THE ST MARYLEBONE SOCIETY

NEWSLETTERSummer 2014 Number 341 www.stmarylebonesociety.org Registered Charity 274082

This summer Chiltern Railways willcelebrate 30 years since MaryleboneStation was saved from closure.

In the early 1980s Marylebone Stationpresented a sorry sight. There had beenlittle BR investment in Marylebone’strains and facilities, and the 1970srecession, coupled with high farescontrolled by the GLC and LT, took its tolland passenger numbers started falling. BRwas losing money on Marylebone’scommuter routes, such that in 1983 only6,000 passengers alighted daily atMarylebone. Therefore, when theNational Bus Company commissioned astudy for a new coach terminus atMarylebone Station, BR and Westminstersaw a possible solution to their problems.It was published in July 1983 andconcluded that the new terminus wouldtake 250,000 coaches off existing roadsand by concreting over the tracks it wouldutilise the existing rail tunnels to create a‘busway’, as a fast link into Central

London. The report also stated thatterminating coaches at Marylebone wouldhave the benefit of reducing coach traffic atVictoria Coach Station.

Horrified at the proposal, the St Marylebone Society began an intensivecampaign against the coach station andbusway, writing to a wide range oforganisations to garner support. Pre-computers, this represented aconsiderable administrative workload andthe SMS coordinated correspondence andregular meetings to plan their strategy.

They attacked the idea of the stationclosure and NBC Coach terminus arguing:•It would cause hardship for local

residents and commuters,•A coach terminus would be detrimental

to the environment and the DorsetSquare Conservation Area,

•A busway in the tunnels was technicallyunfeasible,

•There would not be a reduction incoaches on the roads,

•The station buildings must be Listed.Following an earlier proposal to ListMarylebone Station and the GreatCentral Hotel the DofE had answered:

‘We have now inspected these buildingsinside and out, but have concluded I amafraid that none of them qualifies for listingas a building of special or architecturalhistoric interest.’

Correspondence ensued between the StMarylebone Society and the Rt HonPatrick Jenkin MP, Sec of State for theEnvironment, the GLC, WCC and localCouncillors. They also involved nationalorganisations with similar objectives, suchas SAVE, The Georgian Group, The CivicTrust, SPAB and the Victorian Society.The SMS capitalised on their links toneighbouring amenity societies, such asthe Regent’s Park Conservation AreaAdvisory Committee (RPCAAC) and

Photo: Mike Wood.Marylebone Station now.

Continued overleaf.

MARYLEBONE STATIONCELEBRATING 30 YEARS SINCE

THREATENED CLOSURE

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the St John’s Wood Society. Utilising thisnetwork of well-connected groups whoincluded, the Crown Estate and theCamden Civic Society, they brought thematter to the attention of many people inpower at the D of E and in Parliament.

Leading the protest locally was the lateSam Briddes, a keen railway supporterand train enthusiast. He distributed aflyer to all the residents in Boston Placeand started a resident’s petition and subgroup, ‘Bostonians against Buses!’ Samalso had many contacts along the linesleading out from Marylebone andespecially with the Aylesbury & DistrictPassengers Association. Together theyshared information, conducted their ownpassenger surveys and started to getrailway men involved, with NUR GeneralSecretary, Jimmy Knapp writing to theSMS in support of retaining rail servicesand jobs.

It is interesting to note that the SMS werepro-active and well ahead of BR plans, asmuch campaigning activity took placesome three years before BR posted theNotice initiating closure of the station on15 March 1984. This official decisionprompted keen interest from the nationalpress and interviews on LBC Radio and aTV documentary spread the debate to awider audience. Many people joined thefight to save Marylebone Station, with oneexception …Westminster Council.

‘At a committee meeting on 11 June 1984,it was determined that, subject toconditions, Westminster Council inprinciple:

•Raised no objections to closure of thestation and withdrawal of BR services

•Were willing to consider proposals fora coach station.

Consequently, Westminster’s PlanningDepartment started to draw up a planningbrief for the site assuming station closure.

Dismayed at this stance by WestminsterCouncil, the SMS responded withdetermined lobbying of their localConservative councillors, angry with

those elected to represent their views.The SMS collected detailed policyinformation, scrutinised timetables andfares, and listed legal and technicalreasons supporting their objections toprove that closure of the routes would beunfeasible and cause hardship.

What gave the campaign its strength, andwhat was the significant contribution ofthe SMS, was its ability to link people andconnect directly with those in positions ofauthority. Under the umbrella of the SMSan array of objectors grouped togetheracross the social and political spectrum;from the aristocracy to NUR members,from local Labour councillors to those inthe Conservative home counties, assummed up by Sam Briddes:

‘What we have to remember is that the fightfor the retention of the railway will have thesupport of many thousands of individuals,together with every local authority bar theWestminster City Council –yes, theConservative shire counties are joiningforces with ASLEF for this fight!’

Westminster’s planning brief forMarylebone Station was released in April1985 and the SMS formulated detailedcomments on every line of the brief,cajoled local councillors on board andrequested permission for a deputation tospeak at the Planning Committeemeeting. The SMS also started lobbyingpoliticians and joined forces withresidents in Victoria, to get the coachterminus out of Central Londonaltogether, suggesting it would be betterplaced on the recently completed M25.They managed to get David Mitchell(Under-Secretary of State DofT) to agreebut despite this and widespread protests,in July 1985 Westminster Councilapproved their own Planning Brief forMarylebone Station, although withconditions attached to the future coachstation use. Local Councillor Jo Hegartydecried their decision, stating, ‘When theCouncil goes out to consultation, it doesn’tmean consultation. It’s largely a sham.’

To counter the Westminster Planningbrief, the SMS and associated resident’sgroups began suggesting alternative usesfor the site; from a steam railway centre toa specialist-shopping destination designedby SMS member and architect JohnPrizeman. One group in particular wasproactive, the Paddington Federation ofResidents and Tenants Associations(PFTRA), gaining £1,650 GLC funding tosubmit an alternative planning applicationfor the Marylebone Station site in

November 1985. Effectively writing theirown planning brief for the site, in what isperhaps the first case of ‘NeighbourhoodPlanning’ in Marylebone. They envisagedthe site used for housing and communityfacilities and launched their plan withpanache by staging a ‘Monopoly Board’event in Dorset Square.

The SMS’s activities and commitmentgrew over four years of intensivecampaigning to Save Marylebone Station,and this determination is characteristic ofthe Society and its membership, whobelieve in self-determination and the rightto protect one’s neighbourhood.Prolonging the consultation period, askingquestions in high places and creatingdiversions brought about advantages withtime, such that when SMS Chairman,Carolyn Keen, wrote to The Times inSpring 1986 she could state, ‘16,000passengers now use the station every day’and highlight the role of the station asdestination for Steam and Rail, asentiment echoed by Steam Railwaymagazine which declared, ‘Marylebone: ARecipe for Success’.

Passenger numbers had increased withthe introduction of the Capital Card andBR’s plans to divert trains to Baker Streetnow seemed impossible due to increasedcapacity across the public transportnetwork. The tide had turned and on 30 April 1986 BR officially announced thatMarylebone Station would remain open.The NBC commissioned a new report intoan alternative coach terminus site atPaddington, which gave rise to a newamenity society, still thriving today,Paddington Residents Against the CoachTerminus (PRACT), but that’s anotherstory. Marylebone Station was saved andtoday the St Marylebone Societycontinues to support the conservation andimprovement of this historic station,which is a success for Chiltern Railwaysand has become the hub of ourneighbourhood.

Gaby Higgs

Marylebone Station in the 1970s.

Marylebone Station in the 1980s.

Gaby Higgs was commended in theWestminster – Better City, Better LivesCommunity Awards.Also commended were our members,Baker Street Quarter, in the samecategory, and the Landmark Hotel in theBusiness Award category.

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In our update on NeighbourhoodPlanning last summer we reported thatthe residents of Church Street and StJohn’s Wood had applied to becomeseparate Neighbourhood Areas (NAs).We also reported that we had joinedforces with the Marylebone Associationand the Fitzrovia NeighbourhoodAssociation to apply for a “MaryleboneNA” which roughly corresponded to thatof the old London Borough of StMarylebone, less the Church Street areaand that of St John’s Wood (see the Mapin the Summer 2013 Newsletter for theexact area concerned).

The decision on our combined“Marylebone NA” was delayed becauseof a couple of subsequent NAapplications for Fitzrovia – both of whichoverlapped with our Marylebone NA.

One of these, “Fitzrovia West”,consisted of a triangle of land withinWestminster roughly between theunderground stations of Great PortlandSt, Oxford Circus and Tottenham CourtRd. The other Fitzrovia application wasfor a “Cross Borough” Fitzrovia NA,which roughly included “Fitzrovia West”in Westminster and an equivalent area tothe east in Camden.

On 28th March 2014 WCC officiallydesignated the Marylebone NA asshown in Figure 1. This effectivelyhived off Fitzrovia West from the areawe applied for, but left us with both sidesof Portland Place. At the same timeFitzrovia West, with minor boundarychanges, was approved in preference tothe Cross Borough Fitzrovia application.As well as losing Fitzrovia (West),

Regent’s Park was also removed fromthe designated Marylebone NA. Thiswas a surprise because somewherealong the line in these tortuousnegotiations WCC had encouraged us toinclude Regent’s Park in our NA. Thereason for exclusion of Regent’s Park inthe NA Designation Notice was simplythat: “Regent’s Park is not considered tobe part of Marylebone but a separategeographic entity in its own right.”

The final surprise was that our area was designated as a Business Area (asopposed to a Residential Area). Thepractical consequence of this is thatthere will need to be two referendumson the Neighbourhood Plan – one forresidents and one for businesses. If these two referendums go in oppositedirections, WCC gets a casting vote onwhether or not to accept the Plan.

The next step is for us to formallyconstitute the Forum and to apply to bedesignated the Neighbourhood Forumfor the Marylebone NA.

Mike Wood

A F U N N Y T H I N G H A P P E N E DO N T H E W A Y T O T H E F O R U M

Figure 1: Officially designated Marylebone Neighbourhood Area.

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M U S I C I A N S I N M A R Y L E B O N E

This is the first in a series aboutmusicians with connections to theMarylebone area and I thought I wouldstart with the one who has the strongestties as he was born here and wasrecorded by a local label. The guitaristcame to fame by creating a new styleand the label was the first independentto achieve national success. He was amember of the fab five, Pentangle, andhis name is John Renbourn.

I have yet to find out where inMarylebone he was born but we knowhe went to Marylebone GrammarSchool, on Lisson Grove/MaryleboneRoad before heading off to Kingston Polyto play in Hog-Snort Rupert's FamousPorkestra before moving into the worldof folk music in the early 1960s.

He made the move into the world of folkmusic following his discovery of theblues by the likes of Big Bill Bronzy andhe started playing cover versions,typical for the time. He was alsoinspired by Davey Graham whochampioned guitar playing in the UK,moving it on from the three chordstrumming of skiffle in the mid/late1950s into something far more intricateand with a wide range of influences, Eastand West. John is one of the firstgeneration of acoustic guitar players, a

scene led initially by BertJansch, aninstrumentalist ratherthan a singer, who tookthis combination to anenthusiastic world of folkclubs. John moved into aflat on Somali Road, NW3with Bert in 1964, thestart of an associationthat peaked withPentangle.

Yes, it is true that therewas a moment in theearly 1960s, when theBeatles seemed merely apop group producing top-

notch singles, when Mersey beatpushed past trad jazz and calypso as thenext big thing and when seriousmusicians ignored this popular cultureand instead took the acoustic guitar tobe more worthy than the electric guitar.Most of this was due to the awesometechnique of Davey Graham, more sothan the blues and attachment to thecivil rights movement in the USA.

John, who performed on the folk circuit– Les Cousins on Greek St, Soho, theBlack Horse on Rathbone Place, theTroubadour in Earls Court – recordedsome demos which raised no interestfrom the two established record labels,EMI and Decca. This is where NatJoseph, head of independent labelTransatlantic (86 Marylebone HighStreet) took a chance. This was a bravemove for two reasons. The first isJohn‘s early recordings are not thatcompelling, in terms of the material,voice or playing, especially incomparison with Bert Jansch at thisstage in his career and who was alreadysigned to Transatlantic. Nat had anadvantage as he was unfettered,Transatlantic was his own label, and hespotted the opportunity of taking thefirst generation of folk singers out of thefolk clubs, but with no idea where thiswould lead. The second is that he

released the results from theseuntested artists straight onto 12”, 331/3

rpm vinyl without bothering to test themarket first with 45s, which was thestarting point with all pop groups, theBeatles included.

Whilst John spent his early years fittinginto the folk circuit playing folk songsand blues to keep him solvent, he soondeveloped a style known as BaroqueFolk, formally composed, even stately,folk music, mixed a hint of jazz; in 1968,after flower power became IronButterfly, he recorded the trulywonderful ‘Sir John Alot of MerrieEnglandes Musyk Thyng and ye GreneKnyghte’, an LP which soundscompletely out of its time and in a stylewhich was immediately overshadowedby his complete involvement inPentangle for the next six years. Yet hecontinued to develop the style, reachingperfection on the Black Balloon, an LPwith which he combines the formalbaroque folk style with numerousvariations and then pure improvisation,all seamless and thoroughly listenableto and again as completely out of itstime as ‘Sir John Alot…’ was in 1968.

His interest in Baroque music was notentirely in isolation, but almost. Whatinfluence did events many miles away inthe US have – there Joshua Rifkinreleased the LP Baroque Beatles Bookin November 1965 on Nonesuch, theclassical label of Elektra, and Elektraitself released LPs by many New Yorkfolk singers. Only slightly more popularwas the group, the Left Banke, whichreleased a series of excellent Baroquepop singles starting in 1966 with ‘WalkAway Renee’ and ‘Pretty Ballerina’.

Best Baroque folk LP – Black Balloon,1979 easily available.

Best Baroque pop – the Left Banke,collected on ‘There’s a storm’.

Beat Baroque Beatles LP – JoshuaRifkin’s Baroque Beatles Book,released on Elektra in 1965.

Johnathan Monnickendam

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ALFRED RENESON COUCHER, THE REGENT STREETPOLYTECHNIC AND THE REGENT STREET CINEMA

Founding President of the St MaryleboneSociety, Councillor (and later Alderman),Alfred Reneson Coucher, enjoyed alifelong association with the University ofWestminster, formerly the Regent StreetPolytechnic, on Regent Street. TheUniversity of Westminster Archive detailsthe achievements of A R Coucher duringthe period 1906-1910 when he studied atboth the day school and the eveningSchool of Architecture. His list of awardedprizes include certificates for grammarand composition, English and French andmedals for both Football and Cricket. Inthe entertainment programme for the1907 prize-giving ceremony he is listed asplaying the hilarious Mrs Malaprop inSheridan’s The Rivals!Coucher continued his relationship withthe Regent Street Polytechnic after

commencing in the next month. To helpthe University reach their final target aName a Seat initiative has been launched,whereby supporters may select a name oftheir choosing to be placed on the back ofa seat in the restored auditorium. Thosewho have already supported includebroadcaster Sandi Toksvig OBE and NickMason of Pink Floyd, himself an Alumnusof the University. The University isaiming to have all 200 seats named beforethe Cinema opens next year.

The St Marylebone Society also decided toname a seat in support of this uniqueproject and will take their place amongstthe growing community of supporters tobe recognised in the restored Cinema. A fitting continued association with theformer Regent Street Polytechnic whichwe hope Alfred Reneson Coucher wouldhave been pleased to support. For further information on the project orto find out how you can become involvedor support personally, please visit theUniversity’s websitew w w. b i r t h p l a c e o f c i n e m a . c o m o ralternatively contact James Williams on 020 3506 6291 or e-mailj.williams2@westminster.ac.ukJames WilliamsDevelopment OfficerRegent Street Cinema Project

completing his studies. He was a regularcontributor to the Tuesday SocialEvenings, giving talks to accompany filmshe had shot himself, in colour, oftendetailing his travels abroad. Many readersmay be aware of the colour footage hefilmed in London during the Blitz. Thesefilms remain some of the only colourfootage of the Marylebone area from thistime and are now held by the Imperial WarMuseum. Coucher continued to film after the war.On March 11th 1952, the PolytechnicMagazine promoted “A Holiday in Spain”illustrated by colour films (by) MrCouncillor A. E. Reneson Coucher in itslistings, and in 1955 “With a Cine-Cameraat home and abroad”. These screenings or‘illustrated talks’ took place at thePolytechnic at a time when the Cinemaalso operated a full screening programmefor the general public. Considered the birthplace of BritishCinema, the same special venue waschosen by the pioneering Lumièrebrothers as the site for the first publicdisplay of moving images in Britain in1896 when, for the price of a shilling, their Cinématographe wasdemonstrated to an astonished audience.It remained a working cinema until itclosed its doors to the public in April 1980,since when it has been used by theUniversity as a lecture theatre and foroccasional events. Members of the St Marylebone Societyrecently paid a visit to the Cinema, to hearabout the plans to restore this uniquevenue. Visitors were given a talk by theUniversity Archivist detailing the historicuse of the site and learned about the plansto reopen the Cinema to the public inspring 2015. The restored Cinema willoffer a stimulating programme ofscreenings, talks, lectures and workshops.It will also provide a unique venue forstudents to showcase their workalongside established practitioners of film,and offer a platform for debate andlearning for film enthusiasts, and a newarts venue for the local community. The University of Westminster has beenfundraising for the £6m required tocomplete the project since 2012. With over two thirds of the funding now secured, the restoration will be

Alfred Reneson Coucher..

Artist’s impression of the restored Cinema (Tim Ronalds Architects, 2014).

Members being shown the renovation work.

Interior of the Regent Street Cinema, believed to havebeen taken around 1900. Very few photos of the cinemainterior exist. (University of Westminster Archive).

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lighting and staging, the undercroft wasstripped-out ready for refurbishment.With only a month to go before the firstperformance it seemed a daunting taskto have everything finished in time.

The box office was being extended andwe were shown the low-build corporateentertainment building, which doublesas an audition and rehearsal room.

The really interesting part of the tourwas to see the new administrationbuilding, which has been cleverlydesigned to fit into a thin strip of land tothe rear of the stage and facing out on tothe Inner Circle. Built with a steelframe, clad in sustainable wood andhaving a green, living roof it is a greatsolution to the space problem that theTheatre had. Now that the exteriorwood has weathered the building ishardly noticeable and blends in with the

existing trees and foliage. This buildingincorporates offices for the directorsand the rest of the team who run theTheatre, dressing rooms with showers,wardrobe and a green room. Most ofthese activities were run out ofportakabins or off-site before.

We finally saw the original workshopbuilding which had been, while retainingthe old exterior, fitted-out in the samestyle as the new building.

It was fascinating to see how theTheatre, which is self-funding,continues to evolve and maintain itsposition as a unique landmark inLondon.

The Society’s thanks go to Emma andthe Theatre staff for letting us havesuch an interesting tour.

Robert McAulay

On 9 April, a beautifully sunny day, agroup of society members were given acomprehensive tour of the Regent’sPark Open Air Theatre by EmmaFriend, Assistant to the ArtisticDirector.

We were shown the auditorium, whichwas being given a complete refit withnew waterproof seating and updated

V I S I T T O T H E O P E N A I R T H E A T R E

Members and Emma Friend outside the east end of theadmin building.

O B I T U A R I E S

Mike SharmanMembers of the Society will be shockedand saddened to learn of the death ofMike Sharman, a long-serving member.Mike was not only a qualified architect,he was a journalist and former editor ofBuilding Design magazine. He broughtthese skills to the St MaryleboneSociety, in particular to the PlanningCommittee. Passionate about modernarchitecture, he lived at 125 Park Road,an iconic building of which he was immensely proud. Designed by

Sir Terry Farrell and Sir NicholasGrimshaw in the late 1960s, Mike andMaz lived there from the beginning, inthe 1970s. He wrote about the schemein his magazine, thus contributing to thereputation, not only of the building butof the careers of the architects, both ofwhom are now world-famous. To hisgreat delight, he succeeded in having125 Park Road made a Grade II listedbuilding in 2001.Mike’s own apartment on the eighthfloor echoed the extraordinary style ofthe building. Black, grey and white wasthe theme carried out in glass and steel.Mike tackled planning issues and theCouncil with steely patience – mostrecently with the next-door, Atriumbuilding in Park Road, the design ofwhich he regarded with some disdain. Atireless champion of good design andalways modest about his talents andintellect, Mike Sharman will be greatlymissed. Gwyneth Hampson

John Gentle (1930-2014)We were sorry to hear that John haddied. Married to Jacqueline, a teacher, theybegan their married life on a barge inLittle Venice that they fully restoredand fitted-out. Later they moved to adelightful house in Linhope Streetwhere John became involved with theSociety.John trained as an architect, at theArchitects Association (AA), and was apartner in Rosenberg Gentle Architects,based in Nottingham Place,

Marylebone. His knowledge andexperience were invaluable to theSociety. He chaired the PlanningCommittee for many years during the1990s. He never missed a meeting andalways turned up having studied thedrawings and documents thoroughly, sothat the rest of the committee had agood idea of what they were to consider.This did not mean that he ignored theopinions of his fellow committeemembers, everyone’s thoughts weretaken into account. As a result hisreports to Westminster Council were amodel of how comments from a localperspective should be: concise,informed and professional. Typically, he kept a full record of all theapplications and comments which, aftermuch heart searching he had to disposeof because he could not take them totheir new home in Cambridgeshire,which they moved to in 1996 to becloser to their three daughters and ninegrandchildren.He was a good friend to the Society andwill be missed.

125 Park Road.

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ST MARYLEBONE SOCIETY PROGRAMME 2014Tuesday 24 June 7.00 pm.Westminster History Group. LordMayor’s Reception Rooms, 18th Floor,City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, LondonSW1. A talk given by Professor JuliaMerritt entitled “Westminster and theEnglish Revolution 1640-1660”. Theeffect on Westminster of the EnglishCivil War and the restoration of themonarchy. There is a panoramic view ofthe London skyline and a glass of wineis included in the price. Meet outsideCity Hall at 18.40 pm. £10 payableon arrival.

Wednesday 9 July 10.30 am. StMarylebone Society Coffee Morningkindly hosted by our member MichèleHart at her home. 12 members only –first come first served. Please book

your place with Douglas Temple.You will be escorted to her garden inthe sky, but mind that last flight ofstairs! Waterdale Manor House, 20Harewood Avenue, NW1 61X.

Tuesday 22 July 2014 2.00 pm.Benjamin Franklin’s House, 36Craven Street, London WC2 (nearCharing Cross). The diplomat,statesman and inventor lived here formany years during the 18th centurybefore returning to America at the timeof the start of the War of Independencein 1776. A guided tour of the house.Meet outside 1.50 pm. Price £5 onarrival.

Thursday 14 August 2014 11.00 am.The Hunterian Museum of the

Royal College of Surgeons, 35-45Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2. A fascinating collection of surgical andmedical instruments illustratingdevelopments in the sciences since the18th century, with a particular medicaltheme. Meet outside 10.50 am. Free

Wednesday 24 September 10.00 am.St Marylebone Society CoffeeMorning at Aubaine Restaurant, 7Moxon Street, London W1U 4EP. Anew venue in Marylebone, pay yourown way.

For more information and late bookingsplease contact: St Marylebone SocietyEvents Secretary, Douglas Temple, Flat 1,23 Seymour Place, London W1H 5BH –020 7723 6417.

BAKER STREET QUARTER EVENTSGuided Walks – These are free toattend and no registration is needed.Meet our guide outside 55 Baker Street.

GARDENS OF THE QUARTER25 June 1.00 pm – Discover thebeautiful green spaces in the Quarter.We explore its delightful parks and pay avisit to two charming private gardensquares, not usually open to the public.Lasts 45 Minutes.

STREETS OF SHERLOCK23 July 1.00 pm – Get to know the

origins of the Quarter’s most famouscharacter Sherlock Holmes in ourwhistle-stop walk. Whether you’re a fanof Arthur Conan Doyle’s crime sleuth orhave a penchant for literature historycome and join us. Lasts 45 Minutes.

BLUE PLAQUE DISCOVERY‘EVENING WALK’13 August 6.00 pm – The Quarter hasbeen home to many of the famous andnotorious! Let our blue plaques walktake you to the doors of some of our

well-known former residents. Lasts 90Minutes.

WOMEN OF THE QUARTER27 August 1.00 pm – Many influentialwomen have shaped the Quarter’shistory. From Lady Montagu, thewomen of the Wallace Collection,Madame Marie Tussaud to Sherlock’svery own Mrs Hudson. Join us for sometales of the unexpected. Lasts 45Minutes.

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS

Abbey National Charitable Trust LimitedAble Homecare

Alliance FrançaiseBlandford Estate Residents’ Association

Bryanston and Dorset Squares SaferNeighbourhoods TeamCAMBARD RTM LtdCamerons Solicitors

Chiltern Court (Baker Street)Residents’ Limited

The Chiltern Railway Co. Ltd.Clarence Gate Gardens Residents’ Association

Clifton NurseriesThe Crown Estate

Crown Estate Paving CommissionCRTMCL

Dorset House Tenants’ AssociationDorset Square HotelDorset Square Trust

Fellowship of the School of Economic ScienceFitzhardinge House Tenants’ Association

Francis Holland SchoolGoldschmidt & Howland

Howard de Walden Estate Hyatt Regency Churchill Hotel

Ivor Court Residents’ AssociationThe Landmark Hotel

London ClinicMac Services

Manchester Square TrustMarriott Park Lane HotelMarylebone Cricket Club

Merlin EntertainmentOctavia Housing and Care

Old PhilologiansOpen Air Theatre (Regent’s Park)

Opera RamaPeoples Travel

The Portman Estate

15 Portman Square Tenants’ Association

Queen’s College

Regent’s University

Rossmore Court Leaseholding Ltd.

Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT)

St Marylebone Parish Church

St Marylebone School

The Seashell Restaurant

Terry Farrell & Partners

The Tyburn Angling Society

University of Westminster

Westminster City Council

Wood and Vale

Wyndham Place Management

York Estates

Zoological Society of London

Bridge Club at Rayne House, Maida Vale, every Tuesday 1.30 – 4.30pm. For more info phone: Lawrence Block 020 7569 2530.

This year we were delighted to receive over 350entries for the Art in Marylebone PhotographyCompetition 2014. Usually held around StGeorge’s day, 23rd April fell on Easter Tuesday sothis year we included the Easter weekend andfollowing week (19th-27th) to allow as manyresidents, tourists and workers to take part aspossible. The judges look for different elements in decidingwhat makes a great photograph: interestingsubject, imagination, composition and technicalaspects. The weather this year was not favourableand perhaps for this reason we received manymore images of people rather than buildings andstreet scenes. In rain and overcast skies buildings

are much more difficult to photograph, althoughwhen the sun did appear many entrants caughtMarylebone’s parks and gardens bursting intospring. Many more photographers capturedpeople at work, rest and play; at morning, noonand night. It was therefore fitting that we titledthis year’s exhibition ‘Life in Marylebone’.The judges selected as 3rd Prize Alex Melman’sshot of Church Street, one of the oldest marketsin London, which illustrates the wonderful,cultural diversity of Marylebone as a microcosmof London as a whole.

Runner up was Povila Norvila’s portrait of ‘ChefTaking a Break’, in one of the most interestingginnels in Marylebone, Grotto Passage. Thejudges were impressed with the compositioncatching two people passing by along PaddingtonStreet oblivious to the tale of intrigue… Who is hetalking to? What has happened? What will happennext?

First prize was unanimous. House of Mirrors byKate Cooper captures the architecture ofMarylebone in a clever self-portrait ‘shot from thehip’. It is a fleeting glance of life passing by amidthe constancy of Marylebone’s Georgianstreetscape and a good example of how theordinary can be made extra-ordinary by thephotographer’s eye, a ‘memento mori’… that ourtime is short and we must make the most of it.The judges selected their top 50 photographs,which will be eventually deposited atWestminster Archives to continue to build up apicture of the social and architectural history ofMarylebone. An exhibition featuring the selectedimages was held at the Hellenic Centre onPaddington Street and a book featuring all the 50selected winning images is available to buy for£20 from www.art.marylebone.com

L I F E I N M A R Y L E B O N E – S T G E O R G E ’ S D A Y

P H O T O G R A P H YC O M P E T I T I O N 2 0 1 4

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY2014

Patron: Lord Montagu of Beaulieu

President: Colin Amery

Chair: Gaby Higgs

Vice-Chairman: Mike Wood

Hon. Secretary: Andrew Cooper

Hon.Treasurer: Keith Evans

Council Members:

Dorian Aroyo (Social Secretary)

Cynthia Poole (Planning Committee Chairman)

Robert McAulay (Newsletter and Membership)

Douglas Temple (Events)

Mike Wood (Local History)

Ian Wylie (Planning)

Published by the St. Marylebone Society, June 2014. ©St Marylebone Society.

The coffee morning at the CliftonNurseries, Quince Tree Café wasattended by 16 people, all paying forthemselves too. The new manageressAurine Dovydaityte (Do-vee-die-tee-tay) from Lithuania had prepared abeautiful table for 12 in the centre of theroom so we spilled over onto othertables as the party grew. Lots of us wenton to shop at the garden centre whichwas in bloom as if especially colourfulfor our event!

Dorian Aroyo

V I S I T T OC L I F T O N

N U R S E R I E S

Members enjoying coffee at the Quince Tree.

Aurine Dovydaityte and Dorian Aroyo.

Kate Cooper.

Povilas Norvila.

Alexanda Melman.