Notting Dale's places of refuge, inspiration and identity

This guided walk will help you see the neighbourhood in ways that you might never have imagined. It will bring tales of pig keeping and potteries, stories of John Bentley’s rich Gothic architecture at St Francis; and anecdotes of the clerical traditions and hospitality of the city of Qom in Iran.

In St James’s Gardens, we have St James’s Church. We will take in the synagogue on the other side of St James’s Gardens, built by Sephardic Jews who travelled to London from the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, and the Sikh Central Gurdwara at 62 Queensdale Road, which took over an old Salvation Army citadel.

The Khalsa Jatha is Europe’s oldest Sikh place of worship

Over the last 150 years, the neighbourhood has struggled with poverty, war, plague, huge disparities in wealth and refugees from violence. Sometimes looking back helps to put the challenges we face into perspective as well as providing a source of inspiration for the future.

By the end of this, I hope you will have learn a 100 reasons why this neighbourhood and the communities that call it home, is special. Just as important I hope you will have had 'pavement conversations' with others on the walk who may have also opened up new perspectives.

Nicholas Mellor has lived in the neighbourhood almost all his life but has travelled widely. He was a founder of the Merlin charity, now part of Save the Children, which provides healthcare in crisis situations. Nicholas is currently helping communities in areas of conflict around the world to document and protect their heritage, as well as providing humanitarian support in Ukraine.

The numbers are limited so that it is an opportunity also for conversations and sharing of insights, and to enable us to visit some of the buildings along the way without too much crowding.

Host or Publisher 4DHeritage