In 2012 Our meetings will take place as usual at Clapham Manor Primary School, Belmont Road, SW4 0BZ at 7.30 pm for 8 pm, except for the May meeting, which will be at St Mary's Monastery, Clapham Park Road (see below). Details of the programme for the year are as follows. Meetings are free of charge and open to non-members, so please join us and bring your friends along.

Wednesday 18 January
Twixt the Commons. Why did so many bankers and merchants choose Clapham for their homes in the 18th century? How did their villas get replaced by rows of terraced housing? Why does the street grid take its present form and who used to live in the houses? Why did lowly South Battersea emerge as the upmarket 'Twixt the Commons'? Timothy Walker, a long standing resident and member of the Society, will answer all these questions and more in an illustrated talk based on his recently published book.

Book is available at Amazon. Please click on the image.
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Wednesday 22 February
Mexico 68 - Preparing for an Olympiad. After qualifying as an architect, John Adams, former Chairman of the Clapham Society, worked for the Organising Committee of the XIX Olympiad in Mexico City. He will describe the preparations and other events of 1968, a year of significant protest and unrest in Mexico as well as Paris. The Mexican Olympiad was modest by today's standards, but was distinguished by some fine buildings and was the first to introduce the idea of a cultural programme in parallel with the sporting events. It was also remarkable for brilliant design and graphics which gave a common visual identity to the vast array of activities and productions which formed part of the official (and unofficial) programmes.

Wednesday 21 March. The life of Sarah Winsor: from Clapham governess to African pioneer.
Fiona Leach, Emeritus Professor of Education at Sussex University will talk about the life of Sarah Winsor, governess in Rev. John Venn's household in Clapham. In 1804 she married one of the first two (German) missionaries recruited by the Church Missionary Society and accompanied him to the recently created colony of Sierra Leone. There she became the first missionary wife to teach African children.	Sierra Leone in the early 1820s (c)Crown copyright: UK Government Art Collection
Two years later, Sarah returned to England in poor health and her husband reputedly became a slave trader. After nine long years, Sarah returned to Africa to be reunited with her now repentant husband. Her tragic story illustrates the extent to which a woman's life at that time was bound up with her husband's actions.

Wednesday 18 April
Clapham Old Town Regeneration Project (formerly the Clapham Gateway). The evening, advertised as presentations on several current issues affecting Clapham, will now be devoted entirely to a presentation by architects Marks Barfield (London Eye and Kew Gardens Treetop Walkway) and the project team, followed by discussion on this single and very topical subject. Lambeth Council and Transport for London (TfL) should have at last agreed proposals for what is the historic heart and centre of old Clapham, extending up to the tube station at Clapham Cross and completing the promising start made in Venn St. The £2.5m project has been controversial, but we will be shown the compromise which aims to balance the transportation needs of London in the 21st century with our desire to protect and improve the historic environment.

Wednesday 16 May
St Mary's Church and Monastery. Father Dominic O'Toole, Parish Priest of St Mary's Church, will talk about the history of the church and monastery and the current restoration programme. This meeting will be at St Mary's Monastery in Clapham Park Road, and will thus be an opportunity to see inside this important Clapham building.

The Monastery with part of church on right
Peter Jefferson Smith

Wednesday 30 May
A special walk, as part of Wandsworth Heritage Festival, exploring Nightingale Lane and the surrounding area. Led by Derrick Johnson. Meet at Clapham South Underground Station at 6.30 pm.

Wednesday 20 June
Brixton Windmill. Richard Santiri, Vice Chairman and a founder of the Friends of Windmill Gardens will tell us about the fourteen-year struggle which has finally led to the restoration of the windmill. With the help of a £2m Heritage Lottery Fund grant the windmill has now been restored, a part-time education officer has been appointed to work with local schools, guides are being trained to give tours of the windmill and a free annual Windmill Festival is held for local people.

Brixton Windmill
Owen Llewellyn

July and August meetings are replaced by the following walks.

Wednesday 18 July
A guided walk along Clapham Park Road to Park Hill and the surrounding area. Led by Peter Jefferson Smith.

Wednesday 15 August
A guided walk round Clapham Old Town, the heart of historic Clapham. Leader to be announced later.

For both walks meet at the clock tower outside Clapham Common Underground Station at 6.30pm.
All walks last about 1½ hours and are free of charge.

Wednesday 4 July The Summer Party will be held in the grounds of the Hibbert Almshouses, Wandsworth Road. Drawing (c. 1860) of a design for the Hibbert Almshouses, Wandsworth Road - not exactly as built. The Trustees of the Hibbert Almshouses

Wednesday 19 September The greening of a small Victorian terraced house in Clapham Old Town - a follow-up on Iain McCaig's general talk last year about ways to reduce heat loss in traditional buildings. Peter and Jenny Cobley have downsized and modernised a house with the aim of reducing running costs, and providing a more comfortable home, whilst at the same time doing their bit to save the planet. The work involved retaining and restoring the character of the original house where possible, whilst using a sustainable approach.

Work in Progress Peter Cobley

Peter will describe the project from conception to completion, including practical decisions on choice of materials and lessons learnt. Susan Venner, the project architect and specialist in green buildings, will be present to explain the problems involved in constructing both new and old sustainable buildings.

Wednesday 17 October
Annual General Meeting. Our guest speaker will be Clapham Society President , Martin Drury, who will talk about the origins, evolution and role of the Landmark Trust. The Landmark Trust was founded in 1965 to save worthwhile old buildings from decay and to give them new life and a contemporary purpose by letting them for holidays. The Trust now owns or leases 187 buildings, each of which is of special interest for its architecture or its associations. Many are in remote and beautiful places and most are in the United Kingdom, but there are four in Italy, six in the United States and one in France.
Martin Drury was appointed a trustee of the Landmark Trust in 1988 and was chairman for 13 years until his retirement in 2011.

Wednesday 21 November
The Cinema Museum. Martin Humphries, co-founder and Director of the Cinema Museum will talk about the history and development of the museum which is located in the Master's House of the former Lambeth Workhouse in Kennington.

The Cinema Museum, former Lambeth Workhouse
The Cinema Museum

There is no meeting in December.

We hope that you will find this an interesting and varied programme with something to suit everyone. If you have any suggestions for future meetings do please pass them on to the Events Organiser, Maev Sullivan on 020 7498 9205 or maevsullivan@gmail.com.