Merry May Days & Jolly Jaunts in June

Before the Whitsun half term, pupils and staff in Year 5 at Gascoigne school went on riverside tours along the Roding to find out more about Barking’s fishing history and received maps and photos of Barking’s past from Valence House Archives & Local Studies Library as well as plans of the new Gascoigne developments from Be First. The old photos, maps and new plans were used to create models of Barking in the past and the present. The Barking Heritage Project had lottery funding available for some of the materials for the model making and the pupils did an amazing job! Under the guidance of Ms Cole-Davis, the history leader at Gascoigne, the pupils displayed their remarkable reconstructions at the end of May. Ms Cole-Davis declared the exhibition a success, saying, ‘The children presented well and there was positive feedback from the staff, pupils and parents.’ Photographs show the impressive models and information that were on display and the general public will be able to view these for themselves at the Phoenix Park opening event (which has been postponed until late July). The Barking Heritage Volunteers and myself are really looking forward to seeing these reconstructions of Barking’s past and comparing them with models of the current estate as well as finding out more about the future plans for the Gascoigne area of Barking.

Meanwhile two of the heritage volunteers Alex and Sue have been crafting a heritage walk for the Gascoigne Estate. They have been researching the history of this unique site and have been rambling along the Roding River and through the streets of the Gascoigne area over several weeks now, as they put together a tour of historical sites for local residents to find out more about the locality and inspire them to share their own memories and stories of the local area. An inaugural Gascoigne Heritage Walk will take place on the afternoon of the opening of the Phoenix Park on Abbey Road – the new Pocket Park, co-designed by: residents and landscape architects, the client, maintenance teams and the contractor, and funded by Be First and Wates. The park has the honour of being featured in the London Festival of Architecture this year! The Barking Heritage project are delighted to have booked a place at the opening event with the Heritage Walk (which people will be able to book onto in advance and on the day) and hosting a stall - with opportunities to discuss old photographs of the area and themes of: work, leisure, schooling, play, fizzy drinks and other treats and refreshments enjoyed in Barking… We will be gathering memories to share on the new digital heritage & storytelling trail of Gascoigne which will be added to the Street Tag App, with support from Seun Oshinaike and the digital design team at Digi Lab and funding from Pen to Print, as well as our own lottery funding. The Barking Town Centre digital heritage trail for Street Tag & Pen to Print launched in May and we hope to have the Gascoigne trail ready for September.

On the other side of the borough Valence House Museum, the heritage volunteers were finally able to revisit the Archives and Local Studies Library to return to their research of the area. We were covering topics such as the history of Transport, the Gascoigne Estate, St Margaret’s Vicarage in Ripple Road, East Street, Austin’s Timber Works (built on the site of Hewitt’s Wharf) along the Roding and the Bascule Bridge and tram route over the Roding to Beckton… Felicity is producing a great addition to our Stories Behind the Stores feature on the latter topic!

Meanwhile our commissioned artists Jake Attewell and Tamara Fround have been planning engagement activities. Jake has been working with the Gascoigne Residents Forum to create a design to transform the hoardings at Phoenix Park and even joined a few of us to help get the Pocket Park ready for opening – by painting inside the park… Tamara will be working with St Margaret’s School in June, where Year 5 pupils will find out all about the history of Protest in Barking and produce design ideas for Tamara’s mosaics around the base of the Three Lamps, on Abbey Green, close to their school, where in the past, protestors would meet to demand change!

Entrance to Phoenix Park which will be transformed by 'Itaewon' and the GRF Three Lamps, Broadway - site of 'protest' mosaics designed by St Margaret's pupils and created by Tamara Fround Felicity organised a visit to Jake's Clara Grant mural at Bow and researched this remarkable headmistress who did so much for the poorer children of the East End including the creation of the Farthing Bundle...

Clara Grant Mural by 'Itaewon' at Bow

June has been a busy month for schools work. After a difficult year of coronavirus and social distancing - the pupils of St Joseph’s School have really appreciated the opportunity to go on class tours of Barking. The Year 4s found out about the history of transport in Barking with walking tours and historical sources workshops. The year 5s enjoyed a Victorian Barking Tour and drama activities using props and costumes and the Year 2s will be finding out more about Old Barking too, with a recreation of old shops in their classroom, including a Soda Bar – like Henry Van created close to their school!