We had a wonderful time welcoming people to Bruce Castle Museum & Archive for behind the scenes tours and activities. It’s amazing to see so many people interested in and inspired by our fantastic local heritage.

It was an extra treat to welcome Haringey’s first ever Age Well Festival to Bruce Castle Park on Saturday – it was a truly vibrant celebration of connectivity and life, made more glorious by the sunshine, thank you to all organisers and participants for making it a day to remember! We look forward to more in the future.

Thank you also to Rebecca Chitty (Product of Your Environment) and Ann Cross for inspiring us to think creatively about our Tudor Tower and the five centuries of brick-making you can find at Bruce Castle at our Curious Spaces family activities, made possible with the generous support of the UK Prosperity Fund.

Read on to find out what’s coming up at Bruce Castle Museum & Archive, including heritage tours for Black History Month, a walk in Abney Park Cemetery, reminiscence and dementia friendly heritage sessions, plus details of a temporary art exhibition in the Tudor Tower.

Art @ The Tower

Visit Bruce Castle’s stunning Tudor Tower to see works by textile artist Helen Currie, with poetry by Samuel Davey-Newton and Zippy Hawkes.

REMINDER – there are still a few tickets available for Monday’s walk led by Bruce Castle’s Val Crosby! From Mansions to Monuments: Tottenham Park and Cemetery, A Heritage Walk When: Monday 30 September, 11am to 12.30pm

Further details and free tickets

400 Years of Local Black History

A guided walk in Tottenham Cemetery and All Hallows Church and Graveyard

When: Saturday 5 October, 10.30am to 12pm

Free, all welcome. Booking required.

Meet: 10.15am outside the clocktower entrance to Bruce Castle Museum & Archive N17 8NU for a 10.30am start Join curator Deborah Hedgecock as she looks back over four centuries of Tottenham’s black history and shares the lives of local heroes, changemakers and activists. From seventeenth century pioneers to the Windrush Generation, this small pocket of Tottenham tells the stories of communities that have shaped the borough and the world beyond. Please dress for the weather and wear appropriate shoes for walking. Organised by Bruce Castle Museum & Archive for Black History Month 2024.

Book your free ticket for the 400 Years of Black History Walk

Radicals and Rebels

Tottenham and Abney Park Cemetery, a guided walk

When: Sunday 6 October, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Free, all welcome. Booking required.

Starts: Abney Park main entrance, Stoke Newington High Street. Meet at 10.15am for a 10.30am start. Established in 1840, the historic Abney Park Cemetery is known for its beautiful woodland, wildlife and its role as resting place for important activists and pioneers. Perhaps less well known, however, is that a surprising number of those buried in this garden cemetery were from Tottenham. Non-conformists, dissenters and radicals from Tottenham found their resting place here, as it was not attached to an established church. Join local historian Oona Kelly as she tells you about the remarkable lives of some of these people. Please dress for the weather and wear appropriate shoes for walking. Walk organised by Bruce Castle Museum & Archive with Oona Kelly. This is a free walk, however if you would like to give a donation on the day to Oona then it will be gratefully received. All donations will go to the Friends of Bruce Castle.

Book your free ticket for the Radicals and Rebels Walk

Black Cultural History in Hornsey

A walking tour of heritage from abolition to the modern day

When: Thursday 17 October, 10.30am to 12pm

Free, all welcome. Booking required.

Meet: 10.15am outside the African Caribbean Leadership Company (former West Indian Cultural Centre), N8 0DD for a 10.30am start. Next to bus stop E, Wightman Road.

Starting from outside the West Indian Cultural Centre (now the ACLC), this curator-led walk will take you through almost 200 years’ of local black history. From the story of Jacob Walker in St Mary’s Church Graveyard, to black artists at Muswell Hill Gallery, to the original site of Aquarius Hair Salon; this tour is a chance to discover the diversity of Hornsey’s black heritage.

Please dress for the weather and wear appropriate shoes for walking.

Organised by Bruce Castle Museum & Archive for Black History Month 2024.

Book your free ticket for the Black History in Hornsey Walk

Reminiscence Café – Food for Free

When: Tuesday 22 October, 2pm to 4pm

Free, all welcome. No booking required.
Refreshments included!

Summer has drifted away, the weather is cooler, but Autumn brings us many rewards with nature’s harvest of fruits, nuts and berries. We live in the city, but not so long ago there were farms, nurseries and orchards on our land, and there are still some remnants to be found in our green spaces and on the edges. My memories take me back to the mulberry tree – once part of an old orchard – in the factory grounds behind our houses. It was a tree we were able to climb where we could scrump a harvest of juicy berries.

Some of us could – and still do – find more unusual harvests and recipes. Nettles have many uses, from making basil to herbal tea, and the more expert amongst us can forage for a variety of delicious mushrooms. Blackberrying is a late summer activity for many, to make jams and pies, perhaps to be washed down with wine made from the fruitful Elderberry trees. An alternative use for these berries is a cordial, said to have useful anti-viral properties. We look forward to hearing from you about food you have foraged and the uses to which you have put it.

Come to the Museum and share your memories over a cup of tea.

Sensing a Place

Hands on heritage for people living with dementia and their carers

When: Thursday 24 October, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Free, all welcome. No booking required.
Refreshments included!

We’re very pleased to say that we will be running a Dementia Friendly Heritage session this October!

Join us at Bruce Castle for morning tea and the opportunity to look at our collections and share stories.

October’s session is: Bonfires and Broomsticks!

With Halloween and Bonfire night on the horizon, we’ll be looking at Autumnal festivities past and present. During the session you will be able to chat over morning tea in a welcoming environment, handle some of our museum and archive collections and share your own stories.

You will also have exclusive access to the museum’s downstairs galleries.

For information on getting to the museum, visit our access page.

For any queries, please email us at [email protected].

Alternatively, give us a call at 020 8489 4250 and select ‘option 2’.

Book Launch and Community Event

Organised by UCL Press & Department of Geography, hosted by Bruce Castle

When: Sunday 29 September, 1.30pm to 4.30pm

Come to Bruce Castle to celebrate the launch of a book about the Stop Haringey Development Vehicle campaign, written by UCL researchers Dr Amy Horton and Dr Joe Penny, and informed by interviews with local residents. The book – ‘Disrupting the Speculative City: Property, power and community resistance in London’ – is now available to read via Open Access.

Read ‘Disrupting the Speculative City’

Full Details and Tickets for Community Event on Sunday 29

Black History Haringey Programme is Live!

Haringey Council are thrilled to announce the launch of their Black History Haringey 365 events programme. Get ready for a vibrant array of events and activities designed to honour and uplift the remarkable contributions of Haringey’s Black communities. From politics to culture, education to community activism, Haringey’s Black residents have made history—and continue to do so—every single day. This programme is your chance to explore and celebrate their incredible impact on our borough, London, the UK, and the world. Join us in celebrating Black excellence throughout the year!

Dive into the full events programme

That’s all from us for now!