement in the First World War. Unfortunately it had to
be postponed because of the bus strike that day but would hopefully be re-arranged to a later
meeting
Apologies received from Harry & Elizabeth Chambers, Philip Woods, Rodney Reid and Liz Wood.
1.
Minutes of the AGM of the 10th December 2013 were taken as read and were approved. No
matters arose therefrom which were not discussed under subsequent items.
2. The Treasurer’s written report was circulated. At the end of the financial year there was a
surplus of £1,883.10 and as at end November a surplus of £2,474.60 The report was approved.
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The Secretary’s written report was circulated. He referred to the increase in numbers attending
meetings and the ideas behind the choice of the season’s speakers. He made his usual appeal
for ideas for talks. The report was approved.
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The Chair’s report was circulated. He referred to the success of season’s book sales at the HA
national conference and at Brentfest, on which the association’s finances heavily depended. He
also referred to his efforts to engage local schools in the HA activities which had met with some
success. The report was approved.
5.
Election of officers and Committee Members
The following were re- elected by unanimous agreement;
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Publicity Officer
- Peter Hounsell
- Peter Crane
- Pierre Thomas
– Philip Woods
There were no nominations for Refreshments officer. The Chair asked for members to
consider volunteering for the not very onerous position.
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Committee members - Colin Emmins, Elizabeth Sunley, Harriet Turner and Liz Wood were
re-elected unanimously. Russell Davies was elected as a new
member.
6.
Outings 2015.
Colin Emmins and Elizabeth Sunley had agreed to organise outings for 2015. Colin
announced two;
- City walk to Bunhill Fields and surrounding area – 7th March
- Weekend trip to Antwerp between 29th May and 1st June.
Full details would be circulated by email.
7.
Subscription. Agreed this should be maintained at £12 per annum to cover the season Sept.
2014 to June 2015.
Another Other Business. No matters were raised.
8.
At the conclusion of the meeting the Chair presented Colin Emmins with a certificate recording his
nomination as a Fellow of the Historical Association in recognition of his many years of service to the
organisation. The presentation was acclaimed by the meeting. (see further information below).
There followed a social event and a quiz organised by the Chair.
Pierre Thomas, January 2015
4. Treasurers Report for the Year Ending 30 June 2014
The accounts for this year were presented to headquarters shortly after the date required and
nothing has been heard from them to suggest any problems and on the contrary we have received
the quota for 2014/2015 from headquarters for £224.
The opening balance brought forward from the year commencing 1 July 2013 £1756.65 which was
£20 less than the previous year. For the period from 1 July 2013 until the end of the financial year in
June 2014 the income received was as follows: –






payments from members over the year
quota from headquarters
books
refreshments
monthly meetings
excursions
£300
£210
£374.50
£56.42
£216.90
£55
Total
£1212.82
The expenses for the same period were as follows: –





administration (printing, stationery, postage and expenses)
rent
lecturers expenses
publicity
excursions
£450.09
£292.00
£168.80
£97.00
£81.44
Total
£1089.33
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The closing balance for the year was £1883.10. We are therefore £126.45 up on last year. This is
encouraging particularly bearing in mind the amount spent on lecturers. Previously payments have
been minimal but it does appear that more and more speakers require a fee. Fortunately we are in a
position to make the payments to attract speakers of high quality.
The amount that is currently in the bank as at 21 November 2014 is £2474.60. It will be appreciated
that rent and certain other expenses will have to be deducted from this sum.
5. Book review: Jonathan Oates & Peter Hounsell, Ealing: A Concise History
(Amberley: Stroud: 2014) £12.99
If this newsletter had been published in time for Christmas, I would have recommended this short
history of Ealing as a present for resident friends. It is well-written packed with information, and has
plenty of illustrations. As the second author is our Ealing HA chairman, I must be careful what I say,
but as it is difficult to judge which of the authors is responsible for different parts of the book, I am
probably safe. Both are prolific writers on local history. Jonathan Oates is the Borough Archivist and
Local History Librarian, and it is one of Ealing’s positives that it maintains these roles.
This brings one to a recurring theme of the book- Ealing’s status as ‘Queen of Suburbs’. This epithet
derived from the 1920s, partly based on the large number of parks, open spaces and tree-lined
streets. Ealing had the attraction of being a suburb with good transport links into London, good
housing, schools, churches and sports facilities. Today, few people would describe Ealing in this way.
To some extent, it seemed to rest on its laurels and to fall behind neighbouring leafy suburbs like
Richmond and Kingston. The decline might be reflected in the retail sector where, despite the heroic
efforts of civic campaigners to avoid a disastrous redevelopment plan in the 1970s for the Broadway
shopping centre, Ealing has really struggled to maintain the quality of its high street, especially in
competition with the Westfield complex at Shepherds Bush. There is something of a revival, for
instance in the number of new hotels on the Uxbridge Road, perhaps in anticipation of the
completion of Crossrail at the end of this decade.
The book concentrates on W5 and W13, which is probably sensible considering the word limit, but
means that the problems of areas like Hanwell, Southall, Greenford and Acton are not covered in the
book. If Ealing has struggled to maintain the quality of its high street these outliers have had an even
tougher time. Considering Ealing’s many advantages, it is surprising how many of its institutions
have failed to maintain a high status. It is almost unbelievable that Ealing, home of the world
famous studios, should have been without a cinema for so many years- the skeletal façade of the old
cinema in the Uxbridge Road standing as a shaming reminder of the failure of the council to ensure
the completion of this project. Ealing’s ugly hospital is shunned by some who have the luxury of
choice. State secondary schools in the borough as a whole have rarely shone in league tables.
Ealing’s higher education institution, which changes its name at regular intervals, for long languished
near the bottom of university league tables (though it now seems to be reviving on the basis of good
employability figures). The tertiary college suffers similar problems of historic poor management,
exacerbated by ever-changing Government policies and funding cuts. Ealing’s Council has alternated
between the two main political parties but hasn’t been able to achieve the pioneering vision that
marked out Ealing in the nineteenth century, the era of Charles Jones and others.
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Ealing badly needs a decent arts centre to include cinema and theatre provision. It needs more
varied provision of shops, to allow smaller, independent shops to thrive as is beginning to happen to
some extent in the High Street, south of the old post office. The strength of Ealing lies in its vibrant
and diverse population. It has become a magnet for East European workers, many of whom seem to
be in the 20-35 age group. It will be good if they can be attracted to stay here, to integrate fully into
the local community, and contribute to a more dynamic and improved Ealing. This book shows how
many organisations there are in Ealing which try to protect its historic legacy, patch up its current
failings and maintain a civic pride. More power to them.
The book could have done with an index and some of the illustrations are a bit drab but otherwise it
is a book to recommend. Hopefully, Peter will be offering discounted copies to HA members at
future meetings!
Philip Woods
6. Award for Colin Emmins
Colin received the Historical Association’s Jubilee
Fellowship award from Peter Hounsell at the recent AGM.
Colin has been a member of the HA for 56 years, and has
served as both chairman and secretary of the Ealing
branch. In more recent years he has used his business
experience and love of books to the benefit of the branch’s
finances by establishing regular second-hand book sales.
Thanks to Colin we now have a regular presence at the
annual Historical Association conference and also at the
Brentford Festival. Colin is now helping to organise our
guided visits, both in the London area and, more
ambitiously, to the continent. The award is due
recognition of the very valuable services that Colin has
given to the branch and to the Historical Association.
Colin receives the award from Peter Hounsell
Philip Woods Newsletter Editor, 6 Elm Crescent, W5 3JW. philip.woods@tiscali.co.uk
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