Published: 16 February 2012
by DAN CARRIER and SARA MACHAM

IT was a scruffy piece of land, formerly a timber yard which snaked alongside the railway tracks of the North London line.

But in 1972, youth charity Inter-Action saw the four-and-half acres of oddly shaped scrub and had a eureka moment.

Its founder, Ed Berman – a US Rhodes Scholar – had often pondered the problems of providing open space for young people living in Gospel Oak’s 8,000 council flats when he hit upon the idea of bringing a working farm into central London.

Mr Berman had been living on the land in a derelict cottage, paying £1 a week to the Town Hall and acting as a security guard to stop vandalism.

He had found a disused storage block on the site and, after exploring it further, realised they were stables, once used to house the railway’s shunting ponies. Surrounding ground had been used for allotments.

The land became the Kentish Town City Farm, the first of its type in the country.

Now, to mark the farm’s 40th birthday, a new exhibition tracing its history and growth has been organised at their Cressfield Close headquarters and, with the help of a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund, they want to collate the memories from New Journal readers who have visited the farm over the past four decades using photographs, audio recordings and testimony.

Current farm director Mick Magennis said: “There isn’t a Camden resident who hasn’t been through at one point in their lives. It’s important for a place like this to be here.”

The farm is home to pigs, sheep, chickens, cows, horses, and honeybees.

They also offer other activities including singing sessions for children under five, cookery courses and horse riding.

The farm receives funding from Camden Council but Mr Magennis fears this is set to decline over the next three years owing to budget cuts. 

And he said he hopes the anniversary celebrations will act as a reminder of the importance of the farm and help raise funds to keep it going for another 40 years.

If you have a story to tell, photographs to share or would like to contribute an audio recording you can contact Simone on 020 7916 5421 or by email at simone@ktcityfarm.org.uk

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so through the farm’s website: www.ktcityfarm.org.uk

Archive images - Courtesy London Standard