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The newly formed Woodford Arts Group will hold its inaugural exhibition at Packfords Hotel in Woodford Green from 31 May to 2 June. The Snakes Lane West venue – which has been run by the Packford family for over 40 years – will be serving afternoon tea on 1 June. “The group was set up in December 2018 to bring local artists together in order to support each other and find ways to show their work. The initial call out has been a great success, and our members range across all the arts,” said founding member Julia Brett. The group includes painters, printers, photographers, ceramicists and sculptors, with the upcoming exhibition set to be the first of many displays and activities in the local area. “Our aims are principally to display our work through gallery exhibitions and art trails, creating an awareness of Woodford art to as wide an audience as possible. All Woodford-based artists are welcome to contact us if they are interested in joining us on our journey.” Visit woodfordartsgroup.org

As part of Local History Month, Lynn Haseldine Jones will be leading a walk around Snaresbrook to discover the history of this commuter suburb, starting with the Georgian period and then looking at later developments in Victorian and Edwardian times. Here, the local historian describes some of the sites that will be visited. Photo of Snaresbrook Crown Court by Geoff Wilkinson

We begin at Snaresbrook Station, where the railway first came in 1856. Changing the nature of the village from a predominantly Georgian settlement to a bustling Victorian suburb, there is still evidence of the Great Eastern Railway, hardly noticed by passengers on the busy Central Line.

Along Hollybush Hill are a few Victorian houses. Mornington Lodge has changed its name to Kingsley Grange, but Staffa and Iona are still there, though no longer Barnardo’s homes. The great feature of the Hill, though, is Snaresbrook Crown Court.

This fine building began as the Royal Infant Orphan Asylum, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prince Albert on 24 June 1841. The official opening was by the king of the Belgians on 27 June 1843. The building later became the Royal Wanstead School until 1971, before becoming the court building it is today in 1974.

Along Snaresbrook Road we can admire the court from the edge of the much-loved Eagle Pond, as pictured here. This appears on a map of 1735 but may be older.

Across from the pond is Willowholme, a Georgian house dating from the 1750s, with its own well. People living in less grand houses would have got their water from the Birch Well, which is still there, tucked into the forest by the court’s railings. Elegant White Lodge is further down the road. Also on Snaresbrook Road is the memorial garden, containing a lovely sundial, the scene of a service on 11 November every year.

As we turn the corner into Woodford Road, we pass the 18th-century Eagle pub (now beautifully refurbished); it was a stopping point for stage and mail coaches long before the railway arrived.

We will head towards The Drive to admire some of the large late-Victorian houses, and glance across the road to James Hilton House, thought to have been the home, in the 1930s, of James Hilton, the author of Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr Chips. Sadly, some of the big houses have long gone – Snaresbrook Hall was replaced by flats in the 1930s and Hermitage Court replaced two large mansions. Gowan Lea lasted longer, a school with a good reputation, but regrettably, now also replaced by flats.

And we end our tour at the gates of Snaresbrook House. Although the origins of the house go back much further, these are dated 1900 and marked with the initials of diamond merchant David Symons, who lived there from 1891 to 1905. After his wife died, he chose to move to South Africa, where his main business was located. But the area must have made a big impression on him as the home he had in Durban until his death in 1935 was called…Snaresbrook!

To celebrate 50 years of the RSPB’s Local Groups, the North East London branch will be joined by the conservation charity’s president in South Woodford this June. David Littlejohns invites you to the party

Big national organisations don’t always think too much about the local scene. But 50 years ago, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was an exception, and so started its first Local Group, known as the Epping Forest Group. Others soon followed, and the idea has now spread so widely that there are over 140 RSPB Local Groups dotted all over the UK.

So this year, on 14 June, we shall be celebrating having started this movement in 1969, and we have separated Miranda Krestovnikoff, the president of the RSPB, from her scuba diving gear to join us for the celebration. We will have displays of memorabilia from back then, including recollections from Richard Oakman, who was present from the outset. There will also be a special raffle and refreshments, including a 50th anniversary cake for Miranda to cut.

Miranda’s passion for conservation began while studying zoology at Bristol University. She has been well known as a radio and (since 1998) a TV presenter, notably in the award-winning Coast series. She specialises in natural history programmes and you may know her as a resident wildlife expert on the BBC’s The One Show. She has fitted in all this while caring for her children and playing the flute in a local orchestra in Bristol.

Eventually, after some years of meeting for talks and trips to good places for birds, support for that early Epping Forest Group fell away. Yet nationally, the picture was very different, as more and more people were becoming aware of the pleasure and benefits available from contact with the natural world.

Nature is a mainstream issue these days and there is no denying that it is at a crossroads now – still a source of great benefits, but open to many threats, ranging from being hard-boiled by climate change to submersion in a tide of plastic.

So, not surprisingly, after a short gap, about 10 years ago it was time to start again. This time, the name was the North East London RSPB Local Group, but it covers much the same area and even includes some of the same people.

You do not have to be a member of the RSPB to join in. It is now a thriving and friendly group, which meets every month from October to June to hear illustrated talks, to walk in local areas with notable birdlife and to get to know more about birds and other wildlife. And if something is especially good, we post on Twitter or Facebook. But we would very much like to meet you in person at one of our future events.