Take One... postcard
About Brent Museum and Brent Archives Brent Archives and Brent Museum hold collections related to the area now known as the London Borough of Brent and its residents.
Brent Museum is free. The main gallery is packed with interactive activities and exhibits revealing the fascinating stories behind Brent's social history. Our collections reflect working and domestic life in Brent from about 1850 to the present day. We also have a special exhibition gallery with an exciting programme of visiting exhibitions. The museum has a Community Gallery on the ground floor where you can see the latest exhibition about the different cultures and communities that live in Brent.
Brent Archives can help you find out more about the local area and its history. We hold the records of Brent Council and its predecessors, including council minutes and building plans, as well as historical maps and street directories, electoral registers, school records, and an extensive collection of old photographs and postcards. Our local history collections include a large reference collection, and local newspapers dating back to 1870. We also collect the records of local groups and organisations.
Background information The London Borough of Brent was formed in 1965 when the Wembley and Willesden Municipal Boroughs were merged. Ordnance Survey maps held by Brent Archives show the development of the area over the last 150 years, including the extension of railway lines, the increase in the volume of roads and housing, and the changes in industry.
Harlesden, 1860s
Harlesden, originally Herewulf's Tun (tun meaning farmstead), began as a Saxon settlement on an elevated and well‐ watered woodland clearing. In the 16th century Harlesden was a linear village (that is, running alongside a single stretch of road) with at least seven houses. By the mid‐18th century the village had two inns and there were a number of farmhouses set in orchards around the green and more farms to the northwest. A network of roads led to places like Acton and Willesden Green. By 1839 the London‐Harrow coach passed through Harlesden every day. The village had a blacksmith, a grocer, a shoemaker and a new inn. By 1855 an omnibus service was running to London. Nonetheless, major development only came as a result of the arrival of the railways. Many parts of Brent, including Harlesden, developed as part of ‘Metro‐land’, the suburban areas of North‐West London which grew as the Metropolitan Railway was extended beyond central London from the 1860s.
Postal Communication The postal system used in England was greatly reformed during the Victorian period. Up until the early 1800s it was common for the recipient to pay for letters on arrival and the cost depended on distance travelled and the number of sheets in the letter. Sometimes this resulted in people rejecting their post! During the 1800s pre‐ payment was introduced in the form of stamps and costs were standardised. The world’s first adhesive postage stamp was the Penny Black, issued in 1840. Post boxes were introduced across the country in the 1850s. By the late 1800s there were between six and twelve mail deliveries per day in London, which allowed people to send Harlesden, 1914-15 and receive several letters in a single day.
Postcodes came into use in London from the 1850s onwards when there were 10 areas divided into: EC, WC, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW. In 1917 numbers were added to further divide the areas and in the 1950s the current system of a two‐part alpha numeric code was phased in. In the 1870s blank postcards were introduced by the Royal Mail: one side was for the address and the message was written on the reverse.
In 1894 the Royal Mail gave permission for publishers to make picture postcards. Postcards were extremely popular in the early 1900s and were used widely; it wasn’t until the 1930s that they became mostly associated with seaside holidays. The collection of picture postcards held by Brent Archives demonstrates the range of local images used of for postcards, including parks, street views, churches, farms and schools.
Photography Photography developed significantly from 1820 on. One of the first permanent images, captured in France in 1825, required an 8‐hour exposure. In 1838 the first photograph of people, taken as part of a street scene, took 8 minutes exposure to capture. By the mid‐1800s photography had developed enough for portraits to gain popularity,
although subjects still had to sit or stand for long periods to achieve a clear image. There are many images in Brent's collection where movement has caused figures to blur. Photographs were taken using plates until film was developed in the 1880s. In the 1900s the developments in cameras, film, and developing meant that cameras were available for purchase by the public. Although colour photography had been experimented with throughout the period, it wasn't until the 1900s that it became a viable option. Even then it was only used by those with higher levels of expertise and wealth. Colour film (as opposed to plates) was not available until the 1930s. Again, it was not widely used as it was expensive and more difficult to capture successful images in comparison to black and white film, which remained the norm into the 1950s. This is reflected in the photographs held by Brent Archives, where black and white images predominate until the 1970s. It is only from the 1980s that colour tends to be the norm.
The document The image on the postcard is identified as ‘Bandstand, Roundwood Park, Harlesden’. The reverse of the postcard shows a message from May to Mary Cox.
The Image The land we currently call Roundwood Park used to be known as Knowles Hill because of its proximity to Knowles Tower (right). It was privately owned until George Furness sold it to the Willesden Local Board in the 1890s and it was turned into a park. It is now known as Roundwood Park, after another large property, Roundwood House (below). The picture of Roundwood House shows a tennis party, with children and servants. Both Roundwood House and Knowles Tower had been demolished by 1939. Knowles Tower, Catalogue reference: 2010 The Park The park was designed by Oliver Claude Robinson, who also engineered the main drainage and sewerage of Willesden in the late 1800s. It followed a formal Victorian style, much of which is still in place today. Bandstands were popular in the Victorian period and were often used by brass bands to perform open‐air concerts. The bandstand in the picture is no longer in Roundwood Park, possibly a result of declining use.
The image also includes an unnamed man. He is wearing a suit with a hat and has a moustache but no beard. His style most likely dates to the 1910s. A small figure is just visible in the background, seated Roundwood House, Catalogue reference: 0557 on a bench. The scene was probably posed.
The message The postcard was sent from 35 Craven Park, which is about 1 mile from Roundwood Park and 5 miles from the recipient’s address in Golders Green. The postcard was sent on 29 July 1919. In the message May is arranging a day for Mary Cox to visit. She writes that 'we shall be delighted to see you' and 'we go away Saturday'. The stamp is still attached in its original wonky position. We know this because the postmark covers the stamp and shows no breaks in the lines or date. The stamp is a King George V one‐penny stamp that was issued from 1912 to 1924. It is not a rare stamp and is currently valued at around £1.
Local connections As well as selling the land for the park, there is another connection between the postcard and the Furness family. The 35 Craven Park address is very close to one that appears in the Furness Papers, a collection held by Brent Archives. The Furness Papers include plans from around 1910 for the enlargement of the scullery and alterations to the attics at 34 Craven Park. George Furness also had an occupation in common with the park’s designer, being contracted to construct new sewers under London. Furness started the Willesden Brick and Tile Company in the 1870s and many houses, schools and churches around the Willesden area are built using Furness’ bricks. He bought a lot of land in the area to develop his factory and build houses for his employees. George Furness died at home in Roundwood House in 1900 and is buried in the cemetery of St Mary Church. George Furness, Catalogue reference: 2283
You could use the reproduction of the postcard to stimulate group discussions. For example:
What would it have been like to live in Brent in 1919? What impact does the development of transport have on communication? How has communication changed? Do we still use postcards in the same way? What do we have now instead? (E.g. Letters, telegrams, telephone, email, text messages, twitter)
Is there a standard format for postcards? Are there other examples you could look at? How has photography changed? Who takes photographs? Has Roundwood Park changed since it opened? Has the area around Roundwood Park changed?
Has clothing changed since the early 1900s? What other evidence could you use to find out more?
Why do we have parks? What are they for?
Ideas for creative planning across the curriculum: Write a reply to the postcard. Think about what Brent would have been like during 1910 and create your own postcard from the past. Art & Design/History/Literacy
Create a piece of music that could be performed on a bandstand. Use your imagination and make your own instruments. Design & Technology/Science/Music Recreate the postcard scene in the park using modern equivalents. What has changed and what has stayed the Tseaamchei?n Hg iisdteoarys/ Drama The following ideas are no more than a starting point. As you begin to explore the “V.E. + 2 Days” letter and make cMonankec ati osents awnidth c oyostuurm oewsn a cnodn ptehxott,o pgrroajpehc tyso wuirt ho wthne p poosttecnartida.l tUos en trhiceh o annlidn et rBarnesnfot rAmrc yhoivuers s ctuatdaelnotgsu’ ele taor nfiinndg will boetghienr t poo esmtceargdes. f rom the past to recreate. Art & Design/Design & Technology/ICT What sounds would you hear from the postcard? Create and record a soundscape. Music/History
Bring the postcard to life. Create a play based on the scene. What might have happened just before this scene or just after? Drama/Literacy Design a stamp. Art & Design
Investigate your local area for signs of buildings from different periods. Create a street map of your area with
colour‐coded buildings, parks, roads and stations for different decades. Geography/History
Investigate different parks in Brent and design your own park. Art & Design/Geography
About Take One Inspired by the National Gallery’s Take One Picture programme, Take One… aims to Inspire teachers to use historic buildings, objects, and archive documents to develop creative cross‐curricular work in the classroom.
Take One... postcard