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Category Archives: Croydon Minster
VC hero of Zeebrugge Raid who steered Vindictive safely home
CROYDON CHRONICLES: As we approach the season of Remembrance, DAVID MORGAN has found articles and documents in the Minster archive which tell of the conspicuous gallantry of Captain Alfred Carpenter On April 27 1918, the Croydon Times hailed Captain Alfred … Continue reading
How Croydon got its first shopping centre, 750 years ago
CROYDON CHRONICLES: As the town centre’s ancient market reaches its 750th anniversary, DAVID MORGAN charts its growth from its beginnings as Butchers Row, aided by the patronage of commercially-minded Archbishops of Canterbury “Where there are two or three people gathered … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Surrey Street
Tagged 1276, 750th anniversary, Archbishop John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Robert Kilwardby, Croydon, Croydon Minster, Croydon Parish Church, David Morgan, King Edward I, Surrey Street, Surrey Street Market
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Minster’s ornate altar artwork that still retains its mysteries
CROYDON CHRONICLES: A search to find the history of an altar frontal used at Croydon Minster reveals a tale from Shanghai, an ARP warden in World War II, freemasonry, a men’s outfitters shop on Croydon High Street and a nurseryman … Continue reading
How Mary Care and Operation Crocus changed lives in Croydon
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Much has changed around the town centre over the last 50 years, not least in the area of accessibility to public buildings and spaces. Some of the pioneering work was catalogued by a woman with cerebral palsy, whose … Continue reading
Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Fairfield Halls
Tagged Accessibility, Arnhem Gallery, BBC Home Service, Croydon Minster, Croydon Parish Church, David Morgan, Diabled access, Fairfield Halls, Mary Care, Operation Crocus, Peter Bowness, The Silver Lining, Townswomens Guild, Wheelchair users
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Minster appeal for donations to Harvest Festival this Sunday
Croydon Minster is holding its Harvest Festival service this Sunday, and is appealing for people to come forward with donations for two very hard-working local-based charities. “Please bring your donations to the 10am Sunday service, where they will be blessed … Continue reading
18th Century property pages that show growth of Croydon
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Property auctions are nothing new. There have been businesses wheeling and dealing over house sales and land disposals for hundreds of years. DAVID MORGAN pores over the property ads placed by auctioneer John Blake to discover more about … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Auctioneer, Croydon Minster, Croydon Parish Church, David Morgan, John Blake
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Friday lunchtime recitals at Croydon Minster, from Sep to Dec
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T
How Houdini made Croydon churn with his staged escape act
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Croydon’s Music Halls attracted some of the world’s most famous acts in the early 20th Century, including the man reckoned to be the greatest escapologist of all time, as DAVID MORGAN explains Memory is a wonderful gift. The … Continue reading
Posted in David Morgan, History, Theatre
Tagged Croydon Palace of Varieties, Croydon Palace Theatre, David Morgan, Harry Houdini, Houdini, Music Hall
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Friday lunchtime recitals at Croydon Minster, from Sep to Dec
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Nightwatch’s volunteers remember Jamie Keating every night
CROYDON CHRONICLES: This week, Minster archivist DAVID MORGAN has gone back just 50 years, for a heart-rending story of volunteers and sacrifice that began with a local newspaper reporter and the Parish Church’s curate going out on to the streets … Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, Croydon Nightwatch, David Morgan, History, Jad Adams
Tagged austerity, Canon Colin Boswell, Cllr Mohammed Islam, Conservative, Covid-19, Croydon Council, Croydon Minster, Croydon Nightwatch, Croydon Parish Church, David Morgan, David Randall, Jad Adams, Margaret Thatcher, Nightwatch, Nightwatch 50th anniversary, Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, Queens Gardens, Rev Martin Wharton, Right-to-buy, Thatcher government, Tory
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‘Chinese’ magician who died on stage, shot by his own gun
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Theatres in the town attracted some of the world’s biggest Vaudeville stars in the early 20th Century, including the mysterious Chung Ling Soo. DAVID MORGAN discovered more from the archives Many great entertainers have trodden the boards in … Continue reading
Posted in Art, David Morgan, History, Theatre
Tagged Chung Ling Soo, Croydon Chronicles, Croydon Empire, David Morgan, Music Hall, William Robinson
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Family counts cost of burglary during Croydon’s Walnut Fair
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Archive newspaper reports of a burglary on Church Street in 1861 provide a useful insight into the possessions of a Victorian household, as DAVID MORGAN explains Burglaries are not new crimes. A trawl through the local newspaper archives … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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! It is one of the better years for getting a … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Art, Croydon Minster, Fairfield Halls, History, Museum of Croydon, Old Palace, Surrey Street, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Town Hall, Fairfield Halls, Greenwich, History, Leadenhall Market, Lloyd's Building, London, London Open House, London Open House Festival, Museum of Croydon, No10 Downing Street, Royal Naval College, Surrey Street, Surrey Street Market, Whitgift Almshouses, Whitgift Foundation
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in Art, David Morgan, Poetry, Schools, Whitgift School
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Free School, David Morgan, Earl of Kingston, Jhn Oldham, John Dryden, King Charles II, Lord Rochester, Oliver Cromwell, Poetry, Samuel Pepys, The Civilised Savage, Whitgift School, Will's Coffee House
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The Whybrew family trade that really put a feather in your cap
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Trades and professions come and go with the passing years, as fashions ebb and flow. Using the Minster’s archive records, DAVID MORGAN discovers another skill, common in Victorian times and used by a local family firm, but which … Continue reading
Pioneer of sociology whose book called for an evolution
CROYDON CHRONICLES: A quiet residential street in South Croydon was where one of the leading works of 19th-Century philosophy was drafted and written. DAVID MORGAN looks at the life and works of Benjamin Kidd After Benjamin Kidd died of heart … Continue reading
After eight years, Bishop prepares for his final Minster service
CROYDON CHRONICLES: History is happening every day, all around us. And today marks the latest important date in the 700-year history of the Vicar of Croydon. By DAVID MORGAN Father Andrew Bishop was in a reflective mood when I caught … Continue reading
The weather warnings from history: thunderbolts and lightning
CROYDON CHRONICLES: A timely trawl through the Minster archive has discovered reports of extreme weather episodes going back more than 400 years. By DAVID MORGAN “Rycharde Esteinge, a young man, being killed suddenlye with a stroke of thunder and lightning … Continue reading
150 years after the last round-up for the Croydon Wool Fair
CROYDON CHRONICLES: For much of the Victorian era, Croydon was a trading centre for Surrey farmers trading one of the products on which the nation’s economy had depended for centuries. But by 1876, all that was about to change. DAVID … Continue reading
Carriage driver yelled ‘Murder!’ in a Victorian road rage episode
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Almost 200 years ago, travelling even modest distances, between the capital and coast, could be a perilous business – especially if you had a short-tempered baronet driving your stagecoach at high speed. DAVID MORGAN explains Impatience on the … Continue reading
Roll up! Roll up! Enjoy Croydon’s summer fayre, 1920s style
CROYDON CHRONICLES: With summer fairs being planned and organised across the borough, this week DAVID MORGAN looks back more than 100 years at the stalls and events staged for the church fête of 1921 The bunting’s up. The marquee is … Continue reading
Help at the Minster on Sunday with sleep packs for refugees
In this Volunteers’ Week, Croydon Minster is asking for people to come along this Saturday to help assemble sleep packs for young refugees. The Minster is partnering again with The Separated Child Foundation, and is seeking help this Sunday, June … Continue reading
