The sun is shining, The Castle Courtyard flowers are in full bloom, and we’re excited to share our programme of events happening this June @ Bruce Castle!
Read on to find out about special Windrush Day talks and community activities, our new temporary exhibition, beginner’s art workshops, open air theatre performances in Bruce Castle Park and more..
Windrush 75: At Home With The Mckenzies – An Evening In Conversation
- Thursday 22 June, 7-8.30pm (doors open 6.30pm for refreshments)
Free, all welcome.
On the 75th Anniversary of National Windrush Day, come and join three members of Haringey’s Mckenzie Family for an intimate conversation about what home means to them – share stories in this evening about family values, music, food, church, putting 50p into the back of the TV set, and the significance of ‘Only Fools and Horses’, ‘Mind Your Language’ and ‘Roots’. Growing up in the 1960s was fun but also shadowed by their parents’ broken dreams of life in England ‘being paved in gold’. Listen to stories of comedy, bravery, activism and good old family fun!
Please book your free place for this in-person event at the museum via Eventbrite.
With kind support from The Windrush Day Grant Scheme.
For more information, please email [email protected], or call 020 8489 4250
Windrush 75: Our Caribbean Corner in Tottenham – Community and Cultural Day
- Saturday 24 June, 10.30am ‘til late
Free, all welcome.
Have a fun-filled day celebrating the Windrush Generation & Legacy in our “Caribbean Corner” at Bruce Castle & The Antwerp Arms. Come & see vintage stalls, make vintage hats, taste Caribbean food, share memories, play games, discover local heroes on guided tours, listen to inspirational speakers, music, storytelling, enjoy dance, films, exhibitions…And party into the night.
With kind support from The Windrush Day Grant Scheme.
Bruce Castle:
From 10.30am browse glorious vintage stalls, craft a vintage hat with Sian Dorman, have family fun getting arty with our workshops, reminisce with 4U2 at Memories Corner or walk back in time on Avril Nanton’s tour. From 11.30am hear Alex Pascal MBE and enjoy Windrush-inspired dance by Streetz Ahead. At 12.30pm celebrate at our Windrush-themed Tea Party, with performances by Mama Souljah singing, John McAnuff on guitar, and storytelling and comedy with Miss Florence. There will also be a raffle with prizes, plus a hat parade.
The Antwerp Arms:
From 2pm have a taste at our Big Caribbean Buffet, visit a pilot exhibition of stories from Caribbean diaspora families and see Windrush Generation-themed films. The entertainment continues into the evening until 11pm with music selected by DJ Judith Jacobs.
www. antwerparms.co.uk
Windrush 75: Walking Tour of 400 years of Black history in Tottenham
- Saturday 24 June
- Morning walk 10.30am-12pm
- Afternoon walk 2-3.30pm
Free, all welcome.
For our Windrush 75 celebrations, join tour guide Avril Nanton on this special free historical walking tour in and around the area of Bruce Castle. She will be looking back at over 400 years of Tottenham’s Black history with stories of local heroes, changemakers and activists.
Starting off at Bruce Castle Museum, this tour will take in original objects and art on display in the Castle, then lead you around Bruce Castle Park and nearby Lancasterian Primary School, All Hallows’ Church & Graveyard, before ending at Tottenham Cemetery.
Just sign up for your free place to find out more about fascinating people, places associated with them and their legacy to Tottenham and British history from the past four centuries.
This walk is created and organised with Bruce Castle Museum & Archive and Avril Nanton.
Start: Meet at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive (under the clocktower/main entrance), Lordship Lane, Tottenham N17 8NU. For the morning walk, meet from 10.15am. For the afternoon walk, meet from 1.45pm.
Ends: Tottenham Cemetery, N17
Booking is essential via Eventbrite as numbers are limited:
- Eventbrite tickets for 10.30am-12pm walk
- Eventbrite tickets for 2-3.30pm walk
For any queries, email: [email protected]
Reminiscence Café: Handmade – Working With Textiles
- Tuesday 13 June, 2-4pm
Free, all welcome.
I was never good at sewing. At one stage in my life I became fairly prolific with the crochet hook. I remember the pleasure of creating jumpers, children’s clothes and even a coat from yarns sold in the local wool shop (now long gone). My friend Yvonne magically ran up dresses from colourful fabric I bought at Ward’s Stores. Wards – and of course the more upmarket Liberty’s – were places where we could find fabrics designed by Althea McNish to take home and transform into dresses and household furnishings.
Althea, a Tottenham resident, brought her vibrant and colourful designs from Trinidad to dull, rainy UK transforming our environment with colour and abstract design. There’s so much you can do with different textiles, natural or man-made, from doll’s clothes and baby clothes to fashionable dresses or patchwork quilts.
Have you got any examples of something you, or a friend or family member, made that you still treasure? Or perhaps some pictures? We have a collection of various patterns to jog your memory.
Come to the Museum and share your memories over a cup of tea.
NEW EXHIBITION
Inspired by…George Shadbolt: Victorian Photographer, Writer & Innovator
- 7 June-1 October
Location: Coleraine Gallery
Our new exhibition, ‘Inspired by…George Shadbolt’ is now open in the beautiful Coleraine Gallery at Bruce Castle.
Pioneering photographer George Shadbolt (1819 – 1901) took some of the earliest photographs of London during the 1850s-60s. Bruce Castle has an exquisite archive of these early prints showing the quiet rural landscapes of Highgate, Hornsey and Tottenham. Our collection represents one of the most significant assemblages of his work in this country. His work can also be seen at the Museum of London, The British Library, The Getty and Metropolitan Museum of Art in the US.
Drop in & Draw @ The Castle – Special All Day Event
- Saturday 10 June, 10.30am-3pm
Tickets £40
Want to learn something new? Come to Bruce Castle Museum & Archive and join artist-tutor Susan Bryan for a special all day workshop.
This class provides a great chance to release your inner artist, all in the unique and inspiring setting of a Grade 1 listed building. All art materials plus refreshments included within the ticket price!
Book your £40 ticket via Eventbrite. Or pay on the door.
For any queries please text Susan on 07535 676276
Open Air Theatre in The Park – The Wind in the Willows
- Sunday 25 June, 4pm
Free, all welcome.
Come to a wonderful open-air performance of “Wind in the Willows” by Quantum Theatre in Bruce Castle Park! Join Mole, Ratty and Badger on their mad-cap adventures in this heart- warming tale of friendship, mishap and mayhem in Quantum Theatre’s brand-new adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s family favourite.
Bring a blanket, pack a picnic or even dress up as a character and come to Bruce Castle Park for an afternoon of outdoor fun, excitement and adventure!
This is a Free Event funded by Haringey Council and the Friends of Bruce Castle Park.
www.friendsofbrucecastlepark.org.uk
Follow them on twitter @brucecastlepark
Watch & Wind!
- Every Wednesday at 4pm
Ever wanted to see the inner workings of the Spurs Clock?
Come along to Bruce Castle Museum and watch us wind the 19th century mechanisms of this iconic piece of local history!
You can also get up close to beautifully carved clock case and discover the creatures sculpted into it.
Our ‘Watch & Wind’ event will happen every Wednesday at 4pm, perfect timing for the end of the school day, walks in the park and just visiting your favourite Museum!
Follow Bruce Castle Museum & Archive on:
June is pride month, which is a time for our LGBTQ+ communities celebrate, protest and raise political awareness as well as commemorate the steps made in social justice and human rights.
Be sure to check out our social media, as over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing some items from the Haringey Vanguard collection. The Vanguard collection is the result of a 2 year collaboration between Bruce Castle Museum & Archive and the London Metropolitan Archives, collecting oral histories, pamphlets, badges and other objects exploring the history of the borough’s Black, Asian and ethnic minority LGBTQ+ communities between the 1970s and 1990s.
The Haringey Vanguard collection continues to be used for engagement, research and collaboration. It provides a vital insight into the intersections of race, gender and sexuality through LGBTQ+ activism.
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