Our history
THE HISTORY OF
NORTH LONDON BEEKEEPING
BRITISH BEEKEEPING ASSOCIATION (BBKA)
In 1874 the BBKA was formed “for the encouragement, improvement and advancement of bee culture in the United Kingdom, particularly as a means of bettering the condition of Cottagers and the Agriculture Labouring Classes, as well as the advocacy of humanity to the industrial labourer – the Honey Bee”. In 1879 it linked up with the Royal Agricultural Society of England and was soon addressing national issues with 5 counties represented. It was based in London and moved to Stoneleigh in1982.
By 1890 the governing body was made up of President and Vice Presidents, with the Presidents of its 29 affiliated County Associations (many of them were Peers of the Realm!). Such was the beginning of a vital association which gradually developed:
Modern beekeeping methods
Education/learning
Publishing many guides and a monthly magazine
Development of examinations and assessments
National campaigning
For further information there is a detailed “History” on the BBKA website www.bbka.org.uk. The BBKA is an important background to all beekeepers, especially their monthly “BBKA NEWS”.
Over the years the BBKA has published ‘Advisory Leaflets’ on most beekeeping subjects. In 2015 they published an up-to-date “The BBKA Guide to Beekeeping” by Ivor Davis and Roger Cullum-Kenyon, every beekeeper’s most comprehensive guide book.
FEDERATION of MIDDLESEX BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATIONS
Shortly after the formation of BBKA, the Middlesex County Bee Keepers’ Association (MCBKA) was set-up in 1883, initially by beekeepers in Ealing with its first President Lord George Hamilton, MP. Although meetings were held, there are no records to enlighten us on what exactly they did!
Membership numbers have varied over the years from 200 in 1886 to over 1560 by 1949, bolstered by the war time sugar allowance given to apiarists. A paltry 100 was recorded after the “Isle of Wight Disease” (acarine) wiped out colonies early in the 1900s. During this century the membership has averaged out at 600.
The title was changed in 1965 to the “Federation of Middlesex Beekeeping Associations” and now has districts associations for (when joined):
Harrow (1925), Pinner & Ruislip (1928 + 1954), North London (1935), Ealing (1943), Enfield (2002) Barnet (2012)
Uxbridge (1941) & Wembley (1946) have been amalgamated with other associations.
Present day
The Federation holds regular meetings with the district representatives and elects a member to attend the BBKA’s “Annual Delegates’ Meeting” during January when national decisions are discussed and voted on. An annual “Beekeeping Day” is arranged in February with 3 lectures followed by the Federation’s AGM. All very social.
The National Honey Show attracts competitive beekeepers for all honey, wax and mead classes, including several Middlesex classes. It also hosts many good lectures and a trade fair.
BEEKEEPING INFORMATION
The craft of beekeeping has been explored/researched for hundreds of years, especially after The Rev. Langstroth in 1851, realised that ‘bee space’ was a vital requirement for a hive with removable frames. Our association has archives of booklets and leaflets dating back to its start. Many aspects have now been changed and the modern beekeeper should follow the new techniques, especially with regard to colony health.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) produced beekeeping information/instruction booklets from 1922 which were kept up-to-date until the 1970s and 80s when leaflets were free. All were issued through “His/Her Majesty’s Stationery Office” (HMSO). These covered most aspects of beekeeping husbandry and were available from local offices and shops. The subjects included everything from setting up an apiary, neighbours, disease, even details on the construction of popular hives enabling equipment to be home made. They are no longer available, but there are now many excellent books on our craft.
Magazines such as ‘BeeCraft’ have been around from the beginning of the 20th century, keeping us up-to-date and several county associations have created their own info sheets, especially geared to beginners.
NORTH LONDON BEEKEEPERS
SUMMARY HISTORY OF NLB (1935 to 1983)
On 27th of October 1935 a general meeting was called in Cricklewood for beekeepers to start an association, to be called “The Middlesex County BKA North West District”, what a mouthful! By November they had formalised the committee with the object “to promote efficient beekeeping by means of advice and assistance to members”. The other districts were at this time: Harrow, Pinner and Uxbridge and non-affiliated associations included Twickenham and Thames Valley, Wood Green and Enfield. North West was to cover Willesden, Cricklewood, Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Highgate, Hampstead, Hendon and Kingsbury, much as we are now.
Our association kept close links with Middlesex and its districts. Committee members were allocated an area of NW and were expected to look after all the bees (and beekeepers!) locally.
During World War Two, beekeeping became popular with the active committee holding meetings and talks. Membership decreased when the beekeeper’s sugar rationing, 10lbs for winter feed and 5lb for spring per colony, was stopped in the 1950s. Attendance at lectures and meetings averaged 50, with membership well over 100. There were many beekeepers of distinction who gave lectures and workshops, notably, Dr A L Gregg who was also President of Middlesex.
During the 1940s-50s North West was well represented at the National Honey Show, winning many of the Middlesex classes, silver cups included. We attended the Middlesex Show and also had our own show, firstly in conjunction with the Gladstone Park Horticultural Society, then for 25 years until 1977, at the Willesden Show at Roundwood Park. This was succeeded by the Highgate Horticultural Society until about 2000.
However it was sad to see a newsletter in 1957 pointing out the “apparent apathy of members to the work of the committee” and asking for more support.
The Future of the Association A ’General Meeting’ was called to discuss the ‘winding up of the association’. Membership had fallen to below 20 in 1983 (in 1965 it was 105) and attendance at meetings was very poor. The committee was obviously downhearted but this must have stirred the members up to rethink ways forward. So the Association stayed in place with some new and younger beekeepers on board.
It is apparent that the association was very social, especially with three regular events:
An annual invitation from Major Battcock, an ex-beekeeper and a London ‘blue guide’, for a guided walk of historic /artistic interest in London. He continued these from 1955 into the 1990s.
Judith Lyttelton’s Garden Party. Her large and beautiful garden in Grove Terrace, Highgate was opened to members at the height of summer when it was in full bloom. This was a very popular occasion, from 1959 to the late 1990s. Judith was our President from in the 1990s.
Christmas Party held in members’ houses.
The Association Apiary. Apiary sites seemed hard to find. The first possible one was found in 1963 in Burnt Oak, but nobody wanted the responsibility and it was abandoned in 1966. It was in 1973 that our present site in the Kenwood grounds was found. At the same time, one by the Welsh Harp was used, now no longer. Kenwood Apiary has a history of its own. After 50 years it has seen several managers with their own ideas for its use. Originally it was available for members to keep their bees under guidance while queen rearing was tried and talks held. In the early 21st century it became a teaching facility for the beginners’ classes. A very popular system called “adopt-a-hive” was created by the Chairman. Here a pair of beginners took over the responsibility of a colony for the season with help and advice from experienced beekeepers. This has now been adapted to suit present day needs.
NORTH LONDON BEEKEEPERS
The Association’s Name:
Our present membership includes several beekeepers who joined in the 1980s when our title was North West Middlesex Beekeeping Association, (what a mouthful!). It was changed at the 1993 AGM to “North West London Beekeeping Association’. At the 1998 AGM it was finally altered to “North London Beekeepers”. Much more to the point!
The Association’s development
As mentioned earlier, in the 1980s the association needed to change, firstly to encourage more members and make a name for itself. Robert Carpenter Turner and Martin Stevenson, ‘took the bull by the horns’ (or ‘the sting by the tail!’) and set about improving our local image. Robert, a great personality and organiser, became the Chairman and Martin, a master of beekeeping, the Apiary Manager and remained in those positions for many years to roughly 2000. During this time Robert set in motion:
A show stand for various local festivals, such as: Highgate Festival (now called Fair in the Square); Islington Canal Festival; Apple Day at Fenton House, Hampstead; various others in Regent’s Park, Fortune Green, Highgate Woods etc.
Beekeeping classes for Beginners were started with just a few students, but by 2000 there was a waiting list. Robert firstly held these in a West Hampstead hall until he handed them over to John Hauxwell with the classes in the Quaker’s hall in Hampstead Garden Suburb and then in Kentish Town. Now the classes are held in the Highgate Society or by Zoom.
Schools were offered advice and introduction classes.
Our link with the Middlesex Federation was renewed with regular representation at their committee meetings and hosting the Beekeeping Day on a rotation with other member associations.
Martin developed the Apiary:
Building up the number of association colonies.
Helping to creating the ‘adopt-a-hive’ scheme for the practical classes.
Experimenting with queen rearing.
Developing the apiary for the association use only, for teaching generally and regular apiary visits by members for both social and instruction.
Maggie Ridout was his assistant and later took over his role. Followed by Johan Kjaer.
Martin pioneered our website in the 1990s with its domain name of www.beekeeping.org.uk which is still current, although the site has been redesigned twice, once by Bob Jack in about 2008 and again by Kelly Moore in 2018.
THE 21ST CENTURY
Robert and Martin raised our profile to a thriving beekeeping association with a full committee that covered all aspects such as administration, finance, education, shows, apiary, extractor hire and honey jar purchases and membership.
In 2001, Robert stepped down and John Hauxwell took over the Chairmanship for the next 10 years. He continued Robert’s excellent work, with an emphasis on teaching, encouraging public links and keeping members up-to-date on all aspects of our craft. He also masterminded the funding and completion of the apiary shed via an “Awards for All” grant (part of the National Lottery). This also helped to improve the show stand equipment.
Johan Kjaer became the Apiary Manager and for many years lead a team of helpers on Thursday afternoons, when their work enabled many improvements for the Kenwood site.
Monthly newsletters and AGM information were sent by post which was very costly. As the digital age established, all communication began to be sent by email. Our Membership secretary, Toby Mason, was very familiar with spreadsheets and email merge etc. This saved the association from having to increase membership fees, helped also by the change to charging for the beginners’ classes. As a consequence, the membership fee has stayed at the same price for over 10 years.
Since John stepped down as Chair in 2011, there have been four replacements: Malcolm Balston, Nicky Faith, Kelly Moore and Julie Parker. All doing great work on maintaining the interest of beekeeping for members and the public.