Quite a few searches that end up on this site are for “Bearman’s Leytonstone” and having searched for the same information myself in the past I know that there is suprisingly little out there on internet. So, what is, or was Bearman’s? you might ask. Well, try mentioning the name to some of our older residents and they’re liable to go all misty-eyed on you, recounting tales of Leytonstone’s “glory days”. Anyone who’s walked through Leytonstone tube station’s subway may have noticed an older poster on the wall near to the Church Lane entrance as well.

Bearman’s was in fact a department store, a proper “Are You Being Served” job, sadly no longer with us and seemingly almost wiped from memory given the aforementioned lack of information out there. Frank Bearman, the proprieter, a draper by profession also went on to buy a part-share in Allders Department Stores.

So, I’ve basically started this post to try to gather any stories, pictures, in fact anything at all that people may wish to share about Bearman’s in Leytonstone.

Now, to get the ball rolling, I’ve been nosing around the 1901 census information recently and thought I’d see if I could find Mr. Bearman. Luckily, there’s an entry in there for what appears to be the department store itself – possibly the Bearmans actually lived there at that time. The census information lists the address as “3 and 4, The Parade, Leytonstone”, which presumably was the name given at the time to that section of shops on the High Road. The occupants were…

• Frank C Bearman (Draper/Shopkeeper)
• Kate Bearman (his Wife)
• Bernard Bearman (their son, aged 2 at the time)
• Mary Waller (Cook)
• Agnes Newby (Servant)
• Susan Tapp (Servant)
• Ellen Goodson (Servant)
• Arthur Harrison (Drapers Assistant)
• Bertrand Cox (Drapers Assistant)
• Richard Hilton (Drapers Assistant)
• Victor Brier (Drpaers Assistant)
• Thomas Simpkins (Drapers Assistant)
• Douglas Bunbury (Shopwalker)

So, looks like at this time the shop was still just a drapers, but it would evolve over the years into much more than that.

More to follow on this and as I mentioned, please add comments if you have any information to contribute.

Came across this print of Knotts Green House, Leytonstone residence of Joseph Gurney Barclay, noted astronomer and head of Barclays Bank (yes, that Barclays Bank)…

Knotts Green House - Residence of Joseph Gurney Barclay

The drawing is taken from the Illustrated London News, July 15th 1865. The caption reads “Entertainment Given by Mr Gurney Barclay, at Leytonstone, to the Agents of the London City Mission”. Unfortunately, like most of the great old houses in Leytonstone, Knotts Green (which was situated around the Matlock Road area) eventually fell into disrepair and was knocked down in the 1960s to make way for Livingstone College and subsequently the tower blocks of the Livingstone Estate, also later demolished.

Tragic

Currently, despite being the birthplace of one of the greatest film directors of all time, Alfred Hitchcock, E11 can’t boast a single cinema, not one. However, things were not always that way. In fact Leytonstone once boasted four large cinemas, how times have changed…

Rink Picture Palace/Rialto/Granada

Originally opened in October 1909 as a roller skating rink located next to St. John’s Church, Leytonstone. The owner, Mr. James White enlisted architect P. Cornish to convert the building into a cinema and ”The Rink Picture Palace” opened on 15th June, 1911.

Seating capacity, after some modification to the interior in 1913, was 1000 all on a single floor. The main entrance was next to Bearman’s department store on Leytonstone High Road and was reached via a long arcade.

In 1926 the cinema was purchased by Bernstein Theatres, a successful chain headed by Sidney Bernstein who, in 1921, had inherited control from his father, Alexander. The Cecil Masey and Theodore Komisarjevsky re-designed “Rialto” opened on 6th January, 1927.

Capacity had been increased to 1760, still all on one floor. Stage facilities and a cinema orchestra, including a Compton theatre organ, allowed for variety shows as well as films. The Compton from the Rialto is still in existence today – see www.wizardcompton.org.uk for further details.

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We went to St. Andrew’s Church for the Christmas Day service this year – normally we go to midnight mass, but with a couple of youngsters in tow that’s a bit impractical at the moment. Now, we’re not exactly regular churchgoers by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, to be honest, outside of weddings, christenings and funerals, a couple of times a year is about as much as we manage (at best). We do try to make an effort at Christmas time though as, at the end of the day, that’s what its really about (isn’t it?). Anyway, the point is, we were quite shocked to see the lack of numbers in the congregation there – I counted about 35 people which, for the big day itself, seems like a pretty poor showing. The service itself was great, the church looked fabulous inside (St. Andrew’s has some very nice stained glass windows), everyone was in good voice for the carols, all in all a thoroughly enjoyable part of our Christmas Day experience.

St. Andrew’s has played a major part in the history of Upper Leytonstone, its development as a community, and is also an important (grade 2 listed) building in its own right. At the risk of sounding “preachy” (and possibly somewhat hypocritical to boot), if you think that’s worth preserving, then consider supporting it!

For more information on St. Andrew’s, their website can be found at www.standrewsleytonstone.org.

Two historic fountains which are part of Snaresbrook and Wanstead’s Victorian heritage have been spruced up by Redbridge Council’s Area 1 Committee.

The fountains began life as horse troughs for the mounts of thirsty travellers in an age when horses were the majority form of transport and are a well loved part of the local scenery and a reminder of a bygone age.

The earliest, which still has its trough, stands on George Green, Wanstead, and was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond jubilee in 1897.

The other stands at the other end of the High Street at the junction with Holly Bush Hill in Snaresbrook, and was erected in 1872.

Councillors representing the two wards of Snaresbrook and Wanstead formally reopened the fountains following their makeover.

These included Councillors Michelle Dunn, Allan Burgess, both for Wanstead, and for Snaresbrook ward, Councillors Christopher Cummins, Peter Goody and Mrs Suzanne Nolan.

Chairman of Area 1 committee which covers both wards, Councillor Chris Cummins, said:

“It is great to see these beautiful features restored to their former glory. They help to remind us what a historic place this area is.”

A tidbit for those interested in Wanstead House … happens that an early Georgian giltwood stool which came up for auction at Christie’s on April 24th turned out to originally be from the (now demolished) great house in Wanstead Park.

The seller originally acquired the stool from a 1980 contents sale at Wingfield Castle, home of the late connoisseur-collector Graham Baron Ash.

Initial estimates for the piece were between £15,000 – £25,000, but the Wanstead House provenance, unearthed after a pointer was given to Christie’s by architectural historian John Martin Robinson, resulted in a 5 way battle over the phones between private collectors. The stool eventually sold for a very impressive £135,000.

The contents of Wanstead House were originally auctioned off in 1822 after the then owner and richest woman in England, Catherine Tylney Long was bankrupted by her wreckless husband William Pole Wellesley. The auction was a huge undetaking, lasting for 32 days. As no buyer could be found for the actual house, it was demolished and sold piece by piece to pay Wellesley’s creditors.

Source: Antiques Trade Gazette.

A friendly group of people mostly from East London and Essex, The Woodhouse Players produce the kind of shows that they like, including quite a bit of new work. They meet most Wednesdays, quite a few Fridays and some Saturdays at The Welsh Church Hall, Leytonstone to rehearse 6 major productions a year, as well as one-offs like readings and cabaret.

There is also a lively social atmosphere, giving rise to many friendships and even romances (two marriages so far!).

Current active membership is around 45, the majority being actors, but with specialists too in directing, writing, lighting, sound, music, graphic design and costume.

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View across Eagle Pond to Snaresbrook Crown Court

For the middle classes, life in Victorian England was a much different proposition to that of today. There was no welfare state (the very poor were looked after by the workhouses), so those who fell on hard times generally had to rely on charity, be it from friends and relatives or from organisations such as the Infant Orphan Asylum at Wanstead, founded by the Revd. Andrew Reed in 1843.

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 The “Master of Suspense”, Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone on 13th August 1899 at 517 High Road. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, a series of mosaics were commissioned for the entrance to Leytonstone Underground Station. These are collectively known as “The Hitchcock Gallery”…

 
Rebecca (1940) starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.
(Note St. John’s Church , Leytonstone shown in the window).

The mosaics are the work of the Greenwich Mural Workshop and are made up of over 80,000 tiles. They took more than six months to complete with installation finishing in April 2001.

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Ten Things You May Not Know About London E11…

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