Enfield resident and Enfield Caribbean Association member, Avril Nanton, is a tour guide who lives in Brimsdown. She spends her days in various parts of London, guiding a variety of clients, both local, national and international. The majority of her clients are from the USA, but she also has many European and British clients. Her most popular walks are the Black history of the City of London, the Black Statues of Westminster and the Black history of Brixton, all of which she does at least once a week. Her other walks are: Hyde Park War Memorials; The Black history of Islington; and Tottenham where she has 4 different walks.
Avril’s journey as a tour guide began in 2016 when she set up her business, Avril’s Walks and Talks, after being made redundant. Since that time the business has grown from strength to strength.
Avril moved to Enfield in 2000, first living in Edmonton Green then moving to Brimsdown in 2009. Since 2016 Avril has spent time trying to find information that will help her put together a Black history tour around Enfield but to date has been unsuccessful. Avril always tries to find positive stories about Black people where possible but does not shy away from mentioning slavery and other negative aspects of Black life. She spends almost every Wednesday at the Enfield archives but, unfortunately, the information she has found has not been enough to put together a walk around the Borough.
Lack of Black historical information
The serious lack of Black historical information at the archives is telling. This is something that needs to be rectified and she wants to start building up the information available about the Black community in Enfield over many years. Avril is hoping to find a significant Black person who lived and had a history in the Borough. She recently found a Will dating from 1729 which included the ownership of a slave in the borough. There is also a book called Enfield and the Transatlantic Slave Trade [edited by Valerie Munday] which Avril is using to help her track down as much information as possible.
Avril’s daily life consists of meeting clients at various points around London, usually tube stations. Clients can number from one-to-one (private tours) or up to 20 people. The tours last approximately one and a half to two hours. Avril has also written a book called Black London: History, Art & Culture in over 120 Places and also created a Black London History map, both of which she sells to clients on the walks.
When she isn’t guiding, Avril is an experienced presenter and gives presentations on Black history. Her talks cover the black statues that can be found around London; a talk about Winifred Atwell the first Black person to have a number one hit record in this country and also the first Black woman to sell over one million records in the 1950s; Jack Johnson the world’s first Black heavyweight boxer; Dr Barnardo, the first person to take in Black children for foster care and adoption; Black people at the Old Bailey 1674-1913 showcasing stories of Black people who were either witnesses, defendants or prosecutors at the Old Bailey during those times.
Contact Avril
If you would be interested in doing a walk with Avril, contact her via her website www.avrilswalksandtalks.co.uk She can also be found on all the usual socials @avrilswalksandtalks
