Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre

Black and white photo of a group of men walking around a library reading room

Black and white photo of a group of men by the stained glass window at Redbridge Central Library

Black and white photo of a group of men walking around the library

Black and white photo of people sat in the Gloucester Room at Redbridge Central Library for the unveiling of a plaque and speeches

Today marks 40 years since the new Redbridge Central Library opened on Clements Road, Ilford.

Can you name some of the ways the Library interior has changed or stayed the same since these pictures were taken in 1986?

It's a great artwork! It's on display at the Sir James Hawkey Hall in Woodford: visionrcl.org.uk/venues/sir-j...

The Benediction of the Woods | Art UK The Benediction of the Woods by Walter Ernest Spradbery (1889–1969), c.1940–1945, from Redbridge Museum

Find out more about this painting on @artukdotorg.bsky.social: artuk.org/discover/art...

Painting of a forest glade thought to depict Epping Forest. In the distance is a family spending time around a fallen tree.

Happy 10th birthday @artukdotorg.bsky.social!

Here’s our favourite of the many works we have listed on Art UK – ‘The Benediction of the Woods’, about 1940-45, thought to depict Epping Forest. Spradbery was a local artist and art teacher, best known for his posters for London Transport.

Poster for LGBTQ+ History Month featuring a photo of two people wearing LGBTQ+ flags

This LGBTQ+ History Month, we are collecting stories of the borough’s LGBTQ+ communities 🏳️‍🌈

If you live or have lived in Redbridge, identify as LGBTQ+, and have photos, films, clothes, items or memories to share, please get in touch!

📧: Redbridge.Museum@visionrcl.org.uk

Enjoyed half term? Why not round off the week with a trip to Redbridge Museum for our Families Trail!

Drop in anytime today and tomorrow from 11:00-16:00 to take part.

Photo of a brown toy horse reared up on its hind legs

Good luck and fortune to all celebrating the start of the Lunar New Year tonight!

It’s the Year of the Horse – can you spot this wooden horse on display in our Rural Redbridge section? It was carved by a farm worker from Fairlop for his young daughter around 1880 🐎

Photo of a cylindrical decimal converter

Photo of a pack of cards with a photograph of coins and the words ‘THE DECIMAL CURRENCY GAME / Snip Snap’

Today marks 55 years since Decimal Day – when the UK switched to decimal currency from imperial (pounds, shillings and pence) 💰

This would've been tricky for people who were used to the old system so aids like decimal converters and the Snip Snap card game were sure to have helped!

Photo of a cream-coloured greetings card with an embossed border and hand-embroidered with flowers and the Union Jack flag. A separate, smaller piece of card is printed with a sprig of clovers and the words ‘Un Baiser De’, with the words ‘To Girlie / From Boy’ hand-written in pencil above and below the message.

Happy Valentines Day! 💝

This anonymous hand-embroidered card was sent to the sweetheart of a soldier fighting in Europe during the First World War. The smaller piece of card reads ‘Un baiser de’ – ‘a kiss from’ – and is addressed “To Girlie / From Boy”.

Poster for Redbridge Museum’s families trail reading 'Families trail / Follow our fun, free family trail around Redbridge Museum to discover the history of Redbridge! For ages 4+ / Saturday 14 to Saturday 21 February 2026 / 11:00 - 16:00 (drop-in) / Redbridge Museum, 2nd floor, Redbridge Central Library'

Our fun, free Families Trail is back for the half term break!

📅 Saturday 14 to Saturday 21 February 2026
🕚 11:00-16:00 (drop in)
📍 Redbridge Museum, 2nd floor, Redbridge Central Library

Redbridge Museum | Vision RCL Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre is the local museum and archive service for the London Borough of Redbridge.

With her ground-breaking achievements, Kitty Clark may have inspired many more #WomenInSTEM during her time at Ilford Limited!

Find out more about the company at Redbridge Museum: visionrcl.org.uk/museum

X-ray image of a person’s chest showing healthy lungs

X-ray image of a person’s chest showing a lung infected with tuberculosis

Kitty was also a pioneer in developing mass miniature radiography, a technique used to screen for the deadly lung disease tuberculosis. 🫁

She received an MBE for her work on this in 1945.

Black and white photograph of Kathleen Clark speaking at a presentation of her book ‘Positionings in Radiography’. She is standing behind a table on which the book is presented on a stand. In the background is a display of original photographs taken for the book.

Page from Kathleen Clark’s book ‘Positionings in Radiography’ showing black and white photographs of a man under an x-ray and an x-ray of the skull.

In 1939, Kitty wrote ‘Positioning in Radiography’, a hugely influential book on the correct standards of positioning patients for x-rays. It is still in print and remains the definitive text on the subject for radiographers today. 📖

Photograph of someone holding up an x-ray image. In the background a woman in a white lab coat operates a machine.

Photograph of a group of people attending a seminar about medical radiography.

Photograph of a group of men sat at desks attending a seminar about industrial radiography.

Photograph of people in a room lined with screens showing x-rays.

Kitty began working at Ilford Limited in 1935. She helped to set up and run their Radiographic Department at Tavistock House, London, where world-class research was conducted into radiography and medical photography. 🩻

Black and white portrait of a woman with dark hair

To celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, here’s a mini thread dedicated to Kathleen ‘Kitty’ Clara Clark (1896-1986), a scientist who worked for local photographic company Ilford Limited.

🧵 Open this thread to read on! ⬇️

Black and white photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, shaking the hand of someone in a crowd of smiling people, while men in the background point cameras at the Princess.

Black and white photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, holding a bouquet of flowers and speaking to a crowd of people.

Black and white photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, speaking to children sat in wheelchairs with smiling adults sat in the background.

Black and white photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, smiling down at a bouquet of flowers while Barnardo’s kitchen staff look on.

Princess Diana visits @barnardos.org.uk HQ in Barkingside on this day in 1985, meeting with staff, children and adoring locals 👑💐

Discover the story of Barnardo’s in the local area at Redbridge Museum: visionrcl.org.uk/museum

Black and white photo of Victorian men and women skating on a frozen lake with trees in the background

More archive than art but we’ll take part in today’s @artukdotorg.bsky.social #OnlineArtExchange anyway with this photograph from our collection of Victorian skaters on the frozen lake at Wanstead Park, February 1895 ⛸️

Our next talk is by one of our own Committee members, Lynn Haseldine-Jones, who looks at Woodford in Old Postcards.

Next Monday 9th Feb in the Gloucester Room - 7 for 7:30pm.

Poster for LGBTQ+ History Month featuring a photo of two people wearing LGBTQ+ flags

This LGBTQ+ History Month, we are collecting stories of the borough’s LGBTQ+ communities 🏳️‍🌈

If you live or have lived in Redbridge, identify as LGBTQ+, and have photos, films, clothes, items or memories to share, please get in touch!

📧: Redbridge.Museum@visionrcl.org.uk

Photo of a white booklet with a purple border with text reading ‘ THE ORDER OF SERVICE / FOR THE FUNERAL OF / The Right Honourable / Sir Winston Leonard / Spencer-Churchill / K.G., O.M., C.H. / 30th January 1965

The funeral of Sir Winston Churchill took place on this day in 1965.

Ever a controversial figure, Churchill was extremely popular in Wanstead & Woodford where he served as MP from 1924 to 1956.

The Order of Service for the funeral pictured is on display at Redbridge Museum: visionrcl.org.uk/museum

Photo of an assembled yellow Lego crane on display with the original box in the background

Ever wonder what the Museum team gets up to behind the scenes?

As well as the usual things like research and label-writing, we get to build things like this 7249pc Lego crane, donated by Lego for our 2008 family exhibition ‘Build It!’ and constructed by our Museum Manager!

#InternationalLegoDay 🏗️

1925 was a pretty key year for The Area Formerly Known as Redbridge* with the sale of both Shackman's & St Swithin's farms - and you can read about it here:

*by those of us of a certain age...

ilfordhistoricalsociety.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/...

1925 map of Ilford in various colours marking different uses for the land

For #MapMonday, here’s a map of the Ilford Urban District from 1925 🗺️

Can you make out what most of the land in Ilford was being used for at this time?

Black and white photo of an indoor swimming pool under construction

Black and white photo of the exterior of Ilford Swimming Baths under construction

The Ilford Swimming Baths opened on the High Road on this day in 1931. These photos from our collection show the baths under construction on 18 September 1930.

Do you remember going there to swim? 🏊

Photo of a wooden grave-marker in the shape of a cross inscribed with the words: “R.I.P. / 2nd LIEUT. H. M. BECK / R.F.C. / KILLED / IN ACTION / 22.1.18 / PER / ARDUA / AD / ASTRA

2nd Lt. Herbert Musgrove Beck of Ilford was killed in a flying accident on this day in 1918.

Now on display at Redbridge Museum, this wooden cross originally marked his grave in the Military Cemetery in Amiens, France.

Discover the journey of the Beck cross on our #WW1 website: vrcl.uk/4sNCeJf

Black and white photo of a group of male Civil Defence workers in uniforms, coats, boots and helmets standing with cups of tea in front of a small stall made of corrugated iron and wood

We’ll take BREW Monday over Blue Monday any time of year 🫖

📸: Civil Defence workers pause for a cup of tea provided by the Women's Voluntary Service after an air raid in Ilford, about 1941

Photo of Smash Hits magazine, 15-28 June 1988, featuring Rick Astley and Derek B posing together on the cover

Woodford rapper Derek B was born on this day in 1965 🎤

Derek rose to fame in the 1980s as a hip hop artist and producer, supporting Public Enemy and Run DMC on tour, and was the first British rapper to appear on the cover of Smash Hits magazine!

Find out more about Derek B at Redbridge Museum.

Photograph of a slightly dented decorative gold ring with an inscription on the inside of the band

It's #HeritageTreasuresDay! 🪙

We’re lucky to have a trove of them in our collection, including this 17th century gold mourning ring inscribed with the words ‘Sis Memor A Mei’ (Be remembering of me), found by a local metal detectorist in Fairlop in 2011 and now on display at Redbridge Museum.

Photo of a topographical map showing part of what was then India and north west Burma printed on a piece of silk.

Escape maps were issued to Royal Air Force pilots in case their planes crashed while abroad. They were made from silk or artificial silk which were lighter, more flexible and durable than paper maps.

On display now in our exhibition ‘Redbridge and the Second World War’: vrcl.uk/museum-ww2

Typewritten diary entry reading: "1820. Jan. 8th. / Died at my House at the Rookery our old Nurse Mrs. Elizabeth Nichols after a long and faithful service for 26 years and was buried in Woodford Church Yard, the Day was remarkable for the intensiveness of the cold - Fahrenheit's Thermometer having been 30 degrees below Freezing and I went accompanied by Mr. John Hall to attend the Bench of Magistrates at Ilford to licence the turning of Snaikes Lane previous to the alterations and new buildings of Mr. Brice Pearse on his recent purchase in Woodford."

It's been a very cold week for us! This diary entry by John Hanson of Woodford recorded similar weather on this day in 1820 ❄️

If Hanson's Fahrenheit thermometer read 30° below freezing, and the freezing temperature is 32°F, can you figure out how cold it would have been on a Celsius thermometer? 🌡️