Random statue 3: St Anne of Branderion

Branderion, a Breton village, has as its protector Saint Anne. She even has a nickname here: Santez Anna Gouh, or St Anne the Elder. Apt, because Branderion's chapel is claimed to be the oldest dedicated to her, with remains dating back to the 9th century, although the present building is mostly from the 14th.

There are two statues of Saint Anne in the simple chapel. One is of stone, but this more striking one is painted wood. It's also notable that she has a strong, mature face, in contrast to the insipid features of many such statues (the stone one in the same chapel is a good example).

According to a notice alongside it, the statue was sculpted in the eighteenth century in accordance with a vow made by Compagnie des Indes sailors shortly after their arrival at Lorient. That would make sense since she is, among other things, patron saint of shipwrecks.


St Anne - grandmother of Christ - has special significance for the Bretons, and is Brittany's patron saint. There are even legends suggesting (improbably!) that she was born in the region. In the seventeenth century, she famously appeared to the peasant Yves Nicolazic in a village since renamed Saint-Anne-d'Auray. He went on to dig up a statue of the saint, and a chapel was constructed on the site under his direction. Although Saint-Anne-d'Auray is not far from Branderion, and has somewhat overshadowed its own connections to the saint, the village must nonetheless be pleased to have the earlier claim.

Deptford Market accents

Here's an interesting short film from Goldsmith's student Charlotte Harrison. She has recorded a series of speakers, using their voices not only as the soundtrack to this video but also to be transformed into 3D foam cutouts. Even if you're not interested in accents, the film has plenty of images of Deptford market.

Heddle Nash, Deptford tenor

Thanks to the comments on yesterday's post, I discovered the Deptford-born tenor and between-the-wars opera star, Heddle Nash. He was born in Amersham Vale in 1894, son of a master builder who was also a talented singer. Nash went on to a glittering career, by the end of which he was Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music, and died in 1961.

Nash was already training in music when the First World War broke out: he sang in the Westminster Abbey choir and won a scolarship to Blackheath Conservatory. Although military service interruped that training, it also brought him together with his wife, a nurse who cared for him after he was wounded. When the war was over, Nash's musical education resumed at Blackheath Conservatory and then in Italy.

He made his operatic debut in Milan in 1924, before returning to London. From 1929 to the Second World War, Nash performed regularly at Covent Garden. He also sang at early Glyndebourne Festivals and performed oratorios; he was one of the 'sixteen soloists' who performed Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, a tribute to Sir Henry J Wood. His last public performance was only months before his death.

Nash lived for the last thirty years of his life in Petts Wood, where a plaque commemorates his life. Deptford, by contrast, makes nothing of this successful son: ironically, Elgar and Vaughan Williams are remembered in Close names, but there is no Heddle Nash Close to be found.

Nash made a number of recordings, many of which are still available on CD and, as below, on YouTube:

Mystery name

This is really just idle curiosity, but I'm hoping someone might know the answer!

While Margaret McMillan Park is closed, getting to Deptford High Street involves a diversion past Vaughan Williams Close. Googling doesn't throw up any significant links between Vaughan Williams and Deptford, and the Close doesn't appear to be surrounded by other composer-themed streets. Does anybody have any idea, then, why it has been given this name?

York House, Richmond (but not that one)

Before my trip north yesterday, I'd gone west to Richmond on Sunday. There, this ornate facade in George Street caught my eye. Unfortunately, as it's close to a larger, better known York House, finding anything out about it proved rather difficult!

This version may not be as old or aristocratic as its big sister, now town hall for Richmond Upon Thames. However, its fine windows, stained glass and elaborate plasterwork are definitely worth appreciation in their own right.

Wood Green Underground

On an unexpected trip to Wood Green, I noticed two things: first, the details of the station decor and second, that I had forgotten my camera. Apologies, then, for the poor quality of the pictures which were taken with my phone.

Wood Green and its neighbouring stations are recognised as among the finest on the network. It was designed by Charles Holden, also responsible for 55 Broadway above St James's Park station.

Opened in 1932, Wood Green has a curving brick facade and some details such as this 'telephones' sign which are very much of that period.


There are also less obvious details, such as the animals sat above eye level in the ticket hall and the wonderfully detailed vent covers.



The details, though, are part of a larger design which also pleases. The candy-cane edging to platform entrances are a particularly nice touch.

I've no doubt I'll be in Wood Green again at some point; I just hope that next time, I've remembered my camera!

Witcomb Cycles and weddings

There was a lovely story in the Bexley Times this week about a couple celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary. Lily Witcomb, 95, is married to Ernie, 91, owner of Witcomb Cycles. This cycling company has a long and distinguished history - much of it in Deptford.


Although they moved to Wales in 2009, the company had for the previous 40 years made and sold its bicycles in Tanners Hill. It had been founded by Ernie in 1949, and at first he built the bikes in his back garden. The company grew steadily, and its racing bikes were used by among others Stan Brittain. He rode his Witcomb into 68th place in the 1958 Tour de France - one of the first British riders to finish the race. Witcomb even had their own racing team. Perhaps Lily's most literally visible contribution to their success was her choice of lilac as the company's racing colour.

There was something of a decline in the 1980s, when mountain bikes became popular, but the firm continued to be one of the few remaining frame builders in London until last year. The brand should continue from its new Welsh home, but the Deptford connection now seems to be at an end.

Shipwright's Palace

Thanks to Deptford Dame for introducing a new Deptford blog, the Shipwright's Palace. It explores the dockyard's history, as well as setting out a very worthwhile listing proposal for the King's Yard, established by Henry VIII on what is now the Convoy's Wharf site due for redevelopment.

Margaret McMillan Park

The remodelling of Margaret McMillan Park is underway, so it's a good time to remind ourselves of Margaret McMillan's local connections. Although born in New York and brought up in Scotland, she did some of her most important work here in SE8.

Margaret and her sister Rachel McMillan worked with the poor children of Deptford, providing nurseries and night camps. They believed in the importance of fresh air and outdoor life, and they also provided opportunities for washing, clean clothes and medical attention. As well as the good they did for local children, the McMillans were also active in sharing their ideas and approaches: Transpontine has recently described the visit of Australian author Miles Franklin in 1916. She saw the nursery, then caring for the children of munitions workers, as 'a charmed land of infants and toddlers'.

The sisters made a lasting mark on Deptford, not least in the various places commemorating them. Rachel's name predominates - after her sister's death in 1917, Margaret remembered her in the name of the nursery teaching college she founded. Now absorbed into Goldsmith's College, that site went on to be known as the Rachel McMillan halls of residence before becoming absorbed into the new McMillan Student Village. Nearby is the Rachel McMillan Nursery. It is good, then, that the balance is redressed by this park off Douglas Way: let's hope that once transformed, it's a worthy memorial to Margaret.

The railway & the knoll

It's well-known that the railways brought many changes to British life: standard time, seaside outings, railway architecture grand and humble. However, for one small Somerset community, there was another significant change: to the village's very name.

South Brent sat at the foot of Brent Knoll, a distinctive hill familiar to anyone who's driven along the M5 south of Bristol. Long before the motorway arrived, though, the village temporarily doubled in size around 1840 as workers building the Bristol and Exeter Railway moved in. The line ran along the base of the hill, and after a station opened in 1875 the neighbouring village became Brent Knoll for the benefit of its passengers: they were not to confuse this Somerset South Brent with another in Devon.

Today, Brent Knoll's railway station is gone (it closed in 1971). The altered village name, though, remains.