The high street business that made sure Croydon was on song

CROYDON CHRONICLES: A talented musician established a business that over the course of 60 years taught and encouraged at least 30,000 youngsters to sing, play an instrument or perform on stage. DAVID MORGAN looks at the life and career of Gilbert Matthers 

Croydon has a long and distinguished tradition in classical music. Mendelssohn came and played the organ at the Parish Church in June 1832. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and William Hurlstone were noted Croydon-based composers of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

During the 1960s and 70s the London Philharmonic Orchestra played regularly at the Fairfield Halls, a venue with a superb acoustic.

The Croydon Philharmonic Choir under the baton of Alan Kirby was considered to be the very best at interpreting the music of Edward Elgar in the 1930s. They also sang at two Prom concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.

More recently, the Trinity School Boys’ Choir has gained international renown, while the Croydon Minster choir have performed on both television and radio.

One name that deserves to be recalled alongside all those is Gilbert Matthers. Continue reading

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Thanks to the magic of Merlin there’s more to see in the woods

Quite the view: and when you reach the summit of Croham Hurst, there are benches from where you can take it all in

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: This week, seeking pudding-like rock, a Bronze Age barrow and one of the highest viewpoints in Croydon without taking a lift in a tower block, KEN TOWL has been to Croham Hurst, where he may have found a new hobby

Hurst: in English
(hɜːst)
noun archaic
1, a wood
2, a sandbank
Word origin Old English hyrst; related to Old High German hurst

Collins English Dictionary

If Inside Croydon went in for clickbait titles, this would be headlined something like “You won’t believe that there is a hill in the middle of Croydon made of pudding!”

Or “I found the Bronze Age barrow on top of Croydon’s best viewing point.”

But we don’t stoop so low.

Here’s the thing. Croham Hurst stands to the south of central Croydon. It forms a high ridge, steep on the western side, resistant to erosion (because of the “pudding”, but more of that later…) and is aloof from its suburban surroundings.

It is dramatic. It is interesting. Objectively so: it has been designated an SSSI, a site of special scientific interest. It is beautiful, a haven of woodland and birdsong and, at the top it boasts a stunning panoramic view to the west and north. Continue reading

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Stay ‘coul’ at the Coulsdon Club: special air-conditioned offer

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Get up on the roof for the new club nights at Costa del Croydon

Club night: DJs and MCs are performing on the roof of a Croydon town centre multi-storey car park, with an 8pm curfew

Westfield has once again turned the top floor of a multi-storey car park next to a shopping centre into a… beach. NADIA AZIZUDDIN went along to try out the new, adults-only Thursday club night

For those who are missing the beach, Centrale has brought the beach to Croydon.

In what genuinely feels like a different world as you approach the rooftop parking, Costa del Croydon’s Beach Club is an exciting and energetic way to spend the last few Thursday evenings of the summer. Continue reading

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South Norwood Community Kitchen’s forum: Tue Aug 18

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Free SWLLC benefits and housing advice sessions, Selhurst

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NOTE the revised timings and venue details

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Holding and Selvey remember the historic Oval Test of 1976

HOOK’S SHOT: This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest sporting performances in history, and one which marked out the 1976 fifth Test match between England and the West Indies at The Oval as one of the great Tests in history.
MARCUS HOOK talks to Michael Holding and Mike Selvey about a game which will stand long in cricket fans’ memories

It is the figures from the game which make it stand out. The West Indies winning The Oval Test by 231 runs, despite virtually forfeiting their second innings. Double centurions on both sides. And one fast bowler, one very fast bowler, taking 14 wickets in the match.

Unstoppable: Michael Holding was one of the fastest, and most accurate, pace bowlers cricket has ever seen

The fifth Test match of 1976 was played out 50 years ago this week at the Kennington Oval. It was one of the most significant contests in Test match history – with Michael Holding’s 8-59 and 6-57 marking him out as one of the great fast bowlers.

Viv Richards set the tone with 291 as the visitors racked up 687-8 declared in their first innings. Yet by the close of the third day, the Saturday, England were still in the match, at 305-5 with opener Dennis Amiss on 176 not out on his way to a double century of his own.

Yet it was Holding’s Herculean display which shattered the England batsmen’s stumps and, in some cases, their hearts, too.

As now, August 1976 saw the country in the grip of a heatwave – to the extent that the government appointed a Minister for Drought, Denis Howell, who urged us all to take baths together to save water. Standpipes and hosepipe bans defined the summer, and by the time the five-match Test series culminated at The Oval, the outfield was snay brown-coloured, instead of its usual lush green. Continue reading

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10,000 turn out for astronomical society’s solar eclipse events

Sun seekers: thousands gathered at Kenley airfield for the Croydon Astornomical Society’s viewing of the solar eclipse, one of three venues where special equipment was being used for the rare occasion

Spotted: eclipse pic taken by Rakesh Jaitly from their home near the Shirley Hills

The Croydon Astronomical Society estimates that close to 10,000 people turned out on Wednesday evening across three special gatherings that they organised to view – safely – the solar eclipse.

This week’s phenomenon is reckoned to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, with the next total eclipse not due for another 64 years – on September 23, 2090.

The Croydon Astronomical Society’s volunteers, with their telescopes and cameras, set up at three locations around Croydon: near the RAF Memorrial at Kenley, close to their Observatory and HQ; at the School Common, Warlingham; and at Bingham Recreation ground in Addiscombe. Continue reading

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How much could a Croydon household save by going electric?

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Petrol is sitting at around 160p a litre right now, and if you’re driving in and out of Croydon every day, that adds up fast. A return trip to Victoria is roughly 20 miles. A run down to Gatwick is about the same. Do that five days a week and you’re burning through fuel before you’ve even thought about insurance, road tax or servicing.

So what would the numbers actually look like if you swapped your petrol car for an electric one?

Let’s get into it and find out. Continue reading

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As Brandt Report warned, we can’t afford to be small-minded

We need to break out of our cycle of doom, despair and decline to become a confident, outward-looking country again, says ANDREW FISHER

Our planet is more connected than ever.

We switch on the television and see events from all over the world. Atrocities are livestreamed through apps on our phones, with first-hand accounts bringing home to us the realities of war, natural disasters and extreme poverty.

Yet we’re also becoming more insular as a country. Ten years ago, we voted to leave the European Union, narrowly. Despite war, famine and extreme inequality, we have cut back massively on the amount of international aid we give – from 0.7% of our gross national income to just 0.3%. Successive governments have also reduced spending on diplomacy and the “soft power” of the BBC World Service.

Events continue to show how interconnected our world is – from the impact on Britain of wars in Ukraine and Iran, to climate change and the covid pandemic. No matter how hard we try, we cannot close the borders and pretend the rest of the world does not exist.

Yet there have been more positive visions for the world and our responsibilities within it.

In 1977, Robert McNamara, the president of the World Bank, suggested something called The Independent Commission on International Development Issues. The commission was chaired by Willy Brandt, the former Chancellor of West Germany, so that when its report was published in 1980, it was known as The Brandt Report.

The report’s subtitle was “A programme for survival”.

At a time when global politics was defined by the Cold War, and East v West, The Brandt Report looked forward, towards the end of the century, and the potential for global economic conflict between the North and the South. It was a seminal work, perhaps one of the most important since the Second World War.

Brandt’s report recognised the interconnectedness of the world, as well as its divides. Continue reading

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Croydon High’s high achievers celebrate on A Level results day

Croydon’s schools, state and private sector, were each claiming “best ever” outcomes on A Level results day.

In the frame: Whitgift was celebrating some outstanding A Level and Bacc results today

At Whitgift School, the £30,000 per year independent in South Croydon, 1-in-4 of their results were at the highest, A* grade, while close to 60% of all grades were A/A* double the national averaage.

Nearly 40% of Whitgift pupils achieved at least one A* grade and 22% got at least two A* grades.

Earlier in the year, Whitgift’s International Baccalaureate pupils also celebrated exceptional success, achieving an average of 40.4 points, compared with a global average of around 30. At Whitgift, 12% of their Bacc boys attained the maximum score of 45 points.

“These achievements reflect the hard work, determination and talent of a cohort of young men who have embraced not only academic study but every aspect of Whitgift life,” the school’s headmaster, Toby Seth, said. Continue reading

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Open House 2026: from Croydon Town Hall to Downing Street

There are almost 30 venues in Croydon next month, many offering tours of normally off-limit buildings, as part of the annual London Open House Festival. And it is all free!

Roman remains: the tour of Leadenhall Market delves into its foundations

It is one of the better years for getting a sneak view behind the scenes of some of Croydon’s oldest, most famous or eccentric buildings, as part of the biggest architectural celebration of its kind in the world.

Elsewhere in London, a select view will get a guided tour of No10 Downing Street, and there’s rare opportunities to see inside the Old Admiralty Building, the Royal Naval College at Westminster, the Roman remains beneath Leadenhall Market or a Hobbit-like underground house by Putney Heath.

Across the city, last year’s London Open House saw 375,000 visitors to 830 open days and events across all 32 London boroughs and the City of London.

This year’s event runs from September 12 to 20, with booking opening next week for the higher-demand venues. Continue reading

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£2,000 reward offered to find New Addington’s cruel fox killer

A wildlife charity is offering a £2,000 reward after the “hearbreaking” and “disturbing” discovery of a fox who had been shot with “multiple pellets” from an air rifle, leaving her paralysed in fear and agony.

Sad ending: wildlife workers named the stricken fox Ripley. She was found in distress with multiple pellet wounds

The vixen was found suffering in a garden in New Addington. Because of the extent of her injuries, vets working for the charity, The Fox Project, were left with no alternative but to euthanise the otherwise healthy animal.

Wildlife rescuers from The Fox Project said the animal was reported as being in distress.

X-ray examination confirmed at least four pellet wounds:, with one pellet close to her stomach, a second pellet in her leg, a third pellet had narrowly missing her lung, while a fourth pellet was lodged in her spine, causing irreparable paralysis. Continue reading

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Secretive MP Philp’s shares in wife’s company raise questions

INSIDE CROYDON INVESTIGATES: Nigel Farage is fighting a by-election in Clacton tomorrow because he wanted to avoid parliamentary scrutiny over his political donations. Here, we take a detailed look at the declarations being made by one of Croydon’s MPs

Shadow home secretary, shadowy finances: Chris Philp has been an MP since 2015

There is a parliamentary by-election in Clacton tomorrow that was brought about by an MP – Nigel Farage – who wanted to avoid a Commons investigation into his failure to declare millions of pounds in political donations. At Inside Croydon, we thought it was long overdue that we had a delve to check our MPs’ declarations.

To start, we looked at Croydon South’s Conservative MP, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp.

Even before he was first elected 11 years ago, Philp has always been very secretive about his financial affairs. Unlike some other senior Conservative MPs of the past decade, Chris Philp has never published his tax returns, nor come clean about his income.

We are left with the details he does publish on Parliament’s register of members’ interests. As Clacton demonstrates, we can’t always rely on MPs to provide all the details required.

What Philp has provided leaves more questions than answers. Continue reading

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Glave grabs European sprint title in Birmingham gold rush

Croydon Harrier Romell Glave is the European 100 metres champion – and the second sprinter from the club to win that title in 12 years.

Leading the way: Romell Glave dominated the European 100m final last night

Just before 10pm last night, in a tense Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, Glave burst from his starting blocks to seize the initiative and power down the straight, leaving some of his biggest rivals trailing.

His finger pointing up to the night sky as he crossed the finish line, Glave was a clear winner, clocking 10.09sec into a slight headwind.

With team mate Jeremiah Azu taking silver behind him in 10.16, Glave was able to declare “complete domination” of the event.

Germany’s Owen Ansah won the bronze medal in 10.19, as hobbling home behind the medallists a beaten man was Italy’s former Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs. The winner in Rome two years ago, when Glave won a bronze medal, Jacobs was never in the reckoning this time. Continue reading

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South Norwood Community Kitchen’s forum: Tue Aug 18

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Stay ‘coul’ at the Coulsdon Club: special air-conditioned offer

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Charity leader arrested after reports of providing aid to Hamas

Organisation with a school on Cherry Orchard Road has raised more than £130m in two years for international aid, slammed by US authorities as a ‘sham’

Under arrest: Mohammad Yousef Hasna faces possible extradition to the United States

A charity based in Croydon has had its finances placed under strict controls after the arrest of one of its directors who is alleged to have diverted more than £550,000 to the proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas.

Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, a Turkish national, was arrested on July 31 following an indictment by the US Department of Justice.

Prosecutors in America allege that Hasna used his senior role at the Croydon-based Al-Khair Foundation and conspired to provide material support to Hamas. Continue reading

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Customer care? With Thames Water, all you get is an AI shrug

Lake Addiscombe: every home on Teevan Road had a new water feature yesterday

After the Teevan Road burst main, when residents in Addiscombe went to fill the kettle or take a shower yesterday, this is the sort of response that they got from a privatised utility company that pays £1m ‘golden hellos’ to its bosses

Yesterday’s burst water main on Teevan Road in Addiscombe was caused by Thames Water.

Hundreds of households had no water supply for most of the rest of the day. As Croydon swelters in the hottest summer on record.

And yet when Thames Water customers went to their suppliers for information about the position, this was typical of the money-saving, AI-generated, couln’t-give-a-flying-fuck response they received… Continue reading

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In a drought, Addiscombe suffers flood thanks to Thames Water

When in a hole…:Thames Water had excavated in Teevan Road, before the main burst yesterday, causing the flood. Pic: Thomas Aelbrecht

PHOTOSTORY: pictures by iC reader THOMAS AELBRECHT. Words by our failing utilities correspondent, JR HARTLEY

In too deep: the sign is not meant to be ironic

The road had already been dug up. August, after all, is when so many roads get dug up. It’s supposed to help reduce disruption.

But that wasn’t the case on Teevan Road in Addiscombe yesterday, as thousands of gallons of water gushed out of a hole being dug by Thames Water. In a drought. With a hosepipe ban.

The water rushed down the residential street, which runs between Blackhorse Lane and Lower Addiscombe Road. The water was brown and muddy.

There’s been no rain in these parts for two months. But this was no help. Continue reading

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Council agrees to take closer look at Grange Road speedsters

Turning things on their head: the result of one motorist driving recklessly along 20mph limit Grange Road. Yet Croydon Council has done little to curb speedsters

Transport correspondent JEREMY CLACKSON on a small victory for residents of Upper Norwood after more than a decade of lobbying their council

Back bench success: Steve Reed OBE, Labour MP for Streatham and Croydon North

Steve Reed is claiming his first success in his newly restored role as a backbench MP.

The Labour MP for Streatham (and Croydon North if he can be bothered) has demonstrated that he can indeed be bothered about the plight of his Croydon constituents, after firing off a couple of letters to the council over dangerous driving, often at high speed along Spa Hill and Grange Road, in the area between Upper Norwood and Selhurst.

In an announcement made on House of Commons-headed paper, Reed wrote on Friday: “We’ve persuaded the council to take a fresh look at Grange Road.”

Which is undoubted good news, even if the life-threatening issues were raised with MP Reed by residents and road safety campaigners 12 years ago… Continue reading

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Organisers in Corbyn’s party get member lists after year’s wait

A year on from the inaugural meeting of the local branch of the new party now led in parliament by Jeremy Corbyn, and the organisers of Your Party in Croydon are finally being allowed to know who are their members in the borough.

Slow progress: Jeremy Corbyn, Your Party’s parliamentary leader, has been much criticised

“Hooray!” said one socialist stalwart, with more than a touch of irony, as the in-fighting which characterised Your Party’s founding conference last year has continued, with a series of controversial suspensions, resignations from senior positions and claims and counter-claims about how the party nationally is being mismanaged.

The latest to quit is Noor Begum, Your Party’s elected spokesperson, citing “serious concerns”.

Begum’s concerns related to “legal, compliance, data protection, governance, liability, insurance, and organisational standards”. Continue reading

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1,677 days in an Iranian jail: Amnesty exhibit at the Clocktower

The Clocktower Café is to stage a powerful exhibition throughout September called “Surviving Evin” – laying bare the experience of British national Anoosheh Ashoori, who was arbitrarily jailed for four-and-a-half years in Iran until his release – alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in March 2022.

Holding on to hope: Anoosheh Ashooricomes to Croydon in September to talk about his experience, and his exhibition

Ashoori will be at the Clocktoweer in Katharine Street from 11am on September 5 for the formal opening of the exhibition, when he will speak about his experiences.

The exhibition, devised by Ashoori with the support of Amnesty International UK, will recreate the emotional and physical reality of his detention. Continue reading

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Teacher whose poetry saw ‘The Merry Gang’ visiting Croydon

CROYDON CHRONICLES: A Restoration period writer who taught at the Free School made friends with ‘literary lords’ and the Poet Laureate.
DAVID MORGAN looks back nearly 400 years to the life and work of John Oldham

Poetry performances – spoken word – are increasingly popular these days thanks to artists like The Civilised Savage, who appeared at The Croydonites Fringe and was a guest on the latest Croydon Insider podcast. Poetry slams are the places to be.

Looking through the archives, the poets who were the most well-known in the past have usually relied on the written word, crafting their verses for others to read and interpret and to enjoy and revisit.

Restoration poet: John Oldham’s work became well-known when he was teaching in Croydon

Poets have rarely, if ever, made enough money to live on. They need to have a job which helped to put money in their pocket but still left time for them to write. Either that or have a rich patron who would provide an income.

John Oldham was in that predicament. It was time spent in Croydon, doing a job which he described as a “drudgery”, which allowed him to hone his craft.

Born on August 9, 1653, in Shipton in Gloucestershire, Oldham was the son of a non-conformist minister. This was at the time that Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians had overthrown the king in a civil war.

Oldham attended Tedbury School before gaining a place at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he studied Greek and Latin, showing a mastery of those languages. It was also where he developed his love of poetry. Continue reading

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Police appeal for information over woman’s ‘unexplained’ death

Police are investigating the death of Nicole Beling, whose body was found in her home at Dittoncroft Close, a quiet cul de sac off Coombe Road in South Croydon, on Friday July 17.

‘Unexplained death’: Nicole Beling was found in her home in South Croydon

A 61-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, but later released. The man was re-arrested on August 1, and has been “bailed while enquiries continue”, according to the Met.

The police say Beling’s death is being treated as “unexplained”.

The Met said in a statement: “Her cause of death remains under investigation.”

Nicole Beling was 60 years old.

Police were called just after midnight on July 17 “after a woman was reported missing by a family member”.

“She was graded as a high-risk missing person and officers attended her home in Dittoncroft Close later that morning to conduct enquiries into her disappearance. Continue reading

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