Over the weekend I’ve been visiting Tottenham to look at a museum that’s been on my to-do list for some time. This also happens to be one of the locations of the recent riots, and in fact I walked past boarded-up shops and semi-derelict buildings on my way from Bruce Grove railway station up to my destination, the Bruce Castle Museum.
Bruce Castle Museum occupies part of what was, until 1826, a large private estate with its origins as far back as the 11th century – in fact it gets its name from one of its 14th century owners, King of Scotland, Robert The Bruce. The main building opened as a museum for the first time in 1906, and what remains of the surrounding grounds is now Bruce Castle Park which was the first public park to be established in this part of North London. As with all most of London’s municipal museums the displays are largely dedicated to the history of this part of the London Borough of Haringey, with a strong focus on the area’s commercial and domestic past. It’s very interesting material – I thought the found objects and printed media focusing on the impact of the two world wars on Haringey was very enlightening. There are also a substantial number of displays dedicated to the important role that Bruce Castle itself played in the history of the British postal system as it was the home of Sir Rowland Hill, the inventor of the Penny Post, during the period in the 19th century when the building was used as a school.
The part of the museum that really drew me in, however, was to be found on the first floor. Here there are a series of exhibits and a rolling documentary which look at the aftermath of the serious rioting that took place in and around the Broadwater Farm estate in 1985 after the death of Cynthia Jarrett and the subsequent murder of PC Keith Blakelock. It doesn’t so much look at the rioting itself, but focuses on what local people did to heal the community and give it some hope in the aftermath. Of course the issue of rioting by young disaffected youths is once again a very topical subject and I wonder whether some of the people currently thinking about how we can fix our current problems would benefit from a visit – it turns out that back in the 1980s what it took was two strong and driven individuals from the local community to start turning things around. Dolly Kiffin and Clasford Stirling spent many years putting all of their considerable energy and drive into developing a safe place for the local young people, the Broadwater Farm Youth Association, which also grew to be a place where the different age groups and cultures that lived on the estate were able to mix and develop a mutual respect and understanding.If you happen to be in the area the Bruce Castle Museum is certainly worth an hour or so of your time, and try out some of the food on offer in one of the local Jamaican bakeries while you’re there too – corned beef pie and a brown paper bag of golf ball-sized doughnuts are local delicacies not to be missed!
October 23, 2011
London Sights