‘Time has come’ for a Hitchcock museum in Leytonstone

Hitchcock mosaic from Rebecca at Leytonstone tube. Photograph: Russell Parton

Momentum is gathering for a museum in Leytonstone dedicated to the life and work of one of its most famous sons, the filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.

Ros Kane, a charity founder who has lived in Leytonstone since 1974, is looking to create a steering group to secure a site for the museum, claiming the “time has come” for the filmmaker to be properly commemorated.

Hitchcock, known as the ‘master of suspense’ for the directorial techniques he pioneered in films such as Birds and Vertigo, was born in Leytonstone in 1899, where a blue plaque marking his place of birth can be found at a petrol station on Leytonstone High Road.

“Waltham Forrest has got William Morris and Hitchcock, these two famous people. We managed to save the William Morris gallery and this is the second thing we need to do,” said Kane.

“There are murals underground, but this is a poor area – or has been – and could do with a bit of building up.”

Kane has already identified a potential site, a large office with a basement close to Hitchcock’s place of birth, and is looking for support from residents to get the campaign going.

“I met a woman who moved to south Leytonstone because of Hitchcock and was then appalled to find that there was no museum,” Kane said.

“It would put Leytonstone on the map and considering Hitchcock is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time it’s just so obvious that it needs to be done.”

If you would like to be part of the steering group for a Hitchcock museum in Leytonstone (wherever you live), email roskane@btinternet.com

Son of a grocer: Mosaic showing Alfred Hitchcock’s father’s shop. Photograph: Russell Parton