iLPH loves an evening led by Martin Sheppard looking at the history of Primrose Hill. Joined by the local history enthusiast Willemijn Bol (see her instagram feed!) the evening at the excellent community centre was themed by a check back on photos and postcards of Primrose Hill from the mid nineteenth through to early twentieth century. Willemjin has a formidable collection of postcards, built up one by one from the area built during her time living here in the last couple of decades.
Most had not realised how widely used postcards were during this period as the great British Post Office became great, making up to four deliveries a day. Grabbing a postcard from a local store and penning a quick note was what people did then, before the advent of what’sApp! Clearly hard to create a privacy feature then!
Clearly photographs and so photographers were in demand and one of the most famous of the era, John Fenton lived in the area in a fabulous house that still exists. Martin showed some of these photos; all had a history and rationale. Willemjin’s postcards however were the fulcrum.
The roads from coming up to two hundred years ago were clearly recognisable. The main changes were those brought by the Nazis (via bombings) and Eton (via rebuilding in the 1960s). There were more horse drawn carriages and local shops; possibly fewer trees but definitely cars seemed to be missing! And now where only the names rename in the mid part of the period Martin also explained the piano factories were widespread in the area, and the origin of Utopia Village, thanks to the distribution network provided by the Regent’s canal.
The postcards captured a community similar today with local shops and families and people travelling in to the area. The pubs were also noticeable as having survived mostly untouched and seems rather bad luck that two churches were struck during world war two. Possibly the bombing was linked to the anti aircraft battery that stood on the once wooded top of The Hill. I also saw a fascinating photo of a Chalk Farm train station under the railway bridge.
At well clear of a hundred the audience was massively engaged and enjoyed every slide; picking the area shown in the photos and local sites and reminiscing about where their relatives lived. The demand for Primrose Hill history is high and we are thankful we have Martin and the Camden history society to help collect and curate the history.
We finished with the traditional discussion of the height of Primrose Hill. And to know the answer to that buy one of Martin’s books! Though I am sure he will tell you as he walks the dogs! Thank you to him and to Willemjin for sharing some of the highlights of her superlative collection.
© Adam Reeves, 2025, all rights reserved.