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Category Archives: Croydon Minster
Brassed off: following the trail of church’s long-lost memorials
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Local historian DAVID MORGAN has got his Brasso out and has polished up some traces of Croydon’s fashionable medieval, Tudor and Stuart past Croydon Minster is, of course, a House of Prayer. Less well-known is that … Continue reading
Town Hall announces service details for Remembrance Day
As the civic authorities have done for more than 100 years, Croydon will tomorrow remember and honour those killed in service for the country in armed conflicts, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Conventions … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Minster, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, Remembrance Day, Remembrance Sunday
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Tragedy continued to stalk Polhill family even after the war
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: The Polhill family is listed twice on the Croydon Minster Roll of Honour of those who died in the 1914-1918 war. But as DAVID MORGAN’s researches have uncovered, even one of the sons who survived that … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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Brothers in arms: Polhill family’s second sad wartime sacrifice
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: What is often chilling about the Roll of Honour at Croydon Minster is how the same family name recurs. In the second instalment of this latest research, DAVID MORGAN tells of the loss of a second … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, First World War, William Polhill, World War I
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Wartime tragedy that devastated one Croydon family
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: Records at Croydon Minster and beyond reveal many stories of service and sacrifice. Ahead of Remembrance Day, in the first of a series of articles, DAVID MORGAN unravels the tragic history of one Croydon family in … Continue reading
How Corporal Luff’s cross became a symbol for all Croydon
The Queen’s Screen in Croydon Minster is a striking tribute to the men of one WWI army unit that was based nearby. DAVID MORGAN traces the war record of one hero who is remembered in his village, is buried in … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Albert Luff, Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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Victorian church painting that leads to a Great War tragedy
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: The church archives have yielded more insights into local family histories. By DAVID MORGAN Croydon Minster maintains extensive archives, which include many paintings of the church. One such work, which has recently been discovered, is dated … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Howard Primary, Schools
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Howard Primary School, South Croydon
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The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Dating back to the Domesday Book, Croydon Parish Church was almost destroyed one cold winter’s night 150 years ago. Here, DAVID MORGAN takes up the story of the Great Fire of Croydon Ebenezer Whittaker, the parish … Continue reading
Carolinas family with links to the days of Croydon’s races
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Ascot. Aintree. Addiscombe… DAVID MORGAN delves into the records to discover Croydon’s historic links with the Sport of Kings that stretch back nearly a thousand years The tomb of Christiana Fenwick is one of many that … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe East, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Museum of Croydon
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, Croydon Races, David Morgan
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Young singing talents are given audition chance at Minster
By DAVID MORGAN Fancy having a singing career like Ed Sheeran’s? Think you may have a voice to match Katherine Jenkins? Then an event being staged at Croydon Minster later this month could be something that you really don’t want … Continue reading
Handel’s bookcase offers Croydon connections down the ages
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: When one of the most celebrated Vicars of Croydon was promoted to take charge of Westminster Abbey, his good fortune saw him acquire a piece of furniture linked to one of the greatest composers, as DAVID … Continue reading
How coals from Newcastle helped to buy Croydon Lodge
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: What connects one of Croydon’s richest and most generous benefactors with a Hornby train set model? DAVID MORGAN has been looking through the arched window to find out The stained glass window to the left of … Continue reading
Three lions in a church, Easttys’ brass plaque’s still gleaming
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Tours and talks are resuming next month. Here, DAVID MORGAN sheds some light on church windows that celebrate the lives of one of Croydon’s most prominent Victorian families Three Lions might not have been heard so … Continue reading
New format that offers a way in to cricket for our youngsters
For DAVID MORGAN, his first Hundred cricket match struck a chord I went to a cricket match at The Oval on Thursday. It wasn’t the first time I had been to a game there, but it was the first time … Continue reading
Posted in Cricket, David Morgan, Jason Roy, Sport, Surrey CCC
Tagged David Morgan, Jason Roy, Surrey County Cricket Club, The Hundred, The Oval
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Canon Harford found sweet music to be good for the souls
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: A Victorian curate went on to carve a special niche in the use of music, as DAVID MORGAN explains What’s your favourite piece of music? It might be one that you have enjoyed for many years … Continue reading
How Grand Tour to Italy ended tragically for Croydon artist
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Four paintings in the Museum of Croydon’s collection show the town 250 years ago as a rural idyll. They are by a talented watercolourist whose career was marred by politics and professional jealousies, as DAVID MORGAN … Continue reading
Use your little corner of Planet Earth to make a big difference
In his small patch of south London, DAVID MORGAN has been doing his bit in the battle to reduce the impact of climate change, and here he offers suggestions about how you can help, too “Every plant counts and too … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon parks, David Morgan, Environment, Gardening, Wildlife
Tagged Climate change, David Morgan, Gardens
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Wilkes’s steam-powered history remains shrouded in mystery
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Among those buried in the churchyard of what was the Croydon Parish Church is a giant of the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions that transformed Britain in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. But as DAVID … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, James Watt, Joseph Wilkes, Sir Robert Peel, Smithfield
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How Benjamin Franklin helped the inventor of the wheel
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Further research into the burial records of what was once known as Croydon Parish Church has revealed intriguing connections to Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Minster historian DAVID MORGAN takes up the story A … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Benjamin Franklin, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, John Adams, John Viney, Thomas Jefferson
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Addiscombe, the academies and the artistry of the Fieldings
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: The family connections of some of England’s foremost artists of the early 19th Century have been traced to the churchyard by DAVID MORGAN John Singleton Copley is the famous American-born artist who is buried in Croydon … Continue reading
Minster bells have been ringing the changes for four centuries
Church bells rang out yesterday to mark the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, and they will surely toll again during the coming week of mourning. Here DAVID MORGAN peals away at the history of a Croydon tradition that goes … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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Teacher recalls Merton’s park stars finest hour and a half
Two south London boroughs have managed to produce a profusion of footballing talent, from Neil Sullivan to Callum Hudson-Odoi, from Jason Cundy to Wilfried Zaha. Here, DAVID MORGAN looks back to the days when he was manager of one of … Continue reading
Posted in Crystal Palace FC, David Morgan, Football, Merton, Schools, Sport, Wilfried Zaha
Tagged Callum Hudson-Odoi, Croydon, David Morgan, Graeme Stuart, Jason Cundy, Merton, Neil Sullivan, Wilfried Zaha, Wimbledon FC
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£200,000 grant gets historic Minster ready for its future
At least there’s one building in Croydon that gets its repairs done in a timely manner. DAVID MORGAN explains the reasons for the scaffolding around the former Parish Church which has a history going back a thousand years If your … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Sir George Gilbert Scott
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