The blog will be called Connections, and my aim is to fly some ideas, report on various local initiatives, and hopefully help promote joining up and collaboration. In the past I have found that sending draft blog posts to people is a good way to engage their interest, and sometimes open the way to fresh thinking. Of course it may spark rejection, but then I’m happing to review what I’ve written in the spirit of journalism as social reporting. Here’s how that idea started.
Bartholomew Fair will take a lot of joining up to make it work, so it is a good topic for an early(draft) post. I hope it can be useful to Matthew and others in discussion with the key interests who might collaborate. I’ll revise in the light of responses. Comments please to david@socialreporter.com on the draft, or directly to Matthew matthewub@hotmail.com
Bartholomew Fair - draft blog post v 1.0
In my June column for the EC1 Echo I noted that we have a lot of different names for our neighbourhoods, lots of activities and plans that people don’t know about, and not much sense of community. Here's some ideas to address that by joining up some of the exciting initiatives currently under way(which people may not know about). First, Barts 900.
The Barts 900 campaign, launched in May 2021, celebrates nine centuries of Britain’s oldest hospital and London’s oldest parish church, St Bartholomew the Great. It aims to raise funds for a range of inspiring projects of both national and local importance. The campaign has not attracted much attention since its launch - unsurprising because of other priorities during the pandemic.
I think that the campaign could now benefit from more local awareness - enhanced by people’s willingness to applaud and celebrate the work of 17,000 staff in the NHS Trust during the pandemic. In its turn, the campaign could also benefit the local community by helping create more shared understanding of our history, and the potential to make more of what we have today. That’s much needed at a time when we face a new round of challenges for recovery.
Barts hospital and church are at the heart of the City of London’s cultural quarter, branded Culture Mile. There’s a lot on offer in the Barbican Arts Centre and many other venues in the City and nearby Clerkenwell. Yet again I sense that few people realise what is on their doorstep. I frequently hear from neighbours“I didn’t know about that” when I mention an event or venue, because organisations all have their own separate marketing arrangements. Maybe that will improve with the Destination City initiative.
Recent Drop-in discussion sessions organised by the Culture Mile and Centre’s Creative Communities project revealed the need for better information and connections on a wider front - leading to plans for a community hub in a prominent position in the Barbican Arts Centre’s main Foyer, due later this year.
Our community newspaper, the EC1 Echo, has featured a proposal from City councillor Matthew Bell to revive Bartholomew Fair, established in the early days of the hospital to provide support through funds generated from a three-day market. The Fair later grew to run for 14 days, covering four parishes.
The Fair was opened by the Lord Mayor, included shows transferred from theatres, as well as sideshows, prize-fighters, musicians, wire-walkers, acrobats, puppets, freaks and wild animals. At its height it attracted 100,000 people. It was the Culture Mile of its day. More here on the role of Fairs.
I added to Matthew’s Echo article the idea of a virtual Fair, that might operate all year. We now have the wide-spread ability to create and stream events, develop virtual tours and set up our own online shows. I expanded on that in this draft blog post, Barts Fair reframed - virtually:
We already have the elements of a Fair running most days of the year in the theatres, studios, concert halls, museums, galleries, cinemas, pubs and nightclubs around the original fairground, an area the City of London has branded Culture Mile.The newly opened Elizabeth Line, together with Thameslink, makes it physically the most accessible place in London. Over Farringdon East station is the London HQ of TikTok, whose video-sharing platform has over a billion monthly users. That’s a new virtual world stage, for anyone.The problem isn’t the lack of a Fair - it’s that not enough people know about the Fair that we already have. Nor, perhaps, do they know enough about the fascinating history of Farringdon, Smithfield and nearby Clerkenwell, and what there is to explore in the streets of EC1.
A further initiative that could be helpful is the move by the Culture Mile team to establish a Business Improvement District. If approved in 2023, the BID would have its own powers to raise funds from businesses and develop projects. Even better, in my view, would be to make the BID a CID - a Community Improvement District with representation from residents. Culture Mile is area in the City with the greatest number of residents, so we really need a culture, business, and community vision for the future. There are already two pilot CIDs in London.
So where am I going with this draft post? In summary:
Barts 900, together with a“real” and virtual Fair, could be a great way to interest people in supporting hospital and church, exploring our history, and having fun. The new community hub could display plans for Barts 900 and the Fair to Barbican Centre visitors, and link these to other projects and local information. We could have maps of past, present and future, as I have started to develop in the Exploring EC1 Project, together with exploration walks. Hopefully the Culture Mile BID or CID, and Destination City, could join in too. The Echo could contribute a wall newspaper. We would begin to establish a guide for our neighbourhoods. That should appeal to councillors looking for ways to improve on the rather limited Ward newsletters and websites. Planning and organising the Fair together can provide the catalyst for collaboration.
One snag is where to hold the Fair. The original site in West Smithfield is a bit constrained - but during research into the Fair I discovered that Barts Hospital held a substantial 800th celebration in 1923 - including a Fair in the hospital square. I managed to track down some Pathe newsreel.
I also found an archive of the St Bartholomew’s Hospital Journal for July 1923 which has very full account of the Fair, as well as the church service, Lord Mayor’s luncheon, Guildhall ceremony, and Tableux.
Questions for comment
Could Barts hospital host a Bartholomew Fair in 2023, together with the adjoining St Bartholomew the Great, as part of the Barts 900 celebrations?
In 2018 the Museum of London and Culture Mile collaborated with Traders to stage a celebration of 150 years of Smithfield Markets. Could they lend some of their production experience, or insights into what’s needed? Museum staff may be fully occupied with closure and a move to a new site.
Could the Fair feature in development of the Culture Mile Business Improvement District?
Might the City Corporation see Bartholomew Fair as a key component in Destination City 2023 - just as they did in 1923?
Could Barts 900 and the Fair have display space in the community hub?
Would local councillors be interested in developing a neighbourhood guide about the past, present and future of Aldersgate, Farringdon, Cripplegate?
Bartholomew Fair - draft blog post v 1.0
Questions for comment