Our Stories: The Final Ten Projects Announced

We’re thrilled to announce the final 10 Our Stories projects. The last round was the most competitive yet, and we’d like to sincerely thank everyone who applied. The Our Stories campaign has now awarded £90,000 to help unearth Havering’s hidden heritage. The ten stories are outlined below. Congratulations to our final Our Stories recipients!

Nest, awarded to Roslyn Bilbrough 

Lining the path way of Havering Country Park, towering sequoia trees are a sight to behold, guarding the forest like giants from another age. Nest will is an original lullaby telling the story of how a family found refuge in these Redwood trees during COVID. A short film will narrate this this lullaby. Aimed at children and families the film covers themes around nature, letting go and slowing down. The film will be a magical, visual exploration of the Redwood trees through video footage and narration, moving into a recorded version of the song, involving local children participants, resting in dens and nests and potential animal puppetry. 

Sisters of Collier Row, awarded to Nikky Akinwande

Through a 5-minute documentary, three sisters will reflect on their childhood memories of growing up in Collier Row, sharing stories of local community spaces, schools, friendships and everyday experiences that influenced their confidence, ambitions and sense of identity. Although each followed different paths in life, there is a common thread that connects us: the impact of the place we called home. The documentary will be told through interviews with the three sisters, supported by archive photographs, family memories and visits to locations that hold personal significance. Together, these stories will create a portrait of a community that has quietly shaped generations of local residents.. 

Poetry Pantry, awarded to Serena Slack-Robins of S.M.I.L.E

‘Poetry Pantry’ will be a new play based on a community project at the charity ‘S.M.I.L.E. London & Essex’ on the High Street in Romford. ‘S.M.I.L.E. is a local charity helping families break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.’ Building on an established community creative writing club, service users of the pantry will be interviewed for insights into their lives and journeys to living in Havering. These verbatim interviews will be curated into a series of poetic monologues, interwoven with scenes from the daily activities of the S.M.I.L.E. The verbatim play will be an interactive experience where audience members are invited to join us as service users and volunteers to see the valuable work the charity provides and the human stories of our communities. 

Folk, awarded to James Bulley

‘Folk’ tells the story of Romford Market and its surrounding area’s history through the creation and recording of two timeless folk songs, drawing from in depth research into previously unrecorded local folk songs from the surrounding area. The songs tell the story of an imagined trio of musicians that came to the market alongside the traders and entertained its audiences over the last 779 years. Drawing on extant traditional folk music of the area, the project team will co-create, record and perform two new folk songs that carry on a vibrant tradition of folk singing and ballads that exists in Essex, unfolding the story of Romford Market, its musicians and its history. 

Hare Street Tours, awarded to Natalie Bays of Girls Do Tours

Hare Street’s proprietors, rebels and residents will be debunked, and its myths validated, from (now) Main Road’s powerful and tyrannical past. This project would produce a phenomenological history tour with the intention of supporting local residents to enjoy the place where they live. This important transitionary area between Essex and London is filled with stories of change that rarely have their profile raised, despite relevance. Filled with lords, landowners and nationally relevant architecture and coupled in modern history too with Exhibition Road. The research programme of this work would be with local consultation and oral history gathering from local residents and would aim to seek out diverse histories of the area too. In turn, guiding a local tour production to the parts of history most important to local people in this area.

A Guided Tour of St. Francis Hospice, awarded to Anita McCarthy

For more than 42 years, Saint Francis Hospice has been part of the fabric of Havering life. Every year, thousands of local people pass through the doors as individuals who need palliative or end-of-life care, carers, loved ones, volunteers, supporters and staff. Yet many of the stories connected to the hospice remain untold. This project will preserve and celebrate these stories through a community-led video that explores Saint Francis Hospice and its unique place within Havering-atte-Bower. Rather than telling the story through dates and milestones alone, we will take viewers on a guided walk through the hospice, its historic grounds and the surrounding village. Along the way, individuals under our care, carers, bereaved relatives, volunteers and supporters will share memories connected to specific places within the hospice and the wider community.

The Dagnem Idol, awarded to Joe Lichtenstein 

Four thousand years ago, someone pressed a small carved pine figure into the peat of these Thames-side marshes. We call it the Dagenham Idol now; it was lifted from the marsh just across the Beam, the river that gives Beam Park its name. This matters to Havering because Beam Park is usually told as a brand-new place with no past, yet has one of the deepest pasts in London. A series of workshops and interviews with Orchard Village and Beam Park residents will directly inform an original, hand-drawn animated film. Their voices and experiences will be an integral part of the film to be shared with Havering’s community.

Rainham Heritage Game, awarded to Lauren Gee of Dicing with Life

This project explores Rainham’s rich, underrepresented history as an agricultural powerhouse that once fed London, told through the story of the famous Rainham Lettuce. Local market gardeners pioneered early-season crops, and the Rainham Lettuce became a nationally prized crop known for its quality and early harvest. We will tell this story through the lens of a custom tabletop board game. The game will feature characters based directly on real historical figures—from 19th-century growers to market stallholders. By transforming historical research into interactive gameplay, we aim to reconnect Havering’s current community with the soil, history, and people that shaped the borough’s unique landscape. It celebrates Rainham’s agricultural identity in a fresh, playful, and intergenerational way.

We Exist, We Belong, awarded to Hannah Davis of Kaleidescope 

We Exist, We Belong tells the story of LGBTQ+ people in Havering claiming visibility, safety, and joy in the public spaces that shape everyday life. This project responds to the feeling of being edited out of public life. Through the lens, we aim to capture what once was in Havering, and what is now for LGBTQ+ people. Through an editorial photography series made with local community members, the work will say clearly: we exist here, we belong here, and Havering is our home too. The photographs will celebrate real people (not models) showing up authentically, proudly, and loudly, creating a visual statement of belonging that is both defiant and hopeful. The series of photos will be accompanied by short clips capturing the photography alongside lived experiences of queer people in Havering. Documenting the evolution of the local queer scene.

The Cardrome, awarded to Lee Barham

The Cardrome Learner Centre on Upper Rainham Road has been a central point for learner drivers in Havering since 1955, marking over 70 years since it was first opened. It’s a commercial site much talked about because of how rare it is to allow learner drivers and under 17s to be able to try out their future driving skills on a 12 acre road simulation. Although not the first of its kind, its presence in Havering has formed a rite of passage for many different people within the community. From its past to present, the mapping of the Cardrome’s history, anecdotes from those that have used the Cardrome to help better their lives to those that are currently using it and allow me to be a part of their journey too. This project will be told through 4-5 stories stitched together as an anthology in a short film.