Thursday 20 December 2012

Deptford pubs added to local listing

Article by The Deptford Dame on the proposal to add some Deptford and New Cross pubs to the local Council heritage list - read the whole article at http://deptforddame.blogspot.com/2012/12/deptford-pubs-added-to-local-listing.html

"As part of its ongoing strategy to protect pubs in the borough (better late than never) and categorise its heritage assets, the council has proposed half a dozen pubs in Deptford and New Cross to be 'locally listed', part of a total of 26 buildings in the borough picked out to be added to the existing list. The existing list can be downloaded from the council's website. ...."

Thursday 13 December 2012

Brian Barnes – Autumn Talk Reviewed, by Ben Kaufmann - London Mural Preservation Society

Interview with Brian Barnes - one of whose creations was the New Cross 'Riders of the Apocalypse' mural. You can read the whole piece on the blog of the London Mural Preservation Society

"Back before the clocks had shifted and we had all resigned ourselves to the persistent greys of the London winter, muralist Brian Barnes was kind enough to give a talk for the London Mural Preservation Society....."

Riders of the Apocalypse, New Cross, 1983. Mural by Brian Barnes
"In a recent interview Barnes described New Cross’ Riders of the Apocalypse as his last political mural. In it he depicted Ronald Reagan, Michael Hesseltine, Margaret Thatcher and Yuri Andrapov riding about the world on cruise missiles with a sinister, demented madness reminiscent of the concluding scene of Dr Strangelove. From their exhausts permeate fumes of money and greed whilst trees and landscapes trail from the forces of peace riding to meet them in the opposite direction. Executed in Keim paint (which Barnes recalls the laborious difficulty of working with) the work remains as fresh to this day as it ever was..."

Brian Barnes – Autumn Talk Reviewed, by Ben Kaufmann
Posted from London Mural Preservation Society

Lewisham's art collection now part of the national online collection at Your Paintings

Today the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) and the BBC completed their hugely ambitious project to put online the United Kingdom’s entire collection of oil paintings in public ownership. This makes the UK the first country in the world to give such access to its national collection of paintings. In total, 3,217 venues across the UK have participated in the project and 211,861 paintings are now on the Your Paintings website at bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings.

162 oil paintings from Lewisham's art collection have been included and go live today on the Lewisham Pages.  You can browse the collection, search it by artist or subject and help develop the collection by tagging individual paintings.

This is only part of Lewisham art collection stored in the Archives. We have watercolours, prints and photographs of the area - all collected because of a local connection through the artist, the subject or the donor. We are digitising and uploading these to our Picasa site - Lewisham Heritage - where you can browse the albums and comment on the images.

For further information about the PCF collection of Lewisham images or our collection generally please contact local.studies@lewisham.gov.uk

Wednesday 5 December 2012

The Great Smog Of London, Tweeted

Another interesting heritage Twitter project -

"Wednesday is the 60th anniversary of the start of the Great Smog, which lasted 5-9 December 1952. Cold weather (and the increase in coal-burning to keep warm) combined with still weather caused pollutants to settle over London. Up to 12,000 people are thought to have died from the effects and 100,000 were made ill.  Starting at 7am, the Twitter account @ClimateActio2n from the Climate Action campaign group will start ‘live’ tweeting the #greatsmog in the voice of an ordinary Londoner. It’ll be sharing real anecdotes and factual information...."

The Great Smog Of London, Tweeted
Posted from The Londonist



Friday 23 November 2012

Lewisham Central Public Library opens 23rd November 1901

On 23rd November 1901 Lewisham Metropolitan Borough opened Lewisham Central Library next to Colfe's Almshouses in the High Street. The 1917 borough guide describes it as a red brick and terracotta building with a lending department, reference room, news room and magazine room. In the entrance hall was a tablet commemorating Alfred the Great, a previous Lord of Lewisham. This was installed in the new Central Library when it replaced the original in 1994.



Tuesday 13 November 2012

First World War: New Perspectives

"As we approach the 100th anniversary of the First World War this series of short talks presents new perspectives on the world’s first experience of the war. Produced by the University of Oxford, and presented by renowned experts in the field, the series explores topics such as ‘conflict culture’, ‘surplus women’ and the role of the historian in the centenary.  A world class resource that is set to grow in the coming years, be prepared to move beyond the mud of the Western Front and reconsider the the varied impact of one of the largest conflicts in history.
http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/first-world-war-new-perspectives
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/itunes-u/first-world-war-new-perspectives/id575146844?mt=10

First World War: New Perspectives
Posted from JISC World War One Commemoration Programme

A large body of work to support WW1 study has already been undertaken by JISC to support teaching, learning and research around WW1 through a range of digitisation and crowd-sourcing projects. An example of this work is The Great War Archive which digitised items contributed by the general public related to ‘someone’s experience of the First World War, either abroad or at home’. This has given rise to similar projects in participating countries e.g. in Germany, ‘Erster Weltkrieg in Alltagsdokumenten’

Building on the work of the JISC eContent programme, the JISC WW1 Commemoration programmes aim to provide a wealth of unique and authoritative digital materials which are “comprehensive, open and sustainable”.

Friday 9 November 2012

Remembrance Sunday in Lewisham


Lewisham will mark Remembrance Sunday with two events this year on Sunday 11th  November. The first event will take place at the war memorial in Upper Brockley Road at its junction with Lewisham Way and the second at the Lewisham High Street war memorial.

Lewisham Heritage's Lewisham War Memorials wiki has collected information on all known memorials in the borough commemorating the military and civilian dead and is adding details of the names recorded. We have contributions from relatives of the war dead and local historians. If you have any information on a relative who is recorded on one of these memorials, then you can add it to the wiki, or send it to local.studies@lewisham.gov.uk for us to add.

Ninety-four years on from the signing of the Armistice in 1918, Lewisham Council will pay homage to those who died during the two world wars including a tribute to the hundreds of Lewisham men and women who gave their lives in the service of their country.  You can find more details on the Lewisham Council website

Blackheath Caverns

Interesting article in Greenwich Industrial History blog about Blackheath Caverns and the industrial past of the area.


"Ever since last spring we have been meaning feature an article in the April edition of that wonderful publication ‘Subterrania’ – the article is  ‘Chalk Mining near Blackheath Hill, Southeast London. Including Jack Cade's Cavern’ by Anthony Durham
Ostensibly it is yet another account of the caverns known to lie under Blackheath Hill but the author does raise some interesting points and tries to examine the subject holistically.  However, to begin at the beginning – he says ‘ten years ago I had very little idea what lies under the ground near my home. But that all changed on 7 April  2002, when the A2 main road through Greenwich  collapsed into a big hole halfway up Blackheath Hill’.  Having opened up his interest he began to look further  and discovered more....."




Monday 5 November 2012

Lewisham Rail Crash 4th December 1957

At 6.20pm on 4th December 1957 one of the worst rail crashes in Lewisham's and south east London's history took place in dense fog. A passenger train from Charing Cross to Hayes stopped at a signal under a bridge and the following train to Ramsgate crashed into it.  The railway bridge collapsed onto the carriages underneath.  There were 90 fatalities and 109 people were kept in hospital. The trains had been carrying over 2,000 passengers. The bridge had to be cleared away and it was over a week before the lines under the bridge were reopened, and another month before the bridge had been rebuilt and traffic allowed over it.
The driver of the Ramsgate train was charged with manslaughter, but acquitted after two trials. 

You can see a newsreel of the accident on YouTube 


and find out more on Wikipedia

Friday 26 October 2012

London Remembers Website Transcribes War Memorials For Remembrance Day



"One of our favourite historical websites has embarked on a mission to record and transcribe the capital’s war memorials. London Remembers is publishing a war memorial every day until the Friday before Remembrance Day, when the entire list of 36,000 war dead from the Tower Hill monuments will be added.  The site already includes 2,787 memorials around town — from blue plaques to statue labels to bench memorials — commemorating over 11,000 subjects...."

Lewisham's war memorials are recorded on our wiki - Lewisham war memorials - which has details of every war memorial we know about in the borough. if you know of one we haven't listed - please let us know at local.studies@lewisham.gov.uk

London Remembers Website Transcribes War Memorials For Remembrance Day
Posted from The Londonist



Thursday 25 October 2012

Mural of the Month! The Pink Palace

Interesting illustrated piece about the 'Pink Palace' mural in Deptford by the London Mural Preservation Society

"Autumns’s here…shorts away and warm coats on. Now is the moment when you can swish through large piles of multi-coloured leaves and make excuses for drinking lots of  hot chocolate in comfortable cafes.  It’s also a great time to go for a walk or a wander and take in some sights. A mural perhaps?   Yes, I’m encouraging the visiting again while the weather is still fair enough for you to want to leave the house. This time we are off to sunny Deptford to see the Pink Palace Mural. It’s a funny piece  - a fake facade on a 1930s housing estate for the Tenants’ association building!

If you take a step closer and have a look at the detail, the piece is littered with cupids or ‘putti’ – so it references a classical type of trompe l’oeil....."

Tuesday 23 October 2012

On this Day - Croydon Canal cut through Forest Hill 1809

The Croydon Canal was opened on 22nd October 1809. It ran through the borough from a junction with the Grand Surrey Canal near New Cross Gate to a basin in Croydon - now the site of West Croydon station.  It had 28 locks grouped into two flights, and numerous swing bridges. A financial failure it was closed on 22nd August 1836 and became the route for the new railway.

The picture on the right shows the canal bridge and tow path at Sydenham. You can see more images form Lewisham Archives at https://picasaweb.google.com/lewishamheritage/

Friday 19 October 2012

Commander Archibald Buckle's grave in Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries restored

"The grave of World War 1 hero Commander Buckle in Brockley Cemetery has been refurbished by members of the British Army Association.  Sir Winston Churchill has referred to Buckle as one of the “salamanders born in the furnace,” who survived “to lead, to command, and to preserve the sacred continuity”.  His history has been featured on blog here and the grave has been a regular "point of interest" on the FOBLC guided walks...."

Posted from Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

Monday 15 October 2012

Deptford - Australia

Review from Caroline's Miscellany of the Black History Month walking tour led by S.I Martin,  that took place in Deptford.

"October is Black History Month, and among Lewisham Libraries' programme of events was a walking tour of Deptford with historian and novelist S I Martin. He took us through the area's Black history from the the sixteenth century to the present; among the figures he introduced were two extraordinary men who - involuntarily - left Deptford for Australia where they became notable among its early convict settlers...."


Friday 12 October 2012

Explore 1930s Britain with new online resource

"You can now find out more about what life was like in 1930s Britain by exploring a fascinating new resource on our Education website. Thirties Britain: The depressed decade? is a collection of 45 pivotal documents relating to the decade, with an introduction by historian, broadcaster and author, Juliet Gardiner..."

Explore 1930s Britain with new online resource
Posted from The National Archives

HLF announces extra £6million lottery money to help mark First World War centenary

"Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is announcing an additional £6 million to enable young people working in their communities to explore, conserve and share local heritage of the First World War."

HLF announces extra £6million lottery money to help mark First World War centenary
Posted from Heritage Lottery Fund

Thursday 11 October 2012

On this day - Emily Davison born in Blackheath

On 11th October 1872 Emily Wilding Davison was born in Blackheath. She studied at Royal Holloway College and at Oxford University, and in 1906, she joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst. Three years later she began to work full-time for the suffragette movement. As a committed suffragette she took part in civil disobedience and was frequently arrested for acts ranging from causing a public disturbance to burning post boxes. On 4 June 1913, she stepped in front of King George V's horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.

There are many sources for information on her life and death including wikipedia and Spartacus schoolnet while the actual Derby event can be seen on YouTube


Tuesday 9 October 2012

The National Archives launch ‘live chat’ service


"Do you have a question related to the records at the National Archives? Are you stuck with your research and need quick and easy advice on the next steps to finding the information you need? Are you just starting out and need help on how to begin using The National Archives records?"

For these answers and more you can now chat online to their research advisers between 13:00 and 15:00 Tuesday to Friday. Live chat is an instant messaging service where each ‘chat’ is one to one with a research adviser. Please note that they cannot carry out any research for you during the session, but can offer advice and guidance.

Click on the ‘live chat’ button on their 'contact us' page during this time to begin your session. For more information and you use the service visit the National Archives website.

Monday 1 October 2012

Dedication of Gunner Howard memorial

"The dedication to Gunner Howard was attended by Lewisham Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, as well as the organiser Cpl. Tim Needham and Prince Shange, the direct descendent  of the leader of the Zulu forces at Rorke's Drift."

Dedication of Gunner Howard memorial

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Forest Hill Pools re-open

Forest Hill Pools re-opened on 22nd September after major rebuilding work. The original Victorian frontage has been retained, but the new pools, gym, studios and cafe are totally new. The Pools have had a long history in their community, having originally opened in 1885, and we have created a blog to help us record and curate some of the memories associated with them.

You can find it at Forest Hill Pools

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Borders in the Literary and Visual Arts of David Jones

"The modernist poet  David Jones, whose work was greatly admired by T.S. Eliot and W.S. Auden, and who lies buried in the Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries is to be featured in a seminar by The David Jones Society in the Dissenter's Chapel on Saturday 22nd September...." 


Borders in the Literary and Visual Arts of David Jones
Posted from Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

Monday 17 September 2012

The National Archives and the V&A launch resource on Victorian Britain

"A unique e-learning resource The Victorians, which combines documents from The National Archives with objects from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) to teach primary school pupils about the Victorian era, has been launched today."

The National Archives and the V launch resource on Victorian Britain
Posted  from The National Archives

Ladywell Tower Trust AGM Weds 19 September - please come along!

"The Annual General Meeting for the Ladywell Tower Development Trust will take place this Weds 19 Sept at Lewisham Methodist Church, Albion Way, SE13 6BT starting at 5.30pm. The Trust has been established to oversee the renovation and re-use of the ‘Playtower’, the Grade II Listed Victorian former swimming baths situated on Ladywell Road.  The meeting will include a presentation from the architects working on the project (RCKa), an update on the work of the Trust from its Chair, James Jennings and also elections to positions on the Trust."

Ladywell Tower Trust AGM Weds 19 September - please come along!
Posted from Ladywell Village Improvement Group

Thursday 13 September 2012

2 new listed buildings in Lewisham

English Heritage has today released its London List 2011, a compilation of all the sites awarded listed status in the capital last year. This includes 2 buildings in Lewisham -


Kirkdale Centre, Kirkdale, Sydenham, Lewisham

1859-61 by Henry Dawson, possibly with Sir Joseph Paxton; extended 1904 by William Flockhart
Listed Grade II

"The Kirkdale Centre has its origins in the Sydenham Public Lecture Hall, established in the late 1850s by a committee of local philanthropists including Sir Joseph Paxton, engineer-architect of the nearby Crystal Palace. The original design for the hall, resembling a north-Italian palazzo with twin cupolas and extravagantly banded brickwork, was reputedly supplied by Paxton himself, although the more modest version actually completed in 1861 was by the young architect Henry Dawson. The Sydenham Working Men’s Association ran the programme of evening lectures and also maintained a library and reading room; during the daytime the building was used by the Sydenham British School. The latter was taken over by the London School Board in 1875, and in 1904 the building – now wholly in school use – was enlarged and remodelled by the architect William Flockhart. Tall extensions were built on either side of the original hall, as well as an idiosyncratic new entrance porch resembling a compressed bell-tower, and the vibrant polychromy of the 1861 brickwork was toned down with a coat of grey roughcast. The result is an intriguing blend of the High Victorian and the Arts and Crafts, the combined product of mid-C19 philanthropy and early-C20 state education."


Former Prudential Building, 187-197 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham

1908 by Paul Waterhouse

Listed Grade II
 
"Alfred Waterhouse’s sequence of buildings for the Prudential Assurance Company was continued after his death by his son Paul, to whose designs the Lewisham branch was built in 1908. Here, the Pru’s signature palette of pink granite and flame-red brick and terracotta – prominently displayed at Waterhouse senior’s headquarters building on Holborn – has been carefully kept up, but the style has shifted in accordance with contemporary taste from High Victorian Gothic to Edwardian Baroque. The building makes dramatic use of its corner site: the entrance porch, boldly rusticated like the rest of the lower storey, grows upward into a balustraded niche adorned with swags of fruit and flowers, which contains a three-quarter size figure of Prudence; in the attic above, the building’s name is displayed in gilded lettering between the huge broken pediments that crown the flanking wings. The interiors have been altered, but retain some original fittings including panelled doors, armorial panels in terracotta, and the principal staircase with its decorative iron balustrade."

You can find out more at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/londons-historic-treasures/ and see the full list at

Deptford Notebook

Interesting article by Philip Dodd about a research visit to Deptford


"It’s September and, although the nights are drawing in, the mornings are still bright. I’m walking down the road at 6.15am, a time of the day I seldom see. The sun isn’t up over the North Downs yet but there’s enough light leaking into the thin cloud to illuminate the familiar shape of the valley. I’m heading to Otford train station, and from there onto Deptford in south-east London. It’s what I suppose you could call a writing research trip. But it feels much more like a pilgrimage. My fictional character Danny is based loosely on the lives of Irishmen who came to live at Carrington House, a large lodging house in Deptford, from the 1960s through to the end of the 1980s. Deptford has to be as much a character as Danny is, so it feels important that I go walk in his shoes. In particular, it felt important that I get a feel of the place early in the morning, as it wakes up....."

Sculpture outside the Deptford Project. Photo by Philip Dodd.

Deptford Notebook writes...


"Anyone who has stories to tell about Carrington or who may have useful contacts for Philip, you can contact him by emailing domesticatedbohemian@gmail.com. This is an edited version of an article which is available in full on Philip’s blog."

Deptford Notebook
Posted from Deptford High Street

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Rebuild The Lenox At Convoys Wharf, Deptford

Interesting article in The Londonist on the Build the Lennox project



"Enthusiasts in Deptford are keen to rebuild the Lenox, the first warship constructed in a grand shipbuilding project of Charles II. The replica ship would form the centrepiece of the new Convoys Wharf residential scheme and restore maritime pride to this forgotten centre of industry....

If you’d like to learn more about the project, and perhaps lend your support, visit the Build the Lenox website."

Also covered by Transpontine


Rebuild The Lenox At Convoys Wharf, Deptford
Posted from The Londonist


Friday 7 September 2012

Dedication of memorial to Rorke's Drift veteran, Gunner Arthur Howard

"On Sunday 16th September, there will be a dedication of memorial to Gunner Arthur Howard at Brockley Cemetery.  The event will take place from approximately 11:30am to 12:15pm. The initiative to fund the headstone was that of Corporal Bugler Tim Needham, Royal Marines, who started a campaign to have the defenders of Rorke's Drift memorialised....."  


Dedication of memorial to Rorke's Drift veteran, Gunner Arthur Howard
Posted from Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

Monday 3 September 2012

Sinking of the Princess Alice

On Monday 3rd September 1878 the passenger steamer Princess Alice collided with cargo ship Bywell Castle on the Thames near Woolwich Pier. All of the 700 passengers of the Princess Alice were thrown into the heavily polluted river or trapped below the decks of the sinking vessel. Fewer than 100 passengers survive. Among the dead was 16 year old cabin Boy Henry Robert Hughes from Deptford. His body was recovered and interred in Brockley Cemetary. Also saved was the Rev J.C. Gill of Lewisham, while the dead and missing included 4 members of the Crawford family from New Cross.

Thames Police Museum
Wikipedia article
London Metropolitan Archives image

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Open House Prebooked Tickets Go On Sale Thursday


the Londonist writes..
"Open House London is almost upon us again. The annual architectural extravaganza, which sees normally off-limits buildings all over London open to the public, runs 22 and 23 September. As usual, most places will let you waltz right in (or join a queue), but a few require booking in advance. Tickets for this year’s pre-bookers are up for grabs from tomorrow (Thur 16 August) at 10am......"

Image: the Heron Tower, by M@.

Open House Prebooked Tickets Go On Sale Thursday
Posted from The Londonist

Tuesday 14 August 2012

From Docks to desktops. The history of Work


Deptford High Street writes.. 
"From Docks to Desktops is London Bubble’s latest oral history project that will involve local people, including children and elders in exploring the history of Work in Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and Deptford. It will look at how the area has changed since the closure of the Surrey Commercial Docks and related industries. London Bubble itself works out of a former sacking warehouse near the river, and the building retains some of its original features, including a small crane and loading doors. The project will also look more widely at how changes in employment have affected community life, friendships and health
London Bubble are asking for volunteers to help them develop the project. The aim is to collect personal testimonies from older people and members of south-east London’s diverse international communities, talking about their working life and their reflections on how south London has changed in that time. These oral histories will then be developed into a play performed by an inter-generational community cast in the summer of 2013 to audiences in the area...."

For more information about From Docks to Desktops, please contact Claire Sexton – email claire@londonbubble.org.uk
or call 020 7237 4434.


From Docks to desktops. The history of Work
Posted from Deptford High Street

Thursday 2 August 2012

Where it all started for silver screen star

"AN Oscar-nominated star of the stage and silver screen has been honoured with a plaque on the Hither Green house where she was born..."

Where it all started for silver screen star
Posted from Mercury News

Thursday 26 July 2012

Olympics diary: tweeting Games Time history

"The Museum of London is using Twitter to gather Londoners' experiences of the Olympics. Londoners who use Twitter and would like their everyday experiences of Olympics "games time" in the capital captured for posterity should get acquainted with the hash tag #citizencurators. The Museum of London and the University of Westminster are working together on a project of that name, which will collect the tweets of not only a core team of twelve contributors but also anyone else who uses the tag...."

Thursday 19 July 2012

New exhibition on Eric Liddell: Olympic athlete and missionary

"Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner who was the subject of 1981 film Chariots of Fire, is being celebrated in a new exhibition at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London."

Liddell attended Blackheath School for Sons of Missionaries, first at its location in Blackheath and then when it moved to Eltham. http://lewishamlegacy.wikidot.com/eric-liddell

New exhibition on Eric Liddell: Olympic athlete and missionary:
Posted from The National Archive

First World War airmen records now searchable by name

"The service records of the first 320,000 airmen to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and its forebears are now searchable by name following the conclusion of a successful cataloguing project."

First World War airmen records now searchable by name
Posted from The National Archive

Friday 29 June 2012

Surrey Canal: London’s Sporting Village - development exhibition


"Surrey Canal: London’s Sporting Village – one of the largest regeneration schemes within the borough – will be the subject of a month-long public exhibition at The Building Centre in central London. The scheme, which was granted planning permission this year, includes London's largest indoor sports centre for community use as well as an improved setting for Millwall football stadium, up to 2400 new homes, improved walking routes and open spaces, and other public facilities including a purpose-built faith centre.
The Surrey Canal: London’s Sporting Village exhibition lasts from Friday 29 June to Saturday 28 July. Visitors will also be able to find out about other regeneration projects across Lewisham."

Posted from Lewisham Council

Thursday 28 June 2012

English Heritage Plaques Register


The Blue Plaques Team at English Heritage has produced a register of plaque schemes across England with the aim of raising awareness of their rich variety and to promote dialogue between all those engaged in plaque projects, large and small.


Lewisham Council's Maroon Plaque scheme is among those listed


"The register is primarily designed for those seeking to contact the relevant local organisation in order to get their own plaque up or to find out more about a particular scheme. For those wanting to look at individual or one-off plaques, there are many inspiring websites, e.g. Plaques of London, London Remembers and Open Plaques. The English Heritage register lists the individuals and organisations responsible for bringing the schemes to fruition and for looking after the resulting plaques once installed."


http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/register/



Wednesday 27 June 2012

Convoys Wharf public exhibition: 14 & 16 July

Public exhibition of the "emerging masterplan of proposals to regenerate Convoys Wharf".
Deptford Lounge

Convoys Wharf public exhibition: 14 & 16 July
Posted from Deptford is

Tuesday 26 June 2012

£7.5m secures England’s most important places of worship at risk

"Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced more than £7.5million of Lottery funding to enable urgent repairs to 77 of England’s historic Grade II listed churches, chapels and synagogues."

Includes St Swithun’s Church, Lewisham, London - Grant:  £192,000 


£7.5m secures England’s most important places of worship at risk
Posted from Heritage Lottery Fund

Friday 22 June 2012

Hide and Seek (1972)

"This 1972 Children's Film Foundation production was shot on location in Deptford, at the time of mass demolitions. For example, Giffin Street is the Midland Bank and little else..."

You can watch the film on the Deptford Misc blog
Hide and Seek (1972)
Posted from Deptford Misc

Wednesday 20 June 2012

City of London sale of Foreign Cattle Market, 1926

Interesting piece from Deptford Miscellany on the sale of the Foreign Cattle Market in 1926. This was part of what is now Convoy's Wharf.

"The article below gives a potted history of the City of London's acquisition, ownership, closure and eventual sale of the Foreign Cattle Market at Deptford. It first appeared in The Times on Saturday 13th March 1926. Before becoming the Foreign Cattle Market the site written about was the Royal Dockyard opened by Henry VIII in 1513 and closed in 1869. The discussions of the Court of Common..."

City of London sale of Foreign Cattle Market, 1926
Posted from Deptford Miscellany

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Lewisham Train Disaster

 Lewisham Train Disaster

"In memory of those who lost their lives. Lewisham train disaster, 4th December 1957. This plaque has been made possible by the help and co-operation of News Shopper, Connex, Network Rail and Francis Chappell & Sons."



Lewisham Train Disaster
Posted from London Remembers

Brian Hibbard (1946-2012) tributes by local bloggers

Transpontine and Crosswhatfields? both carry posts remembering Brian Hibbard of the Flying Pickets who had strong Deptford connections


Transpontine Brian Hibbard (1946-2012)
Crosswhatfields? RIP Brian Hibbard

Thursday 14 June 2012

Margaret and Rachel McMillan

 Margaret and Rachel McMillan

"Margaret McMillan C.H, C.B.E, 1860 - 1931, & Rachel McMillan, 1859 - 1917, social reformers and educationalists, lived here, 1910 - 1913.
London Borough of Lewisham."

Margaret and Rachel McMillan
Posted from London Remembers "which aims to document all the memorials in London. That's the plaques, monuments, statues, fountains, etc, that commemorate a person, an event, a building, etc... "

Wednesday 13 June 2012

History Corner: Syndicalism in Catford 1912-13


Research by Transpontine
"The period before the First World War is sometimes referred to as the 'Great Unrest' as the status quo of Edwardian Britain came under attack from suffragettes, Irish nationalists, and striking workers - in 1912 for instance there were major strikes in London on the docks and amongst tailors in the East End and West End..."

History Corner: Syndicalism in Catford 1912-13
Posted from Transpontine

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Down on District 45: Deptford

This post is extracted from Out of the Box the blog for news and comments from the LSE Archives. It explores the use of the Charles Booth collection information and maps to examine the development of London town centres by a new BBC series. The first programme covered Deptford High Street.


Down on District 45: Deptford
June 8th, 2012 by Andy Jack, LSE Digital Library


"BBC Two series explores social history of London using the Booth maps as a starting point
On Wednesday I watched the first part of the new BBC Two series The Secret History of Our Streets. The episode is currently available on the BBC iPlayer if you would like to watch it for yourself. The first in the six part series focused on the human story of Deptford High Street. We are told that over the course of the last 125 years the area has lost both its wealth and the tight, familial community that gave life to it. The story is one of demolitions, compulsory purchase orders, modernist concrete monoliths and a community ravaged by post-war social experimentation. It isn’t the most uplifting viewing, but the insight into an area only a handful of miles from the affluence of London’s banking district is quite fascinating.

Sheet 12 of 12There will be five more programmes in the series all focusing on a particular street.  Coming up next will be Camberwell Grove.

Map Descriptive of London Poverty, 1898-9 Sheet 12 of 12

Booth at the LSE
At LSE  we hold a considerable collection of material relating to the Booth study and we also host the Charles Booth Online Archive where it is possible to view a digital version of the map and compare it with a more recent street map. It is also possible to view some of the digitised police notebooks and see for yourself what the researchers recorded on their guided tours of the community.

PhoneBooth on Mobile Devices
We are also currently undertaking an innovative project with Edina, part funded by JISC, to mobilise the Booth maps and digitised notebooks for delivery to mobile devices such as iPads and iPhones. The PhoneBoothproject will enable people to retrieve nearby notebook entries for reading in the actual location to which the historic observations occurred. If your street existed 100 years ago and is on Booth’s maps then you will be able to find out whether the area was a den of iniquity or, perhaps part of a well-heeled suburb. You will also be able to read the police commentary on the inhabitants and understand in what ways, if any, your part of London has changed since the epic Booth study."

Please follow the link for the complete article Down on District 45: Deptford
Find out more at Out of the Box the blog for news and comments from the LSE Archives

Whoopi in Deptford

"In May 1984 Whoopi Goldberg was on the verge of international fame, though she didn't yet know it. In October '84 her one woman stand up show started on Broadway, where she was seen by Stephen Spielberg and asked to star in his film The Color Purple, released the following year. But in May she was trying out her material in London, in no less a venue that the Albany Empire in Deptford...."

The Future of Louise House

"The first stakeholder consultation meeting to find out about plans to invite proposals for the future of Louise House in Forest Hill is taking place on Wednesday 13 June 17.00-19.00 at Forest Hill Methodist Church, Normanton Street, London SE23 2DS...."

Please RSVP to louisehouse@lewisham.gov.uk if you would like to attend.

The Future of Louise House
Posted from Forest Hill Society