Archive and local history event video recordings
From Paper to Print
The hidden manuscript of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters
When Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – a famous society woman – died in 1762, she left behind a manuscript of letters written during her time in Turkey. They contained first-hand observations of life in a Muslim country, from the position of women to early forms of vaccination. Despite her family’s best efforts, they were published the following year, causing a sensation. But how did they make it into print?
In this illustrated talk, Emma Yandle, Curator & Collections Manager at Chawton House, follows the trail from a Reverend in Rotterdam, to a publisher on the Strand, and a little-known manuscript held by Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre. © Emma Yandle
Running time – 55 minutes
Watch From Paper to Print event
Crossroads Women’s Centre
Making Trouble, Making History 1975-2022
Founding member Solveig Francis tells the story of the Crossroads Women’s Centre, one of the oldest women’s centres in the country, from its origins as a squat in Drummond Street in 1975 up to the present day.
Shoda Rackal, a current worker at the Centre, talks about some of the Centre’s current activities.
This is a recording of a talk given for Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre on 26th July 2022. (© Crossroads Women’s Centre)
Running time – 38 minutes
Watch Crossroads Women’s Centre talk
From Prejudice to Pride
An Exploration of Camden’s LGBT Heritage
An illustrated talk by Camden tour guide Richard Cohen, exploring Camden’s rich LGBT heritage including Victorian cross-dressers, the Bloomsbury Group, London’s only LGBT bookshop, Kenneth Williams, and the first same-sex weddings at Camden Town Hall.
Running time – 25 minutes
Watch From Prejudice to Pride talk
Unveiling of Beryl Gilroy Mural
On 1 July 2022 a mural was unveiled commemorating the life of Dr Beryl Gilroy, Camden’s first black headteacher and the second to be appointed in London.
This milestone was achieved by Gilroy when she became headteacher of Beckford School in Dornfell Street in 1969. The new mural is located outside West Hampstead Primary School. The mural by artist Fipsi Seilern was commissioned in 2018 by City Hall and Tate Collective as part of the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign.
A short film of the unveiling was made by Jack Arts (Instagram: @jack__arts, Twitter: @Jack__Arts, LinkedIn: Jack Arts) which includes commentary by Gilroy’s daughter, Darla Jane Gilroy, Associate Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Reader in Fashion Enterprise at Central Saint Martins UAL.
Watch the unveiling of Beryl Gilroy mural film.
London's Little Italy
Tudor Allen, Archivist at Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, talks to Royston Vince for Britalialive about the history of London’s former Little Italy, based in Holborn and Clerkenwell, and about the archives of the Italian quarter held at the Centre. (© Royston Vince and Tudor Allen)
Watch London's Little Italy event
Rabindranath Tagore
A Poet of the World in Camden
The Tagore Centre UK celebrates the Bengali literary giant Rabindranath Tagore with readings from his works, recitals of his songs, and talks about his life, including his time living in the Vale of Health, Camden.
Poet, novelist, composer, singer, philosopher, and educationalist, he became in 1913 the first non-European writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. © The Tagore Centre UK
Running time – 1 hour
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Caught Between Two Worlds
London's Italian Community between the World Wars
The Procession of the Madonna of Mont Carmel, Clerkenwell Road 1933 © Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
Drawing on the memoirs and archives of two remarkable women, this illustrated talk explores London’s Italian quarter in the 1920s and 1930s. Speakers and performers include Melanie Hughes, actress and author of “War Changes Everything,” and Nadia Ostachini, actress and artistic director and producer of Tricolore Theatre Company. Recorded for Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre on 21 September 2021. © Melanie Hughes
Running time – 52 minutes
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Black Teacher
The Story of Beryl Gilroy
© The estate of Beryl Gilroy
Darla Jane Gilroy tells the story of her mother, Beryl Gilroy, pioneering teacher, writer, psychotherapist, and Camden’s first black headteacher, drawing on her unique memoir, “Black Teacher.”
Darla Jane Gilroy is Associate Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Reader in Fashion Enterprise at Central Saint Martins UAL. Recorded for Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre on 19 April 2022. © Darla Gilroy
Running time – 38 minutes