Comments on: More Brick Lane Events

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 09:17:21 +0000

In response to Sonia’s comment – Annetta was in the process of restoring the house but she obviously had so many other creative projects on the go at the same time that she never actually finished any rooms. Louis from Assemble will be able to give you more details in his talk, and tell you of what they are planning to do with the house in a way which will keep Annetta’s spirit alive and inspirational.

I think it is going to become a tremendous asset, not only acting as a catalyst for resistance against the destruction of the Spitalfileds area by soulless corporate developments, but also as a place where all the different grass root community groups can come together to share their experiences and support each other in the battle for Brick Lane.

By: Amita

Amita — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 13:50:55 +0000

Thank you so much for the webinar on the history of Trumans, it brings back so many memories for me, and tears to my eyes to see how it has been devastated.
I worked at Trumans briefly in 1983 / 1984 as a temp (accounts clerk) while looking for a proper job. My morning commute was walking down Brick lane, and I discovered the fascinating history of the area.
The Brewery still made local deliveries by horse and cart. Access to the site was indeed closely guarded, and I met locals who were always surprised to see me walking around inside, as their other contact with me was when I was helping my dad out at the post office on Salmon Lane in Poplar. I was allowed the privilege of writing in the petty cash ledger (huge folios dating back hundreds of years), which I was scared of defacing and spoiling with my school girl hand compared to the beautiful copper plate writing of previous years. I now realise that my entry was probably one of the last few entries in the ledger – I wonder what happened to it – probably in a skip and buried in landfill somewhere…
Thank you for your efforts to preserve a part of history so that it does not become one more bit of concrete and glass.

By: Sonia Murray

Sonia Murray — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 13:30:47 +0000

From the photo, Annetta’s home was – or is it still? – in desperate need of rehab. Why didn’t an architect restore it? Or did she? Is there more to this story? What’s worth saving can and should be saved, not allowed to fall into ruin.