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Category Archives: David Morgan
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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The Miller’s tale of Mendelssohn’s visit and a lifetime of music
Croydon’s Parish Church in the early 19th century attracted some of the finest musical talents of the time, thanks to the role played by one influential parishioner, writes DAVID MORGAN On June 17, 1832, Felix Mendelssohn wrote in his diary: … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Music
Tagged Charles Dickens, Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Felix Mendelssohn
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Wool, perriwigs and rotten boroughs: the Gorgeous Georgians
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Many old memorials for rich, influential families placed in the Parish Church were destroyed by fire 150 years ago. But DAVID MORGAN has managed to track down the story of one of the lost tombs of … Continue reading
Church story that is full of artists, reformers and educators
By the mid-19th Century, Croydon was growing at such a rate that it needed a new church, specifically for the servants of those who formed the congregation at what we know today as the Minster. DAVID MORGAN charts the history … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, South Croydon, St Andrew's Church
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Addington’s ancient church has a place in nation’s history
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: From the Norman Conquest to the Victorian age, Croydon buildings have been important to the Archbishops of Canterbury, as DAVID MORGAN explains Much is made of the fact that Croydon Minster has six Archbishops of Canterbury … Continue reading
Grand designs: Wake’s daughter and her Yorkshire pile
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: The last resting place of six Archbishops, what used to be known as Croydon Parish Church was also the burial site of members of the church leaders’ families, as DAVID MORGAN’s latest research has discovered For … Continue reading
Ecclesiastical family who thrived on prayer, poetry and Croydon
Using Croydon Minster’s archive, DAVID MORGAN researches the family history of John Unwin Esq, and discovers more of the wealth of local history to be found laying at our feet One of the gravestones making up the path on the … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, John Unwin, William Cowper
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200-year-old documents reveal story behind the graves
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Local historian DAVID MORGAN has discovered some real treasure at the National Archives: three wills from one Croydon family Finding a last will and testament that was written by someone who was living 200 years ago … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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Cleric who faced court at time of Pepys, plague and puritans
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: From the records of the old Parish Church and other accounts, DAVID MORGAN uncovers the history of a Croydon vicar who was hauled up in court at the Old Bailey on charges of kidnapping, was confronted … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Rev William Clewer
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How Croydon’s pandemic priests survived the Black Death
MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Coronavirus is not the first pandemic that priests have had to cope with while ministering to the congregation at Croydon’s Parish Church, which has a history going back a thousand years. By DAVID MORGAN The year … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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The double tragedy in war suffered by a wife and mother
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: Remembrance Sunday is given over for the public to reflect on the sacrifices made by others. Here, from the roll of honour at the Minster, DAVID MORGAN recalls the lives, and deaths, of two generations of … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Henry Dunham, Remembrance Day
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‘For gallantry’: Croydon hero who died at Passchendaele
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: On November 11, it will be the centenary of the burial of The Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey, an event full of symbolism about the loss of so many during the Great War. At Croydon Minster, … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Remembrance Day, Samuel Wayte
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The brothers in arms who lost their lives at Ypres and Gallipoli
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, Minster historian DAVID MORGAN has been going through the roll of honour to recall some of the Croydon fallen from World War I One brother fell at Passchendaele, the other was killed … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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The tale of a Croydon private’s life, and death, on the Somme
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: The names on the roll of honour at Croydon Minster provide a glimpse into the lives, and deaths, of Croydon men killed in the Great War. As we approach Remembrance Day, DAVID MORGAN has been finding … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan, The Somme, William Dowden
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How ‘chums’ and Contemptibles set standards at the Minster
Over the coming days, as we head into November and towards Remembrance Sunday, DAVID MORGAN will be relating some of the stories of the fallen who are commemorated at Croydon Minster In the “old days” – which is now any … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Croydon Minster, David Morgan
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Cry God for Chichele, the patron who prayed for Agincourt
DAVID MORGAN explores how Henry V’s Archbishop came to lend his name to a street in Croydon Residents of Chichele Gardens, part of the Park Hill estate in Croydon, might be in for a surprise when they discover the story … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Archbishop Chichele, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Henry V
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BBC radio is returning to capture the music of Croydon Minster
DAVID MORGAN on the latest very public endorsement of the quality of the choir and music at Croydon Minster It seems like a lifetime ago now, what with everything that has happened since, but it is 10 months since the … Continue reading
Howley’s long and winding road for final journey to Addington
DAVID MORGAN’s research into Croydon street names finds that Queen Victoria’s first Archbishop of Canterbury was fondly remembered Howley Road is the road where the Tudor Arch stands at the far end of the church grounds of Croydon Minster. It … Continue reading
Archbishop family’s affairs that startled Victorian England
What’s the significance of the name of the street where you live? In his latest researches, DAVID MORGAN has discovered one road which reflects the life of an archbishop, ‘the cleverest woman in Europe’, and their remarkable family The residents … Continue reading
