St Marylebone Memories
The life and stories of the Marylebone community, told with their own words.
St Marylebone Memories - An Oral History Project
St Marylebone Memories is an oral history project that has been conducted over six months to capture the voices of the Marylebone community. From childhood memories of the first day of school and playing in Regent’s Park, to working life and raising children in Marylebone, these interviews capture a cross-section of society and represent the unique and diverse voices that make up Marylebone.
Oral history is a means of recording history through personal recollections, memories, and lived experiences. By interviewing members of the community, we can gain first-hand accounts of history and understand different perspectives.
Explore these stories and recognise the indelible thread that ties each person to one another to stitch together the community of Marylebone.
We are incredibly grateful to our interviewees for generously offering their time and memories with us and for allowing us to share their stories. Thank you for making this project possible and for being part of this great community.
Mapping Memories
Memories, while often intangible and living in our own personal consciousness, can often be rooted, and triggered, by something that takes us back in time. For many, this could be a song, a particular perfume or, very commonly, a place. While conducting these interviews, we noted the significant landmarks of people's lives which were strongly tied to memory, such as Church Street Market, Regent's Park, and the Marylebone High Street. From this, we have created an interactive map which allows you to trace these memories and see the sites where significant moments in our interviewees' lives occurred.
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First Days
Everyone has a first day: a first day of school, of university, of work, and of Marylebone. Often, these are the memories that stick with us most.
Do you remember your first impressions of Marylebone?
We interviewed three former students of the St Marylebone Grammar School and two teachers who joined the St Marylebone CE School on the same day in 1995. They shared their memories of joining the respective schools and the culture fostered by the school community.
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 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? These interviews make us consider what it means to be part of a community.
Community of the Past
A common theme that ties together many of these interviews is a sense of familiarity and an almost familial bond shared by the people of Marylebone, allowing them to go beyond being a group of people simply inhabiting the same area, to being a true community. This especially rings true when reflecting on the community within which our interviewees grew up.
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St Marylebone Parish Church
St Marylebone Parish Church has been at the core of Marylebone’s history and society for over 900 years, bearing witness to much change over its far-reaching history - changes that have happened both outside and inside the church building’s doors.
For many, the parish church is a symbol of community, uniting people and welcoming all, regardless of faith. We hope that through such projects as St Marylebone Memories, we can strengthen this sense of community.
Childhood
Childhood memories are often among our fondest, filled with nostalgia for a bygone era and a longing for a simpler time. Our interviewees who grew up in Marylebone look back on their childhoods with great fondness.
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Working Life
Not only did our interviews explore the formative memories of childhood and adolescence, but also those of working life. Marylebone is home to many different industries, with medicine being among its most notable due to Harley Street and its reputation as a centre of medical innovation.
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Social Life
Just like all other facets of life, the social scene of Marylebone has, too, evolved over the years. Our interviewees reflect the varied social lives of those living in Marylebone, showing the diverse people and voices that make up this area. From the swinging 60s to the vibrant LGBT+ bars of Marylebone, our interviewees stories paint a lively picture of Marylebone's social scene.
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Living through the Second World War
For several of our interviewees, the Second World War had a profound impact on their childhoods and shaped many of their foundational memories. These interviews capture a snapshot of what life was like for children during the Second World War and the attempts to maintain normalcy during a time of great uncertainty and fear.
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