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Category Archives: Church and religions
Friday lunchtime music recitals, Croydon Minster, Jan-Mar 2026
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T
This teacher’s Foss way always led her back to South East Asia
CROYDON CHRONICLES: In his latest delve into the archives, DAVID MORGAN recalls the life of a missionary, the daughter of a former Mayor of Croydon, who worked in China, Malaysia and South Africa, and survived almost four years in the … Continue reading
Friday lunchtime music recitals, Croydon Minster, Jan-Mar 2026
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T
PANTO WARS! Which shows are worth seeing this Christmas
OUTSIDE CROYDON: Ken Towl has reviewed the pantomimes being performed in Croydon and Bromley this festive season. But there’s lots more family shows available across London. Here’s DAVID MORGAN’s suggestions
Mead’s Minster time to end after 32 years of church service
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Denise Mead became verger at Croydon Parish Church in 1993. This week, after working with three Vicars of Croydon, organising countless church events and welcoming Archbishops and a Princess Royal to Croydon, she will take her leave for … Continue reading
This was a pub landlord who never needed any bouncers
CROYDON CHRONICLE: The Crown on North End, demolished in 1950, was a coaching inn with a history that stretched back 500 years, and whose many landlords included Jack Martin, a bare-knuckle boxer from the Regency era whose fights would attract … Continue reading
Posted in Boxing, David Morgan, History
Tagged Boxing, Croydon, David Morgan, Jack Martin, Jack Randall, KIng George IV, North End, Prince of Wales, Regency England, The Crown
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10 shillings to join the Goose Club and lay on a Christmas feast
CROYDON CHRONICLE: Christmas is coming, as the old saying goes, and the goose is getting fat… DAVID MORGAN looks back to the Dickensian era, when financial planning for the end-of-year revels was serious business for the likes of Surrey Street … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Surrey Street
Tagged Charles Dickens, Christmas, Crown Hill, David Morgan, Goose Club, Marmaduke Willis, Phiz, Surrey Street, West Croydon
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Sounds for the Season concert, St John’s Selsdon, Sun Dec 7
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South Croydon Sings Christmas, St Peter’s, Fri Dec 5
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Oh yes she is! Victorian dancer who became a pantomime star
CROYDON CHRONICLES: One of the great British traditions of this time of year is the family visit to the theatre, or to a church hall for the local am-dram performance, during pantomime season. DAVID MORGAN traces the career of Caroline … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Dance, David Morgan, Fairfield Halls, History, Music, Stanley Halls, Theatre
Tagged Caroline Parkes, Charles Fenton, Croydon, Croydon Chronicles, Crystal Palace, David Morgan, Dick Whittington, Fairfield Halls, Panto, pantomime, Sanderstead Dramatic Club, Stanley Halls, The Brothers Grinn, Theatre Royal
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Old Town Carols, with brass band, Croydon Minster, Dec 7
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Muslim millionaire in row for hosting Reform’s Christmas party
EXCLUSIVE: A £350 a head fund-raising dinner for Nigel Farage’s ‘racist cronies’ at the Grand Sapphire Hotel on an industrial estate off the Purley Way next week has caused outrage. WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, reports A massive row has broken … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Business, Church and religions, Community associations, Purley Way
Tagged 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Boris Johnson, Bromley, Croydon, Croydon Stand Up to Racism, Grand Sapphire, Grand Sapphire Hotel, Lee Anderson, London, Nigel Farage, Purley Way, Reform UK, Richard Tice MP, Suleman Raza, Sutton, UKIP
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St Peter’s Christmas Market, South Croydon, Sat Nov 29
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Carols by candlelight at Croydon Minster, from Sun Nov 30
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Intriguing secret societies offer more than conspiracy theories
KEN TOWL delved into the little-known world of local literary societies, the ‘Lits’, where talk is cheap and at least the fruitcakes promise ‘no nuts’ I have discovered a hidden world, a world that exists in the shadows, a world … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Addiscombe West, Church and religions, Community associations, Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Education, History, Ken Towl, Norwood Society, Purley, Purley Literary Society, Redhill, Sanderstead
Tagged Addiscombe, CNH&SS, Croydon, Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, East Croydon, Ken Towl, Literary Societies, Margaret Thatcher, Purley, Purley Literary Society, Redhill, Sanderstead, Sanderstead Literary Society, Shaw's Corner Literary Society, St Mildred's Literary Society, The Lit
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Salvation Army launches appeal to spread some Christmas joy
The Salvation Army is calling on the Croydon community to share love and hope by donating new toys to its Christmas Present Appeal to help give children a Christmas they deserve. Every year, Salvation Army churches ask people to donate … Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Church and religions
Tagged Booth Road, Christmas, Salvation Army, Toy Appeal
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The casualties of war are not always killed on the battlefield
THE CROYDON CHRONICLES: There is history all around the Minster, not only in the archive, as shown this week as DAVID MORGAN provides the story behind one of the church’s plaques, which dates from more than 120 years ago, and … Continue reading
Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged 12th Royal Lancers, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Battle of Modder River, Boer War, Croydon, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, General Kitchener, James Laver, Kimberley, Lord Roberts, Natal, Queen Victoria, Second Boer War
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Glow Christmas concert, St John’s Old Coulsdon, Nov 28
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Glow Christmas concert, St John’s Old Coulsdon, Nov 28
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The heretic bishop who recanted to avoid burning at the stake
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Reginald Peacock was consecrated as a bishop in a service conducted in the Archbishop’s palace in Croydon, but had to survive a show trial and ritual humiliation on the streets of Medieval London, as DAVID MORGAN writes The … Continue reading
Posted in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History
Tagged Agincourt, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Thomas Bouchier, Bishop of Chichester, Bishop of St Asaph, Bishop Reginald Peacock, Chichester, Croydon Minster, Croydon Parish Church, David Morgan, Dick Whittington, Hundred Years War, John Wycliffe, King Henry V, King Henry VI, Lollards, Old Palace, Pope Calixtus III, Reginald Peacock, St Asaph, Wars of the Roses
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After seven years, council dusts off sketches for Minster Green
There is to be a brief exhibition of long-delayed plans for Minster Green staged at Croydon Minster from Tuesday November 25 to Saturday November 29, from 11.30am to 4pm (to 7pm on Wednesday November 26). The issues of creating a … Continue reading
Old Town Carols, with brass band, Croydon Minster, Dec 7
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
St Paul’s Charity Christmas Fair, Croham Park Avenue, Nov 15
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
