Pip Tunstall − Artist in Havelock Walk

Interviewed by Belinda Evans

Can you tell us a bit about your background?
My name is Pip Tunstill − I am an artist and live in Havelock Walk in Forest Hill. I graduated from Hornsey College of Art in Fine Art − followed by a stint in the V&A − followed by a side step into an Interior Design studio − (it’s a long story!) followed by a lengthy very enjoyable career as a senior lecturer in 3D & Spatial Design at Chelsea and Camberwell University of the Arts.

Now I paint full time and when I am not in the studio, I will usually be found each morning swimming outdoors throughout the year at Tooting Bec Lido with two fellow stalwarts from Havelock Walk − and yes its bloody freezing! During lockdown, when the pool was closed, the River Thames was a pretty good alternative!

What brought you to Havelock Walk?
My husband & I moved here 20 years ago from Wandsworth. We had been looking for a property to convert or a site to build on (my husband is an Architect) and heard about a possibility in Havelock Walk. We came to visit early one morning before work on a cold rainy winter morning − we walked down the street and a cheery voice from an open workshop asked us if we would like a cup of tea − that was it! We bought the site, built a glass & steel house my husband designed and 20 years later we are still here and are part of a thriving creative community that is Havelock Walk.

What inspires your work?
I started out as a landscape painter in which the work gradually became more and more abstract as I became interested in shape and form and colour. Teaching 3D / Spatial Design has definitely influenced the way I compose my paintings − inevitably they are a square format as I find it the most satisfying form in its symmetry and its ability to multiply. Many of my drawings are sequential and using repetitive mark making − even when confronted by trees. I tend to start with a deep border of colour which usually generates the first question!

• I find the edges of canvas /board /paper a problem
• I realised when I was painting landscapes that I always left a border round the image
• This has now continued into my abstract painting partly due to dislike of frames and also fear of the edge!

The colour becomes the frame. There are still landscape forms and structure which appear traced back to my earlier influences. I tend to work in layers creating a strong three-dimensional element which is the direct result of my strong interest in Architecture and Spatial Design. Intense colour drives the form and hopefully reflects my general optimism and joy in painting

What do you like about Havelock Walk?
It’s quite hidden considering how close it is to the South Circular and Forest Hill station. It is an historic cobbled mews where all the studios homes and workshops generate a very friendly and creative community. Studios are opened twice a year to the public as part of Dulwich Festival − this year May 14/15 and 21/22nd and again just before Christmas. We close the street put up the bunting, make music, serve food and welcome all and sundry!

What do you like about living in Forest Hill?
The Horniman Museum & Gardens was a godsend during the lock down. The gardeners worked throughout, and you became far more aware of nature in all its majesty. I started drawing trees which I haven’t done for 30 years which became my focus in the sameness of every day. Also, in the lockdown discovering all the green spaces which abound in Forest Hill. Excellent public transport (when the trains are running) − a station in which the Forest Hill Society, through its volunteers, maintains planters and greenly things.

Favourite coffee / bar/ restaurant?
For the best toasted cheese ever Aga’s Little Deli. Our own Canvas & Cream with its own studios and gallery – ‘our own’ because it backs onto Havelock Walk − as does the Guava Kitchen − which both serve great food at our Open Studio weekends. Big Cheeks Thai restaurant − despite its odd name. Tea Pot for breakfast and tea.

Events for Your Diary

Subway Cleaning
Saturday 2nd April, 10am-11am.
This may not sound glamorous, and it isn’t, but you’ll be amazed how clean the white panel can become after 30 minutes cleaning by a small team of volunteers. What we can offer is a real sense of satisfaction on a Saturday morning!

The panels were last cleaned a week before lockdown in 2020, so these panels are in need of a good scrubbing.

Bring some gloves, any household cleaner, and an old sponge or squeegee. We really appreciate volunteers for this as it is very fast when there is a team.

Tree Walk
Saturday 14th May, 2pm
Starting from the café in the Horniman Triangle.

Join Stuart Checkley from Street Trees for Living on a tour of 41 new trees planted this winter on the Horniman Triangle. These trees will protect the children's playground from traffic pollution and will restore a part of what was once The Great North Wood. Some of these trees should outlive us and benefit future  generations.

The view from the top of the Horniman Triangle past the new trees and towards the massive mature trees in Horniman Gardens is inspiring.


Havelock Walk Open Studios
14th-15th, 21st-22nd May
www.havelockwalkstudios.com

River Pool Summer Walk
Saturday 18th June, 2pm
Join the Forest Hill Society for a guided walk along the Pool and Ravensbourne Rivers.

Meet at Southend Lane entrance to the Pool River Linear Park (close to the petrol station and car wash).

The route is accessible and suitable for all.

 

Have a Look at Havelock Walk

Havelock Walk is one of Forest Hill’s great treasures. It is a cobbled mews off London Road which is home to a diverse community of creative people, who all live and work there. Its small entrance off the South Circular gives little indication of the creative hub a few meters from our busy high street. It feels almost hidden despite the large blue and white Hello and Goodbye mural, by resident artist Supermundane.

Havelock Walk’s history is far from clear. Some suggest the name derives from the Have Lock, an offshoot of the Croydon Canal providing stables for the horses which pulled the barges. This may be more of an urban legend since there is no written evidence. Furthermore, the Croydon Canal closed twenty years before the first noted reference in 1862 to a Havelock Street on the site. Businesses then included a blacksmith, carpenter, coach-maker and zinc worker. It likely borrowed its name from the terrace of shops on London Road which now includes the Red Cross, then called Havelock Terrace.

It is much more likely that Havelock Walk is named after Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, then considered a hero of the unsuccessful Indian Rebellion in 1857. Havelock died shortly after the end of the Rebellion; subsequently, streets, building and even pubs came to bear his name. Today, a statue of Havelock stands on one of Trafalgar Square’s plinths.
While once an area of industry, fast forward to the 1980s when Havelock Walk was a grim, cobbled terrace used by mechanics and metal workers for storage. It suffered bomb damage during the war and had remained unwanted. Yet, despite the squalor, it had something that Lancashire-born artist Jeff Lowe was looking for.

Jeff Lowe FRSS was a student of the New Generation of British sculptors in the 1960s which included Anthony Caro and William Tucker. Lowe came to prominence in the 1970s winning the Sainsbury Award in 1975 and today is internationally acclaimed for his monumental architectural-inspired abstract sculptures.

Lowe had been looking for cheap warehouse space in which he could work on his large abstract sculpture and make a home. Havelock Walk fit the bill, and in 1987 he bought his first unit followed by several more over the next ten years. Each one was converted into live/work studios and often sold on to other artists. As shells, their new owners could create the spaces they needed for both their professional work and personal needs.

Fast forward to today, and Havelock Walk is now home to a vast array of artists, sculptors, ceramicists, architects, photographers and craftspeople. They include Royal Academician David Mach, who is now one of the UK’s most successful and respected artists, and known for his large-scale sculpture, collages and installations. His 1989 installation Out of Order, of fallen red telephone boxes, dominates the centre of Kingston. Supermundane’s (aka Rob Lowe’s) geometric images and typography are instantly recognisable, playing with line, colour and optical illusions. Another resident is visual artist and mental health advocate Liz Atkin. Atkin’s work is in part a response to her  compulsive skin picking condition and she can often be found giving away work to passengers on the Overground. Resident photographers Wayne Parker and Lenka Rayn produce haunting landscapes (Parker) and portraits (Rayn) from their unit at the end of Havelock Walk.

In the 30-plus years since Jeff Lowe bought his first unit, Havelock Walk has become more than a street of live/work spaces. Havelock Walk is now a thriving community of artists, often collaborating with each other; and a community of families, many with children born and raised there.

Throughout the year, visits to studios are often by request only. But twice a year the studios’ doors are opened, and this creativity explodes onto the street with Havelock Walk’s popular Open Studio Weekends. Colourful bunting leads visitors to original art and crafts for sale, alongside street music, street food and the families of Havelock Walk.

For further information, visit www.havelockwalk.com

Havelock Walk Open Studios

Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December

Artists’ studios open to the public plus guest Christmas gift stalls and food and drink. 

Havelock Walk Open Studios in May

Havelock Walk Open Studios

7th,8th & 14th,15th May from 11am - 6pm

Hidden in plain sight, Havelock Walk is home to a community of artists, designers and musicians in the centre of Forest Hill. Come find them and you will discover a cobbled mews with a delightfully incongruous mix of buildings. Wander through the studios, chat with the artists and designers; relax in the sunshine while you take in a live music set or sample some street food.

Havelock Walk is located off London Road, between Santander and M&Co.

Havelock Walk Open Studios - 9th,10th,16th,17th May

Havelock Walk Open Studios

6th-7th December 2014. Further details at http://www.havelockwalk.com/

Dulwich Fesitval - Local Artists' Open Houses

Artists’ Open House 2013 is on Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th May and Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th May 11 am - 6pm

Across Dulwich and surrounding areas (including Forest Hill) artists are opening their houses to visitors to see their work. Forest Hill's open studios are centred around Havelock Walk, just off London Road.

Full details of all participating artists and other activities in the Dulwich festival can be found at http://www.dulwichfestival.co.uk/content/artists-open-house-3 

Saturday 18th May (2pm) is also the launch of the Chelsea Fringe Edible High Road in Forest Hill and Honor Oak. More details to follow.

News and Events - April to May 2012

We have been extremely busy in the past three months, pushing forwards various projects including our "Portas Pilot" bid.  If you haven't seen the video yet, then please watch it on Youtube and then and 'Like' it.  The link is http://bit.ly/LoveOurTowns.

 

This month there is plenty going on:

 

Sunday, 22 April 10am-4pm Forest Hill Food Fair at Forest Hill Station

We will have a Market at the station, with eight stalls selling various produce and a taster trail involving nine pubs, cafes, restaurants and a sweet shop offering small portions for you to try - go along and sample those restaurants you haven't yet tried

Saturday, 28 April 2pm - 4pm Honor Oak Planting Honor Oak Park Station

Join us as we start this year's "In Bloom" effort with planting at Honor Oak Park Station.  All you need is a little enthusiasm - we have four planters to plant and may try to clear the weeds by the bins too.  Beginners welcome.  If you cannot make it on the day, please contact email@foresthillsociety.com to get involved with the watering and nurturing of the plants.

 

Sunday, 29 April 11:30am - 3:30pm Birds of Prey Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, 170 Devonshire Road, SE23 3SZ

The Devonshire Road Nature Reserve are hosting another of their successful "Birds of Prey" days.   There will be flights at 12 noon and 1:30pm, with tickets limited to 80 per flying session (Adults £3, Children £2, Family £8).  The reserve will be open until 5:30pm.

Some photos from a previous event can be seen here.

 

Sunday, 29 April 2:30pm - 4pm Forest Hill Planting Forest Hill Station

** PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE **  NOW 29 APRIL.
Come along and build on last year's success.  We only have two new planters to plant as two have been damaged in storage, but we need to tend to the existing beds as well.  Beginners welcome - all you need is a little enthusiasm.  If you cannot make it on the day, please contact email@foresthillsociety.com to get involved with the watering and nurturing of the plants.

 

Saturday, 12 May 10:25am Lullingstone Castle outing Meet at Catford Bridge Station

Lullingstone Castle is one of England's oldest family estates, dating back to the time of Domesday.  Henry VIII and Queen Anne were both regular visitors.  In addition to the Manor House and Norman Church, the World Garden is a special attraction.

The Forest Hill and Sydenham Societies are arranging a joint trip.  If interested, please contact Quetta by emailing environment@foresthillsociety.com. Departure will be 10.25 a.m. from Catford Bridge station to Eynsford.  This is one station beyond Zone 6 so a ticket for the extra should be purchased at Catford Bridge if using a Travelcard.

Light refreshments are available on site or at the Country Visitors' Centre a short walk away along a path beside the River Darent - or take a picnic with you.

Please book your ticket with Quetta the week before the visit - i.e. between Monday April 30th and Saturday May 5th so that we can qualify for the Group rate (£6, in additon to train fare).   

 

Saturday, 12 May 11am - 3pm Sydenham Garden Spring Fair 28A Wynell Road, SE23 2LW

Sydenham Garden's annual Spring Fair takes place on Saturday 12th May 2012, 11am to 3pm.

They are a community charity and part of their mission is to involve the local community in their project, which offers therapeutic horticulture and creative opportunities to promote the physical and mental wellbeing of residents. There will be a stall aimed at promoting wellbeing and breaking the taboo about talking about mental ill health - their clients will be running many stalls at the event.  Go along and find out more about who they are, what they do and why.

 

Saturday & Sunday, 12-13, 19-20 May 11am - 6pm Open Artists Havelock Walk and others

Various artists are opening their doors as part of the Dulwich Festival.   

Almost all venues are open on the first weekend and many are also open on the second. A few venues are open on the second weekend only. For easy reference in the booklet and on the maps, green denotes venues open on both weekends, blue those open on the first only and yellow those open on the second weekend only. There is also an alphabetical list of artists at the back of the booklet.  Full details can be found at http://www.dulwichfestival.co.uk/openhouseprogramme

SE23 On Show

A number of local historic buildings were open to the public on 17/18 September as part of the London Open House Weekend. Here we focus on one of our many gems.

The Capitol pub entertained a couple of hundred or so visitors, taking them around many of the original features. Opened in 1929, and now Grade II listed, this is the only remaining John Stanley Beard designed cinema in the country. In its heyday it sat 1,640 for films, variety shows and the Saturday morning childrens’ club. On the first day the queues went all around the building. It was the perfect location, as the comedy actor Frank Thornton (‘Are You Being Served’, and ‘Last of the Summer Wine’) recalls, being on the convergence of bus, tram and train. Planned for silent movies, it pioneered a new sound system where the speakers went behind the screen, which had 1000s of small holes made in it.

Visitors explored the balcony with all the seats still intact, and marvelled at the views over toward the Greenwich and the ‘Dome’. You can see one of the three resident ghosts in the previous picture.

The architecture has been described as Art Deco Egyptian, but it is more Greco-Roman. The sensitive refurbishment was carefully agreed with English Heritage and Lewisham Council; the few original features not on show were carefully hidden, or where removed replaced by a sympathetic addition. It closed as a cinema in 1973, and as a bingo hall in 1986. Developers would have loved to get their hands on it, but J D Wetherspoons preserved it for public use for the foreseeable future.

Many thanks to ‘Bean’ for showing us around and hope he recovers swiftly after repeatedly climbing all those stairs. Some members will recall the tour the Society had in one of our pub crawls. Bean please keep looking for the keys to the projectionist’s room, and tell us when you find the original Compton organ, in its time the largest in the country.
The self build ‘Segal’ houses in Walters Way, that share many similarities with timber framed buildings from Elizabethan England, have now been on display at numerous open houses. Many have now been remodelled to provide a most eclectic mix, set-off perfectly on the slope of a wooded hill only spitting distance from Honor Oak Park station.

Numerous Havelock Walk studios and The Horniman Park and Gardens were also open on the day, giving visitors the chance to see behind the scenes.

Last year we showcased Louise House, and in a years time this and the Pools may well be on the Open House list. We would be interested in hearing from others who may wish to be involved in next year’s event.

Open House Weekend in SE23 - 17th-18th September 2011

Havelock Walk Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday 12pm-6pm.

Tour of the landscaping of Horniman Gardens- Sat - 2pm-4pm.
More details

The Capitol - Sat 10am-5pm/Sun 10am-5pm.
Regular architectural tours including behind-the-scenes to largely untouched first floor area. Pre-book ONLY on 020 8291 8920. Last tour 4pm.

Walter Segal self-build house with eco-refurbishment
8 Walters Way, Honor Oak Park SE23 3LH - Sun 1pm-6pm.
Regular tours, first come basis.

Havelock Open Weekends

This weekend is the first of two Open Studio weekends on Havelock Walk as part of the Dulwich Festival Artists’ Open House trail. As usual, you will be able to see wonderful works by photographers, a glass maker, painters, sculptors, furntiture makers, illustrators and more! The studios will be open betweem 11:00 am and 6:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, 7/8 and 14/15 May.

FH Space (9 Havelock Walk) will host a talk by Humphrey Ocean RA on Saturday, 14 May at 6 pm. Tickets are available at £5 from HavelockWalk.com. Humphrey Ocean was born in Sussex in 1951 and went to art schools in Tunbridge Wells, Brighton and Canterbury. From 1971 to 1973 he was bass player with Kilburn and the Highroads and was elected a Royal Academician in 2004. He also designed album covers for 10CC and Paul McCartney, toured with The Who and Ian Drury, then returned to painting, became a professor and an RA at the age of 50.

This year's mural at the entrance to Havelock Walk by Supermundane (Robert Lowe) is titled "You thought it was all for you". Supermundane is a designer, illustrator, graphic artist, art director, typographer and writer living in London, England. He is the art director of the children's magazine Anorak and the food writing quarterly Fire & Knives.

Havelock Walk Open Days

A total of over 20 local artists, including the Havelock Walk community, will be exhibiting their wares as part of the Dulwich Festival's Artists' Open House event starting today. The exhibits will be open from 11am-6pm on Saturday & Sunday 8-9 May and 15-16 May 2010. Some venues are only open on the first weekend and these are shown in green on the map below.
Click on a pin for details of the Artist and their work.

View Dulwich Festival - Artist Open Days 2010 in a larger map

The Dulwich Festival runs from 7-16 May and consists of walks, concerts, films, exhibitions and dancing. Full details can be found on their website DulwichFestival.co.uk

December Festivities

Saturday, 5th December, THE START OF CHRISTMAS IN FOREST HILL.

10am-5pm – All Inn One – Dancing on Ice. The car park will be transformed into SE23’s only ice rink with skates of all sizes available for hire. Father Christmas will be there, as will carol singers and face painters. Food and drink a-plenty!

Father Christmas will also be at Question Bar 45/47 Dartmouth Road between 2 and 3.15pm. He will then do a walkabout in The Town Centre. Festive singing will be provided by the Youth Choir from Living Springs International Church

12-5pm - Craft Fair at The Hob, 7 Devonshire Road.


12-5pm, The Honor Oak, 1 St German’s Road - Tea & Make. Craft and the art of making-do. PLUS Celebrity Christmas Light switch-on at 5pm! (Special guest to be announced.)




Saturday, 12th & Sunday, 13th December - The Havelock Open Studios. The artists invite you to join the excitement and show your support for creativity in the community.

PLUS 11th December – 7-9pm - Opening Night. Barbecue, Music, Performance. They're also having a prize draw during the open studios to win one of three works of art - tickets £1 each. www.havelockwalk.com


Sunday, 13th December from 11am. Tree dressing in Mayow Park, by the pavilion. It would help us if you could bring any special scraps of fabric, coloured leaves, berries, paper, ribbon and glue with you. There’ll also be a Christmas Fair between 11am and 4pm with Father Christmas, a local choir and market stalls.

Sunday, 13th December – 3pm- 6pm. Horniman Gardens Carol Singing. Christmas really isn’t Christmas until you’ve sung your heart out at this fabulous annual event. The carols start at 5pm with the English Baroque Choir and Crystal Palace Band. But before that there’s festive fun with a FREE Santa’s grotto, refreshments, toy stalls, roasted chestnuts.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sunday June 7th – 1pm-6pm. Forest Hill Society picnic in the Horniman Gardens. We should be easy to spot so do bring your picnic hamper and join us on what is absolutely bound to be a gloriously sunny day.

23 CLUB - Tuesday June 23 at 8pm : Elachi 16-23 Sunderland Road SE23 2PR : Phone 8699 0866

Saturday 27th June 2009 – Blythe Hill Fields Day. Fun community event with music, a wide variety of stalls and donkey rides. The Forest Hill Society will be there with a stall selling our popular SE23 cakes!

Sunday 5th July and Sunday 12th July - Craft and Design Fair at The Hob.

4th, 5th, 11th and 12th July, 11am to 7pm – Havelock Walk Open Studios. Part of Sydenham Arts Festival.

23 CLUB Thursday July 23 at 8pm : Try (formerly Tapastry) 39 Honor Oak Park SE23 1DZ : Phone 8291 2822

Saturday 9th August, starts at midday – Jerk Chicken Cook Out at the Horniman Gardens. The Forest Hill Society will be there with a stall.

23 CLUB Sunday August 23 at 1pm : Forest Hill Tavern – lunchtime, family friendly get-together 108 Forest Hill Road SE22 0RS : Phone 8693 0338

Sunday 13th September at 3pm— Green Chain Walk Festival - walk via Horniman Gardens, One Tree Hill, Nunhead Cemetery and Peckham Rye Park
Meet at Horniman Gardens, by the museum gate. Duration 2 hours. Led by Peter Frost.

Christmas Events Weekend in Forest Hill and Honor Oak

Friday, 12th December - Honor Oak Christmas celebrations including Christmas lights, carols, and a small craft market.

Weekend, 13th & 14th December - Havelock Walk Open Studios - details at www.havelockwalk.com
(picture by Pip Tunstill)

Sunday, December 14th, 12-5pm - Craft market at the Hob, opposite Forest Hill Station.

Saturday, 13th December - Forest Hill Library, craft-making event.

Sunday, 14th December - Carol Concert at Horniman Gardens, including roasted chestnuts, toy stalls, and free Santa's grotto.

Sounds like a fun weekend - do not leave the area!

Jeff Lowe - an artist speaks out

When I was asked to talk at the Forest Hill Society’s Annual General Meeting in October, I wasn’t completely sure what to talk about, writes Jeff Lowe, internationally acclaimed sculptor and founder of the Havelock Walk artists’ quarter. Should I talk about my sculpture, the Havelock Walk community or my views on Forest Hill from an artist’s perspective and as someone who has lived in Forest Hill for the last fifteen years?

I tried to combine all of these aspects but, in particular, I wanted to talk about my pet hates and disappointment at the virtually unchanged nature of what I would consider to be the centre of Forest Hill.

In my view, regeneration starts with small and obvious changes and from people who care about the environment in which they live.

I have been particularly critical of Lewisham Council’s planning department. Although it has absolute power over the granting of planning for shop fronts and signage, it does nothing to enforce this, nor does it even seem to have a particular design policy to deal with this.

By showing a series of images in my talk, I think everyone present was very aware of how hideous many of these shop fronts and signs are and how they detract from the quality of the architecture they hide. They present a visual barrage, which is completely unnecessary in terms of advertising. There is a complete lack of harmony and any sense of overall planning. Although I believe in organic growth, this has to develop within certain parameters.

Forest Hill is still seen as a run-down area and the fact that the centre is uncared for by Lewisham Council is a disgrace. The streets are filthy and full of rubbish. Refuse collectors should be encouraged to work to create a generally cleaner environment instead of having the belligerent attitude which most of them have. Rubbish should be removed from the centre of Forest Hill even if it falls outside of the weekly collections. For there to be regeneration, we have got to start with these obvious problems.

I have often said it would take the catalyst of perhaps five or six entrepreneurs, opening at the same time, to start the process of regeneration and in order to encourage others to have the confidence to follow suit. If we don’t deal with the obvious problems we do not create a framework in which this can develop.

If I were a visitor to Forest Hill walking to the Horniman Museum from the station, I would be appalled.

Havelock Walk is a good example of regeneration but it has developed from the efforts of the residents who live and work there with little support from Lewisham Council.

The recent farce of the aborted re-cobbling is a classic example of bureaucratic bungling. Because of a few potholes within the street, the highways department’s answer was to tarmac a major part of Havelock Walk and cover the original cobbles. When I called the planning department, Steve Isaacson – to his credit - agreed with me that this was an act of vandalism on a major scale. There followed meetings, site surveys and the usual reams of paperwork.

Eventually it was decided that the only way Havelock could be re-cobbled was to use new cobbles. When I pointed out that this was a conservation area and that the existing cobbles were part of its history, I was told they would be used somewhere else in the borough, “possibly Blackheath!” I commented that I didn’t want to go to Blackheath to feel that I was standing in Havelock Walk. We were also told that because of financial restrictions it would have to be done in two stages, but we were not able to get any guarantee as to when this second stage would be implemented. We have heard no more.

Havelock Walk is heralded within Lewisham Council as a successful example of regeneration, a vital, lively community and a real example of live/work. Why are they not prepared to help?

The examples I have listed are simple ways in which Lewisham Council could contribute to the regeneration in Forest Hill. Let’s hope we can persuade - or embarrass - them into action.