It’s not every day you get a railway line named after your kinfolk who are woven into London’s heritage.
That’s what has happed to artist Anna Ray and her Huguenot silk weaving ancestors, who settled in east London in the 17th and 18th centuries after escaping religious persecution in France.
Three branches of the London Overground from Liverpool Street are being rebranded by TfL as the ‘Weaver’ line to give it an identity — just like the lines on the Underground.
Anna is thrilled at the Overground line getting a ‘heritage makeover’.
“Calling it the ‘Weaver’ line will make people look out the train window and maybe get off and have a little nosey around,” she says.
Passengers travelling through Bethnal Green and Hackney will be weaving their way through east London on the rebranded line, which comprises the Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford commuter services.
It’s all explained by TV presenter and railway buff Tim Dunn, who interviews Anna in the final episode of his Mind the Gap podcast series looking at the history behind the textile industry in London.
Anna is one of three women telling him different stories about weaving and its connection to east London where the service will run through.
Tim — famous for his Secrets of the London Underground TV series — delves into Anna's ancestral Huguenot background, descended from French immigrants who settled in Spitalfields around 1713 as a silk workers.
He explains: “New names for the Overground give passengers a sense of identity and make navigating easier around all these different parts of London.”
The podcast also takes a look at the moquette seat-cover designs created by weaving and used on buses and the Overground.
It brings in designer Claire Dilnot-Smith, who spills the beans on what goes into creating seat covers, while Honor Clough from Camira Fabrics threads in details about how the moquette is woven.
Community ‘weaving’ sessions were held by TfL in September to create a ‘woven’ version of the new line, which is going on display at Hackney Downs station.
Deputy London Mayor Seb Dance describes the final episode of Mind the Gap as “an insight into the textile industry and the immigrant communities who made east London their home”.
The Overground to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford is being rebranded ‘the Weavers line’ to record the rich tapestry of art and design from the areas which it runs through — neighbourhoods like Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Cambridge Heath and Hackney which are known for the textile trade that has shaped them over the centuries.
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