Editor

Redbridge Museum will open a new permanent exhibition this spring exploring 200,000 years of local history. In the seventh of a series of articles, Museum Officer Nishat Alam looks at some of the items on show

I’m sharing a timeline of significant points in local women’s history for Women’s History Month this year. This article highlights ordinary women’s stories amidst major events of the 20th century, which saw numerous changes in societal attitudes to women’s rights and roles.

We begin at the turn of the century when social class tended to define women’s roles. Many working-class women at this time worked as servants in Wanstead’s and Woodford’s new suburban houses. Wealthier women did not go out to work, but there were exceptions. Elizabeth Mace-Matthews owned and edited The Bugle newspaper, covering Wanstead and Woodford from 1907 to 1922. This was a unique position but may have been made possible because of Elizabeth’s status as a wealthy, middle-class woman.

Between 1900 and 1914, hundreds of local women campaigned for the vote, joining demonstrations or distributing propaganda in the local area. Radical suffragettes often used violent and illegal campaigning tactics and were arrested. Many went on hunger strikes while in prison, including Sylvia Pankhurst, who would later become a Woodford resident.

More women went to work in wartime, filling in for jobs usually occupied by men or to help the war effort. During the First World War, women became Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses, took clerical jobs or set up fundraising societies. In the Second World War, local women worked in factories, farms or, like Daisy James of Wanstead (pictured here), as Air Raid Precaution wardens.

Between the wars, life for women changed drastically. Winning the vote in 1918 gave them more power, and more women started to go to university and into professional jobs. Trends in fashion and entertainment shifted, giving younger ‘flappers’ the freedom to go out to parties and dances, wearing looser and shorter dresses than ever before. 

The 1950s saw a return to the ‘traditional’ roles of housewife and mother, but many women again went into the workplace soon after the economic boom of the 1960s where they experienced gender discrimination. Their protests, combined with a second wave of feminism, led to the introduction of new laws in the 1970s, including equal pay, maternity pay and protection against racial discrimination – although sexist attitudes lingered. The feminist movement continued into the 1980s and 1990s when working women were a norm, though unfortunately, still not considered equal to men at their level. 

The stories I’ve touched on and more will be explored more fully throughout various displays about the history of our borough in the new Redbridge Museum, set to open in late spring.

Fore more information on Redbridge Museum and to complete a survey about the new displays, visit swvg.co.uk/rm

The South Woodford Society is keen to encourage local entrepreneurs to take part in the monthly community market.

“The George Lane market is held on the third Sunday of every month, from 11am to 4pm. It’s still young and aims to grow, and would provide a great opportunity for local home startups and businesses to take a stall and build a real community feel to the event,” said a spokesperson.

The market is organised by Ace Events Ltd, which runs similar events in other London locations.

Visit swvg.co.uk/market

A new map has been released locating all the Tin in a Bin foodbank collection points.

“We now stretch to Newbury Park in the east, Forest Gate in the south and Woodford in the north. We are always looking for more collectors, so if you live in a road or area not already covered on the map and would like to join our 50-plus network, please let us know,” said James Paterson.

Current foodbank requirements include tinned food, rice, pasta, pasta sauces, jams, peanut butter, cereals and long-life milk.

Visit swvg.co.uk/tinabsites

Community gardeners have used a ‘no-dig’ method to revitalise the patch of land known as Eastwood Green opposite George Lane roundabout.

Instead of digging or using weedkiller, the volunteers covered the site in cardboard to kill off the grass and piled compost on top. “When it comes to preparing the ground for seeds, removing the turf and rotavating is the usual method. We decided against this as it would be damaging to the birch tree roots, so we used the ‘no-dig’ method. By the time the cardboard breaks down, the grass is gone and there is a nice clean layer of compost on top to sow and plant into,” said Stephanie Derby.

A wildflower meadow has been sown, with plans to install benches and a tapestry lawn in the coming months.

“If you’d like to get involved with volunteering, please get in touch. We hold volunteer sessions on an ad-hoc basis on both weekdays and weekends.”

Email e18society@gmail.com

A consultation has been launched on the City of London’s plans for habitat conservation across a number of Epping Forest sites, including Wanstead Flats, Leyton Flats and Gilbert’s Slade.

“We are currently planning the next 10-year programme for habitat conservation in Epping Forest. The work is due to start in 2024 and we would like your feedback on our proposals,” said a spokesperson. The consultation closes on 10 March.

Visit swvg.co.uk/efplan

The Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society were victorious in the Romford Gold Cup interclub competition held in February.

“It was a print competition between six clubs. We submitted five images from different club members and got 96 points and came first. In addition, David Tyrrell won the best print of the night award with his photo entitled Tranquillity,” said club chair Sue Rosner.

The photographers whose work helped secure the victory were David Tyrrell, Bob Gibbons, Chris Saunders, Luciano Ocesca and Carole Milligan.

Redbridge Council is considering the future of Wanstead Youth Centre, which it claims is in need of over £2.4m of refurbishments.

But campaigners have objected to the style of questioning used in the consultation – which runs until 13 March – and insist the Elmcroft Avenue venue is a vital resource in a good state of repair.

If the closure is progressed, groups that use the centre will need to find alternative premises by May.

An on-site public meeting will take place on 7 March from 7.30pm.

Visit swvg.co.uk/youthcentre

Volunteers joined Vision RCL’s nature conservation rangers in February for a community tree planting day in Roding Valley Park, near Charlie Brown’s Roundabout.

“We planted elm trees donated by our partner Butterfly Conservation. These trees will help the white-letter hairstreak butterfly, a species solely reliant on elm trees to complete its life cycle,” said Tajinder Lachhar.

Following the outbreak of Dutch elm disease in the 1970s and 1980s, the UK population of white-letter hairstreak butterflies dropped by 96%.

Residents are invited to be part of the Redbridge Climate Forum and help tackle climate change in Redbridge.

Since launching in September 2021, the Redbridge Climate Forum has been a platform for bringing local communities together in the fight against climate change. With 70 members and growing, forum participants exchange ideas and highlight work taking place to support greener living and working in Redbridge.

The next forum meeting will take place on 28 February from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at Redbridge Town Hall. The event will begin with an update on Redbridge’s Climate Change Action Plan from Cabinet Member for Environment and Civic Pride, Councillor Jo Blackman. Special guest Jose Baladron from charity TRAID will also be speaking about the environmental impact of clothing waste and a new partnership project with Redbridge.

“There will also be lots of opportunities for networking, learning and ideas sharing with other active, eco-minded groups and individuals in the borough, as well as finding out more about local green projects and how to get involved,” said a council spokesperson.

The forum is free to attend, and is open to all local people, businesses and community groups. You don’t need to have attended any previous forums to take part.

Click here for more information on the February Climate Forum, and to register your interest in attending.

Alongside traditional work, Woodford Green artist Mark Lewis creates images using digital imaging techniques, like this view of Hollow Pond and Leyton Flats, drawn on an iPad

I am a designer-maker, specialising in silversmithing and jewellery, and also a landscape artist. I worked for a major jewellery and silver manufacturer in London before establishing my own workshop in 1981. 

In 1985, I entered full-time teaching, although I continued to maintain a freelance consultancy. Until the summer of 2009, I was a principal lecturer in the Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media and Design at London Metropolitan University. I currently lecture part-time at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London and was, until recently, a part-time lecturer at Birmingham City University and the University of Creative Arts in Surrey.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Horners. I’m also interested in folklore, especially seasonal traditions, and am an active member of the Folklore Society.

In the last 20 years, I have actively pursued an interest in the history and practice of landscape painting and drawing. I work with both traditional and digital imaging techniques. Drawing is my greatest artistic passion.

I am also interested in the relationship between art and spirituality. Some drawings are generated on an iPad and produced as giclee prints. My long-standing interest in lighthouses is reflected in my love of maritime landscapes and the contrasts between man-made structures and the wild and often unpredictable environment of coastal terrain. These places continue to provide powerful inspiration for some of my recent work. 

However, my current work focuses on expressive and gestural mark-making, responding to the hidden energies and textures in the landscape and is gradually pushing towards semi-abstraction. My latest drawings have celebrated the Essex coast and countryside, and a recent solo exhibition of drawings at the Epping Forest Visitor Centre in Chingford drew inspiration from the drama of light and shade and the sense of mystery they evoke in the forest environs.

I enjoy the immediacy of working with sketchbooks and I’m never without one!

Mark runs bespoke workshops and training courses on iPad painting, drawing technique, creativity and design. For more information and to view more of Mark’s work, visit marklewisart.co.uk or following him on Instagram @mlewis342

Derek Inkpin from local solicitors Wiseman Lee looks at the problems of family disputes in relation to inheritance and wills and explains the importance of equity and mediation

What if your father who owns his farm says to you: “One day, all this will be yours,” but then years later, you fall out and your father changes his will to exclude you and leaves the farm to your brother? Can the law help you? Would your answer be any different if, based on the above promise, you worked on the farm for low wages for many years because you relied on that promise, and then have to leave the farm cottage you were given to find employment elsewhere?

Normally speaking, a promise is not enforceable unless it is made part of a contract. Another aspect is that we are free to change our will until death. However, if we act to our detriment by relying on a promise of inheritance and give up getting a better-paid job elsewhere to work on the farm, the verbal promise given to you earlier will likely be enforceable.

There is something called equity, which will put right an injustice where the law would not normally help. Equity will restrain the rigid application of legal rules where the outcome would be unconscionable and therefore unfair because you have been given a promise but later that promise to confer property on you is broken. 

The remedy which you ask the court to decide in your favour is called proprietary estoppel. This sounds rather quaint, but put simply, means a person cannot break a promise without the court stepping in to stop an unfair outcome. If this explanation seems an obvious result, what the courts continuously have to do is to resolve a clash of legal principles. For example, on the one hand, having the freedom to make a will of your choosing but having that will overturned because something was said many years before which contradicts the will.

Family disputes, of course, can get very complicated and expensive because the persons in dispute see their family relationship fall apart with the worry of how the dispute is to be paid for. Against that, the arguments both for and against raise really important principles which, understandably, people are not prepared to forgo.

One of the major changes in my working lifetime is the use of mediation. Instead, therefore, of listening to both parties’ barristers slugging it out in court with the huge legal costs normally being paid by the loser, there is much to be said for the appointment of an experienced mediator, who helps both sides at a fairly early stage make their own contributions to the process and, hopefully, an agreed outcome, with your lawyer to help you during the process.

Wiseman Lee is located at 9–13 Cambridge Park, Wanstead, E11 2PU. For more information, call 020 8215 1000