Eastside Community Heritage

02/06/2026

Today is a day we have waited a long time for. 💙
This English Heritage blue plaque for Kamal Chunchie, pastor, anti-racist community activist, and pioneer, is now on the wall of Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest in Poplar, where he did so much of his extraordinary work.

For those of us who have spent years researching his life and fighting to ensure he is not forgotten, seeing his name on that wall means everything.

But today also carries sadness. Muriel, Kamal’s daughter, who shared her father’s story with such grace and love, is no longer with us to see this moment. I think of her today more than I can say. This plaque is for her too.

Kamal Chunchie deserves to be known. And now, finally, he will be. 💙
Poplar HiddenHistories

02/06/2026

🌿 Do you have memories of Raphael Park?
We’d love to hear them! Eastside Community Heritage is collecting stories about Raphael Park as part of Havering Our Stories, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered in partnership with The Friends of Raphael Park & Lodge Farm.

Your stories will be preserved in our Hidden-History archive, shared in creative workshops, and brought to life through a co-designed art banner, a guided heritage walk, and an audio trail. Raphael Park will also receive a heritage plaque and feature on a brand new Havering Heritage Map. 🗺️

Whether it’s childhood memories, family visits, or something you’ve witnessed over the years — every story matters.

📧 To share your story or take part in an audio interview, contact [email protected]

🔗 Explore our archive: https://catalogue.eastsidecommunityheritage.org/collections

Made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

31/05/2026

What a joy it was to attend the launch of the London Festival of Architecture 2026, a festival celebrating this year’s theme of Belonging, and what a theme it is for us at Eastside Community Heritage.

We’re so proud to be part of this year’s programme with our guided heritage walk, Stepping Back to Explore Docklands Communities — taking place on Tuesday 9 June, 3–4pm, meeting outside London City Airport.

This free walk explores the changing urban landscape of Silvertown and Royal Victoria, and the remarkable communities who have called this place home. We’ll be bringing these stories to life through sound clips and images from our Hidden Histories archive, the voices of people who lived and worked here, who navigated factory shift patterns and dwindling transport links, who gathered at places like the Tate Institute, and who came together, sometimes in agreement, sometimes in fierce debate, over the closure of the Docks, the People’s Plan, and the arrival of City Airport.

Oral history sits at the heart of what we do. There is no better way to understand a place than through the words of the people who shaped it. Silvertown’s story is one of resilience, activism, creativity, and community, and we can’t wait to share it.

The walk is free and accessible, with level access throughout. Booking is required — you can reserve your place via the London Festival of Architecture website.

https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/event/stepping-back-to-explore-docklands-communities/

A guided walk, discovering the changing urban landscape of Silvertown and Royal Victoria and its impact on communities, and how spaces such as the Tate Institute took on a rising significance as a place of social belonging, for locals, isolated by reduced transport links and factory shift working.

21/04/2026

We’re Hiring: Project Manager – COVID-19 Community Heritage Archive

📍 East London | Eastside Community Heritage

Are you a passionate project manager who believes every community’s story deserves to be heard?

Eastside Community Heritage is seeking a dedicated Project Manager to lead a National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported project preserving the COVID-19 experiences of communities across East London (Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Waltham Forest).

You’ll coordinate oral history interviews, oversee the digitisation of fragile materials, and help build an accessible archive contributing to the COVID National Memorial — ensuring that voices too often left out of mainstream narratives are finally heard.

📋 Please note: We do not accept CV-only applications. Application form and pack available at

https://eastsidecommunityheritage.org
⏰ Closing date: 10am,Monday 18 May 2025

16/04/2026

Visit ECH this Monday at Manor Park Library for a fun session making Springtime crafts or digital diaries!

01/04/2026

Women’s History Month has been busy! 🌟
What an incredible month it’s been from Havering to Redbridge, Waltham Forest to Hackney, the team at Eastside Community Heritage has been out in the community running workshops with children, young people, and older residents, collecting and celebrating women’s stories.

It’s been wonderful to see so many people come together across generations to share experiences, memories, and voices that deserve to be heard. This month our digital display went into libraries and schools so that others could learn and enjoy these wonderful stories, bringing women’s history right into the heart of our communities.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part, shared their stories, welcomed us in, and made this month so meaningful. Your generosity in opening up and getting involved means everything.

And we’re not stopping here, exciting new projects are starting next month, so watch this space!

To find out more about our work and explore the stories we’ve collected, visit our online catalogue and website at

https://lnkd.in/ebRGthUe

18/03/2026

🎙️ From training room to co-designers, what a journey it’s been!

We’ve been reflecting this week on just how far we’ve come with the incredible students from Drapers’ Academy.

It started with oral history workshops, their first steps into the world of community storytelling and archive work. Now, we’re co-designing a booklet and exhibition together. They’re not participants. They’re partners. And honestly they’ve brought ideas and energy we couldn’t have imagined without them.

This is exactly what community heritage should look like. 🙌

And the momentum doesn’t stop there. This Women’s History Month, we’ve been busy running workshops across East London, collecting stories, surfacing voices, and celebrating lives that deserve to be remembered.

Want to get involved? Here are just some of the projects we’re working on, with more to come very soon:

📍 Life on the River Lea
📍 Harold Hill: Bonds of History
📍 …and several exciting projects still to be announced

Whether you’re a storyteller, a researcher, a community group, or just someone who believes local history matters, we’d love to hear from you.

📩 Drop us a message or comment below to find out how you can be part of one of our projects.

10/03/2026

Join ECH at Walthamstow Library tomorrow from 13:00–15:00 as we celebrate Women’s History Month!

Discover powerful films and digital exhibitions, including London Against Racism: Ulrike Schmidt, alongside highlights from our Yardley collection. There’ll also be creative crafts to get involved in.

Free to attend and open to all ages come along, explore, and celebrate with us!

08/03/2026

Celebrating Women’s Heritage Month: Lavender Girls, Legacy & Looking Forward 🌸

This Women’s Heritage Month, Eastside Community Heritage held a workshop at the very fitting venue of Alice Billings House, celebrating the remarkable contributions of local women, past and present.

The session shone a light on Alice Billings herself, a pioneering trailblazer in our community, and the extraordinary women who worked at Yardley’s box and beauty product factories, known affectionately and proudly as the Lavender Girls.

Drawing on materials from Eastside Archive, the workshop brought these women’s stories vividly to life through photographs, sound clips and first-hand quotes. A group discussion followed, as participants reflected on what these women’s lives, labour and legacy meant to them.

Then came the creative heart of the afternoon: making a celebration box, a personal tribute to the Yardley workers, containing a message for the future. Each person shared their box and the thoughts behind it, before their designs were gathered to be included in a time capsule.

The stories, connections and interpretations shared by the group were moving and unexpected in equal measure. What struck me most was how clearly the threads ran between those remarkable local women of yesteryear and the equally remarkable women in the room.

A big thank you to Alice Billings House for so warmly hosting the workshop — a perfect home for a session celebrating the woman herself. 🙏

For more stories from the archive, visit Eastside’s online catalogue: https://lnkd.in/ebRGthUe

04/03/2026

A big thank you to all who came to the women's history month workshop at Alice Billings House, Stratford and to Grow Studios, as we shared stories about Alice Billings and the Yardley Lavender Girls.