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THE ST MARYLEBONE SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Summer 2018 Number 353 www.stmarylebonesociety.org Registered Charity 274082 CELEBRATING 70 YEARS THE OLDEST AMENITY SOCIETY IN CENTRAL LONDON The St Marylebone Society (SMS) was The Chairman and founder of the SMS founded in 1948 after successful was Alderman Reneson Coucher FRICS, participation in the national campaign FAI, LCC an influential local politician to save the Nash Terraces in Regent’s and also a keen amateur film-maker. He Park. Post WW2 Marylebone was badly recorded Marylebone during and after bombed, run down and dilapidated the war giving witness to the scale of and there was common purpose as destruction and a poignant insight of the politicians, landowners, architects and mood of the early SMS members. As a historians joined together with a shared rare example of colour footage taken belief that Regent’s Park and the during the Blitz these important films Georgian architecture of Marylebone were recently digitized and edited by the must be preserved and restored. SMS to bring them to a wider audience and are now archived at the Imperial War The bomb-damaged Druce’s Depository on the North Museum. West corner of Baker Street and Blandford Street, which Documenting and recording the local appears in film taken by Reneson Coucher in 1941. history and heritage of Marylebone was only with the past, but also with the important to the founder members but present and future of St Marylebone, and from the outset it was unanimously able to present a considered public Clarence Terrace (originally by Decimus Burton): agreed that the St Marylebone Society opinion on planning matters under the Completely rebuilt behind a replica of the original façade, disguising modern flats behind. would be a Civic Society concerned not 1947 Planning Act. continued overleaf One of its early campaigns was over the geographical remit. The George, institutions and indeed whole areas, future of the 18th century St Mary’s Blandford, Baker Society (GBBS) was a such as St John’s Wood and Lisson Chapel, which was on the River Tyburn residents’ group which had come into Green. Some of these early publications and gave the village and our existence specifically to oppose a have been republished in association neighbourhood its name. Attempts to modern development bounded by those with other institutions in expanded stop its demolition in 1949 failed but three streets in W1. It was proposed by form and in glossier editions. For WCC that this group take on the from this act of vandalism the Society example, the “Diary of William Tayler”, planning area south of the Marylebone managed, however, to secure the site first published in 1962, was republished Road, and act as a consultative body to with Westminster City Archives in 1998 and raise finance to create a public the Council. GBBS changed their name and “St Marylebone Workhouse”, first garden, as part of the 1951 Festival of to be the Marylebone Association to published in 1967, was republished in Britain project. The Society restored reflect their greater area of interest and 2003 in association with City of the organisation was established in Westminster Archives and We stminster 1982. University. To mark the Millennium the Another reason the SMS were so Society published a mini history of stretched in the 1980s was due to their Marylebone in the accessible form of sustained campaign over two years to four self-guided walks: “Discovering St prevent the demolition of the Great Marylebone”. A revised edition was Central Hotel and the closure of published in 2005. This has proved Marylebone Station and its conversion hugely popular and despite having got to a busway and coach terminus. This through over 8,000 copies, it continues was achieved by the Society connecting to sell well at Daunt Books. with many other local and national groups, across the political spectrum, The Wesley Memorial Garden in 1951. and taking the lead role in coordinating and re-landscaped the garden in 2013 to a campaign that lasted over two years. improve its character and the setting of Special mention should be ma de of the Charles Wesley’s grave and memorial. late Sam Briddes, who worked The Society settled down to work with tirelessly to lobby residents and argue committees formed for history, with experts on the technical problems architecture, planning, photography and of the conversion of the tracks into the historical record keeping. A programme proposed Bus Rail. This was perhaps of lectures, visits and later photographic the Society’s greatest success and has and art exhibitions was arranged which had a lasting positive impact on recruited members, spread their Marylebone in both townscape and message and increased their network economic terms. power. The first SMS lecture by Mr To mark the 60th anniversary of the (later Sir) John Summerson on SMS in 2008 the Society paid for the Members of the SMS monitoring NO2 pollution. Architecture in St Marylebone was restoration and cleaning of the bust of When the Society started, 70 years ago, followed by many other speakers, all protecting Georgian buildings was their eminent in their fields. raison d’être and today, due to The Society acted as Consultative Body campaigning by similar amenity to the LCC and Marylebone Borough societies across the UK, planning and Council and in 1952 spoke at the Public conservation policies are in place to Enquiry on The County of London Plan. support this ambition. However, one Evidence presented by Hon Sec, Ruth current campaign to save a Victorian Eldridge, started the fight to get the School house in Bell Street illustrates Marylebone Station Railway Goods Yard that we cannot be complacent and we released for housing and amenity uses, hope that our objections to its a vision realised with the Lisson Green demolition will be heard by development decades later. Westminster Council. Bust of John Nash outside All Souls - before and after the From 1965, when St Marylebone SMS had it professionally restored and cleaned in 2008. Today the Society’s agenda has expanded to take the initiative in was incorporated into the City of John Nash, which stands outside Westminster, the SMS continued to be tackling environmental issues, such as Nash’s All Souls Church, Langham congestion, safe cycling and pollution. consulted on planning matters for the Place. The idea of the bust had been whole of the historic Borough of St The Society have been involved with proposed in 1952 by the Society’s then stakeholders throughout the 9-year Marylebone. The Planning Committee Chairman, Alderman Reneson Coucher, met monthly to deal with an increasing gestation of the Baker Street 2-Way to mark the bicentenary of Nash’s birth, project and support its aim to volume of applications and policy but it took until 1956 to garner consultations. The St John’s Wood improve the neighbourhood’s urban sufficient support for the idea and get environment. The SMS has also taken Society was formed in the 1960s and the bust erected. The SMS played a took over as official consultee for the the initiative to collect independent data central role in delivering the project and northern part of St Marylebone, thus on traffic and NO , with the NO data was the third largest contributor to the 2 2 reducing the area of SMS planning presented in the form of an on-line map. cost after the LCC and the Crown consultation. By the 1980s WCC were The SMS hope their work will raise concerned that the responses made by Estate. public awareness and encourage TfL the SMS committee were lacking in One of the things that makes the SMS and Westminster City Council to detail and especially as more complex different from most other amenity improve air quality and reduce traffic developments required greater input societies is its commitment, enshrined congestion. This is a key objective for and expertise. The workload was too in its constitution, to publishing works the Society in the 21st century and an great for the volunteers and the solution on local history. Numerous monographs essential legacy for future generations was to further divide the SMS have been produced covering local who will live and work in Marylebone. 2 CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM CITIZEN SCIENCE ACTIVISM School Council of St Edward’s Catholic Primary School and its Head Teacher (Ms Clare O'Connor) hosted a visit by Cllr Nickie Aiken (Leader of Westminster Council) and Ms Claire Mann (TfL's Director of Bus Operations) to discuss actions to mitigate NO2 pollution. Two local primary schools have action. Two measures were identified pollutants. The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and successfully used evidence from Air which would make a huge difference. Cllr Aiken visited St Mary’s on 24th Quality surveys on their premises to The first was to install a ready-grown, May and committed to jointly fund get Westminster Council and the Mayor dense “living wall” of ivy along the installation of an air filtration unit and to of London to take steps to reduce traffic perimeter railings with an automatic pilot designating Enford Street as a pollution affecting their playgrounds. watering system to ensure it acted as an “School Street” for one year starting In May 2017, volunteers from the SMS evergreen barrier to pollution. This was this September. This entails closing the helped six state-funded schools in readily acceded to by Cllr Aiken. The street to traffic for a short period while second was for TfL to relocate the Marylebone to measure levels of NO2 pupils arrive and leave each weekday. (nitrogen dioxide, a harmful pollutant) terminal stand for the No 2 bus away The Mayor’s widely reported priority to on their playgrounds and inside their from the school.

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