Wanstead Park,
which forms the grounds of what was the old Wanstead House, the Georgian Church
of St Marys (used recently for the Vanity Fair dramatisation) and Wanstead
Flats to name but a few.
It was
Wanstead Flats that formed the focus of a fascinating Wren Group walk conducted
by Peter Williams, Mark Norman and James
Heal.
The walk went
across the area that was ploughed up as a result of the fire in July on the
Flats.
At the behest
of the Fire Service, the City of London Corporation brought in a deep harrowing
machine, which has dug up part of the Flats behind the petrol station on the
Aldersbrook side.
The digging
was undertaken to stop the fire spreading and bring it under control more
quickly. However, the harrow has brought a whole load of World War II artefacts
to the surface.
On the walk,
we found old bits of shrapnel that came from the anti-aircraft guns and
batteries located on the Flats during the war. There are lumps of concrete
which made up the central base on the flats where the guns were placed. Also,
some German bullet cases have been found.
Walking along
behind the petrol station, the bases of the huts that supported the guns
remain.
There is a
bomb creator on the corner where Aldersbrook meets Centre Road.
On the other
side of Centre Road, Peter and Mark showed some base remnants of a Prisoner of
War (POW) camp for hard core German prisoners placed there in 1944. There was also
the story of the V2 rocket that hit the Lake House estate to cheers from the Nazis
in the camp opposite.
Further up the
road toward Cann Hall, there was a POW camp for Italian prisoners from 1943.
Looking
further back Mark and Peter told how the lower area adjacent to Aldersbrook
Road, where there are now football pitches, was once a brick manufacturing
area.
A builder
from Bethnal Green had the licence to make bricks on the site from 1865 to
1881.
At that time,
there were dwellings on the Flats where the workers who made the bricks lived.
Back in those days the bricks were made near to where they were to be used –
building the East End.
James told of
the migrant birds that often stop enroute on the Flats. There has been much
damage done to habitats as a result of the fire but the likes of wheatears have
been attracted to the area.
So whilst the
fire has caused much damage, it has also uncovered some fascinating history
from the relatively recent past.
The Wren walk
was a reminder of just what a precious historical and ecological legacy exists
around this area. One that we are all called upon to safeguard in the interests
of present and future generations.
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