The Heath & Hampstead Society fights to preserve the wild and natural state of the Heath; to maintain the character and amenities of Hampstead; and to promote the study of local history, natural history and conservation.
Next Guided Walk
Hampstead Heath amid Progressing Climate Change - adaptation and protection
An expert walk led by Professor Jeff Waage OBE, Society Trustee. Climate change is already changing the wildlife and the landscapes of the Heath. This walk will reveal those changes and demonstrate how management of the Heath is being directed towards helping to address the impact of global warming.
Date: Sun 04 Oct, 2026
Time: 10:00 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meet at: Parliament Hill Bandstand
Walk led by: Professor Jeff Waage, Society Trustee.
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH, was a notable English conductor and impressario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.
He was born in St. Helens Lancashire next to the Beecham’s Pills laxative factory which was founded by his grandfather Thomas Beecham. He studied piano from boyhood and began conducting with the amateur St Helens Musical Society.
He was pivotal in the development of professional orchestras in the early twentieth century. He founded three orchestras – the Beecham Symphony Orchestra in 1909, the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932 and the Royal Philharmonic in 1946 – and acted as the artistic director of Covent Garden for much of the 1930s. Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and according to the BBC he was Britain’s first international conductor. He was knighted in 1916.
He produced 120 operas, 60 of them new to this country.
He had a particular penchant for north-west London, living in St Johns Wood for four years, very close to the Abbey Road Studios. He lived in Bellmoor from 1937-41. He was married 3 times: first in 1903, then in 1943 to a pianist 29 years his junior and again in 1959 - she was 27 and he was 80!
He had a formidable personality and was famous for his sharp wit. He died in 1941 and is buried in Limpsfield, Surrey.
The estate of the late Jenifer Ford, a lifelong member of the Society and Hampstead resident and painter, bequeathed to the Society a collection of her paintings of Hampstead and the Heath.