Proud Places & Bowie’s House in Bromley

Last week we joined students from Ravens Wood School in Bromley to celebrate the music and legacy of their most famous student, David Bowie, for their wonderful ‘Ravens Woodstock’ event.

The event saw extraordinarily talented student performances of Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Starman and Rebel Rebel, poems by the school’s Laureate Kojo and the school’s English teacher Jimmy Bowman, a brilliant DJ set from Brixton Radio and anecdotes from David Bowie’s lifelong friend, collaborator, and former classmate, George Underwood, who returned to the school to share memories of their time together.

George Underwood recalled Bowie's first creative sparks as the schoolboy who would go on to become one of the greatest artists of all time – playful experimentation with different looks and even American accents.

“He came into school with a really short hair cut, a crew cut, he said: ‘It’s my (jazz musician) Gerry Mulligan period.’ Later on, David said to me: ‘Actually George, I tried cutting my own hair last night and it all went wrong.’ So he had to get the local hairdresser down the road to come and trim it, tidy it up for him. It was by mistake.’

Students from Ravens Wood School have been working with the Bowie’s House team on their youth curator programme, developing creative concepts for how the site can be interpreted and experienced by future visitors.

HOLT also partnered with award-winning songwriter and producer Eg White to give the school’s young musicians a unique opportunity to explore songwriting techniques and develop new creative work inspired by Bowie’s music.

Brixton Radio, a community radio station in south London, joined to support and inspire the students with radio broadcasting.

With such amazing young talent on show and more programming planned, the Bowie’s House project is a chance to develop south London's cultural identity alongside Bowie’s creative legacy.

Melanie Lester, Headteacher, Ravens Wood School said: "Ravens Woodstock was a wonderful celebration of music, creativity and community. Seeing our students perform David Bowie's music with such confidence, passion and professionalism was a real privilege, with outstanding performances in drama, dance and music. It was also a pleasure to welcome Ravens Wood alumnus George Underwood, David Bowie's lifelong friend. We are incredibly grateful to Heritage of London Trust and Brixton Radio for their continued support of our students and for helping create such a memorable evening. We couldn't be prouder of everyone who took part."

Billy August, 20, former student of Ravens Wood who returned for the event said: “David Bowie was a true inspiration. He just didn't care what anyone else thought about him through and through, and he made some of the best music ever. The fact that he went to our school massively inspires me. There's a piano here that he played. I used to play that when I came here. I’m very grateful to have been able to put some of his music back out there for the younger generation.”

Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of Heritage of London Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to have worked with so many amazing students from Ravens Wood School over the last few months. We’ve created a youth curator programme to help us develop ideas for the house and worked with a star songwriter to explore the secrets behind Bowie’s success. The school has incredible young talent already and it’s been fabulous to have them all involved in the project from the beginning. We look forward to building on our Proud Places work both with Ravens Wood and with other schools in the coming year.”

Barking Workhouse Plaque restored

We were delighted to unveil this morning a fascinating fragment of Barking's 18^th century workhouse, restored and relocated to Abbey Green, Barking.

The plaque was once mounted high on the pediment of Barking’s Georgian workhouse and is the only surviving remnant of a building that once dominated Barking's civic life.

Demolished in 1936, the workhouse has vanished from the townscape, but the stone plaque spent decades lying in pieces in the kitchen garden at Eastbury Manor House.

Careful restoration work from Cliveden Conservation has restored its legibility and it has been pieced back together and relocated as close to its original site as possible.

A translation of the Latin reads:

“This house, of honourable industry, was built and paid for by the distinguished members of Barking Parish to restrain the disorder of the wicked and improve the spirit of the poor, for the glory of God.

178[6] - the 26th year of the reign of [King] George III.”

Over 220 local young people were involved in the project through our Proud Places programme.

At the unveiling, there were speeches from HOLT Director Dr Nicola Stacey, Cllr Manzoor Hussain, Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, and Simone Panayi, Heritage Engagement Officer, BeFirst - Barking and Dagenham's regeneration delivery agency. The ribbon was cut by the Mayor alongside pupils from St Margaret's CofE Primary School.  

Cllr Manzoor Hussain said: "Projects like this make people proud - to learn about the people that came before us and to see their long-lasting hard work and protect it. It also gives Barking some positive exposure and might bring in more visitors, boosting the local economy. It's important for so many reasons that Councils and heritage organisations continue to collaborate in preserving sites like this."

Naima, age 11, said: “Studying the history of Barking Workhouse has helped us understand how our community has evolved over time. It shows us attitudes towards poverty, welfare and support have changed and how Barking has grown from its Victorian past into the vibrant community we know today. This links to our learning about Victorian Britain, local history and the way society has changed to improve people's lives.”

Kayla, age 11, said: “Having a piece of Barking's history displayed on our school wall makes us feel proud and connected to the generations who lived here before us. It reminds us that history is not just something we read about in textbooks. It happened on the very streets we walk every day. It makes us wonder what future generations will think about our impact and the legacy we leave behind.”

The project was supported by the Jones Day Foundation with additional support for the plinth from Weston Homes and Historic England. The plinth was built and designed by Alan Baxter.

Hanbury fountain now in full working order

Following the successful restoration of the Hanbury Fountain on 10 March this year, the original historic taps were removed for a full replication and redesign. This has taken longer than anticipated as specialist parts need to be made. However, due to the warm summer weather, and to ensure the fountain can be used as soon as possible, we have now installed new temporary taps – the same as at the Toynbee Fountain – and the fountain is now back in working order and able to be used.

The historic bronze spouts will be integrated into the new permanent design. The new internal design is currently undergoing testing and manufacture of bespoke parts and will only be installed once thoroughly tested. It is envisaged the new final design will be installed in the next two to three months.