Preston Library Fun Day Thursday August 18th

 

Saturday's film and other events at Preston Community Library

 

Latest events and news from  Preston Community Library

Please see below full details of this week's film, plus a note about other activities at the library.

 

 The Hired Hand - [Certificate 12] Saturday 25th June 2022
For all films, doors open at 7.15pm for 7.30pm start.

The Hired Hand - 1971, USA:
In this film Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities. Directed by Peter Fonda, the film stars Peter Fonda, Verna Bloom and Warren Oates.

Trailer and casting:  
The Hired Hand (1971) - IMDb

Films are free to members [join at the door], but a £4 donation is requested to finance future films and maintain the library.

Also at the library:
Yoga: There are classes at 7pm on Wednesdays and 9.30am on Sundays.  Our tutor is away, but will be back soon.  Please email samantha.warrington.yoga@gmail.com for information. 

Pub Quizzes
Our pub quizzes are back at the Preston pub on the first Monday of every month. In the meantime, for quiz enthusiasts, The Preston is holding its own quiz every Monday, with ours taking over for our monthly fund raising event. Our next quiz is on Monday 4th July.  All Welcome

Italian Conversation classes
These are now online on Saturday mornings.  For information email prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com .

How to Find Us
We have moved to Ashley Gardens, which is off Preston Road.  Scroll down for a map.  We are at the end of the cul-de-sac through the gate on the left. There is no car park, so if you are driving please park on Preston Road. For Wembley Stadium event days, parking restrictions apply.  We sometimes have  parking permits for the day, so email us before an event at the library [to prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com ] if you will need one.

with regards,
Preston Community Library

LETTER: Cllr Mashari responds to SKPPRA letter

 

Dear Editor

 

As many people will know, I continue to suffer with long Covid after having been infected with Covid 19 twice in 2021. I became very ill at the end of last year and correspondence during my illness at this time may have been missed. It may have been more helpful (and kinder) if Mr Rushe had chosen to enquire about the status of his response with me upon my phased return to work rather than deciding on this course of action, which could run the risk of being perceived as a partisan move so close to the local elections. 

The allegations and tone of Mr Rushe’s letter attempt to undermine and erase the significant personal and professional investment I put in to listening to library campaigners and working with them to find a way for the libraries to stay open- efforts which could be verified by those involved with the campaigns at the time. I have always acted with integrity and heartfelt solidarity in my dealings with each of the community library campaigns in Brent. 

I stood against the then cabinet member with responsibility for libraries, Cllr James Powney, in an internal election precisely because I believed that the council needed to change its direction and take a more collaborative approach to working with communities impacted by the library closures. Upon my election as cabinet member I met with all library campaign groups face to face and worked tirelessly alongside them to secure the conditions for successful volunteer-led community libraries. I will not take credit for the fantastic and exhausting work so many inspiring community activists have undertaken to establish community libraries but I believe most of the library campaigns would agree that my taking over as cabinet member at the time changed the tone between campaigners and the council and that I played a not insignificant role in the journeys of the community libraries. I was also responsible for initiating the Councils’ first ever Community Asset Transfer strategy to ensure local residents could have much more democratic choice and ownership over the fate of public buildings.

I am sorry that Mr Rushe (who I understand does not represent the Preston Community Library group or speak on their behalf) is frustrated by the actions of the council but it is unreasonable to attempt to lay blame personally at my door for these frustrations. 

I am not able to comment on discussions between the cabinet and library campaigners since I resigned from the cabinet, and have not been privy to all communication and discussions between both parties. I am also not able to comment on what circumstances and events may or may not have legitimately changed or come to light since my own discussions with the Preston Library campaign all those years ago.

What I do know is that the Preston Community Library group will be moving into their brand new library premises in April 2023 and are currently in discussions with the Council on the layout and fittings of the building. Brent Council has also provided a temporary home to the community library free of charge at Ashley Gardens. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and personally thank the Preston Community Library Campaign for coming so far and for successfully securing a space for the community library in the face of savage local authority cuts from central government, which ultimately have been the root cause of library closures right across the UK.

I hope this assists in providing a more accurate record and context of my personal involvement with the library campaigns in Brent and I look forward to the new community library opening early next year. 

Cllr Roxanne Mashari

 

Metroland Festival: John Betjeman film and talks on March 12th and March 15th

 From Preston Community Library.  Please note that the meeting on the 12th is in-person at the Library's temporary premises in Ashley Gardens. (Directions below) These meetings are part of their Heritage Project's Metroland Festival.

 This event is on Zoom:

Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman in his poem Middlesex.

Gentle Brent, I used to know you
Wandering Wembley-wards at will,
Now what change your waters show you
In the meadowlands you fill!
Recollect the elm-trees misty
And the footpaths climbing twisty
Under cedar-shaded palings,
Low laburnum-leaned-on railings
Out of Northolt on and upward to the heights of Harrow hill.

UPDATED: Dilwyn Chambers: A ubiquitous local historian and library campaigner who was passionate about heritage and enjoyed dancing. He will be sorely missed.

 

 

 

 

 

Dilwyn (seated) selling postcards at a Preston Community Library event

 (Photo: Chris Coates)

 

Dilwyn Chambers died last week. He was 88.  Dilwyn was a familiar figure to many Brentonians who shared his interest in local history and local issues including the preservation of our heritage and our libraries – a real local character who popped up in the most unexpected of places.

 

Dilwyn was Secretary of the Wembley History Society in 1974, when Willesden Local History Society was started. He soon joined the Willesden group, and had been a loyal member ever since, tireless in his efforts to promote interest in our local history. Dilwyn had a wide range of interests and was a member of dozens of societies. He attended local community meetings on behalf of the group, always with a handful of WLHS programme leaflets to advertise its activities. Dilwyn always spoke his mind, and will be missed by many people in Willesden and Wembley.

 

 

Dilwyn Chambers (Photo: Margaret Smith)

 

These are some of the tributes  by various members of Brent's two local history societies (Wembley and Willesden), Brent and community libraries, and Brent Museum and Archives.

 

 

'It is sad news indeed, as Dilwyn has been a big part of our community for a long time.'

 

'Very sad to hear of Dilwyn's passing. I had some great conversations with him, he had a vast knowledge. Please pass on my condolences.'

 

'I am so sorry to hear this news about Dilwyn. This is actually a shock to me. He was an irreplaceable member of WHS, and an often unfathomably challenging Brent Museum and Archives service user. And he will, for all his good qualities and general contrariness, be sorely missed.'

 

'What a great loss, he will be missed.'

 

'So sad to learn of Dilwyn’s departure. He was a presence in the local history society and community who made his mark on all who knew him over so many years. He kept me on the mark as chair of the Society, both in meetings and through an endless stream of beautifully-crafted letters containing info from other meetings he had attended (he went everywhere). Also, gentle criticism about what we should be doing, based on his time as an officer.'

 

'The [Brent] library team were saddened to hear of the death of Mr Chambers.'

 

'Dear Dilwyn ... too much to say now.  My daughter who danced with Dilwyn at the dance centre above Burton's in Harrow 20+ years ago (photographic evidence is available!) is as distressed as I am.' 

 

'Dilwyn had an encyclopaedic knowledge of subjects he found of interest. I remember him once talking to me about troops at the Battle of Prestonpans using a railway embankment for cover. I briefly considered the possibility that he had gone mad, but it turned out that he was correct, there was a railed 'waggonway' for horse-drawn wagons running to the coast that ran right across the middle of the battlefield, and troops did indeed use the feature for protection in 1745!'

 

'He was well-known in the Preston Community Library ....  He will be remembered as a great supporter of Library events - especially Saturday night film evenings - and any party where an opportunity to jive was on offer!'

 

'I still have numerous interesting random pieces [Dilwyn] had passed on to Richard, with fitting messages attached.'

 

'Sorry to hear the passing of Dilwyn.  Sad but not unexpected.  Please give my condolences to his nephew when next in contact.'

'Thanks for letting me know about the sad loss of Dilwyn. He must have been the longest serving member of WHS. I joined in 1971 and he had been secretary for a few years before then. He was a member of numerous societies and made valuable contributions to them all. He often sent me photocopies of articles and pieces of ephemera in which I might be interested, very thoughtful and generous.'

 

'He was a great supporter of and a regular visitor to our [Barham] Community Library, and of course other local causes.'

 

'He was a very passionate man and really cared about heritage.'

 

 

 

Dilwyn Chambers (Old Brent Archives publicity image)

 

UPDATE

 

Two more tributes to Dilwyn Chambers from former members of Brent Archives staff (when the Archives were at Cricklewood Library, and at the "old" Willesden Green Library Centre). 

'That’s so very sad but I’m glad at the end he was in good care and no doubt regaling his carers with many stories. 

I’ll remember him fondly. He had an impish nature for sure but he always had the archives' best interests at heart and cared deeply for local history and most of the custodians of it.'

and:

'Such sad news. Strangely, it’s hard not to think about the good times we had working together (many, many years ago) without thinking about Dilwyn. 

Dilwyn was and forever will be part of the fabric of Brent Archives, despite the fact he was never an employee! Dilwyn will be missed but never forgotten. May his soul rest in perfect peace.'

 

 FROM LORRAINE KING, EX-BRENT & KILBURN TIMES REPORTER (VIA TWITTER)

 

 I'm saddened by the news that Dilwyn Chambers has died. He was a fierce campaigner who defended locals and made sure their voices were heard. He was a thorn in the side to Brent Council at times which proved he was holding them to account. He will be missed. May he RIP

Preston Community Library re-opens on Saturday

 

Preston Community Library will re-open in temporary premises in Ashley Gardens on Saturday while redevelopment takes place on its former site. 

 

Gareth Armstrong's 'Shylock' at Preston Community Library (Ashley Gardens) November 9th

 

This is the first production at Preston Community Library since its temporary move to Ashley Gardens while its orginal building is being redeveloped.

BOOKING
 

BRENT SOS: Tribute to Brent library campaigners 10 years after Brent Council closed half our libraries

 In the guest post below Paul Lorber, volunteer at Barham Library reflects on the battle against the closure of six Brent libraries, at the time half of the total libraries in the borough.  There were debates within SOS Brent Libraries over the issue - some wanted to concentrate on maintaining the provision of a locally accessible, properly funded professionally staffed library while others, although agreeing with that as a long-term aim, wanted to safeguard the actual buildings and stocks with  short-term volunteer led provision. Taking the legal route was an option undertaken only after considerable debate and produced national headlines. LINK

Four of the six were 'saved' one way or another but Neasden, despite being in one of the poorest areas in the borough had no high profile backing it and is now a church. Tokyngton Library, across the River Brent from St Raphaels Estate, was sold off to an Islamic Association in which  Muhammed Butt  was alleged to have an interest. LINK On the other hand Kensal Rise campaigners had access to a long list of celebrity authors to back their campaign.

The closures led evetually to the demise of   Council Leader Ann John, and her replacement by Muhammed Butt.  It is interesting to revisit the Open Letter that former Brent Labour councillor Graham Durham wrote to him at the time. LINK 

Brent Council began to give some tentative assistance to the volunteer libraries but with no commitment to full reinstatement of the services, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with them in 2017.  LINK

 Recently Preston Community Library after some internal disagreements, has moved to temporary premises while a block of flats is being built on the  redeveloped site with space for a volunteer library on the ground floor.

 

Guest post by Paul Lorber, library volunteer, Friends of Barham Library

 

he second week of October marks 10 years since Labour Councillors in Brent put the final nail in and closed 6 public libraries in Brent. Libraries in Barham Park, Cricklewood, Kensal Rise, Neasden, Preston and Tokyngton were closed after a long battle to save them.

 

There was massive opposition to the closures proposed by the Labour run Brent Council with large petitions, protests and well attended meetings. Local Campaigners raised over £30,000 and took the Council to Court and it was only after they lost their case and the Judge denied them the right to appeal that Brent Council was finally able to close the 6 public libraries for ever.

 

What Labour Councillors did not expect was the determination of dedicated local people to fight on and establish their own Community Libraries to continue the provision of service to the public.

 

They decided to close 6 local libraries (half the total) to save around £1 million. Around 80% of that cost related to staff costs. Local people asked the Council to hand over the Library buildings so that volunteers could run the Libraries instead. This offer was refused despite the fact that 3 of the Library buildings were gifts to local people - Cricklewood and Kensal Rise from All Souls College Oxford and Barham Park from Titus Barham of Express Dairies.

 

For 10 years dozens of local volunteers have kept the dream of local libraries alive and 4 have survived - Barham Community Library has moved around between Barham Primary School, High Road Wembley and finally Barham Park itself and has been actively providing a service for 10 years. Preston Community Library eventually fought its way back into its own building and while Kensal Rise and Cricklewood Community Libraries had their old buildings sold to developers All Souls College, to their credit, insisted that space was made available to the reborn Community Libraries. Kensal Rise has been operating for some time and Cricklewood is hoping to open soon.

 

While the Community Libraries cannot compete for money and resources with Brent Council funded libraries they compensate for this with the dedication of their volunteers and their ingenuity in providing a wide range of local services. Barham Community Library has put on live theatre, Preston has a Film Club while Kensal Rise has put on Author and Comedy events. They all provide the usual book lending services and a wide range of activities for people of all ages.

 

Some of us have been around right from the outset. Over the past 10 years hundreds of people have helped and volunteered to keep the Community Libraries and the spirit of community service alive.

 

I still think that Labour councillors made a big mistake in closing the public libraries and refusing to work in partnership with local people. It is for Labour Councillors to look in the mirror and admit that they made a big mistake.

 

Today, while remembering the battles of 2010 and 2011, I just want to pay a Tribute to all those dozens of dedicated people who recognised the importance of local libraries and would not allow them to die. And of course the best way of recognising this achievement is by paying a visit and supporting your local Community Library in Barham Park, Cricklewood, Kensal Rise and Preston is by paying a visit and borrowing a book or two.

 

 

Brent campaigners at a national demonstration

 

EDITOR'S NOTE

I would be interested in other campaigners' comments on the campaign and what has eventually transpired. 

 

 

Preston Library moving to temporary site this weekend to make way for redevelopment - last day at Carlton Avenue Saturday

 

WINDRUSH DAY EVENT: Double bill screening + Q&A with artists: Charlie Phillips and Carl Gabriel June 22nd 7pm

From Preston Community Library

Come and join us in celebrating the monumental contributions that the Windrush Generation has made to the cultural landscape of Britain.

We will be screening two short documentary films: Rootical, featuring the Jamaican-born restaurateur, photographer, and documenter of black London, Charlie Phillips, followed by The Mas Man with a Magical Touch, featuring the Trinidad-born photographer and wire-form sculptor, Carl Gabriel.

After spending his early childhood with his grandparents, Charlie Phillips joined his parents in London, in 1956. Working in his parents’ restaurant, Charlie began his photographic career by accident when, while still very young, he was given a Kodak Brownie by a black American serviceman. He taught himself to use it and began to photograph life in Notting Hill, making prints in the family bathroom after his parents would retire to bed.

Phillips is now best known for his photographs of Notting Hill during the period of West Indian migration to London, but his subjects also include film stars and student protests.

Coming to London in 1964, Carl worked as a specialist sheet metal worker and was trained in photography and moved into a career in this profession. He was also a pan player for the Ebony Steel Band and has since become a Carnival Artist, specialising in wire-form sculptures that have been presented at large scale festivals globally. His work has also extended to sculptures that have been exhibited at Durham Cathedral and the British Library.

Many of Preston Community Library's members will already be familiar with Carl Gabriel's work through his generous loan to us of two vibrant sculptures in our sunken garden, as well as his specially commissioned sculpture Inspiration for Brent Borough of Cultures 2020.

This event is brought to you by PCL in collaboration with Black History Studies, and will be hosted by Charmaine Simpson, chairing a Q&A with these two iconic artists.

Venue: Your own home via a Zoom Link, which will be emailed to you on receipt of your FREE TICKET reservation.

Both artists are multi-disciplined in their approach to their practice and the conversation promises to range far and wide.

Preston Community Library re-opening Wednesdays and Saturdays from April 21st

 

The Preston Story – Part 4

We left Part 3 of the Preston Story in the early 60s – just before two major political changes in the area. Firstly, Preston, along with the rest of Wembley, merged with Willesden in 1965 to form the new London Borough of Brent; followed in 1974 with the creation of a new Brent North constituency which has had just two MPs since its creation in 1974: the Conservative Rhodes Boyson until his defeat in the 1997 landslide by Labour’s Barry Gardiner.

1. Preston Road, from the Carlton Avenue East junction, early 1960s. (Brent Archives online image 8620)

Preston’s population in 2001 was 12,844 – scarcely changing from the 1951 figure of 12,408 – but by 2011 it had risen by 20.48% to 15,474. The growth mainly came with the building of the Hirst Crescent estate on a brownfield site (the former GEC Research Centre) on East Lane, plus the new flats around Strathcona Road, bringing much-needed housing into the area. The Council’s analysis of changes between the two censuses can be found here.  There is continuing pressure on housing and consequent concerns over the possible exploitation of tenants in houses of multiple occupation.

2. Hirst Crescent, from East Lane. (Image from Google Maps street view)

To help me look back at the last 50 years and to bring Preston’s history up to date, I decide to canvass my neighbours and ask them what positive things had happened locally and what they saw as the changes to the look or feel of the area since they arrived.

One of the things that everyone mentioned was the increased diversity of the local population - though as we have seen, people have been moving into Preston looking for work since the early 19th century and in the 20^th to find new homes in pleasant suburban surroundings. Brent Council’s 2014 Diversity Profile for Preston is slightly dated  but shows in 2011 that Preston had a 70.1% black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) population. Each of these communities needs a history of its own experience and, as only an outline can be shown here, I hope someone will come forward to do that.

3. A Preston Park Primary School class c.1992, showing the diversity of families in the area.

Many people arriving in Preston from 1970 were of Asian heritage, expelled from East Africa, first Kenya and, after the 1971 Amin coup, from Uganda. Many were middle class families – engineers, officials and shop-owners – starting new lives and businesses, and establishing religious, social and cultural communities in the most difficult of circumstances.

In the late 1980s, Preston had a substantial Japanese population, large enough to warrant a Japanese estate agent on Preston Road. Many worked for Japanese companies in the City. During the 1990s Japanese recession, most were recalled and disappeared quickly over the school holidays, leaving children wondering where their school friends had gone. In more recent years EU citizens, particularly from Poland and Romania, have moved into the area, mainly to find work.

4. Wembley United Synagogue (rebuilt 1956), Forty Lane.  (Image from Brent Council’s heritage Local List)

The Jewish Community was perhaps the first to settle as a distinct group in the 1920s, moving from poor housing in East London to modern homes and green surroundings. A United Synagogue was established in Forty Avenue in the 1930s, followed by the Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue [1948] at 326 Preston Road, on the site of what was then the Preston Lawn Tennis Club. In recent years they moved to Harrow and the site is now Blackberry Court and a Pentecostal Church. A second United Synagogue was opened in Shaftesbury Avenue in 1958. 

In the 1950s, political change in the Middle East decided many Jews in Arab countries to move to the UK. Members of this Sephardi tradition moved to Edinburgh House on Forty Avenue in 1970, while another Sephardi group, the Neveh Shalom Community with members from North Africa, India and the Middle East, moved to 27 Windermere Avenue in 1970 and then to 352 -354 Preston Road in 1983. There is still a strong Jewish presence in Preston today, though the number of active synagogue members is in decline. The Jewish Free School [est. 1732] one of Europe’s largest Jewish secondary schools, moved to new premises in The Mall in 2002.

5. The Grade II listed Church of the Ascension, The Avenue, c.1960. (Brent Archives online image 8641)

Other places of worship in Preston include the Catholic parish hall, built in Carlton Avenue East on land originally belonging to South Forty Farm in 1932. The present church dedicated to St Erconwald, a 7^th century Bishop of London, opened in 1970.  There are also three Anglican churches. St Augustine in Forty Avenue was built as a wooden church in 1913 but suffered damage during the Second World War and was re-built 1953. The 1957 Church of the Ascension [see Part 3] in The Avenue is notable for its stained glass by Carter Shapland. The Church of the Annunciation in Windermere Ave was built in 1938. There are also three more recent Christian Fellowship or Pentecostal Churches.

One of the more dynamic projects to come out of Preston was the Strathcona Theatre Company. Strathcona was set up in the late 1970s as a social education centre for young adults with learning difficulties, with an ethos radically different from the old adult training centres which focussed on preparing people for unskilled industrial work. The young, enthusiastic staff offered courses in drama, art, music, pottery, sports and training for independent living - uncovering talents and discovering skills in a different way.

6. Poster for Strathcona Theatre Company's 1999 production, "Hood".

Its Theatre Company, formed in 1982 and running for over 20 years, staged productions at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, at many other venues in the UK and at international festivals in Europe. In 1983, the Guardian described it as “The UK’s leading disabled theatre company”. The poster above was for their retelling of the Robin Hood legend, where a disparate group of eco-warriors band together to fight for their right to live in a better world. The play was devised and scripted by Ann Cleary and Ian McCurrach (Artistic Directors).

The Strathcona Centre was closed around 2012, and the adults who attended were sent to other services. The building re-opened in 2014 as Roe Green Strathcona School, an offshoot of an existing Junior school in Kingsbury. Despite protests, in October 2019 Brent Council voted to close Strathcona School in 2022 – the future of the building is unknown.

7. Original 1930s decorative tilework, still visible beside a shop between the railway and Elmstead Avenue.

A negative change noticed by my Preston ‘focus group’ was a perceived growing lack of variety in shops on Preston Road since the 1960s – and the untidy frontages, almost destroying the 1930s faience work between each shop. They had nostalgic memories of a specialist cheese shop, Buttons & Bows haberdashers, a drapers’, a [vinyl] record store – and the exciting new technology of Variety Videos which allowed films to be watched in your own home! A few older shops remain: All Seasons greengrocers, Gledhill hardware – and Parkway bakery, the lone survivor of a parade of Jewish shops. The introduction of the 223 bus route has eased access to both Preston and Harrow shops.

8. A parade of shops on Preston Road (east side), between Elmstead Avenue and Carlton Avenue East.

Everybody regretted the loss of the Woolworth store not just as a source of “bits and pieces”, but as a social centre where people bumped into each other. “Woolworths made it a real shopping centre”. But many welcome the new availability of Mediterranean, Indian and Middle Eastern foods in “shops that smelt like holidays” and “cafes with pavement seating - who would have thought!” In a spirit of investigative journalism, I walked the ‘mean street’ that is Preston Road and my main conclusions were that we locals must be very vain – I counted 16 hair / grooming salons [9 specifically for men] AND there must still be a healthy demand to live in Preston as there are nine estate agents. 

9. The Century Tavern, Forty Avenue, demolished for Century House. (From the Closed Pubs website)

Other losses noted were the Century Tavern [1928] named after the Century Sports Ground and built on the site of South Forty Farmhouse on Forty Avenue - and the Wembley Observer, the last really local newspaper. However, there have been some ‘cultural’ gains – The Windermere, The Fleadh and the Music Room offer live music, and the Preston Community Library has author events, a weekly film club and occasional special film seasons.

10. Preston Community Library, 2020.

The campaign to save Preston’s Library was a remarkable display of community solidarity. The area had been served by a fondly remembered mobile library until 1964, when the current library opened in Carlton Avenue East. After the Council’s decision in 2011 to close 6 of its 12 libraries, campaigners in each of the affected areas came together under the banner of Brent S.O.S. [Save our Six] Libraries to fight to save the service.  Public meetings were held, councillors, MPs and the Department of Culture Media & Sport lobbied – over 6,000 people in Preston alone signed a petition opposing the closure. 

11. Poster for the Brent S.O.S. Libraries campaign, 2011.

Brent SOS Libraries took the country’s first legal action to challenge library closures in July 2011. The High Court verdict in October 2011 went against us and the libraries were immediately boarded up. An Appeal against the decision was also rejected in December and the application to take the case to the Supreme Court was denied. A full account of the judicial review and the Appeal can be found here. The boarding around Preston Library became known as the “Wall of Shame” which, with its popular support from local artists and schoolchildren, become a major embarrassment to the Council over the next few weeks, and in January 2012 contractors pulled it down.

12. Two scenes of the Wall of Shame at Preston Library, late 2011.

The building was then restructured internally and used for 4 years as additional classrooms for local schools, who allowed some access for library activities. In 2015, the Council formalised this access with a licence and in 2016 the building was opened fully as a volunteer-run community library. The Library is the only local non-commercial and secular space that is open to all, and it now offers a wide range of classes, events and activities as well as core library services. It was “Highly Commended” in The Bookseller‘s 2019 Library of the Year shortlist. The Library is currently closed due to the pandemic – but will hopefully re-open in the autumn. The Council has plans to re-develop the site, but space for a new library is included.

13. Geraldine Cooke introduces Kamila Shamsie (seated right) at Preston Community Library, June 2018.

In June 2018, at the first public event since she won the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction, author Kamila Shamsie visited Preston Community Library to discuss her new book Home Fire. The event was a full house, and the windows were wide open so people could stand outside and hear her. The novel is set in Preston, and features the library campaign. Ms Shamsie told the Kilburn Times “It feels right to do it here. I want the people of the neighbourhood to feel I’ve done right by them”. 

14. A scene from the 1959 film Too Many Crooks. (Image from the internet)

Allegedly, the Preston area has been used many times for film and TV locations. I have found evidence for Preston being shown in the 1959 film Too Many Crooks – in which incompetent villains use a hearse in a kidnapping. It was filmed in Carlton Avenue East, Forty Avenue and various places on Barn Hill. The photo above shows the junction of Carlton Avenue East and Preston Road. The film starred Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw.  

Preston also ‘stars’ in Gourmet Nights, an episode of Fawlty Towers where Basil collects a takeaway meal from ‘André’s Restaurant’, actually the Wings Restaurant on Preston Road, and then (famously) attacks his car when it breaks down [Mentmore Gardens]. Readers may know of other films? We have had at least one celebrity - the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight boxing champion Sir Henry Cooper lived in Ledway Drive, and had a greengrocer’s shop in Ealing Road, Wembley, in the 1960s.

15. Wrigleys chewing gum factory, now Wembley Commercial Centre, East Lane. (From Brent’s Local List)

Only a few architecturally important buildings have survived in Preston Ward and I have covered them all in these articles. Three buildings have national Grade 2 listing: The Windermere, the Church of the Ascension and the Wembley Park Lodge on Wembley Hill Road, which was severely damaged by fire some years ago. In addition, there are three on Brent’s local list: the Edwardian style houses at 299-313 Preston Road, the 1926 Wrigleys factory and the 1956 Wembley United Synagogue. For some reason, the Victorian villas, now 356-358 Preston Road – the oldest surviving houses in Preston - have not been listed. 

16. ‘The Pearl of Metroland', Forty Avenue, in 2018.

We also have one popular Open House property, the ‘Pearl of Metroland’, a 1924 house in Forty Avenue decorated in the original style, but with a ‘Mondrian’ kitchen in 3 colours. And we have great open spaces – Barn Hill, Preston Park and Tenterden playing fields – secured for public use by Wembley Council and Middlesex County Council.

Go look at all these places – and be ready to protect them if necessary. Even local listing does not ensure survival, as we have seen in the recent decision on 1 Morland Gardens. Not everything can or should be protected – and housing needs, in particular, are pressing - but some buildings do add beauty to our environment, and help to tell the story of where we live.

I hope this series of articles has encouraged people to look about them, at the shops and streets they see every day in this very ordinary suburb, and think about the 1000s of people who were here before them – how they lived and worked and where they came from.

My thanks go to Philip Grant of Wembley History Society, who helped with sourcing images for these articles and making the articles ‘online ready’, to Brent Archives for help with images, and to the PCL volunteers who gave me ideas on what should go into this final Part.

Chris Coates, Preston Community Library

This is the end of one local history series, but there will be another beginning next weekend. Will it be about an area in the north of the borough or in the south, or perhaps somewhere in the middle?