With lockdown impacting on student numbers cladding remedial work is going on at the Victoria Hall stduent accommodation in North End Road. Victoria Hall was one of the first new buildings, not quite 10 years ago, in the area and its design made quite an impact and earned the name 'the helter skelter.'
It is 19 storeys at the highest point, with 3 modular wings. The modules were installed at the rate of 7 a day providing 435 bedrooms. It was designed by Peter Dann and constructed by John Doyle Construction. They boasted that it took only 16 months to build.
Victoria Hall under construction (from the Bridge Road ramp)
North End Road is currently cut off from the ramp and stairs that descend from Bridge Road as the road is being reconnected with Bridge Road. There were complaints from students on a now defunct Facebook site 'The Truth About Victoria Hall, Wembley' about the 4am to 1am noise from the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines - now there will be a through road at the front of the building.
There are currently several thousand student beds in the Wembley Park area. They were seen as achieving a better rate of return on the investment than family accommodation:
The remedial work must be costings thousands so perhaps not a great investment.
A decade or so ago when plans for Wembley Park regeneration were at the beginning stage, Brent Green Party suggested that a section of the land should be set aside for a 'green enterprise zone' with subsidised start up business rates. Such a zone would concentrate on developing the products needed to cope with climate change and would work closely with the College of North West London and other further and higher education institutions to provide training and apprenticeships. We warned that employment in retail, apart from being low paid, relied on rampant consumerism. As the area developed hospitality, with similar drawbacks, has also been developed in the restaurants and pubs in the area. Both of course are also threatend by Covid19 restrictions, although of course we couldn't forsee that. The building boom in the area was promised to provide jobs for 10-20 years although they may not all go to local people.
The area around the stadium had a lot of light industry which provided local employment but that is gradually disappearing as regeneration reaches out its tentacles along the roads around the stadium. Two storey sites and warehouses are gobbled up to build high-rise rented flats and student accommodation - and who can blame the owners for selling up?
People used to complaint that the stadium was in the middle of an industrial estate - now they complain it is in the middle of a housing estate. Good town planning could surely have provided something better in the way of both housing and jobs for lcoal people.
In the photographs below you can see the survivors nestled at the foot of the blocks - you have to look very hard in some cases.
I thought it worth recording the transition for the record.
There is an ongoing debate on local social media on the Healthy Neighbourhood proposals. Monday's Full Council Agenda inccludes this question and answer on the scheme:
Question from Councillor Janice Long to Councillor Shama Tatler, Lead
Member for Regeneration, Property and Planning:
In May 2020 the Government published statutory guidance in response to the
Covid-19 pandemic stressing the urgent need to reallocate road space to
facilitate safe social distancing and embolden residents to walk and cycle during
and after the pandemic.
Similar schemes across London have decreased levels of air pollution and
increased the life expectancy of their residents; taking inspiration from these,
Brent Council is delivering on its plans to create more Healthy Neighbourhood
schemes, to reduce traffic on residential streets and encourage sustainable
modes of transport to address our climate change commitments.
In light of a new national lockdown, will the Lead Member for Regeneration,
Property and Planning provide an update on the roll-out of the Healthy
Neighbourhood’s scheme and apprise full Council of the work undertaken to
facilitate feedback from residents; bolster communications; and engage local
people on the future benefit of these schemes in their areas?
Response:
As members will be aware, we have implemented (5) Healthy Neighbourhoods
schemes using Experimental Traffic Orders with notification letters sent to
residents explaining the aims of the schemes and encouraging the community to
provide their comments during the trial period as well as informing that the
schemes would be evaluated after six months of implementation. This was
necessary to meet TfL and DfT requirements to deliver these schemes quickly
and a similar approach has been taken by many other London boroughs.
This is a significant variation of the usual process used by the Council for highway
improvement schemes, and unfortunately, while it has always been our intention
to engage with the local community, this resulted in some misconceptions that
schemes would be made permanent without taking fully into consideration their
views. Due to the number of objections that we were receiving, and as we were
awaiting guidance from TfL on access for the emergency services, schemes
were paused in September.
Further to the Extraordinary meeting of the Full Council on 16th October to
discuss Healthy Neighbourhood schemes, we have focussed on improving
communications and engagement with our communities and a collaborative
approach.
A community engagement plan has been drafted which sets out our approach to
providing information and regular updates to residents and stakeholders, and
listening to their feedback.
The plan includes;
Web pages – We have reviewed and will bolster information on the Brent Council
website; www.brent.gov.uk/activetravelwhich will be used as a hub for providing
up to date information to residents and stakeholder groups. This will be regularly
refreshed with new meeting dates, monitoring data and materials.
Resident updates - In addition to the formal consultations, hosted on Brent’s
consultation hub, residents in affected areas will also receive information letters
/ questionnaires 2, 4, and 6 months after the new measures go in, as well as on
their introduction. A Cabinet Member covering letter will also be provided
explaining the reasons for the introduction of these schemes, how they support
the strategic objectives to respond to climate change, improve air quality and
public health. This will allow us to track whether and how resident’s views change
as the trial progresses, as these schemes often take time to become fully
effective (as travel habits adapt).
We will also hold monthly meetings with ward councillors and residents for each
area where a scheme has been implemented, throughout the six-month trial
period. This shall include socially distanced walkabouts where needed to discuss
the scheme operation and suggested improvements. We are also looking at the
option of procuring community engagement specialists to support these sessions
and to ensure they are useful for residents.
Information leaflets - We have produced an information leaflet to be included
in the documents sent to residents, which provides further information on the aim
of these schemes, how they are beneficial and information on traffic congestion
and emergency service access to address concerns.
Improved signage - We will improve signage around the closures, including
advanced warnings of the closures on approach to the road to reduce the amount
of traffic driving up to the barriers and turning, as well as temporary explainer
signs to explain the new measures and signposting people to the consultation
using a QR code and green ‘active travel welcome here’ signs on planters.
Officers have recently received feedback from the London Ambulance Service
and made amendments to remove lockable bollard closures to two of the
schemes:
(i) PM 26 - Dollis Hill Area; Oxgate Gardens, concerns raised as route used
by ambulances travelling to Health Centre – The closures to be
implemented without lockable bollards only plastic barriers to be used,
CCTV at a later date.
(ii) PM 32 - South of Princes Avenue Area; Berkley Road and Brampton Road
Kingsbury, concerns raised about potential traffic on Kingsbury Road. The
closures to be implemented without lockable bollards, when CCTV cameras
can be installed.
Officers continue to liaise regularly with the London Ambulance Service, with
fortnightly meetings arranged as well as the MPS and Fire Services during the
experimental period.
The Healthy Neighbourhoods programme will now resume in two phases:
(i) For the 5 Healthy Neighbourhoods schemes that have already been
implemented, but are not fully operational, we are aiming to send out
residents update letters and information leaflets the week commencing the
16th November with additional bollards and signs installed the week
commencing the 23rd November.
(ii) For the remaining Healthy Neighbourhoods schemes, notification letters
and information leaflets are planned for the week commencing the 23rd
November with implementation the week commencing 4th December.
It is therefore envisaged that all schemes will be fully operational by Mid-
December.
This is the last local history post for a while from Philip Grant. I would like to thank him for what I know many readers have found to be a fascinating series of articles. It has involved a huge amount of meticulous research carried out during lockdown. I am very grateful for his and other authors' contributions to Wembley Matters. Thank you.
Martin Francis (Editor)
This is the time of year when many
people look forward to watching “Strictly Come Dancing” on a Saturday evening.
But “Strictly” may never have happened if it were not for a man born in
Wembley!
1. St John's Church and its noticeboard, when Rev.
Silvester was its Vicar. (Brent Archives
1197 and 9523)
In 1895 John William Potts Silvester, a
recently ordained Church of England priest, arrived in Wembley to serve as a curate
at St John the Evangelist Church. Because of the ill health of the vicar he
came to assist, Silvester became the parish priest a year later, a post he held
until 1944. He and his young wife Kate, from Lancashire like her husband, moved
into the vicarage in Crawford Avenue, and she was to bear him successively two
sons and then four daughters.
2. A postcard of St John's Vicarage, first half of
the 20th century. (Brent Archives online
image 10605)
The eldest son rejoiced in the name of
Temple St John Hudson Silvester, being named after the then Archbishop of
Canterbury, Frederick Temple, St John’s Church and his mother’s maiden name! Their
second son was born in the vicarage on 25 February 1900, and was named Victor.
This was probably because of a “victory”, the relief of Kimberley during
Britain’s war with the South African Boers, which had been reported in “The
Times” the previous day. Victor’s middle name was Marlborough, after another
bishop.
With all this C of E background, you
might think that the Silvester boys were destined for a career in the Church.
But Temple served as an officer in the Royal Flying Corps during the First
World War, then went on to qualify as a doctor; and Victor, well ,,,!
3. Ardingly College, in West Sussex (designed by a
Victorian church architect?). (Image
from the internet)
I don’t have details of his early
education, apart from that he had private piano lessons at home. When he was
old enough, Victor was sent away to school, originally at Ardingly College in
Sussex, a school with strong Anglican associations, from which he ran
away. He was then sent to St John's School at Leatherhead,
established in 1851 for the sons of Anglican clergy, and he ran away
again. Finally, his father realised that a boarding school did not suit Victor,
and he was sent as a day boy to John Lyon School in Harrow.
Victor “escaped” from school again
during the First World War. Although not yet fifteen, he was tall and was able
to persuade a recruiting sergeant (how much persuasion did he need?) that he
was of military age. Apparently, he joined the London Scottish, a
Territorial regiment at the end 1914, serving for sixteen months. After
that he enlisted in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, adding four years
to his age, presumably to account for his previous service while pretending to
be of military age. However, he was discharged a week later, perhaps at his
father's request, on the grounds that he was still under-age.
4. Young Victor in his Highlanders army uniform, and
a WW1 Red Cross ambulance. (From the
internet)
He then joined the Red Cross First Aid
Service and served with them in France from October 1916 to June 1917, thereby
becoming entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Victor was next transferred
to the First British Ambulance Unit in Italy, and was awarded the Italian
bronze medal for military valour for his part in the evacuation of San
Gabriele, during which he was wounded. In early 1918, he re-enlisted in the
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, having finally reached military age.
Towards the end of his life, Victor
Silvester claimed that he was forced to witness, or even take part in, one or
more executions of British soldiers by firing squad. He had not mentioned British
executions years earlier in his autobiography, although he did refer to
witnessing summary executions by the Italians of their deserters. Perhaps he
had a false memory of events, based on this, but it is conceivable that
the claims were suppressed by his publisher. After all, in those days, the fact
of the executions was largely hushed up - it was only in 1998that
a list of death sentences and executions (some 10% of the sentences pronounced)
was published.
As Victor was under nineteen at the
time of the Armistice he did not serve abroad with the Argylls. It seems
that he was considered for a commission, and spent time at Worcester
College, Oxford, undergoing officer training. At the end of the war Victor
was nominated for a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. His father,
who had himself spent the war in uniform as a temporary Chaplain to the Forces,
must have been relieved that his wayward son had at last found some sense of
direction, but he was soon to receive a rude shock.
At a tea dance, while waiting for his
call-up to Sandhurst, Victor was offered work 'partnering unattached ladies'
and after two weeks of tuition he took this up. He did go to the Royal Military
College, but following a familiar pattern, he left after just three weeks. This
was partly because he felt his previous experience in the army was being
ignored or belittled, but perhaps the unattached ladies also had a certain
allure.
5. Victor Silvester ballroom dancing with his wife,
Dorothy, c.1930. (Frontispiece “Modern
Ballroom Dancing”)
By 1922, Victor Silvester was a full-time professional ballroom dancer, and
practicing with his partner, Phyllis Clarke, for the first World Ballroom
Dancing Championships, which they won. At the Empress Rooms, he met Dorothy
Newton, then in the chorus of a musical at the London Palladium, and they were
married in December that year. While his mother, brother and sister Gwendolyn
came to the wedding at St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, Victor’s father
did not attend. Was this because the staid Victorian clergyman regarded his son
as little better than a gigolo? (If you don’t know the meaning of that word,
look it up in a dictionary!) Or perhaps he was too busy, both as Wembley’s
Vicar, and a member of its Urban District Council (from 1911 to 1926, and its
Chairman in 1921/22).
6. Rev. J.W.P. Silvester at the door of St John's
Vicarage, 1925. (Brent Archives online
image 9258)
In 1923, Victor opened his first dancing
academy, in partnership with his wife. As a leading exponent, he was also
involved in drawing up the rules used for ballroom dancing competitions, and
went on to write books on the subject. His “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, first published
in 1927, quickly became the “bible” on the subject. Victor regularly updated the
book in his lifetime, and it is still in print today after more than sixty
editions, the most recent in 2005, when a certain TV programme renewed public
interest in ballroom dancing.
7. A selection of "Modern Ballroom
Dancing" book covers, from 1939 to 2005. (Images from the internet)
Beginning with the history of ballroom
dancing and why it is such an enjoyable activity, the book describes the basics
of how to hold your partner and move during a dance, before going into detailed
instructions for each type of dance. Some of the instructions (these are from
the 1942 edition) would certainly raise eyebrows, if not hackles, today.
Extract from
“The Gentleman’s Hold”: ‘Steer and control your partner with your body and
right hand – not with your left. The left hand is held up for balancing
purposes and appearance, not for leading your partner with.’
Extract from
“The Lady’s Hold”: ‘Never attempt in any way to lead or guide your partner,
submit yourself entirely to him. Do not lean on him or anticipate what is
coming next, just follow.’
Every different type of ballroom dance,
be it waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango etc., is covered, with diagrams to show
the steps for the gentleman and the lady for every move used in the dance. For
five shillings, you could buy the book, and teach yourself the dance movements
at home. The only extra thing you would need was the music.
9. Steps diagram for “the Natural Turn” in the
Waltz. (From “Modern Ballroom Dancing”,
1942 edition)
Victor became concerned that the strict
tempo, or number of beats per minute, necessary for the dances to be performed
properly, was often absent in the way that dance music was played. His answer,
in 1935, was to form his own Ballroom Orchestra, which was soon playing at live
ballroom dancing events, and from 1937 on the wireless. Before long, he also
had a recording contract, which saw dozens of records available, which people
could play on their gramophones to dance to.
10. The label from a Victor Silvester gramophone
record, and advert for more of these. (From
the internet)
Although many of the tunes they played
were from songs, unlike some other dance bands Victor’s never used a vocalist.
He felt that dancers should be allowed to concentrate on the music – strict
tempo was the key to the dance. If you would like to experience the sound of
Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, you can do so here:
11. Victor conducting his orchestra, and playing at a
ballroom in the 1950s. (Images from the
internet)
When I was a child in the 1950s, our
bakelite radio set was usually tuned to the BBC Light Programme, and Victor Silvester
was a popular broadcaster. Decades later, I still carry his signature tune in
my head, along with the catchphrase ‘slow, slow, quick quick, slow’! He
also had his own BBC television show, “Dancing Club”, which ran through much of
the 1950s and 60s, as well as continuing to produce numerous records of dance
music. He was the subject of a “This is Your Life” TV programme in 1957, and
was awarded the OBE, for services to ballroom dancing, in 1961.
12. Victor on "This is Your Life", and with
wife Dorothy after hearing of his OBE award. (From
the internet)
By then, he had twenty-three dance
studios, run by instructors he had trained, across the country. One of these
was in the ballroom at the Majestic Cinema in Wembley High Road, where he
sometimes conducted his orchestra. The Majestic, later an Odeon cinema, closed
in 1962, and was demolished to make way for a C&A Modes fashion store (now
Wilkinsons).
13. The Majestic Cinema, with Victor Silvester dance
school, Wembley High Road, 1961. (W.H.S.
collection)
Cruelly for a dancer, his wife Dorothy
had a leg amputated in later life. Victor himself died of a heart attack in
August 1978, after swimming while they were on holiday in the south of France.
14. Three of the many LP record covers of Victor's
Strict Tempo dance music. (Images from the
internet)
During Victor’s lifetime, over 75
million of his dance music records were sold, with more on compilation LPs
since then, and all of them played in strict tempo. Dancing in strict tempo, to
strict rules, was a key theme of Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 Australian film “Strictly
Ballroom”.
15. A "Strictly Ballroom" film poster, and
the logo for BBC's “Strictly Come Dancing”. (From
the internet)
BBC television had a long-running
ballroom dancing programme called “Come Dancing”, at various times from 1949
through to the 1990s. This started life as a show where professional dancers
displayed their skills, and taught others how to dance. From 1953 it changed to
a competition, and over more than 400 episodes its presenters included Peter
West, Terry Wogan and Angela Rippon. When it was relaunched in 2004, with
celebrities and professional dancers paired to compete in a knock-out format, a
new title was needed. It’s a reflection of the influence of Victor Silvester on
ballroom dancing that it is now “Strictly Come Dancing.”
Philip Grant,
Wembley History Society.
I would not have known about Victor
Silvester’s Wembley connections, let alone be able to write about them, if it
were not for my late Wembley History Society colleague, Richard Graham. He
wrote an article, “The bandleader and the clergyman”, for a Journal I was
editing in 2009, and much of what I have written above was adapted from his
work. This local history blog is dedicated to Richard’s memory.
This will be the last “local history in
lockdown” article for now. I need to
take a break, but hope you have enjoyed the past eight months of illustrated local
history stories each weekend.
When I first suggested the idea to
Martin, back in March, I had no idea that “lockdown” would go on for so long.
This programme of weekly articles (36 in total!) could not have continued
throughout that time without the efforts and support of a number of friends in
Brent’s local history community, especially Margaret, Christine, Irina and
Paul.
Special thanks are due to Brent
Archives (and to Ruth in particular) for allowing us to use many of the old
photographs from their collection to illustrate our articles. If you have
missed any of the articles, or would like to read some of them again, the
Archives have made them available online – just “click” here to find pdf
copies.