Brookmans Park Branch
History of Brookmans Park WEA
During the 1940s a small band of Brookmans Park residents used to make their way to Potters Bar to attend a WEA class. Being wartime there were many restrictions on travel, and this group walked to Potters Bar beside the railway line.
When in 1946 the Brookmans Park branch was opened as part of the London District of the WEA the first class was held in an unfurnished shop in the village. With no heating, students brought rugs, flasks of tea or coffee, and even their own chairs! It was not long before it was decided to hold classes in private houses, there being no church hall at that time.
In 1989 the Branch transferred to the Eastern Region, a cause of some regret as it severed the ties with London University.
Mollie King, who has been a WEA member since 1956, and subsequently Chairman, recalls some of her memories of the early days of the WEA in Brookmans Park in the booklet WEA 1903 - 2003: Reminiscences of the Workers Educational Association in Hertfordshire.
More recent times are chronicled by Jenny Dean, including the move from the London District to the Eastern Region, based in Cambridge.