Friends of Wanstead Parklands

Around the UK in 49 days!

Dwight and 11 year old son Lewis -

complete marathon 2,000 mile

bike around UK coast

Dwight Wood and 11 year old son

Lewis have just finished the bike

ride of a lifetime with the

completion of 2,000 miles around

the UK coast.

(Probably the longest distance

cycled by a 11 year old in the UK in

single trip).

Dwight, who is our Chairman, is

also an energetic campaigner for

sustainable living and is co-founder

of ‘ItDoesTheJob.com’ specialists in

low energy lifestyle products. The

bike ride was planned to demon-

strate how easy it is to enjoy a

healthy, low carbon holiday within

the UK and one that can be

achieved on a very tight budget.

Dwight also wanted to raise

awareness of our great Wanstead

Park – a local area of natural, sus-

tainable and historical beauty –

and to see what other parks

around the country are doing to

support sustainability.

Especially relevant as amazing

progress is being made now via

the Wanstead Park steering group

which the friends have chaired

and championed for the last

18mths

The epic bikathon started off in

Exeter on 5th July taking a clock-

wise route around the coast

and finished at Edinburgh on 21st

August.

With so many places, sights,

experiences and new friends over

the 49 days , Dwight has

summarised his and Lewis’s

experiences.

NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2014

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

FWP Committee Meeting

Wednesday 12th November

7:30 Wanstead Golf Club

FWP Walks

Sunday 19th October

meet 11:00am outside the

Quaker Meeting House

on Bush Road

Tel 020 8539 4707

Litter Pick

Sunday 26th October

starting 11:00am meet at The

Temple.

East India Company

Exhibition 6th Sept-30th

November

at The Temple

Wren Group activities

Waterbird count in Wanstead

Park Sunday 12th

Venue: Tea Hut, Wanstead

Park Times: 10am to 1pm

Contact Tim Harris on 07505

482328 for more information

Quiz night-see stop press

Friends of Wanstead Parklands

FIVE HIGH POINTS

Snowdon – hot, clear and no wind – amazing

Blackpool – the ‘Vegas’ of the north – great fun and

great cycling

Durness – getting to the northern coast of Scotland –

and the John Lennon memorial

Liverpool – amazing street puppet show – the Cavern

Club and Aintree

John o’ Groats and Land’s End – both gave a great

sense of achievement

The fantastic hospitality shown en route with accom-

modation, meals and encouragement

FIVE LOW POINTS

Numerous walking incidents on the National Cycle

Network Routes

Rainy days – but we got used to it in Scotland!

Forced to stop on a 30% hill by oncoming vehicle

Food shortage between Aran and Tarbet – no shops

or cafes open

Chain problems on bikes

2

BEST MEALS

Half a cold sausage (from breakfast) when we ran out

of food between Aran and Tarbet

Full Sunday roast in Appledore

Packed lunches by Keeley and Phil at St Austell – fresh

and plenty of it

Hot chocolate at Durness

Posh meal last day in Edinburgh

BEST TOURIST SPOTS

Penrhyn Castle

Aintree Race Course

The Cavern Club Liverpool

Snowdon

Blackpool

Agatha Christie’s House (National Trust)

BUDGET

Budget was £50 a day – actual was just

under £60 – to include food, entertainment,

snacks etc. Thanks to amazing hospitality

only 8 B&B’s out of 47 nights were needed

Dwight puts the success of his trip down to the

amazing generosity of hosts around the country:

“Without the support of people offering us a

‘couch surf’ – this trip would not have been

possible. The kindness shown to both Lewis and

I throughout the UK has been overwhelming

and we can’t thank people enough.”

Dwight is currently planning to raise funds for Friends of Wanstead Park you are invited to the following event:

Wrap Party: Dwight and Lewis entertain - cycling tour of the UK 2014 - 49 days, 2000 miles for nothing?

Lewis Quote:- 'All that way and we ended up in the same place'. Our entertaining couple of hours will be about who,

how, where and why. See the actual bikes & gear. There will be some of the pictures video clips and interviews with

your hosts and the people we met on the way with questions and answers, nibbles available with a pay bar. (so it can't

be that bad)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wrap-party-dwight-and-lewis-entertain-tickets-13246597931

Event to be held at the following time, date and location: Saturday, 22 November 2014 from 17:30 to 20:00 Wanstead

and Snaresbrook Cricket Club Overton Dr E11 2LW

For the full story of DWIGHT’S BIKE ride check the blog: www.2boys2wheels.blogspot.co.uk

Friends of Wanstead Parklands

AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY

The Ottoman coin above was discovered in a garden in Warren Drive

during the second of Ralph Potter's garden archaeology surveys, during

the first a gold wedding ring had been found by a metal detecorist, but

that was a more modern find!

Vesta Curtis, Curator of Middle East coins at the British Museum, has

confirmed what we had already tentatively established - that it is a "kurus"

(pronounced "kurush"). It was minted in Constantinople in 1775, in the

reign of Abdul Hamid I. It is made of billon - an alloy of silver and copper.

The design on the obverse ("heads") side consists of the Sutan's tughra (a

calligraphic signature that was affixed to official documents, carved on

his seal, and stamped on coins issued during his reign).

Underneath is his accession year - 1773 ٨٨١١

The reverse ("tails") side carries the Ottoman Turkish inscription "Sultan ül

berreyn ve hakan ül bahreyn es sultan ibn es sultan" ("Sultan, Great

Khan [i.e. Emperor] over both lands [i.e Europe and Asia] and both

seas [i.e the Black Sea and Mediterranean], the Sultan of Sultans"), as well

as the regnal year, which is 2 ٢

See — http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces49302.html

and — http://www.allnumis.com/articles/show/

ottoman_coins_identification_guide

The area in which it was found was a peripheral area of the later (post-

1760) pleasure gardens of Wanstead House, near to the Steward's house

and the garden wall. Amusingly, there is a known connection of

Wanstead Park to the Ottoman Empire, in the form of the brief, and

disastrous, sojourn of William Pole-Wellesley at the embassy to the

Sublime Porte a few years before his marriage. However, the coin is

most likely to have been a souvenir or curiosity and could have been

lost at any time between the date it was struck and the arrival of the

present owners of the property where it was found. Both wish to remain

anonymous, but their names and addresses are not really necessary

anyway. "Both were found in different gardens in a road north of the

park"

GREEN FLAG AND

GREEN HERITAGE

AWARDS

Congratulations to

everyone involved in

achieving the fifteen

green flag and twelve

heritage awards this

year, the best ever

result, well done!

Please pass on my

thanks to all Volunteers,

Friends Groups and

partners; who have

helped with this

achievement.

The awards are for :-

Burnham Beeches

Cemetery &

Crematorium

City Commons:

Ashtead Common,

Coulsdon Comon

Farthing Down & New

Hill, Kenley Common,

Riddlesdown, Spring

Park and West Wick-

ham Common

City Gardens: Bunhill

Fields

North London Open

Spaes:

Hampstead Heath,

Highgate Wood &

Queen’s Park

Epping Forest

West Ham Park

Thank you

Sue Ireland

Director of Open

Spaces

Ottoman kurus

3

Friends of Wanstead Parklands

POCHARD

Events more detail

Exhibition

Following our own exhibition over the

summer, local historian Georgina

Beresford-King has curated a new display

at The Temple in Wanstead Park which will

run until 30 November.

On the theme of the East India Company,

it is a visual exploration of the trade with

the far east which brought wealth and

luxuries to Europe and a fortune to Josiah

Child, owner of Wanstead Park, in the late

17th Century.

The Temple is open weekends 12:00-17:00.

Wanstead Park Walk

The Friends of Wanstead Parklands are

leading a walk around Wanstead Park

on Sunday 19 October. This, the last in

this year's series of five walks, will take

participants on a leisurely stroll around the

western side of the park, comprising Bush

Wood and Wanstead Flats. Starting at

11am outside the Quaker Meeting House

on Bush Road, the walk will probably take

two hours, and will point out vestiges of

seventeenth and eighteenth century

landscaping and the site of a Roman road.

We may also spot some interesting fungi!

The official walk will end at a bus stop on

Blake Hall Road, but the more energetic

will be invited to continue through the park

to The Temple for tea.

Now housing a visitor centre and gift shop,

the Temple is open every weekend. It was

originally built around 1760 by John, 2nd

Earl Tylney of Castlemaine.

The walks are free, but donations to the

group are welcome. As paths may be

muddy, suitable footwear is advised.

Litter pick

The FWP’s autumn litter pick will be held

on Sunday 26 October.

Meet 11:00 at The Temple, Wanstead Park.

Trigger-action litter pickers and bags

provided. Bring your own gloves. More fun

than you might think! We are looking for a

volunteer to coordinate these events on a

more regular basis.

WREN GROUP - from the blog

Wren Group

Saturday 25th October

Fungus Walk in Bush Wood

Venue: outside Friends Meeting House,

Bush Road.

Time: 10am

Leader: Tricia Moxey

Sunday 9th November

Practical Work in Wanstead Park

Venue: outside The Temple, Wanstead

Park

Times: 10am to 1pm

City of London Epping Forest Events

Saturday 1 November

Volunteer task: The Perch Pond

Meet by the entrance off Northumberland Avenue 10am–4pm

Help clear scrub and overgrowth from around the lake margins. Tel 020 7332 1911

Saturday 22 November

Volunteer task: Wanstead Park

The Temple 10am–2pm

Help clear the bramble from the bluebell area, in preparation for next spring’s blooms. Tel 020 7332 1911

Saturday 13 December

Volunteer task: Ornamental Water

By the Park entrance off Warren Road 10am–4pm

Help clear scrub and overgrowth from around the lake margins. Tel 020 7332 1991

Last winter, Wanstead Park

attracted record numbers of

Gadwall. This year it seems to

have hit the jackpot with Pochard.

In recent years, this duck has

adopted a habit of arriving in

early September - before the build

-up of other winter wildfowl, with

numbers then thinning as the

autumn progresses. This year they

started arriving in late August and

have, this week 7th September

2014, hit record numbers, with

more than 60 on Heronry.

Joining them this week have been

single Red-crested Pochard and

Wigeon. Tim Harris

FURTHER DATES TO NOTE

4

Friends of Wanstead Parklands

All good news, we are now close to reaching agreement with all our partners on the Wanstead Park Steering

Group, the City Corporation, English Heritage, Redbridge Council, Wanstead Golf Club Ltd and St Marys,

on the best way forward. This is a result of past data and reports as well as new studies and will ensure the

long-term viability of the park. We now have a way of maintaining the lakes and the conservation of the

Temple as well as on-going maintenance. The liaison group meet monthly to discuss practicalities. The

friends are applying for a £80.000 your heritage bid for an interpreting project in the park. We will be

enlisting the help of many of the local groups including Bushwood Residence Association and the Historical

Societies of, Wanstead and Leyton and Leytonstone and this is where your help is also needed so contact

me directly to get involved on 07973 131 429.The idea is to break up the vast amount of historical infor-

mation associated with the Grade II*, nationally important, listed park so that we will have audio and visual

interpretation of past events all related to its place in the nation's history.

Other News we have new Membership Secretary and a new Treasurer but we do still require a day to day

book keeper (commitment about 1 or 2 hours per week).

Next year we will be involved in a much bigger Wanstead Park

Festival, which will need your involvement either just to come along

or indeed to be part of the planning. Dwight

Thank you for responses to the

newsletter I will take your

comments to the committee

members and will be incorporat-

ing your ideas in future issues.

At present I am planning a news-

letter for every season but there is

no reason why more frequent

editions or supplements could not

be issued. Please let me know

what you think and keep your

articles coming in, the deadline

for articles for inclusion will be

the 15th of the month before

publication so; 15th December

2014, 15th March 2015, 15th June

2015 and 15th September 2015.

For the Autumn months many

fair-weather activates may be

curtailed, although to quote Billy

Connelly, “there is no such thing

as bad weather just the wrong

clothing” and there will be FWPL

walks throughout the year. I am

sure we will see an increase in the

pub evenings, quiz nights and

other indoor activities and

fundraisers to compensate. Also

look out for Fungi and bat walks

taking place in the autumn.

Time I am afraid to talk about

Christmas and Christmas Fayres

we have a flurry of these taking

place in the local area around the

parklands please let us know if

you would like us to come to your

event or if you could ‘man’ a table

for us, suitable paraphernalia can

be supplied along with a

committee member able to talk

about what we do. Remember to

keep an eye on the more

immediate forms of communica-

tions for updates of events on

Twitter-Facebook or the website.

Diane: articles to

diane.ale@gmail.com for those of

you wondering if I am a real ale

fanatic, I am not the a l e in the

email address is the corruption of

my daughter Alejandra’s name,

born in Malaga we adopted the

Spanish spelling, the short form

of which is pronounced Aleeeee!

Chairman’s remarks

Editor’s ramblings and round up

5

Friends of Wanstead Parklands

Find us at http://www.wansteadpark.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/46936535702/

Contact us at wanstead.parklands@googlemail.com

FRIENDS OF WANSTEAD PARKLANDS:

In 2009 a group of local people reactivated the

dormant Friends of Wanstead Parklands group to

raise public awareness of the history and

ecology of Wanstead Park and to campaign for

its preservation and enhancement. Wanstead

Park is where Epping Forest meets east London.

For an area so close to residential development,

there is an abundant variety of plant, animal and

other natural life, as well as more than a hundred

bird species (around fifty breeding there). The

varied habitats include lakes and ponds,

woodlands, open rough grassland and mown

playing fields. The Park's history is also

extraordinary.

It was the site of Colen Campbell's great

Wanstead House, built from 1715 for the Child

family, and demolished in 1824. The grounds - of

which important features remain - were one of

the finest examples of English Landscape

Movement of the 18th Century (the Park is now

listed Grade 2*). A previous house was occupied

by Elizabeth's minister Robert Dudley, Earl of

Leicester. Recent work has demonstrated that

Wanstead Park has been occupied since pre-

Roman times.

STOP PRESS:

as always your committee

remains seriously short of help

– several key posts are

vacant including;

Hon. Secretary

Bookkeeper

Events Coordinate

QUIZ NIGHT

7th November 7pm

Ex Serviceman's Club

Leytonstone

£10.00 non-members £ 8.00

members, inc food

(good quality Indian food

from Star of India)

Let us know if you are

coming. Max 8 per table

10 pm finish. Pay bar at very

reasonable rates.

All proceeds FoWPL

W e w o u l d w e l c o m e

volunteers willing to take on

either portfolios or individual

tasks. All are welcome to

attend our monthly meetings

to meet us and see how we

work. You will not be pressed

to do anything you don’t

wish to!

APPEAL

An urgent appeal to members

who have not done so to renew

their membership. To renew

just go to -

www.wansteadpark.org.uk/

membership