Caring about Wandsworth's buildings, open spaces, rivers and transport.
On 17 February Gill Farnsworth current Vice-Chair (and past Chair) of the South Bank Ramblers gave an interesting talk over Zoom about their origins, achievements and wide role today. Without them we might not have had the unparallelled access to the English countryside through National Parks and Rights of Way. Their work continues, repairing footpaths, installing footpath gates and ensuring rights of way are mapped and kept accessible.
The talk can be viewed here:
The 11 November meeting reviewed the work and play of the Wandsworth Society over 50 years, from objections to the “motorway box” in 1971 and cyclostyled newsletters through to today’s objections to tall buildings and meetings and visits on zoom throughout the pandemic. To view the meeting click below
Tony Jones’ the Emanuel School Archivist, gave us an interesting talk on the work he has been doing to establish a fascinating archive. To view the talk please click below:
On the 10 June Emma Hill, Community Engagement Officer at Springfield Hospital, spoke to the Society on the future of the hospital and of this vast area between Wandsworth Common and Tooting. Link here:
The talk covered the timing and development of the whole Springfield site, including new housing, redevelopment of the old hospital buildings, the new hospital facilities (both the buildings and the services services to be offered), a youth hub and how the new 32-acre public park is being integrated with the site.
These links will take you to the two short videos that Emma included in her talk to illustrate the development of the Springfield Village project
(1) Creating Springfield Village – YouTube
and the works on site
(1) The view on the ground at Springfield – May 2021 – YouTube
And this is a link to the update page for the development
On a freezing snowy evening 80+ people sat in the warmth of theiir own homes to hear Mark Justin give a fascinating talk on the history of this iconic building and tell us about its use today. A full report will be available in our March newsletter.
Mark, the owner of Le Gothique Restaurant, believes he is the longest serving pub landlord in London. Once we are permitted, the restaurant and bar will re-open and is well worth a visit whether for a drink or meal and enjoy the peaceful garden.