https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/08/27/the-oldest-tree-in-bethnal-green/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Sun, 06 Aug 2017 16:20:08 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/08/27/the-oldest-tree-in-bethnal-green/#comment-1006825 Thu, 27 Aug 2015 08:19:11 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=137609#comment-1006825 Thank you, Gentle Author, for writing of this fabulously ancient tree once more. The tree is safe, subject to a preservation order but, unfortunately, not so for the former London Chest Hospital; a most elegant building. There seems to be an “epidemic” in London (and elsewhere in the UK) to redevelop sites formerly in public ownership in such a way that is detrimental to the locality and to the community. The redevelopment of Dalston Lane in Hackney and the London Wool and Fruit Exchange in Spitalfields being two examples where the views of the local communities (plus others) have been totally overridden by local politicians and the business interests involved. The plans proposed for both sites are anodyne, functional and from anaesthetic sense do not sit well within the local areas i.e. having that sense of structurally “belonging” to the area. Modern architectural designs can sit amazingly well with the old and blend together, forming a empathetic relationship that grows with time. What’s proposed for both sites does not have that empathetic blend. Thank you for your gentle observations of London’s East End. I will continue to read these with great pleasure and at times, with a gentle sense of regret as well as joy.

]]> https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/08/27/the-oldest-tree-in-bethnal-green/#comment-1006776 Thu, 27 Aug 2015 06:40:20 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=137609#comment-1006776 It’s a frustrating situation. My husband and his brothers all grew up and went to school around Approach Road. My mother-in-law was a headmistress nearby. I went to school here too. And we own a flat overlooking the Chest Hospital today. If you ask Tower Hamlets for information they wash their hands, and point at St. Barts. When you get in touch with St. Barts their PR machine very politely stonewalls. I had hoped to drum up support via Friends of Victoria Park but they also declined, saying it was beyond their remit.
I love the Chest Hospital. It’s a stunning building, lost in time. And if it is torn down, it will be a case of everyone feeling remorse afterwards.

]]> https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/08/27/the-oldest-tree-in-bethnal-green/#comment-1006761 Thu, 27 Aug 2015 05:57:40 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=137609#comment-1006761 Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. What an honour to see such a fabulous aged tree in all its centuries of beauty. I wish I could cuddle this Mulbury tree 🙂 it has seen and lived through so many changes of human kind. The only other Mulbury I have kissed and cuddled is when I was Custodian of and lived at the home of playwright ‘George Bernard Shaw’ (1856-1950) who was very proud of his Mulberry tree he planted in his garden at Shaw’s Corner. My husband made home made wine from the succulant huge Mulberries it luxurianlty produced. Not many of these trees exist now in comparison. We should treasure them.

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