February 1993
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BROMLEY BOROUGH LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY President: The Worshipful the Mayor of Bromley FEBRUARY 1993 This is the first newsletter for 1993 and I am going to alter things a little which I hope will meet with your approval. I have been rather worried about the interval between the issues of Bromieage - six monthly - and have decided to issue it instead with every newsletter. Because of the long gaps in Bromieage we have the situation where the article 'The Chislehurst Connection' was started in November 1991 and it is only 15 months later that we can show the sources used in the preparation of this article and I feel that it is just not good enough. I have aiso considered the possibility of producing the newsletter and Bromieage as A 5 size but with the equipment I have I can only do this by printing on A 4 and then having the whole page reduced in size. This would of course mean the print would come out very small and, in view of our many elderly members, this does not appear to be acceptable. I am aiso hopefully going to produce the newsletter bi-monthly instead of quarterly which should be better for the many members who are unable to attend most of our meetings. I am well aware that this will mean a heavier postage bill but if we aim to issue at the end of a month then we should be able to hand out many of the letters at our meeting on the first Tuesday of the following month and this will cut our costs considerably, so please make sure you take your copy at the meeting to save our postage. SUBSCRIPTIONS & MEMBERSHIP Our membership is growing steadily and we welcome the following new members who have recently joined us:- Miss P . Evans Shortlands Mr & Mrs D.Ford Shortlands Mr L. Johnson Penge Mr & Mrs P.Latham Beckenham Mr & Mrs G.Lee Beckenham Mrs S. Morris Beckenham Mr & Mrs P.Sheldon Beckenham Mrs H. Sibe lias Bromley Miss S. Vheller Beckenham While we are on the subject of membership I would like to remind you that subscriptions were due at the beginning of January. If you haven't yet paid them please do so as soon as possible. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING You will find enclosed with your newsletter all the bits and pieces for the A.G.M. on April 6th. Please attend this if at all possible - there will be an interesting talk by Mike Scott, the Bromley Local History Librarian, as soon as the main business of the meeting is finished. HELP - We need a new Secretary to replace Jack Sanders who feels the time has come for him to retire from the post. We can assure you that you will get 100% extra enjoyment out of the Society if' you opt to Page take on the role, plus of course a little extra work!! If you feel like volunteering please give our Chairman a ring on 081 650 8342. ALEX FREEMAN COMPETITION Entries for the Alex Freeman Competition are coming in steadily. If you haven’t finished yours yet you will have to get down to it as the last day for entries to be received is April 11th. M. B. E. AWARD It gives us great pleasure to congratulate our West Wickham member, Mrs Joyce Walker on being awarded the M.B.E. in the New Year's Honours. Joyce, who has lived in West Wickham since 1959, is the author of several books on local history. VISITS Insignia Talk and Visit to Old Palace - Friday 19th March - 11.00 a.m. There are a few places left for our outing in March. Please phone Elaine on 0689 854408 if you wish to attend. Parking is available in the Civic Centre Car Park in Stockwell Close. We will meet at the Main Enquiry Desk at the Civic Centre where we will be escorted to the Old Palace by the Mace bearer. Bethlem Royal Hospital Museum and Archives - Friday 7th May - 2.00 p.m. Miss Allderidge archivist of the hospital, who gave a most interesting talk to the Society in January, has kindly arranged for a small party to look around the museum and archives. Space is very restricted and there will only be room for 20 people to attend. This should prove a very interesting visit. The collection includes paintings by Richard Dadd. Louis Wain (cats) and Nijinsky, all former patients of the hospital. Miss Allderidge will also display archives relating to our area that will interest us. If it is a fine day it is hoped that we will be allowed to look around the extensive grounds, staff permitting. You may park inside the grounds, turning right at the main entrance and parking in the courtyard directly in front of the museum - it is signposted. The 119 and 194 buses pass the end of the road, alight at Monks Orchard on the Wickham Road. Please phone Elaine - 0689 854408 - to book your place. No charge but there will be an alms box in the museum if you wish to contribute. Crofton Roman Villa at Orpington - Sunday 13th June - 3■00 p.m. We will have a conducted tour of the site including a brief history and graphical display of the area. This is a follow up to the informative talk that Mrs Philp gave at our November meeting. There is no restriction on numbers so please just turn up! Charge 60p; 30p for children and OAPs. There is parking in the Civic Hall car park, alternatively the Orpington station car park is free on Sundays. HAYES VILLAGE ASSOCIATION Hayes Village Association have arranged many events to celebrate their Diamond Jubilee Lhis year. Please try to support as many of them as you can. We list a few of the festivities below and will give more dates in our next bulletin. Page 2 Festival Launch - Saturday April 3rd - in the Village Hall Children's Concert - St. Mary's Church - Sunday 25th April Crystal Palace Brass Band Concert - Hayes School - 15th May Flower Festival - St. Mary’s Church - 10th - 13th June Carnival Procession - Hayes Common - Sunday 20th June Cricket Match - Hayes Cricket Club - Wednesday 23rd June Open Air Service Churches of Hayes - Sunday 27th June Hayes Village Association need about 3 miles of bunting to decorate the village for the Carnival and anyone who could help would be very welcome. Have you any spare material and/or ready-made bunting? Could you cut out the required shapes or could you machine some of the material to the tapes? Phone Shirley on 462 7604 if you wish to offer your services. LEWISHAM LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY Friday 26th March: The Periwinkle Watermill Museum Project by Martin Safferv - 7.45 p.m. - Methodist Church, Albion Way, Lewisham, S.E. 13 Thursday 29th April: Do you reaily want a Museum by Zoev Brooks - 7.45 p.m. - St. Laurence Church, Catford Thursday 27th May: The Story of Deptford Power Station by Roy Bourne - 7.45 p.m. - St. Laurence Church, Catford Bromley members will be welcome at the meetings of our sister society in Lewisham. The 26th March meeting focuses on the story and achievements of the Periwinkle Museum near Sittingbourne. while the April meeting will be addressed by the Director of the Vauxhall St. Peters Heritage Centre. The two meeting places both have their own car parks. BROMLEY ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP On Friday April 23rd our member Bill Morton will be giving a slide show at Chislehurst Library at 2.00 p.m. It will cover the Chislehurst and Sidcup areas and Bill says everyone is welcome. Bill would welcome information on a solicitor in the 19th century named Beniamin Greene Lake who served 12 years penal servitude for fraud. Bill can be reached on 0689 855409 BECKENHAM CIVIC SOCIETY Thursday 1st April - 'The Bromley District Hospital? and other topics.’ The Chief Executive of the Bromley Health Authority, Mr Mark Rees, will describe just what is going on in Bromley as regards our hospitals and the latest about the District Hospital proposal at Elmfield. Bromley Common. Beckenham Civic Society meets in the Small Hall in the Public Hall, Bromley Road, Beckenham and their meetings start prompiv at 8.00 p.m. THE HISTORIAL ASSOCIATION - Bromiev & Beckenham Branch Thursday 22nd April - Mrs A. Matthews will show slides of TUTANKHAMUN Page 3 Thursday 6th May - Mr J. Beech will show a video of THE BECK BROOK All meetings are held in the Day Centre at the corner of Beckenham Road and Hayne Road. Beckenham at 8.00 p.m. For further information please phone Mrs Wagstaff on 081 777 7742. BECKENHAM AND PENGE GROUP The next meeting of the Beckenham and Penge Group will be on Wednesday March 10th when Mr K. Miller will show a public relations film made in the late 1930's for Beckenham Council. It will last about 45 minutes. We are fortunate that our worries over using the Urban Studies Centre in Kent House Road have faded at least for the time being. The centre which was due to be closed on March 31st has been taken over by Rovston School and the headmaster, Mr Brian Marsden has kindly given permission for us to continue to use the centre for our meetings. REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS It is hoped that we will be able to get a panel of regular contributors for our future newsletters. We want to cover the whole Borough so need people in Orpington, Chislehurst, Hayes, Kcston, West Wickham, Beckenham and Penge etc. We want to know what events will be taking place as well as short articles on the area.