A Multi-Media Heritage Project
How London learnt how to handle its waste moulded the city we live in today. Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, our Moving Away Your Dust project seeks to follow this story from 1825 to the present day. 1825 marked the opening of the Grosvenor Canal, which handled Westminster’s waste until 1995. Using the archive collections of Westminster Archives and Kensington and Chelsea Local Studies, we will highlight how waste blighted the lives of those that lived here in the 19th century, but also led to changes that greatly benefited London and its people.
We have recruited three local schools to help tell this story. Burdett Coutts & Townshend CE Primary will work with film makers Digital Works to create an oral history of those who work on the dust today. College Park School will be working with animator Tom Hillenbrand to create a short film about the Great Manure Crisis of 1898, whilst St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School will be working with animator Zoom Rockman to tell the story of a ‘rubbish rebellion’ in 19th century Notting Dale that led to the creation of Avondale Park.
Covid 19 reminded us of how important key workers like dustman are to the smooth running of our city. We plan to give a voice to one of ‘the unknown heroes who moves away our dust.’ (As Lonnie Donegan put it in his famous song, ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman.’) In November 2024 nine schools will come together at the Abbey Community Centre to perform a musical play based on the story of Westminster dustman Ernest Boots. Working with the MoD Theatre company and musician Vince Burke, children will celebrate the life of an ‘unknown hero.’
This project is set up and run by City of Westminster Archives and Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Archives working alongside digital-works, Beautness Animation, Zoom Rockman, Vincent Burke and MoD Theatre Company.
We are grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their financial support.
All material created for this proejct is covered by a CC BY 4.0 license.
