This page was last updated on: July 3, 2021
THE LEVERSTOCK GREEN CHRONICLE
an in-depth history of one village in Hertfordshire UK.
Click to link to principle LG Chronicle web pages.
SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE TO VIEW ALL RELATED ARTICLES AVAILABLE THEN CLICK TO VIEW.
Please alter your viewing % if items are overlapping or muddled. 80%+ will probably give you the best view, but you will have to scroll to right/left to view everything.
LIFE DURING A PANDEMIC
As the cover of my annual family photobook says, 2020 was a year like no other! Only sadly, it looks as if 2021 is following in its footsteps whether Covid or the Weather, though fortunately with some hope built in.
THE INITIAL LEVERSTOCK GREEN ISOLATION CHALLENGE
As Leverstock Green’s Local Historian I thought it would be a good idea to record, if only in a limited fashion, what life is/was like in Leverstock Green during the present Corona Virus Crisis.
The Challenge is open to all current Leverstock Green residents to record using text and/or photographs what is happening in ONE OR MORE of the following three categories.
I have set up a new Facebook Group page; “LEVERSTOCK GREEN’S ISOLATION CHALLENGE”, where I am asking you to join, and record your report(s) at least twice a month, but more often if you wish. By all means if you wish share your comments on your Facebook Time Line, but initially post your reports on this group page so that I can easily save them all to eventually collate together so that future Leverstock Green residents 25-50, or even 100 years down the line can get an idea of what it was like here in 2020. The three categories are as follows:
THE BOTANICAL CHALLENGE: Report on anything botanical within you house and garden, and further afield which you can see from your windows or garden. That is A)your garden if you have one, and the trees, flowers, fruit and vegetables growing there, whether in the ground or containers. Especially at this time of year as the trees grow their leaves, produce blossom etc. and the plants grow and add to the colour of our surroundings. B)Any houseplants, widow boxes, hanging baskets, pots of spring bulbs etc. Hopefully with photographs we can all share in the wonderful colours of all these plants.
THE WILDLIFE CHALLENGE: report on any wildlife you come into contact with or see whilst you are at home, or if taking your daily exercise, visiting the pharmacist etc. This can include your resident spiders, and other “wildlife” which makes it into the house; minibeasts, insects etc. Reptiles such as frogs and toads, many of which will have been spawning in your ponds if you have one. Small mammals such as mice, voles, squirrels, hedgehogs, and larger ones such as foxes, badgers and deer which might come into your gardens, or which you can see see from your window or garden. (It is quite usual for us to have a fox in the garden, and occasionally some Muntjac deer). And of course it also includes our birds. Are your garden birds nesting ( or preparing to do so)?; Which birds do you see in the garden? Do you have bird-feeders, birdbaths etc. and what other birds do you see from your windows and gardens? e.g. the magnificent Red Kites we see frequently, and other larger birds such as Kestrals, Woodpeckers, Magpies, Crows, Gulls etc.
C) Lastly the PERSONAL CHALLENGE. Record under this theme any tasks and skills you have undertaken which you would not normally have done. For example, learning to Skype, home-tutoring your children, following celebrities on TV as they try to get us to “Keep Fit” etc.
At the time of beggining this webpage (25 May 2021) I have amassed well over a 1000 pages which I have already put into albums as well as saving electronically. I have also sent the details to HALS on DVD as part of their Covid-19 Project. See https://archives.hertfordshire.gov.uk/recording-herts-response-to-covid-19/
Below is the introduction I wrote for the first complete album - LEVERSTOCK GREEN CHRONICAL DOCUMENTS ALBUM No56
LEVERSTOCK GREEN CHRONICLE DOCUMENTS, ALBUM No.56
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONTENTS OF THIS ALBUM,
BEING INCLUSIVE OF ITEMS RELATING TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC,
AND STARTING FROM THE END OF FEBRUARY 2020.
My usual practice with these albums containing a mixture of documents, photographs and some ephemera relating to Leverstock Green, is to include them in the order I come across the information. Some items can be over 100 years old, other written the day before.
However, we are currently living through a period of time, the like of which we have never before experienced in modern times. That is we are in the midst of a World Wide Pandemic of the virus COVID-19. Full details of the pandemic and its spread can be found at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen
The first occasion the virus was brought to the attention of the World Health Organisation was on 31 December 2019, and a few days later it became apparent that there was a newly mutated Covid Virus causing major problems in the Chinese district of Wuhan.
0-12 January 2020
The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a comprehensive package of guidance documents for countries, covering topics related to the management of an outbreak of a new disease:
•
Infection prevention and control
Infection prevention and control•Laboratory testing
Laboratory testing•National capacities review tool
National capacities review tool•Risk communication and community engagement
Risk communication and community engagement•Disease Commodity Package (v1)
Disease Commodity Package (v1)•Disease Commodity Package (v2)
Disease Commodity Package (v2)•Travel advice
Travel advice•Clinical management
Clinical management•Surveillance case definitions
Surveillance case definitionsFull details of the growth and knowledge of this new disease during January can be found on the previously listed website. With the rapid increase and spread of the disease, (mostly in China, but spreading to other countries), by 5 February 2020 WHO's headquarters began holding daily media briefings on the novel coronavirus, the first time that WHO has held daily briefings by the Director-General or Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
On the 5 March the first death from COVID-19 was recorded in the UK. The first Hertfordshire death occurred on 9 March, with more deaths following from 21 March.
I was due to attend the Ulcer Clinic at Gossoms End (near Berkhamsted) on 13 March, and I contacted the clinic to ask if indeed I should attend. As I was assured that the nurse I was seeing was indeed the only member of staff there that day, and that there was only one other patient due at the clinic that day, I attended. Thankfully this subsequently led to my referral to the Lymphoedema Specialist nurses, who have come out to me regularly twice a week, covered in their protective clothing.
The Government first published its “Stay at Home & Stay Away From Others” – i.e. “Safe distancing” guidance on 23 March. By this time Supermarkets were being totally emptied of goods due to panic buying, and we had already decided to have groceries delivered from Sainsbury’s for the foreseeable future.
My “Historian’s” brain had quickly realised how important the whole problem was to the World, and that it presented an opportunity as Leverstock Green’s local historian to document what was happening locally, so I decided to give residents a challenge, and post details of our village, and how our residents lives’ changed on Facebook.
FULL DETAILS OF THIS CHALLENGE FOLLOW AFTER THIS DOCUMENT.
.............................................................................
THINGS TO NOTE RE WHAT I HAVE RECORDED.
Firstly, only a few people formally signed up to the challenge, however it soon became apparent that with so much time on their hands following “Lockdown” lots of people were documenting their local environment, their gardens, and other aspects of life during lockdown, mostly on the LGVA Facebook page. It also very quickly started to show the compassion of many people, and the desire to help others if at all possible during such difficult times. One way in which this materialised was the way in which locals offered many items they had now decided they no longer needed, to others locally and mostly for FREE. Another was by using their own skills to make masks and in some instances other related items such as Scrubs. (See photos below)
Secondly I had originally intended to keep specifically COVID related items and all other items separate. However, I now realise that it would make much more sense to arrange ALL items, wherever possible in chronological order of when they happened. The document I created, mostly from Facebook and occasional other social media pages, I headed with “LEVERSTOCK GREEN CHALLENGE (number), POSTED BY....... (DATE). The only problem with this being that for a variety of reasons, the number of each document as I created it chronologically, was not the same necessarily as the date when it was published. In part this was due to the fact that each time I logged on, I was naturally taken to the head of the column, but also I noticed, as I often had in the past, that even given the date they were published, the list itself could be in a muddled order. Why? I do not know, possibly to do with the speed at which different Internet providers published their clients information.
In any case I continue to give the documents a number in the order I created them, but once printed, I decided I would re-arrange the documents in order of their original date of publication (or event if more apporpriate), and slot in, also in original publication date, the other items I had saved. The idea being that eventually the overall picture given would give a true picture of life in Leverstock Green during the pandemic as it progressed.
Lastly, I am today starting on printing the 130 plus documents I have amassed since the end of February 2020. Today – 4 July 2020 – is also the first day in England when lockdown is being officially eased with the opening of venues such as certain shops, pubs and other venues. However, as an individual, and one within the more vulnerable category,Martin & I shall continue to stay predominantly at home, not least because the photographs of the thousands who flocked to the beaches recently, where you could barely put a pin-prick between people, let alone 1 meter plus (the new guidance) makes me fearful of things getting worse again before continuing to improve. We shall have to wait and see. (In fact that is exactly what happened and we had to go in a new session of Lockdown.)
Also I today received an email from HALS re contributing to their COVID 19 catalogue. This I shall print out when I get to the July section of documents.
Barbara Chapman 4 July 2020 I shall be posting more photos and photo galleries in due course giving examples covering various subjects. e.g. Local sites, Special Activities and Events, The Weather, Helping Others etc. With many people taking advantage of Bunkers Park & Longdeans for their daily exercise, over time a progression of the seasons and the flowers/trees in bloombecame evident. I will however, first of all need to ensure the photographers are happy for me to include their photos. I am also hoping I shall be able to import some whole documents as examples, but have as yet not been able to find out how to do this, and will also have to get the permission of the initial contributor for both photos and documents. BAC 25/05/2021
Masks and Scrubs made by local resident Julie Roberts, seen here modelling a pair of Scrubs.
© Julie Roberts
These masks were made for my husband Martin & I by a good friend (and old neighbour), Jean Britt. Jean has been making masks for whoever needed them since the early days of the Pandemic. © Barbara Chapman
For a variety of reasons I can no longer spend the same amount of time as in the past on my research and updating this website, though I DO still explore our local history and continue to find new historic items of interest. For example .from The British Newspaper Library (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) which now publishes items online.
It is still my intention to update existing pages on the Leverstock Green Chronicle website and to add new information as and when time permits. With Social Media, and the digitisation of many national archives new information and images surface regularly. AS well as saving all this information to my computer, I ensure all new information is documented and printed and added to the growing number of Chronicle Archive Albums. The contents of these albums are catalogued and added to a spread sheet enabling myself (or anyone else in the future) to readily find the information, even should the website itself no longer exist.
For the last year or more I have been collecting and recording details posted by local residents on the LGVA Facebook page and other sites, so as to record the effect of the Pandemic. This together with, sending hte results to HALS at County Hall has tken most of my time.
If YOU have any information relating to Leverstock Green's history and members of your family who lived here, including photographs, ephemera etc.please contact me so I can arrange a meeting and/or exchange email addresses so I can include your information in my archive of Leverstock Green's history.
Thankyou, Barbara Chapman 29/05/2021
21ST JANUARY 2020 was the first real hint of the possibility of a world-wide medical problem, to hit our news broadcasts. The disease had been mentioned before, but as it was in China, had seemed very remote and unlikely to cause us here in the UK any real problems. However, on the same day the first case of the virus outside mainland China was reported, and the UK was given a VERY LOW risk of catching the disease. However, by the following day the risk had been upgraded to LOW.
Just over a week later on the 29th, two Chinese nationals staying in York were tested positive for the disease. On the same day a plane carrying British nationals who had been evacuated from Wuhan in China (the centre of the outbreak), land at RAF Brize-Norton and were instantly quarantined for 14 days.
The following day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency, amid thousands of new cases in China. Life was changing, and it was all rather worrying, but at the same time seemed somewhat remote. It was not until Wednesday 11 March that the WHO declared the rapidly spreading Coronavirus outbreak, a PANDEMIC, and was likely to spread to all countries on the globe.
By 24 March, the death toll throughout the UK from the virus had reached 335 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared new regulations to help prevent the spread of the disease. Basically we were all told to WASH OUR HANDS, COVER OUR FACE AND MAKE SPACE. WE WERE IN LOCKDOWN.
Essentially being in Lockdown meant most people had to stay at home, and if possible work from home. With modern technology and the use of the internet this was fairly easy for many who could use their own home computers to continue with their tasks, talking on-line via Zoom & Skype when they needed to confer with coleagues. But it wasn’t suitable for all kinds of jobs. To help employees, the Government eventually introduced a furlough scheme so that both employers and employees had some job safety and payment. I do not intend to go into the whys and wherefores of these schemes here as I am more concerned with what our residents have recorded whilst Lockdown radically increased their time at home.
These links will give you more idea of how the scheme ran. Others will also be available if you search on-line.
Lockdown did, and indeed still does, impact on our family lives, and our leisure activities. Not just the adults were at home, but the children as well, and their parents had to undertake their schooling at home. Both the individual schools and the BBC provided a lot of resources to help parents, but it did mean that for many young people they “lost” a lot of their schooling, and where they were in the education system could mean greater and lesser degrees of disruption. Testing and exams had to be altered by the government and caused many problems, yet equally for some it provided new and (especially for the younger children) more exiting ways of learning.
BC BITESIZE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
BITESIZE ARTICLES: : https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrsbrj6
Back to school: Catch up and keep learning with BBC Bitesize https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvryp4j
We were in what came to be referred to as Lockdown, but what did it mean?
• Non essential businesses such as bars, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, clubs, theatres, gyms and leisure centres as well as places of worship were instructed to shut.
• We were ordered to leave the house, only to shop for necessities “as infrequently as possible.
• Perform on one form of exercise a day
• We could seek medical help, provide care to a vulnerable person or travel to work “if absolutely necessary”
It also meant that wearing a mask - with all the problems that could bring if you wore glasses or a hearing aid, and was going to be something we all had to get used to. You could wear disposable NHS style masks, obtainable easily online, or you could wear something more "interesting" by either purchasing them (again mostly online) or by making them yourself. Or, if you were lucky, you could get masks from altruistic friends and neighbours who made them and in most cases gifted them to those who wanted more individual masks and who were happy to either wash them, or treat them to disinfect them. In Leverstock Green were were and still are lucky that there are several of our residents who have been happy to get out their sewing machines and scissors in order to help others.
The first major lockdown had began at the end of March. February had seen the start of a weather pattern throughout 2020 which was, to quote the Met Office at the end of the year :
"2020 has been a year of extremes with the wettest February on record, the sunniest spring, a heatwave in the summer and a day in October breaking rainfall records.
With just a few days left to go, 2020 looks likely to be the 3rd or 4th warmest on record depending on how cold the rest of the year turns out to be (full years statistics published 4th January 2021). This makes it clear that the general trend of warming as a consequence of climate change is being seen, not just at a global level, but in our own national temperature records.
Not only will 2020 be one of the top five hottest on record for the UK, but also it will be one of the top ten wettest and the top ten sunniest years.”
(See https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2020/2020-round-up for full details.)
Although we DID suffer a number of named storms, and some VERY heavy rainfall at times, generally speaking the overall warmth meant that many of the residents who were now NOT going to work everyday, but wished to take advantage of the Government's stress of getting daily exercise, and did just that. Many carried a mobile phone or camera with them and between us all I amassed a very large number of photographs taken around the village, Bunkers Park and Longdeans (which are both managed by the Herts. & Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
See: https://www.lgva.org.uk/environment/bunkers-park and https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/long-deans for maps and details.
GALLERY 1 - A SELECTION FROM BARBARA LETALLEC'S PHOTOS OF HER WALK AROUND THE CHURCHYARD 25 MARCH 2020 - Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
All photos in this section and gallery are the copyright of Barbara Le Tallec.
GALLERY 3B - FROM JOHN BRULEY'S PHOTOS OF HIS WALK AROUND THE VILLAGE ON EASTER SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2020 - Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
10 May 2020 -JOHN BRULEY is at BUNKERS PARK - "Nice early start to my 7,922 steps (4 miles in old money) walk from a very quiet village centre. Lovely hour in Bunkers Park, before the wind got up. Didn't seem to bother the cows though!! Enjoy your Sunday everyone."
GALLERY 2B- "SPRING IN BLOOM" & THE ANNUAL COPPICING FROM MARTIN CHAPMAN'S PHOTOS OF HIS WALK TAKEN THROUGH BUNKERS PARK ON 4 APRIL 2020.
- Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
BELOW: BLACKTHORN IN BLOOM, TAKEN FROM WITHIN BUNKERS PARK, LOOKING TOWARDS BUNKERS LANE. (Look at the map at https://www.lgva.org.uk/environment/bunkers-park and the hedgerow is the bottom side of the trapezium formed from Chambersbury Wood, M and the hedgerow is the bottom side of the trapezium formed from Chambersbury Wood, Mittens, and Top Field, and abutting Bunkers Lane.
For full details on the new cemetery & the proposed crematorium, please go to the LGVA website:
GALLERY 5- FROM MARTIN CHAPMAN'S PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE WAR MEMORIAL, LEVERSTOCK GREEN ON 15 APRIL 2020,
Scroll down for Cemetery
LEFT:WILD CHERRY BLOSSOM, BUNKERS PARK
FINAL PICTURE ON THE ABOVE GALLERY.
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
GALLERY 8 - FROM - JOHN BRULEY 10 MAY 2020 - Bunkers Park
Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
All photos in this section and gallery
are the copyright of Martin Chapman
All photos in this section
are the copyright of Martin Chapman
All photos in this section and gallery
are the copyright of John Bruley
All photos in this section and gallery
are the copyright of John Bruley
CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW TO TAKE YOU TO INDIVIDUAL GALLERIES, OR JUST SCROLL DOWN.
GALLERY 4 - FROM JOHN BRULEY'S PHOTOS OF HIS NEXT WALK AROUND THE VILLAGE ON EASTER MONDAY 13 APRIL 2020 - Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
JOHN BRULEY, 12:42 13 APRIL 2020, EASTER MONDAY:
"Quick walk around the village before another exhausting day on the patio."
GALLERY 7. : A SELECTION FROM MAVIS TILBURY'S PHOTOS ON HER WALK AROUND THE VILLAGE 18 APRIL 2020
For their prescribed daily exercise during lockdown, many local residents chose to walk around various sections of the village as well as venturing to Blackwater Wood, Bunkers Park and Longdeans. Although many took similar photos, everyone has their own idea of what they want to recall photographically, plus their use of photographic equipment. Many used their mobile phone's cameras, whereas others used either compact, bridge or SLR cameras, all of which had different capabilities and lenses. Then the weather, and the seasonal progression also meant that even pictures taken of the same view, can tell us something different.
All photos in this section and gallery
are the copyright of Mavis Tilbury.
MAVIS TILBURY 18 APRIL, 16:58
"A walk around our pretty village."
24/06/21 - Unfortunatly due to a neck/shoulder injury which is agravated by working on my computer, I have to limit the time I can spend working here to an hour, with a minimum of 1 1/2 hours break. Therefore progress on adding to and updating this page (and any others) is going to be very slow. My apologies, and thanks for your patience. BAC
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
SADLY, DUE TO MY SHOULDER I HAVE TO LEAVE SORTING AND POSTING WHAT I INTEND FOR THIS GAP, AND I AM UNLIKELY TO COME BACK TO IT BEFORE TOMORROW (26 JUNE). ONE OF THE FEATURES RELATES TO THE TEDDY BEAR TRAIL AROUND THE VILLAGE AT THE BEGINING OF APRIL 2020. AT THE MOMENT I ONLY HAVE MY PICS OF MY TEDDY IN MY WINDOW. IF ANY OF YOU HAVE PHOTOS TAKEN AT THIS TIME OF THE TEDDIES AND ARE HAPPY FOR ME TO USE THEM, PLEASE MESSAGE ME OR CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL ( USE MINE IF YOU KNOW IT OR SEND TO ROY WOOD: roy.wood3@ntlworld.com
WITH "PLEASE FORWARD TO BARBARA CHAPMAN" IN THE SUBJECT LINE IF THE CONTACT FORM FAILES TO WORK. THANKYOU
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
GALLERY 2A: TEDDY TRAIL - As mentioned above, a Teddy Bear Trail was set up at the beginning of April 2020. The only record I seem to have is of my own Teddy Bear in our widow, along with some of his friends! If you have any additional information, and/or photographs please contact me.
My Teddy Bear - "TED" was given me as a baby so I grew up with him. He was always around, but like many children I treated him as if he was "human" and decided he needed a haircut one day, before my mother managed to stop me from doing any more damage. Unfortunately our dog "Wendy" obviously wanted to play with him as well, and succeeded in chewing his hands more or less off. He did have a rather snazzy knitted grey suit which my aunt had knitted, but I seem to have mislaid that, though I am sure I have had it since living here. It would be nice if the "Teddy Ladies" at the BBC's "Repair Shop" could work their magic, but sadly I don't think he is/was important enough. Anyway, I put him and some of his "friends" in our window, but as I was not going out, I had to photograph him from inside so he is not looking the right way in the photos. Barbara Chapman
N.B. I have not used the usual gallery setting as the dimensions of the various photos differ didn't fit correctly in the gallery frames. BAC
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
PALM SUNDAY "As I still work during the week, I only get the opportunity to exercise at the weekend. However, I am so thankful to have Bunkers Park on our doorstep. Lovely walk today with my daughter, the blossom is beautiful and there were so many butterflies, you could almost forget what is going on in the world right now." JACQUI SHEPPARD
All photos in this section and gallery
are the copyright of Jacqui Sheppard
GALLERY 5B- FROM MARTIN CHAPMAN'S PHOTOS TAKEN AT
THE NEW CEMETARY AREA ON 25 APRIL 2020.
Click on individual frames to see an enlarged version.
All photos in this section including Gallery ©Martin R. Chapman
GALLERY 6 - A VERY SPECIAL DAY: 16 APRIL 2020,THE 95TH BIRTHDAY OF MADGE FIELD. Photographs taken by Madge herself, unless otherwise stated.
To be continued.........
Lee-Anne, who took the photo on the right & posted it on the LGVA Facebook page with the above comment, wasn't quite correct. Madge lived in London as a young girl, but visited Leverstock Green often, as her grandparents ran The Leather Bottle. Later on, her parents took over the pub, so the family moved back to the village and Madge was to spend the rest of her life here. No-one knows the village better than Madge and she may well now be the oldest long-term resident in the village.
Most of the photos below were taken by Madge on her mobile phone. The one of her on the drive was taken by her daughter. BAC.
For reminiscences by Madge Field, nee Parkins,
of life in Leverstock Green between the 1930s and 1960's.
go to: http://www.lgchronicle.net/LeatherBottle.html
All photos in this gallery & section
are the copyright of Martin Chapman
N.B. I have strted working on a new page for VE day, click on the title to the left to take you to this page. If you have photos taken of any celebrations of VE day 2020 &/or 2021 please contact me, Thank you. BAC
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
