“The Honourable Member for Norwood” is the subject of a talk by Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, on Saturday 9 June, at 7:45pm at the Baptist Church, Half Moon Lane.

Helen Hayes, our Member of Parliament, will be giving the 2018 Thomas Lynn Bristowe Memorial Lecture. She will speak about being an MP for this constituency in the early 21st century, contrasted with Thomas Bristowe’s experience as the very first MP for the 19th century Norwood Division.

The Thomas Lynn Bristowe Memorial Lectures commemorate the vital role of Thomas Bristowe in establishing Brockwell Park as the important public asset that we know and cherish today. In the 1880s, the huge Blades Blackburn estate at Herne Hill was put up for sale for housing. Local MP Thomas Bristowe led a campaign to buy it as a public park, and even guaranteed the money needed to secure its purchase. In 1891 his campaign was successful; Brockwell Park was created. But tragically he died during the opening ceremony at Brockwell Hall on 6 June 1892, aged just 59.

Organised jointly by the Herne Hill Society and Brockwell Park Community Partners, the talk is on Saturday 9 June at 7:45pm at the Baptist Church, Half Moon Lane. There is no charge and no ticket is needed.