The Herne Hill Society blog

Memorial Service for Councillor Mark Bennett, late Mayor of Lambeth

Following the untimely death of Councillor Mark Bennett, the Mayor of  Lambeth last month, I attended the memorial service at St Leonard's Church, Streatham, on Fri 21 March. Mark Bennett was one of the Labour councilors for Streatham South ward and was well into his mayoral year when he died suddenly on 4 Feb,  aged only 44. See report on the Brixton Blog

He was very well respected, and the service reflected on his interests and service to the Labour party as well as to Lambeth. This was an impressive gathering of family, friends, colleagues and local people, and amongst the congregation were former MP for Streatham Keith Hill, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his former Press Secretary, Alastair Campbell, in whose office Mark Bennett worked before becoming a Lambeth Councillor in 2005. 

This was a traditional Memorial service in a large church which was full, including the gallery. The singing of well-known hymns led by the church choir was impressive. The official procession included the Bishop of Southwark and other church officials, followed by Lambeth representatives including the Chief Executive Derek Anderson, Leader of the Council Lib Peck, Dame Tessa Jowell MP and Darren Johnstone  MLA, representing the Greater London Council. Adding colour and dignity were around 20 Mayors from many of the London Boroughs, splendid in their gold chains, and former Mayors of Lambeth including Herne Hill Society members Rudy Daley and Claire Whelan.

Southwark was represented by their Mayor and Peter John, Leader of the Council, amongst others. I recognised many Lambeth people: Streatham Society Chair Brian Bloice led the Lambeth Council flag-carrying party, Streatham historian John Brown was giving out the orders of service.

A choir from Dunraven school sang beautifully, and button-glitter was provided by the Pearly King of Bow Bells, Harry Mayhead.

During the service colleagues and friends spoke affectionately and movingly about their friend, whose loss is clearly keenly felt. Mark Bennett enjoyed being Mayor and all reflected on how much he enjoyed wearing his mayoral robes and how good he looked in them, as well as in his other favourite outfit of striped blazer and boater. He was widely liked by all members of the community and enjoyed the access the role gave him to the diversity of Lambeth people. I met him several times last year, including at the launch party of the Lambeth Heritage Festival and in the Carnegie Library on two occasions.

This event was a fitting and respectful tribute to a much missed Mayor of Lambeth. I am glad I was able to attend. 

 Sheila Northover

Memories of the Lambeth Country Show

In the midst of winter, when it seems to be alternately freezing cold and wet and windy, it gives me a warm glow to to think back on the happy, cider-fuelled days of summer 2013 (before the Great Flood...).

It was a memorable Lambeth Country Show, headlined by Osibisa, whose first album I recall buying way back in 1971!

This year's Lambeth Country Show will take place on the weekend of 19 and 20 July.  Hope to see you there.

Herne Hill in 2013

2013 has been an interesting year...

Commiserations to those badly affected by this summer's awful flood, especially the traders who have still been unable to open.

In other respects, Herne Hill has gone from strength to strength. The year began with the welcome announcement that Thameslink trains calling at Herne Hill will continue to run north of Blackfriars post-2018. Our Sunday market is now well established, while several new businesses (and a primary school) have opened. The Velodrome benefited from major infrastructure improvements.

The Lambeth Country Show was held in fine weather and attracted a huge crowd. Brockwell Park has been beautifully renovated, with the Bristowe bust installed in the Hall. The Clock Tower Appeal reached its target quite quickly, owing to the vitality and generosity of local people.

It has also been a successful year for the Society. Our website won the Walter Bor Media Award from the London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies, while the Henry Bessemer book was commended and is selling well. We welcomed a considerable number of new members.

Always a highlight - with animals, food, entertainment and lovely Herne Hill folk to meet (including our committee) - the annual Christmas Fair on Sat 14 December was very well attended. Here's a taste; watch for a famous gourmet passing by.

Now to 2014: for those interested in the history and built heritage of the area, January's event will preview the completely revised edition of the Herne Hill Heritage Trail.

First produced in 2003 as an 88-page guide to sites of interest in the area, our new Trail will feature 157 entries on 160 pages, with 97 illustrations, 28 of them in colour.

Wed 8 January 2014, 7:45pm
“Herne Hill Heritage Trail Preview”
Herne Hill United Church
London
SE24 9PW

Admission free. We hope to see you there.

Donetsk remembers its founder

How many of us knew that the city of Donetsk in Ukraine started life as Yuzovka? Not many, one imagines. But members of the Society’s committee and local history group are much better informed, after attending, on a bright November morning, a short ceremony at West Norwood Cemetery.

The Mayor of Donetsk and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Britain had come to West Norwood to honour John Hughes, the man who founded the city and gave it its first name – Yuzovka (Юзовка) – and who is buried with other family members in the cemetery.

The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery researched and organised the raising and repair of the massive fallen headstone, aided by a generous donation from the Ukrainian Development Foundation. 

Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1814 and followed his father into the business of iron and steel manufacture. In 1869 Hughes went out to Ukraine, then ruled as part of the Russian Empire by Tsar Alexander III, to build and run a steelworks and to develop the mining of coal in the region. Russia was becoming an industrialised power and urgently needed to produce its own steel. Hughes took with him, by sea, not only everything needed to build a factory but also a skilled workforce, mostly Welsh, to work in it and to mine coal. The enterprise prospered, becoming by far the largest centre for iron and steel production in the Russian Empire.

The British presence in Yuzovka remained strong until the 1917 Revolution, when almost all returned to this country. The city changed its name to Stalin, then Stalino and, finally, to Donetsk in 1961 – during the era of Kruschev, a man who grew up in the city.

But as the laying of a wreath on the Hughes family grave shows, the city, today with a population of almost one million, has not forgotten its founder. What our Ukrainian visitors were not aware of was that the man who revolutionised steelmaking  in the 19th century – Henry Bessemer – and without whose innovations Hughes’s enterprise could not have succeeded, is buried only a few metres away. It was therefore fitting that John Brunton, for the Society, should present our visitors with copies of our most recent publication about one of Herne Hill’s most illustrious Victorian residents.

At Bessemer's grave: from the left, His Excellency Volodymyr Khandogiy, Ambassador of Ukraine; Aleksandr Lukyanchenko, Mayor of the City of Donetsk with the Mayoress; artist Tatyana Ponomarenko-Laverash

Event organised by Rose Fenn and Bob Flanagan from The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery

Lambeth Heritage Festival 2013 begins

The first LambethHeritage Festival got off to a great start on Sunday 1 September, with a launch event held at Brunswick House, Vauxhall.

Lambeth’s Mayor, Cllr Mark Bennett, launching the Festival

A series of events will be held throughout September, all designed to celebrate Lambeth’s heritage.

Full details are in the Festival guide, available from Lambeth libraries, or online at www.lambeth.gov.uk/heritge festival2013. You can follow the events on Twitter at #LambethArchives.

Lambeth Heritage Festival 2013

Lambeth Archives Open Day, with its history talks and local society stalls, has long been a favourite in my calendar. This year will be a little different, as Lambeth's first Heritage Festival will take place during September.

Lambeth Archives, together with the Lambeth Local History Forum, has put together a  programme of over 40 talks, tours, exhibitions, workshops and guided walks. Glancing through the programme, there will be a talk on Wed 4 Sep, 7:00pm at the Carnegie Library called 'Tracing the History of Your Herne Hill House' – surely a must!

The Festival closes with the Lambeth Archives Open Day on Sat 28 Sep. This year the theme will be 1913 - Edwardian Swansong. There will be talks, exhibitions, bookstalls and local society stands: all linked around theme of life in South London just before the outbreak of the First World War. The Herne Hill Society will be there of course.

For further information go to www.lambeth.gov.uk/heritagefestival2013.