Page 12 - HGS Suburb News 132 - Autumn 2017

HGSHS 284th Flower Show The Suburb’s new Virtual Museum

On October 29, shortly before houses are sold and cleared out. Steve Morris, who is well-known
Suburb News arrives on your In 2017 there have been two for establishing both hgs.org.uk
doorstep, Patron Martin Bell will great finds – the photos show and the much-used e-mail forum,
launch the HGS Heritage Virtual parts of the three-metre drawings the HGS List, some years ago.
Museum on screen at Fellowship made in the 1920s and found The Virtual Museum is an
House and on the internet at recently in the unused hut ever-evolving project available to
www.hgsheritage.org.uk. The behind Fellowship House, and all worldwide. Importantly, it
Mayor and Mayoress of Barnet, turn to page 5 for last month’s enables instant access, using the
Councillor and Mrs Salinger, and finds in a 1913 bottle hidden in tools of modern technology, and
other dignitaries will be present, the spire of St Jude’s – photos of lends itself to continual updating
together with representatives of both are in the Virtual Museum. as memorabilia are brought to
key local organisations that have Hampstead Garden Suburb HGS Heritage’s notice.
contributed from their records, Heritage, the incorporated charity With the launch in place,
led strongly by the HGS Trust that has created the Virtual HGS Heritage intends to encourage
and HGS Archives Trust. Museum, was established by local people, and organisations
Unlike Letchworth and some resident Simon Abbott with that are not yet involved, to track
other Garden Cities, the Suburb some others in 2011. The charity down, register and even donate
does not have a museum of its is an umbrella organisation for the Suburb’s memorabilia, so
JAMES ROBBINS
JAMES ROBBINS
own to preserve the many many of the Suburb’s organisations, that they are not lost for posterity.
artefacts, photographs and other societies and religious institutions. If you would like to be part of
documents relevant to its In 2013 it obtained a grant of this project, to donate, curate,
foundation, and its history to the £5,000 from the Residents register your organisation, etc.,
present day. Records are scattered Association’s Centenary Fund please get in touch. E-mails can
across many different institutions with subsequent grants from a be sent to info@hgsheritage.org.uk.
and many are still privately owned charitable trust, although the Available resources, including
by local Suburb organisations as genesis of the project was some volunteer students from Henrietta
well as by individual residents. years earlier when a committee Barnett School who are scanning
Additionally, there is no single drawn from many of the Suburb’s and indexing old issues of Suburb
location where students of most important organisations News in an on-going project, have
architecture, the history of the and societies came together to been concentrated on a manageable
built environment or the Garden search for a local site for a number of organisations and
City Movement, or researchers physical museum and visitor ‘objects’ shown in the museum,
and visitors from home and centre. This remains a long-term but to facilitate an expansion of
abroad, can easily study the objective, but the need to record the display the recruitment of
Suburb and its origins. Without artefacts before they disappear, volunteer curators has begun, and
a museum, important artefacts and to provide modern on-line more are encouraged to apply.
and papers, especially those still access, has led to the Virtual Heritage therefore has a protocol
in private ownership, remain Museum. It uses available software in place to enable quick approval
unknown or may be lost as under the direction of resident to new entries on its webpages.

Please help make Suburb News your newspaper. Articles, letters and news items welcome,
send to the publisher with High Res pictures at rapublications@hgs.org.uk
EDITOR: Terry Brooks, rapublications@hgs.org.uk
WHAT’S ON EDITOR: David Littaur, raevents@hgs.org.uk.
Views expressed in Suburb News are not necessarily those of the publishers
the Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents Association.
Deadline for the Winter issue is January 6, for publication on February 3

The RA website is www.hgs.org.uk