Category Archives: History

Council’s once-prized listed building Heathfield House left to rot

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s built heritage is crumbling into a worrying state of disrepair, with no one at the council seemingly aware of the seriousness of the situation. By PEARL LEE, our south of the borough correspondent Any Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Addington, Art, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Gardening, Heathfield House, History, Property, Riesco Collection, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Parish’s dynasty of vergers caring for Croydon for 100 years

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: In another discovery from the Croydon Minster archive, DAVID MORGAN has found the first-hand account of one of the church’s most senior lay officials which covers much of the history of the 20th Century When Frank Butler retired … Continue reading

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The History of My House illustrated talk, Carshalton, Oct 26

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Life and works of Inigo Jones, Honeywood Museum, Jul 27

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Croydon Assembly presents The Big Lie, Ruskin House, Mar 31

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Local Birds illustrated talk, Honeywood Museum, Mar 23

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Banker from Waddon who helped finance independent America

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: One memorial in Croydon Minster’s churchyard dates back to the early 19th Century, and is for a man who knew Alexander Hamilton and had connections with George Washington. By DAVID MORGAN Another grave in the grounds of Croydon … Continue reading

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Original clockmakers are hired for Thornton Heath restoration

Six months after an attack by vandals set fire to Thornton Heath’s landmark clocktower, the council has begun work to restore it to its former glory – remarkably, using the same  firm which had made the original clock more than … Continue reading

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Windrush Generation’s exhibition is playing sounds of the 70s

After a week spent playing ‘silly games’ with the borough’s politicians, for a deserved break, KEN TOWL got serious about Lovers’ Rock Croydon’s musical heritage is immense. It is so rich and varied that the council is putting together some … Continue reading

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Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala, Ruskin House Screen Club, Mar 24

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How Dick Turpin’s life of crime included a hold-up in Shirley

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Stand and deliver! DAVID MORGAN has tracked down notorious highwaymen who preyed on the unwary travelling on Croydon’s roads, from Thornton Heath to Smitham Bottom in the 1700s The registers of Croydon Minster, as well as the information … Continue reading

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History talk: Understanding medieval Chaldon, Mar 4

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‘The Nijinsky of India’ is celebrated in museum exhibition

An extraordinary life which began in Bangalore and ended in Croydon is remembered and celebrated in an exhibition about dancer Ram Gopal currently running at the Museum of Croydon. Entitled “I saw a god dance”, the exhibition highlights Gopal’s contribution … Continue reading

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Pitlake’s poetic priest and his Edwardian Coronation Ode

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Croydon Minster’s archive also serves as a library for its parochial reports dating back into the 19th Century, which help to reveal much about the area’s history, says DAVID MORGAN, pictured right The yearly Parochial Reports from the … Continue reading

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Artist’s sister helped him become poster boy of Victorian age

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: With the discovery in the Minster archive of a century-old clipping from a magazine, DAVID MORGAN traces the Croydon woman who was the muse for the world-famous Woman In White Opening up a folder in the Croydon Minster … Continue reading

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Buddy Holly Tribute Night, Ruskin House, Feb 11

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When Minster was the venue for an Anglo-Saxon peace treaty

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: A recent discovery of coins suggests that the date of the foundation of Croydon as a strategic location between London and Canterbury was more than 150 years earlier than historians had previously suggested, writes DAVID MORGAN It took … Continue reading

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Letters show a royal Duke complaining about news reports

A collection of letters written on behalf of the Duke of Windsor in the 1930s that were amassed by a royal fan will be offered in Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers’ antiques auction on Wednesday February 8. The letters, to … Continue reading

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It’s long overdue that Hurlstone’s music is heard once again

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: In the year when Croydon is London’s Borough of Culture, DAVID MORGAN suggests it presents an opportunity to revive some of the music of a once-admired composer Searching through some old press cuttings, I came across one from … Continue reading

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Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Ruskin House, Feb 24

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Tudor vicar who stood with Thomas More against Henry VIII

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: In his latest trawl through the Minster’s archive, DAVID MORGAN has discovered a Vicar of Croydon who is part of the long tradition of ‘meddlesome priests’ When Jonathan Gullis, the Conservative MP, vented his anger with the bishops … Continue reading

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Wedding that ended in gruesome death and Old Bailey trial

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: The murder trial and menage à trois that scandalised Victorian England, as DAVID MORGAN explains, all had its beginnings in a marriage ceremony held at Croydon Parish Church When the curate of Croydon Parish Church looked through his … Continue reading

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Croydon dowry proved not enough for heroic General Wolfe

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: One of the greatest heroes in British military history relied for matrimonial advice on a friend and fellow officer from Croydon, as DAVID MORGAN discovered in the archives at the Minster Half a century before Nelson met his … Continue reading

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Four candles and the tragic tale of the Croydon tallow chandler

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: There was a time when those fragranced candles you might be burning to celebrate Advent were an essential part of people’s lives, as DAVID MORGAN explains December is a month for candles. Their glow and significance in churches … Continue reading

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Golden haloes pick out icons of the Windrush exhibition

KEN TOWL pays a return visit to the Windrush Legacy Association in the Whitgift Centre to view the works of south Londoner Zoe Sinclair Despite her interest in where people really come from, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley, better known … Continue reading

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