Friday Morning Talks: Flying up the Edgware Road -With Mark Amies

Join us for our Friday morning talk, where historian Mark Amies will be talking about the important early aviation history taking place locally, which forms the basis of his book ‘Flying up the Edgware Road’. 

Flying up the Edgware Road tells the story of how an area of what is now north-west London became a hub of the British aircraft industry in the very early years of the twentieth century. From the Edwardian suburb of Cricklewood out towards the semi-rural hamlets of Colindale and Kingsbury, a collection of factories were established to produce some of the most important warplanes that served in the First World War.

Mark takes the reader through the early days of flying at Hendon, introduces the owners and workers of once-mighty companies, such as Airco, Handley Page and de Havilland, and chronicles the decline and reuse of the factories for a new post-war economy. It is a book that will appeal to those keen to know more about London’s industrial, social and economic past, as well as those with an interest in early aviation history.

Mark will use the contents of his book as the basis of what will be an enjoyable talk. Though the locations are not in the immediate environs of Bentley Priory, it is worth noting that one of the key players in the story, Frederick Handley Page, lived in a sizeable house called The Limes, near Stanmore Common.

This talk will take place onsite in the Museum’s Learning Centre and is included in Museum admission or Annual Membership.

Advance booking required – please reserve your seat via the link below.

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