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Category Archives: History
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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Saved for the nation, Selsdon Wood conserved by its Friends
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: This year’s annual residents’ fair was where KEN TOWL found out more about the need for volunteers Jim Dunning is the first of the Friends of Selsdon Wood that I meet at one of their … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Selsdon Woods, History, Ken Towl, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, South Croydon, Walks
Tagged Friends of Selsdon Wood, Ken Towl, Selsdon, Selsdon Park Hotel, Selsdon Wood, Walks
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Amelia Earhart illustrated talk, Croydon Airport, Wed Sep 30
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T Tickets: http://www.ticketsource.com/historic-croydon-airport-trust
Shaping Croydon’s light-touch exhibit offers clues to the future
An exhibition, “Shaping Croydon – Architecture and Ambition”, has opened this week at the Museum of Croydon, just in time for this weekend’s celebration of the capital’s architecture with the Open House festival. The exhibition is attractively bright and light-touch. … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Activities, Art, Croydon Council, Environment, History, Museum of Croydon, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 1956 Croydon Corporation Act, Brutalism, Croydon, Croydon Flyover, London, Mini Manhattan, Museum of Croydon, Shaping Croydon - Architecture and Ambition, TfL, Transport for London
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Join the treasure hunt for Northern line’s centenary celebration
The importance of providing public infrastructure will be underlined this weekend with the celebration of the centenary of the Northern line Tube being extended to Morden. Transport for London is inviting passengers and local communities to celebrate the occasion with … Continue reading
Posted in Commuting, History, London-wide issues, Merton, Outside Croydon, TfL, Transport
Tagged Balham, Claphaam, Clapham South, Morden, Northern line, South Wimbledon, TfL, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Transport for London, Tube
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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
Woodland wonderland that’s hidden behind Selsdon’s suburbia
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: For his latest visit to a group of hard-working conservationists and volunteers, KEN TOWL retraces his steps from one of his LOOP walks to discover ‘Selsdon’s secret wood’ You know that look you get when … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Littleheath Woods, History, Ken Towl, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, South Croydon, Walks
Tagged Friends of Littleheath Woods, Ken Towl, Littleheath Woods, London Outer Orbital Path, LOOP, Monks Hill, Selsdon, Vanguard Way, Walks
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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
Thanks to the magic of Merlin there’s more to see in the woods
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: This week, seeking pudding-like rock, a Bronze Age barrow and one of the highest viewpoints in Croydon without taking a lift in a tower block, KEN TOWL has been to Croham Hurst, where he may … 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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Spitfire’s Battle of Britain Kenley fly-past booked for Aug 16
One of the real spectacles of the year, a fly-past of a Battle of Britain fighter aircraft, will this year be taking place – weather and good fortune permitting – over Kenley airfield on Sunday August 16, at 1pm. A … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Community associations, History, KENDRA, Kenley, Kenley Airfield Friends Group
Tagged August 18 1940, Bristol Blenheim, Douglas Bader, Hawker Hurricane, KENDRA, Kenley, Kenley Revival, RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Kenley, RAFBBMF, Spitfire, Supermarine Spitfire, The Hardest Day
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Hollywood superstar Chaplin takes his place on Coulsdon trail
Charlie Chaplin, one of the greatest movie stars of all time, is featured in the latest finial on the Coulsdon Art Trail. Chaplin’s association with Coulsdon is, perhaps typically of his screen persona, a poignant one: his mother, Hannah, was … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Cinema, Comedy, Community associations, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, History, Transport
Tagged Cane Hill, Charles King, Charlie Chaplin, Comrades Club, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Club, Coulsdon History Trail, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, ECRA, Farthing Downs, Finials, Hannah Chaplin, Happy Valley, Mammoth, Merstham Tunnel, Navvies, Stoats Nest Farm
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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
Crystal Palace’s dinosaurs are no longer at risk of extinction
Crystal Palace Park’s Grade I-listed dinosaurs have been removed from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, after years of painstaking work by expert restorers and local volunteers. The move comes as the multi-million-pound restoration project across the whole park has … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Bromley Council, Community associations, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Education, Friends of Crystal Palace Park, History
Tagged Bromley Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace dinosaurs, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, Hot air balloon, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Victoria Pinnington
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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
Up! Up! And away! You’re invited to Crystal Palace celebrations
After more than a year of regeneration works, key areas of Crystal Palace Park have been transformed, including the world-famous Grade I-listed dinosaurs, while the new Visitor Centre is ready to open and a dinosaur adventure playground has been built. … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Community associations, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Friends of Crystal Palace Park, History, Music
Tagged Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace dinosaurs, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, Hot air balloon, National Lottery Heritage Fund
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Ruskin House Folk and Blues Festival, Coombe Road, July 18
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T For more information about the festival and all the Croydon Folk and Blues Club performances, click here
Ruskin House Folk and Blues Festival, Coombe Road, July 18
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T For more information about the festival and all the Croydon Folk and Blues Club performances, click here
Bowie’s old school ties sees his old friend back in Bromley
David Bowie’s best friend told pupils at the Bromley school they had attended together about their youthful music obsessions and haircuts gone wrong. George Underwood visited Ravens Wood School this week for an event organised by the Heritage of London … 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
