iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Ian Dury was born in Harrow #OTD 12 May 1942. Celebrated as singer, songwriter & actor, he fronted Ian Dury & the Blockheads from 1977. Early on he was an artist & art teacher, after studying at Walthamstow School of Art in late 1950s. The Bell in Forest Rd was a favorite pub for local art students.

South West Essex Technical College, home of Walthamstow School of Art, c.1960.

Image from VHM photo collection, available in our Searchroom.

Ian Dury at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, 1978 by dhphoto, via Creative Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ian_Dury_2.jpg

The Bell, Forest Road, Walthamstow c.1996.

Image from VHM photo collection, available in our Searchroom.

081

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Nurses at Connaught Hospital, Orford Road, Walthamstow, c.1970s. Connaught Hospital closed in 1977. #InternationalNursesDay

Nurses at Connaught Hospital, Orford Road, Walthamstow, c.1970s.

Image from VHM photo collection, available in our Searchroom.

0141

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Scaffolding - Festival of Britain by John Berger who lived in Highams Park as a child. ©artist's estate. 🖼️ Arts Council Southbank Centre. artuk.org/discover/art... @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange, urban landscapes for J McFadyen & J Finer: Underground (& Surface), Guildhall Art Gallery

0172

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Walthamstow Hall School for daughters of missionaries, in Marsh St, Walthamstow from 1838-1882, then relocating to Kent. Co-founder Dorothea Foulger lived in Hoe St & died in Walthamstow #OTD 6 May 1852. Her memorial inscription at Abney Park Cemetery notes her 'ready sympathy & active benevolence'.

Walthamstow Hall School for the daughters of missionaries, Marsh Street Walthamstow (now High Street).

Mid 19th century print.

081

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Publicity brochure for Wells School of Dancing, Walthamstow, c.1969. #InternationalDanceDay

080

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Many thanks to AbdulMaalik Tailor for sharing his expertise in a fascinating and insightful talk on researching Muslim heritage sites in Waltham Forest. We were thrilled to host this event last Saturday - thank you to everyone who attended!

040

Reposted by Waltham Forest Archives

Chingford Historical Society @chingfordhist.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Next Thurs 16 April @ 7.30pm we’re looking fwd to hearing Claire Weiss & Geoff Nicholls talk about their book (w Peter Ashan) “Slave-Trade Abolition & Leytonstone House: the Sansoms, the Buxtons and Black History”. Book to watch online. Venue details on link too www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/slave-trad...

043

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Portraits of Rodney Smith and his daughter Zillah, from 'Gipsy Smith, his life and work' the autobiography of evangelist Rodney Smith (1860-1947), born to a Romani family in Epping Forest. Published in 1903, this work is a significant source for Romani life & customs. #RomaniDay

Photographic portrait of Zillah, daughter of Rodney Smith, in Gipsy costume.

From 'Gipsy Smith, his life and work', the autobiography of Rodney Smith (1903).

Photographic portrait of Rodney Smith.

Frontispiece from 'Gipsy Smith, his life and work', the autobiography of Rodney Smith (1903).

020

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Chingford. Early 20th century postcard. Designed by Lewis Vulliamy, the new parish church was built in 1844. Sir Arthur Blomfield designed eastern additions in 1903. #ImageoftheMonth

020

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Minstrels, William Morris (1834-1896) & Morris and Co. William Morris was born in 1834 at Elm House, Walthamstow. 🖼️ The Stained Glass Museum. For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange on music for A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music at the Foundling Museum. artuk.org/discover/art...

0185

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Leyton Midland Rd Station roundel, Artyface. A classic London underground station logo recreated in mosaic tiles. ©the copyright holder. 🖼️ David Ovenden/Art UK. artuk.org/discover/art... For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange on tiles for The Arab Hall: Past and Present at Leighton House

Leyton Midland Road Station roundel, Artyface [Maud Milton].
The roundel made of glazed mosaic tiles comprises a narrow outer blue edge framing a wide orange circle around the central white area. The station name appears in white lettering on a blue background, across the centre of the roundel, which is placed on a weathered brick wall.

Via ArtUk
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/leyton-midland-road-station-roundel-674435

2202

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Helen More [Gertrude] (1606-1633), born in Leyton #OTD 25 Mar 1606. A Benedictine nun, in 1623 she co-founded Our Lady of Comfort, Cambrai, later Stanbrook Abbey. Our image shows gates of mid 17th cent Leyton House, c1933. The earlier house at this site was the More family home. ##WomensHistoryMonth

Portrait of Helen More [Gertrude].

Source Creative Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gertrude_more_nun.jpg

Leyton House gates c.1933.

From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom

021

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Letter from Frances Greville, Countess of Warwick, regarding Socialist lectures in 1912. Born Frances Maynard in 1861, she held Walthamstow Toni manor from 1865. A society hostess & later a campaigning socialist, she lived at Shern Hall, Walthamstow as a child #DocumentoftheMonth #WomensHistoryMonth

Typescript signed letter from Frances Evelyn Greville, Countess of Warwick, regarding arrangements for Socialist lectures in autumn 1912. Dated 27 May 1912.

Photographic portrait of Frances Evelyn Greville, Countess of Warwick, 1930.
From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

030

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

The Knockabout Show, poems for children by Gerda Mayer (1978). Born in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia, Gerda Mayer (1927-2021) escaped to Britain on the Kindertransport in 1939. Her family died in Auschwitz. Later a celebrated poet, she lived in Margaret Avenue, Chingford. #WorldPoetryDay #BookoftheMonth

Cover and page from 'The Knockabout Show', poems for children by Gerda Mayer (1978).

This page shows the poem Hide and Seek:

Once I used to hide
in the open recess
under the first
floor balcony,
(and always,
my father remarked,
in the same place).

Where can she be?
Where can she be?
Here comes my aunt
searching and thin
and walks past me the first time;
this being the ritual.

Forty years later
and the recess
has shrunk to
under my chin;
and is full of
old lumber now and
a better place to hide in.
I look into the shadows
and ask and ask
where are they?

1155

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Halszka Wasilewska, one of the first women to become a major in the Polish Armed Forces. Born at sea #OTD 21 Mar 1899, her birth was registered in London. In early childhood she lived at 67 Colworth Road, Leytonstone, then home of Boleslaw Jedrzejowski, secretary of the Polish Socialist Party.

Photographic portrait of Halszka Wasilewska. Image via Creative Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Halszka_Wasilewska_1899-1961.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

Colworth Road, Leytonstone, from Gainsborough Bridge c.1895.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

052

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

The Royal Forest Hotel, Chingford, early 1900s. Then in Essex, in 1894 this was the location for the first known Eid prayers in what is now the London area. A local heritage plaque now commemorates this event, with thanks to AbdulMaalik Tailor for his research. Eid Mubarak to all celebrating today!

The Royal Forest Hotel, Chingford in early 1900s. Postcard from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

Waltham Forest heritage plaque commemorating Eid prayers at the Royal Forest Hotel, Chingford in 1894.

Photograph by Spudgun67 2019, via Creative Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Site_of_the_first_known_Eid_prayers_in_London_-_Royal_Forest_Hotel_Ranger%27s_Road_Chingford_London_E4_7QH_1.jpg

192

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Gulielma Lister (1860-1949) at Sycamore House, Leytonstone c1930. Mycologist, naturalist & world expert on slime moulds, she was a co-founder of British Mycological Society & 1st woman president of Essex Field Club 1916-19. Sycamore House was her lifelong home. #ImageoftheMonth #WomensHistoryMonth

Gulielma Lister standing by an open window at rear of Sycamore House, High Road, Leytonstone c.1930.

📷 From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

093

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Rocks d’Antibes by Richard Sorrell, Royal Watercolour Society. © the artist. 🖼️ Royal Watercolour Society. artuk.org/discover/art... Richard Sorrell studied at Walthamstow School of Art. For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange on land and sea for Of Land and Sea @scarbsmuseums.bsky.social

Rocks d’Antibes by Richard Sorrell, Royal Watercolour Society. © the artist.
Image credit Royal Watercolour Society via ArtUK:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/rocks-dantibes-237866

1132

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

For #ValentinesDay, a loving book inscription from Ambrose Barker to his partner Eliana Twynam, 1924. Barker was a local teacher, anarchist activist, and secretary of the Walthamstow Working Men's Club, publishing the Club's history in 1933. He died in Walthamstow #OTD 14 Feb 1953.

062

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Adoration, a verse forming the centrepiece of this Victorian Valentine's card. #ValentinesDay

A Victorian Valentine's card, with a printed verse in the centre. This is framed by an oval wreath of white and purple violets, framed in turn within a rectangle of silver paper lace. A small posy appears below. At the top is a girl in a green dress.

From the VHM image collection, available in our Searchroom.

060

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Church Lane, Leytonstone in 1886. Occupied from 1851, Church Lane was one section of a much longer old road from Leytonstone to Ruckholt House, Leyton. Street history information thanks to @wfwalkingpast.bsky.social #ImageoftheMonth

Church Lane, Leytonstone in 1886. On the left is a row of two storey buildings, one displaying a sign for Tea & Coffee. A two storey house is in middle distance. On the right tall trees overhang a long wall.

Image from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

071

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Remembering Lady Catherine McEntee who died #OTD 1 Feb 1962. She was twice mayor of Walthamstow, and Walthamstow's first woman councillor in 1921. Her lifetime of public service was recognised by the award of Freedom of the Borough in 1948 alongside her husband Valentine McEntee, 1st Baron McEntee.

Photographic portrait of Lady Catherine McEntee when Mayor of Walthamstow, 1955-56.

Photo from Vestry House Museum collection, available in our Searchroom.

Biographical details for Lady Catherine McEntee, from printed programme for the Presentation of the Freedom of the Borough of Walthamstow, Jan 1948.

1273

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Eleanor, Lady Wigram (1767-1841), of Walthamstow House. Mother of 17 children & stepmother to six, she was influential in developing education & welfare provision in Walthamstow, founding the Walthamstow Female Benefit Society, 1815. Lady Wigram was buried at Walthamstow, St Mary's #OTD 29 Jan 1841.

Portrait of Eleanor, Lady Wigram by Charles Turner. Mezzotint. Source Creative Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Turner_-_Lady_Wigram_-_B1970.3.475_-_Yale_Center_for_British_Art.jpg

Page from the burial register of Walthamstow, St Mary's, recording the burial of Eleanor, Lady Wigram on 29 Jan 1841.

090

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Study of Light, Frederick Cuming (1930–2022), Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead. © the artist's estate. 🖼️ Williamson Art Gallery & Museum. Fred Cuming taught at Walthamstow School of Art. For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange on light and dark. artuk.org/discover/art...

Study of Light, by Frederick Cuming (1930–2022), Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead.
© the artist's estate.

Image credit Williamson Art Gallery & Museum via Art UK:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/study-of-light-68241/search/actor:cuming-frederick-19302022/page/2/view_as/grid

0303

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

From 200 years ago, entries from Walthamstow workhouse admissions register listing women residents in Jan 1826. They range from Ann Burrell aged 95, to Elizabeth Webb aged 19, admitted when pregnant. Entries for several long stay inmates include Mary Pickett, recorded as Blind. #DocumentoftheMonth

Page recording women residents of Walthamstow workhouse in Jan 1826.

From Walthamstow workhouse admissions register for Jul 1821-Feb 1827.

171

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Remembering poet & Chingford resident Gerda Mayer (1927-2021) evacuated from Prague on a Kindertransport flight in 1939. Her father probably died in a Soviet labour camp. Her mother died in Auschwitz. Her poem Make Believe: ‘Say I were not sixty, say you weren’t near a hundred, say you were alive...

Gerda Mayer (née Stein) as a child, with her father Arnold.

Source: https://youtu.be/vXezsVs8WZI?si=HjhkxCfRqY6IvF7L

13310

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

'Rosa Lewis, an Exceptional Edwardian' by Anthony Masters (1977). This biography tells Rosa's remarkable story from birth in Leyton and domestic service at one shilling a week from age 12, to esteemed society cook, then owner of the Cavendish Hotel, London from 1902-1940s. #BookoftheMonth

Cover of 'Rosa Lewis, an Exceptional Edwardian' by Anthony Masters (1977).

Mid 19th century view of High Road, Leyton.

Illustration in 'Rosa Lewis, an Exceptional Edwardian' by Anthony Masters (1977).

030

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Today is the 90th anniversary of the birth of Beryl Swain in Walthamstow on 22 Jan 1936. A motorcycle road racer, she was the first woman solo rider in the Isle of Man TT in 1962. Her life is celebrated in Kirstin Sibley's The Need For Speed 2019 issuu.com/invisiblenum... We hold related ephemera.

Flyer for 2019 exhibition by Kirstin Sibley and Rachel Gomes: 'Beryl Swain - Need For Speed'.

1136

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Mother and Child, Frank Dobson, Kirklees Museums & Galleries. © the artist's estate. Frank Dobson went to Harrow Green School & Leyton Technical School. For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange, motherhood for Anna Ancher: Painting Light at Dulwich Picture Gallery. artuk.org/discover/art...

Mother and Child by Frank Dobson, Kirklees Museums and Galleries. © the artist's estate.
Image credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries, via Art UK https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/mother-and-child-257781/search/actor:dobson-frank-18861963/page/3

0203

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Pimp Hall Farm, Chingford, c.1890. This was a working farm until the mid 1930s. The farm house was subsequently demolished and the site became a Council run nursery and allotments. The 17th cent Dovecote survives and is Grade II listed. #ImageoftheMonth

Pimp Hall Farm, Chingford, c.1890.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

0112

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Knot, Bernard Cohen, Ulster Museum. ©the artist/Flowers Gallery. Bernard Cohen grew up in Leytonstone & went to South West Essex Technical College. 🖼️ National Museums NI. artuk.org/discover/art... For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange on bold & colourful art for Colour at Tullie Carlisle

Knot, by Bernard Cohen 1962,
Ulster Museum. © the artist/Flowers Gallery.
Image credit National Museums NI, via Art UK:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/knot-121780/search/actor:cohen-bernard-b-1933/page/3

091

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Advertisement for Pure New Milk from J Soper's Low Hall Farm dairy, from Guide to Chingford, 1907. #MilkDay

082

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Jack Cornwell was born at Clyde Place, Leyton #OTD 1900. Awarded the VC posthumously, he stayed at his post on HMS Chester when mortally wounded in Battle of Jutland 1916. 🖼️ John T Cornwell VC by F Lawton, after F W Elwell. Vestry House Museum via @artukdotorg.bsky.social artuk.org/discover/art...

Portrait of John Travers Cornwell VC by F Lawton, after Frederick William Elwell. Depicted in naval uniform, Cornwell stands with crossed arms. Behind him is a wide expanse of cloudy sky, above a calm blue sea.

Image credit: Vestry House Museum via Art UK https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/john-travers-cornwell-19001916-vc-135299/search/venue:vestry-house-museum-6486/page/1/view_as/grid

050

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Angels around the Cross, Norman Adams (1927–2005), Manchester Art Gallery. © the artist's estate. Norman Adams was born at 74 Shernhall St, Walthamstow. For @artukdotorg.bsky.social's #OnlineArtExchange: angels & guardians with Liverpool Cathedral. 🖼️ Manchester Art Gallery. artuk.org/discover/art...

Angels around the Cross,
Norman Adams (1927–2005),
Manchester Art Gallery. © the artist's estate.

Image credit Manchester Art Gallery via Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/angels-around-the-cross-204342/search/actor:adams-norman-19272005/page/3

0191

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Clement Attlee speaking at the Town Hall opening ceremony of Walthamstow's celebrations for the Festival of Britain, May 1951. Prime minister from 1945-51 & Labour Party leader from 1935-1955, Attlee was MP for Limehouse 1922-50 and Walthamstow West 1950-55. He was born in Putney #OTD 3 Jan 1883.

Clement Attlee speaking at the Town Hall opening ceremony of Walthamstow's celebrations for the Festival of Britain, May 1951. He stands at a microphone, on a dais set up at the Town Hall entrance. The mayor and mayoress, with other civic dignitaries are seated behind him. At the front are two Life Guards in uniform.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

0120

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

The 1952 excavation at the site of Salisbury Hall, Walthamstow revealed its medieval foundations. Rebuilt in late 16th century, it was the manor house of Salisbury Hall, held by Roger Ascham from 1564-68. Author of The Scolemaster, and tutor to Princess Elizabeth, Roger Ascham died #OTD 30 Dec 1568.

Black and white photo of foundations at the site of Salisbury Hall manor house, Walthamstow during archaeological excavations in 1952.

From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

071

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake died in London 100 years ago #OTD 28 Dec 1925. Born at Chingford Rectory in 1865, she was the first British woman to qualify as Master of Surgery. She was lead surgeon at Royal Free Hospital & a pioneer of surgery for cervical cancer. Her statue is in Tavistock Square WC1.

OS map section showing Chingford Rectory, c.1870.

Photo of memorial to Louisa Aldrich-Blake by Arthur George Walker, in Tavistock Square, London, designed by Edwin Lutyens. Photo by
Stu's Images, 2010.

Source Creative Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louisa_Brandreth_Aldrich-Blake,_Tavistock_Square,_London.JPG

1236

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Walthamstow Palace programme cover 1913. A popular music hall venue in its early days, the Palace Theatre operated in Walthamstow High Street from 1903 to 1954. It was demolished in 1960. #EYASparkle #ExploreYourArchive @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social

Walthamstow Palace programme cover 1913.

The art work depicts a woman in a red costume, scattering glitter from a red sack on her left. She sits above a circular panel inscribed with The Walthamstow Palace against a decorative background.

0151

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Birt Acres died in Whitechapel #OTD 27 Dec 1918. A prolific film maker in late 19th-early 20th cent, he gave the first public film screenings in England in 1896 & patented cinematograph system 1898. He is buried at Queen's Road Cemetery, Walthamstow. The Derby filmed in 1895 youtu.be/WbHxO6RJnxg?...

Photographic portrait of Birt Acres c.1900.

Source Creative Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Birt_Acres.jpg

Birt Acres filming the Derby at Epsom in 1895.

Source Creative Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acres_1895_Derby.jpg

OS map section showing Walthamstow Cemetery, 1939.

072

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Sarah Razafy born in Madagascar, died in Walthamstow 185 years ago #OTD 26 Dec 1840. With fellow Malagasy Christian refugees, she lived with members of Marsh Street Congregational Church from 1839. She was buried at the Marsh Street burial ground & later reinterred at Chingford Mount Cemetery c1980.

Section from facsimile portrait of the Malagasy Christian refugees who lived in Walthamstow 1839-1841. Sarah Razafy (d.1840) is in a blue cloak, second from left.

Photo of part of the Marsh Street burial ground in Walthamstow, prior to redevelopment in 1970s.

From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

071

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Snow at the Ancient House, Walthamstow in early 20th cent. Then used partly as a bookshop, this is a former 15th cent hall house and the earliest surviving domestic building in Waltham Forest. Internal conversion now gives several dwellings #ArchiveAdventCalendar #MerryChristmas @arascot.bsky.social

Photo of the Ancient House, Walthamstow in the snow, early 20th century. The central sign reads 'The Ancient House Bookshop'.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

0161

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Father Christmas with penguins, on his journey to Bearmans Toy Fair in Leytonstone, c.late 1950s. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Santa @arascot.bsky.social

Photo of Father Christmas on a decorative float, en route to Bearmans Toy Fair in Leytonstone, c.late 1950s. Father Christmas waves as he sits at right end of the float, which is decorated to resemble a large sleigh. He is accompanied by people dressed as teddy bears in the middle and penguins on the left.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

091

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Christmas candles for nursery tea on Christmas Day 1865. Image from facsimile of Ellen Buxton's sketchbook, recording family life in Leytonstone in 1864-66. Ellen (1848-1919) was a granddaughter of abolitionist Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #FestiveTraditions @arascot.bsky.social

Facsimile of Ellen Buxton's sketch of Christmas candles at nursery tea on Christmas Day 1865. Five children sit on high chairs around the tea table. One adult (possibly their governess) sits with them. The Buxton family lived in Leytonstone.

050

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Fireplace at Water House, Walthamstow (now William Morris Gallery), c.1930s, awaiting a warm fire on this cold morning! #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WarmFire @arascot.bsky.social

Photo of fireplace at Water House, Walthamstow, c.1930s.

Image from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

0120

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Alderman and Mrs Rayner, mayor and mayoress of Leyton, at a Christmas party for local children whose fathers were prisoners of war, 1944. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #ChristmasParty @arascot.bsky.social

Photo of a Christmas party for local children whose fathers were prisoners of war, 1944. Children are gathered around
Alderman and Mrs Rayner, the mayor and mayoress of Leyton, seated in the centre. Father Christmas stands by the Christmas tree on the right, carrying a sack of presents on his shoulder.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

070

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Red holly berries brighten this seasonal notice from the Leyton and Leytonstone Chamber of Commerce, from their publication 'Action' in Dec 1934. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #ChristmasColours @arascot.bsky.social

0133

Waltham Forest Archives @lbwfarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

The church bells of Walthamstow, St Mary's await rehanging, following restoration work in 1896. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Bells @arascot.bsky.social

Photo of the church bells of Walthamstow, St Mary's lined up on the ground prior to rehanging, following restoration work in 1896. On the left in middle distance are several schoolboys with a man, possibly a teacher. On the right two men stand between winter trees. Gravestones in the churchyard are seen in front of the houses at the rear.

Photo from VHM collection, available in our Searchroom.

1199