Putting Maida Vale Library back on the map!

The team at Maida Vale pulled out all the stops to get the temporary library in the basement up and running at the tail end of August 2012.
Once the doors had re-opened though, we were then faced with the challenge of making sure customers old and new returned or indeed visited for the first time.

Re-launching regular events like the weekly Under 5s sessions, class visits, book groups and IT help sessions have helped but it was felt that a further push was needed to get us noticed locally. After a fair bit of brainstorming, checking of budgets and much scratching of heads an evolving programme of events was agreed.

Our first “big” event was our sale of retired library stock which took place on Saturday 29 September. This proved to be hugely popular with customers and made us some useful funds, so as we had a fair bit of stock left over we’ve decided to hold another one on Saturday 1 December – please add this to your diary.

As children are Maida Vale’s ‘bread and butter’ customers, a series of events specifically aimed at them was organised so that something was happening on each of the Saturdays in October. The first such event happened on 6 October with morning and afternoon pirate-themed craft sessions taking place. Children (and adults!) had great fun making parrot, shark or dolphin shaped pirate treasure maps and pirate hats. There were lots of cries of “Ahoy tha’ me hearties!” and other such pirate speak. Over 20 children plus parents attended on the day and this is to be followed by a further two sessions today – 13 October – with more pirate-themed craft activities and treasure hunts.

[Edited to add a link to a nice picture of the pirate events in the Wood & Vale newspaper]

Half-term sees Native American storytelling taking place along with other things like the Story Cube and Diorama (design a miniature room). Much spooky fun will be had in a darkened children’s library on Hallowe’en itself…

For adults in November we have a couple of fascinating talks, the first of which is on the 12^th and relates to the 1840s diary of Nathaniel Bryceson – longer term readers of this blog will remember how many fans the diary has and the incredible lengths people went to in fleshing out the details. The posts about Nathaniel are still some of the most viewed posts on this site, so this is your chance to come along to Maida Vale and find out more.

The second event, on 26 November, is a talk given by the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust about the tragic Bethnal Green Tube Disaster of 1943 and their efforts to raise money for a fitting memorial. There’s no need to book for either of these events, so please do come along and say hello.

Check out the Maida Vale Library events page for further details and future events.

[Ben]

The end? It’s just the beginning…

Nathaniel Bryceson’s diary – The Life & Loves of a Victorian Clerk* – comes to an end today, 12 December 2010, with the last entry for the year. It is a sad day. Nathaniel’s adventures have struck a chord with readers all over the world, and none more so than an intrepid group of history-lovers on the Rootschat website. These international fans have indefatigably chased up the people, places and events that Nathaniel mentions in his daily updates.

How it all began – the first diary entry, 1 January 1846

Jim Garrod, a Westminster City Archives volunteer and Rootschat contributor, reports on the research challenges taken up by the Rootschat forum members, and shares some of their fascinating findings:

The announcement that Nathaniel Bryceson’s diary was to be published online was picked up by the press and broadcasters all over Britain and even abroad. A Rootschat board was opened by “Ruskie” in Australia and was soon joined by people in the USA, Canada, Ireland and several in Britain.

The Rootschat group soon tried to find the background to Nathaniel and the people he mentions, particularly his girlfriend, Ann Fox. There was great excitement when they found that their suspicions were correct and Ann was over twenty years older than Nathaniel. However Ann’s origins and fate remain a mystery, particularly as her marital state is not given in the 1851 census and her birthplace is unclear.

Dean Street – home of Granny Shepherd and one of Nathaniel’s favourite haunts

Achievements of the group include finding the true name of “Mrs Skirriker” whom Nathaniel, (not to put too fine a point on it), stalked. The name was actually Sanigear and she really was a descendant of John Bunyan. They also tracked down other people and incidents mentioned in the diary. While some efforts had been made to see if there were any living descendants of Nathaniel none had been successful until, one day, Steven Saxby walked into the Archives and revealed himself as a descendant of Nathaniel through his son Henry Bryceson.

Steven revealed that there was a family tradition that the family name should have been White not Bryceson. Although the diary gives no clue that Nathaniel knew that he was illegitimate, he or one of his descendants must have found out, perhaps on his mother’s death or perhaps he looked for his baptism in the St Marylebone Parish register. On his marriage in 1854 he gave his father’s name as Nathaniel Bryceson, a mythical combination of his father Nathaniel White and his mother’s first husband John Bryceson. The discovery of the grave of Nathaniel, his wife and son Nathaniel, in an overgrown part of Islington cemetery in Finchley led to a visit by Steven.

Nathaniel was a great walker, ranging far and wide to look at churches, carve his name and get up to mischief with Ann. A couple of these walks, freely modified to minimise main road walking, have been re-created  by members of the Rootschat forum, leading us across London to Hendon and Harrow on the Hill.

Some mysteries remain. This was not Nathaniel’s first diary and he mentions buying another book for 1847. It is known that his 1848 diary survived into the early years of the 20th Century but whether it is still in existence is unknown.

The end of Nathaniel’s diary is indeed a sad event, but for some it will be just the beginning: there are plenty of mysteries still to be solved, clues to be followed up and questions to be answered. Nevertheless, there will undoubtedly be a large number of people around the world who will be able to spend more time doing the things they really should be doing after 12 December!

[Jim]

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* Editor’s note, January 2016:
The diary is being republished throughout 2016 as a blog and weekly podcast. You can also view updates on Twitter and on Westminster City Archives’ Facebook page.

In the footsteps of a Victorian Clerk

The intrepid walkers, with Jim Garrod behind the camera! (Photograph copyright of Jim Garrod)

Have you been following The Life and Loves of a Victorian Clerk*? Members of the Nathaniel Bryceson Rootschat forum certainly have!

Bryceson fans from across the globe have been meeting on this site since January 2010 to discuss every aspect of the diary, from speculation over Ann Fox’s identity to the history of famous London landmarks such as Westminster Bridge.

One hot topic for discussion has been the vast distances Nathaniel covers on his walks and, on Tuesday 5 October, a group of intrepid diary enthustiasts set out on a mission to recreate one of his famously long walks. Among them was Jim Garrod, a volunteer at Westminster Archives Centre. Here is his report…

The Nathaniel Bryceson Memorial Walk to Harrow
On Sunday 12 July 1846 Nathaniel wrote the following in his diary:

“Up at half past 5, prepared for long journey.  Breakfasted at home and afterwards started half past 7 o’clock for Harrow, through Kilburn, Willesden, Neasden, Kingsbury to Harrow.”

On 5 October 2010 a group of six people including Nathaniel’s descendant, Steven Saxby and his wife Christine set off to re-create this walk. However, not wishing to walk on main roads as Nathaniel did, we started by walking across Regents Park, and over Primrose Hill, pausing to catch our breath and admire the view. En route Steven emulated his ancestor by examining all the churches on the way, helped by the volume of Pevsner clutched in his hand. We then cut across Haverstock Hill and through back streets to Parliament Hill Fields and thence to Hampstead Heath and The Spaniards Inn, where we had lunch.

By this time Nathaniel was at Harrow but we were taking a very indirect route and were about to cheat a bit! A walk down into Golders Green took us to a bus stop where we caught a bus to Kingsbury and the huge open space of Fryent Park. Thence following the Capital Ring to Northwick Park and finally up the steep hill to Harrow on the Hill, the school and the church which Nathaniel described in some detail.

At this point Nathaniel walked all the way home again by the Harrow Road; in all a distance of about 22 miles.    We walked about 12miles and came home by Underground!

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Editor’s note, January 2016:
The diary is being republished throughout 2016 as a blog and weekly podcast. You can also view updates on Twitter and on Westminster City Archives’ Facebook page.

Nathaniel Bryceson lives on…

Rev. Steven Saxby looks at Nathaniel’s diary

If you’ve been following our online serialisation of Nathaniel Bryceson’s diary of 1846, The Life and Loves of a Victorian Clerk*, you’ll probably be as excited as we were about a certain surprise visit to Westminster Archives Centre on Tuesday evening.

The Reverend Steven Saxby, a direct descendant of Nathaniel Bryceson, popped into the Archives Centre to meet the staff who have been working on the project, and to take a closer look at the original diary. We were delighted to meet Steven, and to learn that he also shares Nathaniel’s interest in church history!

Rev. Steven Saxby reads words by his ancestor

Steven has promised to keep us updated with any further information he uncovers on Nathaniel’s family tree. To join in the research effort, check out what fans of Nathaniel Bryceson’s Diary have been investigating on the Rootschat forum.

The diary project will run until 12 December 2010. We are already in negotiations with publishers with a view to producing a book of the diary, so watch this space!

[Judith]

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* Editor’s note, January 2016:
The diary is being republished throughout 2016 as a blog and weekly podcast. You can also view updates on Twitter and on Westminster City Archives’ Facebook page.