TakeOne...postcard
AboutBrentMuseumandBrentArchivesBrentArchivesandBrentMuseumholdcollectionsrelatedtotheareanowknownastheLondonBoroughofBrentanditsresidents.BrentMuseum isfree. Themaingallery ispackedwithinteractiveactivitiesandexhibits revealing the fascinatingstoriesbehindBrent'ssocialhistory.Ourcollectionsreflectworkinganddomestic life inBrentfromabout1850tothepresentday.Wealsohaveaspecialexhibitiongallerywithanexcitingprogrammeofvisitingexhibitions. ThemuseumhasaCommunityGalleryonthegroundfloorwhereyoucanseethelatestexhibitionaboutthedifferentculturesandcommunitiesthatliveinBrent.BrentArchivescanhelpyoufindoutmoreaboutthelocalareaanditshistory.WeholdtherecordsofBrentCouncilanditspredecessors,includingcouncilminutesandbuildingplans,aswellashistoricalmapsandstreetdirectories,electoral registers,school records,andanextensivecollectionofoldphotographsandpostcards.Our localhistorycollections include a large reference collection, and local newspapers dating back to 1870. We also collect therecordsoflocalgroupsandorganisations.
BackgroundinformationThe London Borough of Brentwas formed in 1965 when theWembley and WillesdenMunicipal Boroughs weremerged. Ordnance Surveymaps held by Brent Archivesshow the development of thearea over the last 150 years,including the extension ofrailway lines, the increase inthe volume of roads andhousing, and the changes inindustry.
Harlesden,originallyHerewulf'sTun(tunmeaningfarmstead),beganasaSaxonsettlementonanelevatedandwell‐wateredwoodlandclearing. In the16thcenturyHarlesdenwasa linearvillage (that is, runningalongsideasinglestretch of road)with at least seven houses. By themid‐18th century the village had two inns and therewere anumberoffarmhousessetinorchardsaroundthegreenandmorefarmstothenorthwest.AnetworkofroadsledtoplaceslikeActonandWillesdenGreen.By1839theLondon‐HarrowcoachpassedthroughHarlesdeneveryday.The villagehadablacksmith, a grocer, a shoemaker andanew inn. By1855anomnibus servicewas running toLondon.Nonetheless,majordevelopmentonlycameasaresultofthearrivaloftherailways.ManypartsofBrent,includingHarlesden,developedaspartof‘Metro‐land’,thesuburbanareasofNorth‐WestLondonwhichgrewastheMetropolitanRailwaywasextendedbeyondcentralLondonfromthe1860s.
PostalCommunicationThe postal system used in England was greatlyreformed during the Victorian period. Up untiltheearly 1800s itwas common for the recipientto pay for letters on arrival and the costdepended on distance travelled and the numberofsheetsintheletter.Sometimesthisresultedinpeoplerejectingtheirpost!Duringthe1800spre‐payment was introduced in the form of stampsand costs were standardised. The world’s firstadhesive postage stamp was the Penny Black,issued in 1840. Post boxes were introducedacrossthecountryinthe1850s.Bythelate1800stherewerebetweensixandtwelvemaildeliveriesperdayinLondon,whichallowedpeopletosendandreceiveseverallettersinasingleday.
PostcodescameintouseinLondonfromthe1850sonwardswhentherewere10areasdividedinto:EC,WC,N,NE,E, SE, S, SW,W,andNW. In1917numberswereadded to furtherdivide theareasand in the1950s thecurrentsystemofatwo‐partalphanumericcodewasphasedin.Inthe1870sblankpostcardswereintroducedbytheRoyalMail:onesidewasfortheaddressandthemessagewaswrittenonthereverse.
In1894theRoyalMailgavepermissionforpublisherstomakepicturepostcards.Postcardswereextremelypopularintheearly1900sandwereusedwidely;itwasn’tuntilthe1930sthattheybecamemostlyassociatedwithseasideholidays.ThecollectionofpicturepostcardsheldbyBrentArchivesdemonstratestherangeoflocalimagesusedofforpostcards,includingparks,streetviews,churches,farmsandschools.
PhotographyPhotographydevelopedsignificantlyfrom1820on.Oneofthefirstpermanentimages,capturedinFrancein1825,requiredan8‐hourexposure.In1838thefirstphotographofpeople,takenaspartofastreetscene,took8minutesexposure to capture. By the mid‐1800s photography had developed enough for portraits to gain popularity,
Harlesden, 1860s
Harlesden, 1914-15
althoughsubjectsstillhadtositorstandforlongperiodstoachieveaclearimage.TherearemanyimagesinBrent'scollection where movement has caused figures to blur. Photographs were taken using plates until film wasdevelopedinthe1880s.Inthe1900sthedevelopmentsincameras,film,anddevelopingmeantthatcameraswereavailable for purchase by the public. Although colour photography had been experimentedwith throughout theperiod, itwasn'tuntil the1900s that itbecameaviableoption. Even then itwasonlyusedby thosewithhigherlevelsofexpertiseandwealth.Colourfilm(asopposedtoplates)wasnotavailableuntilthe1930s.Again,itwasnotwidelyusedas itwasexpensiveandmoredifficult tocapturesuccessful images incomparisontoblackandwhitefilm,whichremainedthenormintothe1950s.This isreflectedinthephotographsheldbyBrentArchives,whereblackandwhiteimagespredominateuntilthe1970s.Itisonlyfromthe1980sthatcolourtendstobethenorm.
ThedocumentTheimageonthepostcardisidentifiedas‘Bandstand,RoundwoodPark,Harlesden’.ThereverseofthepostcardshowsamessagefromMaytoMaryCox.
TheImageThe land we currently call Roundwood Park used to be known as Knowles Hillbecause of its proximity to Knowles Tower (right). It was privately owned untilGeorgeFurnesssold ittotheWillesdenLocalBoardinthe1890sanditwasturnedinto a park. It is now known as Roundwood Park, after another large property,RoundwoodHouse(below).ThepictureofRoundwoodHouseshowsatennisparty,withchildrenandservants. BothRoundwoodHouseandKnowlesTowerhadbeendemolishedby1939.
TheParkThe park was designed by Oliver Claude Robinson, who alsoengineeredthemaindrainageandsewerageofWillesdeninthelate1800s.ItfollowedaformalVictorianstyle,muchofwhichisstill inplace today. Bandstandswere popular in the Victorian period andwereoftenusedbybrassbandstoperformopen‐airconcerts. ThebandstandinthepictureisnolongerinRoundwoodPark,possiblyaresultofdeclininguse.Theimagealsoincludesanunnamedman.Heiswearingasuitwithahatandhasamoustachebutnobeard.Hisstylemostlikelydatestothe1910s.Asmallfigureisjustvisibleinthebackground,seatedonabench.Thescenewasprobablyposed.
ThemessageThe postcardwas sent from 35 Craven Park,which is about 1mile from Roundwood Park and 5miles from therecipient’saddressinGoldersGreen.Thepostcardwassenton29July1919.InthemessageMayisarrangingadayforMaryCoxtovisit.Shewritesthat'weshallbedelightedtoseeyou'and'wegoawaySaturday'.Thestampisstillattachedinitsoriginalwonkyposition.Weknowthisbecausethepostmarkcoversthestampandshowsnobreaksinthelinesordate.ThestampisaKingGeorgeVone‐pennystampthatwasissuedfrom1912to1924.Itisnotararestampandiscurrentlyvaluedataround£1.LocalconnectionsAswellasselling the land for thepark, there isanotherconnectionbetweenthepostcardandtheFurnessfamily.The35CravenParkaddressisveryclosetoonethat appears in the Furness Papers, a collection held by Brent Archives. TheFurnessPapersincludeplansfromaround1910fortheenlargementofthesculleryand alterations to the attics at 34 Craven Park. George Furness also had anoccupationincommonwiththepark’sdesigner,beingcontractedtoconstructnewsewersunderLondon.FurnessstartedtheWillesdenBrickandTileCompanyinthe1870sandmanyhouses,schoolsandchurchesaroundtheWillesdenareaarebuiltusingFurness’bricks.Heboughtalotoflandintheareatodevelophisfactoryandbuild houses for his employees. George Furness died at home in RoundwoodHousein1900andisburiedinthecemeteryofStMaryChurch.
Roundwood House, Catalogue reference: 0557
Knowles Tower, Catalogue reference: 2010
George Furness, Catalogue reference: 2283
TeachingideasThefollowingideasarenomorethanastartingpoint.Asyoubegintoexplorethe“V.E.+2Days”letterandmakeconnectionswithyourowncontext,projectswiththepotentialtoenrichandtransformyourstudents’learningwillbegintoemerge.AboutTakeOneInspiredbytheNationalGallery’sTakeOnePictureprogramme,TakeOne…aimstoInspireteacherstousehistoricbuildings,objects,andarchivedocumentstodevelopcreativecross‐curricularworkintheclassroom.
Youcouldusethereproductionofthepostcardtostimulategroupdiscussions.Forexample:
WhatwouldithavebeenliketoliveinBrentin1919?
Whatimpactdoesthedevelopmentoftransporthaveoncommunication?
Howhascommunicationchanged?Dowestillusepostcardsinthesameway?Whatdowehavenowinstead?(E.g.Letters,telegrams,telephone,email,textmessages,twitter)
Isthereastandardformatforpostcards?Arethereotherexamplesyoucouldlookat?
Howhasphotographychanged?Whotakesphotographs?
HasRoundwoodParkchangedsinceitopened?HastheareaaroundRoundwoodParkchanged?
Hasclothingchangedsincetheearly1900s?Whatotherevidencecouldyouusetofindoutmore?
Whydowehaveparks?Whataretheyfor?
Ideasforcreativeplanningacrossthecurriculum:
Writeareplytothepostcard.ThinkaboutwhatBrentwouldhavebeenlikeduring1910andcreateyourownpostcardfromthepast.Art&Design/History/Literacy
Createapieceofmusicthatcouldbeperformedonabandstand.Useyourimaginationandmakeyourowninstruments.Design&Technology/Science/Music
Recreatethepostcardsceneintheparkusingmodernequivalents.Whathaschangedandwhathasstayedthesame?History/Drama
Makeasetandcostumesandphotographyourownpostcard.UsetheonlineBrentArchivescataloguetofindotherpostcardsfromthepasttorecreate.Art&Design/Design&Technology/ICT
Whatsoundswouldyouhearfromthepostcard?Createandrecordasoundscape.Music/History
Bringthepostcardtolife.Createaplaybasedonthescene.Whatmighthavehappenedjustbeforethissceneorjustafter?Drama/Literacy
Designastamp.Art&Design
Investigateyourlocalareaforsignsofbuildingsfromdifferentperiods.Createastreetmapofyourareawithcolour‐codedbuildings,parks,roadsandstationsfordifferentdecades.Geography/History
InvestigatedifferentparksinBrentanddesignyourownpark.Art&Design/Geography
TakeOne...postcard
