SECTION 11. ’S LOCAL HISTORY & HERITAGE

Introduction

11.1 In the Local Plan 2018 the Council recognises that Norbury has important aspects of heritage the parks, open spaces and built environment. Landowners in the area had wide, regional, national and international links, including the Carews (Norbury Hall estate until 1856).

Sports Grounds

11.2. The area was important for sports grounds. The Race Course from 1867 to 1879 occupied a very large area between the middle section of today’s Northborough Rd down to Rowan Rd through the sites of the present day Norbury Manor Primary School and part of the former National Sports Ground now owned by Ruach Church.

11.3 There were also the Norbury Golf Club in Stanford Rd, the North Surrey Golf Club in Hermitage Park (1894-1934) which is on the site of today’s Norbury Park, and the Pollards Hill Golf Club (1911-1938). The Norbury Park Lawn Tennis Club has being running since 1889, and the Norbury Bowls Club since 1900. Norbury also had a Cricket Club from 1889 and a Football Club from the 1880s.

Important residents

11.4 Important residents before late Victorian times included: William Coles who built Norbury Hall in 1802), a farmer involved in the slavery business; Tom King, the bare-knuckle boxer; and Jennie Hill, the music hall performer (1890s).

11.5 The housing mainly built from the late Victorian period were the homes over the decades for people going about their working lives and raising families. Among them were several famous people especially in cultural activities. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the black composer lived at Hill Crest, London Rd (1907-1910). In the 1930s they were Kingsley Amis, the novelist; John Creasey, the writer; Will Hay the comic actor (1927-1934); and Ralph Reader of the Gang Shows (1937- 39). Darren Harris, the singer, lived in Norbury between 1940-50. Deryck Guyler, the actor, was a long term resident until 1983. The singer Willy Harris was in Norbury in the early 1990s. Born in the area were Correlli Barnet, the military historian (1927) and the actress Janet Stephanie Francis (b. 1947) grew up in Norbury. Ernest H. Shephard, the illustrator, whose work included Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear, married Florence Eleanor Chaplin of 2 St Helen’s Crescent. The only one who has a plaque is Will Hay at 45 The Chase.

11.6 Local resident David Clark promotes Norbury history though his book The History of Norbury (Streatham Society 2013; reprinted 2018), talks mainly at the Library, and leading walks including in the former Croydon Heritage Festival. He also arranged for photos and posters about Norbury history at the Railway Station. David also arranges occasional displays at the Library, and at public events for Love Norbury and Friends of Norbury Park. He is currently working on a new publication.

11.7 John Brown of Streatham Society also gives talks on Norbury history. He has also written about Norbury Farm House which by the mid-19thC comprised c 200 acres, the farmer cultivating a total of 650 acres in the northern part of Croydon, employing 21 men and women, many from Ireland. His blacksmith William Dowsett looked after 22 horses. The farm house was demolished in 1914. Some of the old buildings were then painted by the Croydon Evacutees Phipson in 1920, the resultant water colour being in the Croydon Art Collection. The Manor Farm Nature Reserve is the surviving reminder of the farm. 11 - 1

11.8 Research by the author of this discussion paper has helped publicise Man Mohan Singh, the Indian air ace who lodged on London Rd when in Britain; Alex Elden, Jamaican RAF member in Second Word War and passenger of the SS Empire Windrush in 1948, and Darcus Howe, black rights activist and broadcaster, both of whom died in 2017; Kathy Stobart, the jazz saxophonist, and William Coles. He has included some of this information in the two Norbury History newsletters he has published, along with WHAT HAPPENED IN NORBURY? An Introductory Chronology. While he has not yet been able to find their Norbury address he has included information about the Smith family’s suffrage activities in his pamphlet Suffrage Campaigners and Campaigns in Croydon (2018).

Special Areas in Norbury

11.9 Over the years the Council has created the Norbury Estate and Norbury Grove Conservation Areas. In the Local Plan 2018 it converted the previously designated Local Areas of Special Characteristics (LASCs) Beatrice Ave, St Helen’s and Pollards Hill South, into the Beatrice Ave, London Rd (Norbury) and Pollards Hill South Local Heritage Areas. However, the Council did not included the supporting LACS documents as Local Heritage Area documents in the Local Plan 2018.

Historic Parks and Gardens

11.10 is a nationally registered park, and Norbury Hall and Pollards Hill are registered locally, and are being considered for inclusion in the proposed Local Green spaces designated list, along with Pollards Hill Recreation ground, which the Council is consulting on into July.

Listed Buildings

11.11 There is only one building listed on the national register: Barclays Bank (1434 London Rd). Heritage has refused to list Norbury Library.

11.12 Buildings of interest on the Council’s local list are: St Philip's Church Beech Road; Norbury Police Station; 1208, 1210, 1393, 1414, 1414-1432 and 1433 London Road; Five Oaks, 69 and 71 Ryecroft Road; The Cottage Ryecroft Road; Yew Cottage, 6 Arnulls Road; and Norbury Baptist Church.

Other special areas

11.13 Norwood Grove and part of Pollards Hill are Archaeological Priority Areas. Biggin Wood, Norbury Hall, Norbury Park and Norbury Brook, Norwood Grove and Nettlefold Field, and Pollards Hill are sites of nature Conservation importance

11.14 In terms of sites providing long distance views (panoramas), the Council has designated those from Norwood Grove and Pollards Hill across to Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Potential for Promoting Norbury’s Heritage & History

11.15 Ideas for promoting Norbury’s heritage and history include:

(1) Plaques to some of the people listed above subject to agreement by the owners of the houses they lived in.

(2) Boards about aspects of Norbury and Pollards Hill history at selected locations; the alleyway leading to and from the Railway Station at closed entrance, the Station, the Glanville Rd car park, Norbury Park and Norbury Hall Park entrances; the new 11 - 2

development at Norbury Trading Estate; St Helen’s Crescent and other opens spaces. London Rd entrance to Pollards Hill South.

(3) Historic walk signage.

(4) Reflecting the carpentry and glider production in the former premises replaced by the Norbury Trading Estate, an idea the Estate developer is seeking to incorporate in the redevelopment scheme.

Norbury Regeneration Steering Group

11.16 The Council initiated Steering Group has identified the need to improve the public sense of Norbury’s identity with improved signage and implement ideas outlined in para 11.15, and further advice would be developed by the local historians David Clark and Sean Creighton.

Norbury History Group and The Norbury Chronicle

11.17 On 6 July 2019 the two local historians held a meeting at Norbury Library to launch an informal Norbury History Group and David Clark’s new publication initiative The Norbury Chronicle, which will be published every three months. Both initiatives were welcomed by those attending, and many residents have signed up to the History elist that is being created. A number of ideas about other interesting former residents and plaques were discussed. In addition a resident reported that he and another resident are researching bomb damage in Norbury in the two World Wars. It was suggested that this would enable work to be undertaken on Norbury during the Wars.

11.18 The Group will:

(a) encourage interest and spread knowledge about Norbury history

(b) make suggestions for projects and activities by or with the Love Norbury partnership and through the Norbury Regeneration Steering Group, such as signage, free standing history information boards and information on bus shelters, plaques, public art etc.

(c) support the publication of David Clark’s The Norbury Chronicle and any other Norbury history newsletters/pamphlets.

(d) offer talks and walks to Norbury organisations

(e) offer talks at Norbury Library

Up-dated 7 July 2019

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Appendix

Beatrice Ave LHA London Rd Norbury LHA

Pollards Hill South LHA

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