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Susie is a Senior Architectural Historian with Historic England who was involved with a national listing survey of public libraries in 2016. Belsize Library was one of the successful candidates that was listed by the DCMS as being of special architectural and historic interest as a result of the survey.  

This illustrated talk will set out the key

points in the development of our public library buildings, with examples of the best

of the type that are worthy of preservation.

Laura is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Warwick. Her area of interest is feminist and labour movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the early 20th century Belsize and its environs was home to many progressives and feminists. Yet there are no blue plaques commemorating the numerous servants who lived alongside them and whose domestic labour made their intellectual and political work possible. This talk offers an insight into the everyday lives and work of Belsize's domestic servants while also telling the story of the militant Domestic Workers' Union founded in 1910 whose office was located at 211 Belsize Rd.

Charlie is the 2025-26 Bithell Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London. He obtained his PhD, entitled ‘German-Jewish Letters and the Holocaust, 1933-45’, at the Parkes Institute, University of Southampton. During the 1930s tens of thousands of German Jews found refuge in Britain with large communities forming in cities such as London and Manchester. In this talk, he will examine some of the refugee networks that existed in and around Belsize and the connection of these communities to the horrors emerging on the continent by the beginning of the Second World War.

A long-time resident of Belsize Park, David is an award-winning cinematographer, NW3 specialist historian, architectural photographer, director, and graphic designer. His richly illustrated talk, based on his book of the same name, unveils the rich social and architectural heritage of the area, his photography offering a unique view of these homes, capturing grand hallways, cozy nooks, gardens and terraces. He delves into the secrets of these architectural gems, uncovering their stories, famed architects, and notable past residents.

Averil is a former chair of Belsize Residents Association and a local historian, who has led regular walks in the area and spoken previously at the library on aspects of local history. Her talk, delivered on the precise date of the 90th anniversary of the library, will include the history and development of the immediate area, the subscription libraries that predated the Vestry ones, Hampstead Vestry and Borough Councils attitude to libraries, the two Belsize library buildings (1897 and 1937), the battle to keep the library, the role of the Friends, local writers and the Winch.