Marylebone: A Changing Community

Our interviews capture stories spanning from the 1940s to the present day. Undoubtedly, much has changed in this time.

 

Listen to these oral histories and you will find one word which unites them all – community. How do we define community? Is it simply a group of people living in close proximity? Or is it something more?

 

For some of our interviewees, a sense of the tight-knit community with which they were once familiar has been lost to the ever-growing and expanding population of the area and, instead, replaced with a feeling of anonymity. For others, this close kinship still exists, but has perhaps taken a different form than what they first knew.

While it may be easy to be nostalgic for the past and feel a sense of loss for times gone by, Jeanette shares a greater positivity. She reflects on how, even though the community has changed and may not be the same as when she was a child growing up here, it has not been lost but, rather, has simply changed and evolved over time.

As London continues to ever-expand and change, Leda reflects on the greater sense of anonymity of her local area and how it is no longer the place of familiar faces that she once knew.

Marjorie shares a sentiment expressed by many when discussing how the community has changed, reflecting on the lack of friendliness and familiarity.

Sheila and John have lived in Marylebone for over 20 years and are deeply embedded into the local community and feel a close kinship with their neighbours. Their perspective shows that, while the area has changed, that sense of community can still exist.