Category Archives: History
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
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
Take a turn around Shirley Windmill for a history masterclass
Making a strong pitch for a promotion to becoming Inside Croydon’s tea and cakes correspondent, KEN TOWL pictured left, makes a visit to the Shirley Windmill and adds it to your summer ‘To do’ list We started on the dust … 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
Sherlock Holmes and the mystery of the 24 unaffordable flats
Planning permission was refused last night for a scheme that threatens a South Norwood heritage building which was once home to Arthur Conan Doyle. But this case is not closed yet… And so it came to pass… The first planning … Continue reading
Sea Cadets recreate HMS Belfast crew for The Big Help Out
Eighty Sea Cadets from across the capital stepped aboard HMS Belfast on Saturday, June 6 – the 82nd anniversary of D-Day – to learn from volunteer crew and reimagine their place in the ship’s story. The Sea Cadets were taking … 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
Paxton is given a new perspective across the park he designed
Paxton’s head is back! The bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace, has been relocated to its original location on the Italian Terraces in Crystal Palace Park, as part of ongoing regeneration works.
Biggles and the curious case of the curate from Croydon
CROYDON CHRONICLES: One of the most-read fictional action heroes of the 20th Century was based at Croydon Airport. DAVID MORGAN pulls on his sheepskin helmet and goggles and goes in search of adventure Biggles, the character James Bigglesworth, appeared in … Continue reading
Young refugees’ art exhibition to open at Museum of Croydon
A multimedia exhibition created by young refugees and asylum seekers is opening at the Museum of Croydon tomorrow to mark 10 years of the charity Play for Progress. Forever We Can Be Full will bring together original artwork, photography, music, … Continue reading
When ‘Race Around The World’ was a tea shipper’s business
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Victorian England depended on trade with the rest of the world, and a vast fleet of merchant sailing ships operated by private businesses, often based in the City of London. As DAVID MORGAN outlines, one such company was … Continue reading
Leslie Arms timeline: sad 25-year decline of heritage building
Between 2000 and 2025, the owner of the Grade II-listed Leslie Arms on Lower Addiscombe Road submitted 13 separate planning applications for the building – 14 if you include his 2009 appeal against a refusal of a planning application. Ten … Continue reading
Grave error in the failure to reconstruct great Grindal’s tomb
CROYDON CHRONICLES: The Minster’s archive is a rich source of documents, registers, publications and correspondence that have yielded vast quantities of detail and information about the history of Croydon for DAVID MORGAN. But here is a letter that the archivist … Continue reading
Here’s Croydon’s election results – from Coronation year 1953
In a special edition of the Croydon Chronicles as the borough goes to the polls, DAVID MORGAN has trawled through the Minster archive to take a look at how local elections were run more than 70 years ago Allegations of … Continue reading
Langley Vale conservation talk, Honeywood Museum, May 28
C O M M U N I T Y A D V E R T I S E M E N T
‘Young people out of hand’: perennial problem of street crime
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Mobs of young people roaming the streets, stealing from shops and terrorising the neighbourhood – just an everyday episode in Croydon, not from last month but during the Edwardian era. DAVID MORGAN delves into the Minster archive The … Continue reading
Town’s oldest building opens its doors for local history month
Croydon’s oldest building is opening its gates to the public for expert guided tours, as part of local history month in May. Thousands walk past the Whitgift Almshouses in Croydon town centre every day, but few give it a second … Continue reading
Duke survived death after he hunted with Croydon’s hounds
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Two hundred years ago, the Derby Arms off Handcroft Road ran a well-regarded livery stables and was a centre for local hunts that were attended by princes and dukes, butchers and shop-keepers. From a single gravestone in the … Continue reading
History of Kenley Airfield, free talk, East Surrey Museum, Apr 22
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