NEWSLETTER

New Year issue 2006 No.180, Quarterly, distributed free to members

Registered with the Civic Trust and the Forum of Amenity Societies; Registered Charity No.1058103

Website: www.brixtonsociety.org.uk

How to contact us… Winter Wonderland Walk Sunday 15 January Editorial & Event Notices: Meet at 2 pm in , by the Material for the next issue should be sent st Clocktower, for a Seasonal Nature Walk, by 1 March to the Secretary, Alan Piper, led by Susy Hogarth. at 82 Mayall Road, SE24 0PJ, or e-mail to Organised by Friends of Brockwell Park [email protected] or phone or fax to (020) 7207 0347. More news of park improvements inside.

Publications & Membership: Publications orders, membership renewals Our Winter Social - and updates to the mailing list should all Thursday 26 January be sent to Diana Linskey, Membership From 7 pm at the Vida Walsh Centre, Secretary, at 32 Green, SW9 9HZ, or e-mail to [email protected] 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 (Effra Road end, facing Windrush Square). Planning issues: If you are concerned about a local Admission free to members, but to planning application, contact David help our planning, please confirm as Warner at [email protected] or soon as possible if you are coming, to (020) 7924 0618, or write to him at 290 Bill Linskey on (020) 7274 3835 or by Coldharbour Lane, SW9 e-mail to: [email protected]

We welcome news and comment from all More 2006 meetings and events interested in the area, so opinions dates overleaf and on the back expressed in these pages are not page! necessarily those of the Brixton Society. .

The Black Cultural Archives have launched an appeal to top up funding for adapting Raleigh Hall on Effra Road. Above left is the existing building, seen across Windrush Square, while on the right is the architect’s sketch with a new wing at the corner. More details on p.4.

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Diary of Events, New Year 2006

Brixton Society Wednesday 11 Jan. onto the – Sherlock Homes Landmark website. meeting dates 8 pm at the Phoenix In addition to our special in : Centre, Westow Street, events and displays, the Talk by John Brown of SE19. Norwood Society Executive Committee the Streatham Society, (local history group). usually meets on the 7-45 pm at second Thursday of the URC Hall, c/o Redpost th month to plan activities Hill and Herne Hill, SE24. Monday 6 Feb. – and agree our responses Herne Hill Society. East meets West – to local developments. a family history: th All meetings 7-30 pm at Monday 16 Jan. – A talk by Nilu York on her the Vida Walsh Centre Life and times of family history researches, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 Charles Dickens: 8 pm, Woodlawns, (near corner of Effra An illustrated talk by Streatham Darby & Joan Road, facing Windrush Brian Bloice, 8 pm at Club, 16 Leigham Court Square): Contact the Woodlawns, Streatham Road, SW16. Secretary to confirm Darby & Joan Club, 16 Streatham Society (local details. Leigham Court Road, history group). • 12 January SW16. • 9 February Streatham Society. Saturday 11 Feb. – • 9 March Lambeth Orchestra: • 13 April Thursday 18 Jan. – Concert featuring Elgar’s Cello • 11 May Park: Concerto, Kamarinskaya by • 8 June (AGM) The Glinka and Brahms’ Second • 13 July Project is one of the Symphony. 7-30 pm at • 14 September largest regeneration St.Luke’s Church, West • 12 October schemes in London. Norwood, SE27. • 9 November. Angus Johnson, its acting The Lambeth Orchestra. Chief Executive, will talk Friends of Tate about the proposals. Sunday 12 Feb. – Library & Gardens 7-30 for 8 pm at Clapham Lambeth Industries Meetings are normally Manor Primary School, Alan Piper presents a slide held at 6 pm on the same Belmont Road, SW4. survey of Lambeth’s former dates as our committee Clapham Society. industries and occupations. meetings (listed above), 2-30 pm at the Vida Walsh again at the Vida Walsh Thursday 19 Jan. – Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 Centre. Renewable Energy Lambethans’ Society. in practice: Brixton Area Forum Presentation by Cllr. Thursday 16th Feb. –

Andrew Cooper of the Crystal Palace For meeting dates of the Kirklees Council on some Forum and its working recent renewable energy Dinosaurs: groups, contact the Town projects in Yorkshire. Talk by Michael Gilbert, Centre office on (020) 7-30 pm at the Vida 8 pm at the Phoenix Centre, 7926 1077. . Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Westow Street, SE19.

Road, SW2. Enquiries to: Norwood Society (local history Links with [email protected] group). Lambeth Green Party other groups Saturday 18 March – We suggest checking with organisers in case of Thursday 19 Jan. – The London Maze: changes since these Digital Photos from London’s local history day at details reached us. Some Lambeth Archives: The Guildhall, City of London: events may be charged Nilu York will talk about A host of bookstalls, displays for, and most groups her recent work in putting and talks covering all areas welcome donations in thousands of pictures and themes of London life. any case. from Lambeth Archives City of London Corporation.

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A glimpse of (public) house history using two sources from Lambeth Archives. On the left is the front elevation drawing from among the plans deposited in the Drainage files in 1937, for rebuilding “The Sun” at 33 & 33a Effra Parade, SW2. It proved to have a short life, as the picture on the right shows it after the south-west half of the street was devastated by a V1 flying bomb on 19th June 1944. The photo, originally from Lambeth Civil Defence, is No.168 on the Lambeth Landmark website: www.lambethlandmark.com Note that there are some discrepancies between the drawing and the photo! . 100 years ago… Recent Publications Some recent books are valuable guides for people researching their own homes or family background…

Home Secrets – Tracing your Lambeth house history was published in September to coincide with London Open House weekend and a series of talks on house history at Lambeth libraries. The authors are Jon Newman (of the Archives department) and Michael Copeman, Conservation Officer in the Planning department. The book illustrates examples of each period of building common within the borough, and guides potential users through the main property records now held by the Archives department. This book is available from Lambeth Archives or main libraries at £4.95.

Researching London’s Houses is relevant to houses anywhere in Greater London, and even for Lambeth examples its value is in describing a wider range of archive sources, in particular Extract from “The Illustrated nd those of the London Metropolitan Archives. As Carpenter & Builder” of 2 June 1905 the repository for a range of London bodies, public, voluntary and even commercial,

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the LMA’s records include estates built by the London County Council and GLC, old Middlesex property registers, and some fire insurance company records. The author, Colin Thom, works on the Survey of London, now administered by English Heritage. Cost is £13.95, copies from Phillimore & Co. or via bookshops, ISBN 1905286 00 7.

Wartime Bomb Damage Maps collated by the London County Council across the boroughs have recently been published as a single volume by the London Topographical Society. This large format Cabinet of Memories book costs c.£50, but can be readily To coincide with a series of reminiscence and consulted at Lambeth Archives. The history events during October, full use was maps show cumulative damage at the made of our display cabinet in the Brixton end of World War Two but individual hits Tate Library to show a variety of ephemera by V1s and V2s are also identified. and souvenirs from Brixton’s past. Thanks to Bill Linskey for compiling the What to do when the air raid siren display, seen above. sounds – life in Lambeth during World War Two is a compendium of personal memories from some 45 residents, Black Cultural Archives woven together by Jon Newman and Nilu Another milestone has been achieved in the York of Lambeth Archives department. move of the Black Cultural Archives to better This book was only launched on 3rd premises at Raleigh Hall, fronting onto December with a presentation at the NFT Windrush Square. Lambeth Council has attended by many of the contributors. agreed to grant a 99-year peppercorn lease to Production was supported by the Home BCA, which will then be better placed to seek Front Recall Project of the Big Lottery support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Fund. Format is similar to “Home other funders. The familiar premises on the Secrets” but with 106 pages and 2 pull- corner of Coldharbour Lane and Atlantic Road out charts the cover price is £9.99. have already been vacated and sold for use as a restaurant, and BCA is temporarily based at 1 Othello Close, SE11 4RE (the former Day Centre).

A reception was held at the Town Hall on Wednesday 8th December to report progress and launch the next stage. Raleigh Hall has been unused for 10 years, and despite interim external repairs a few years ago, total internal renovation is required. There will also be a new wing at the corner. BCA’s design team consists of Lambeth-based architects Pringle Richards Sharratt, with Trace Architecture, ABL Consulting (project development) and Liquid Assets is a historical record of Ralph Applebaum Associates (exhibition British Lidos, past and present, with 27 design). They and BCA will submit the first case studies and some great photos. stage of a capital bid to the Heritage Lottery Our own Brockwell Lido (seen above in Fund in late summer 2006. 1948) gets 4 pages. Sadly many from Subject to support from HLF and LDA, BCA the 1930s boom have closed or even will still need to find £1 million in private and disappeared since the 1980s. commercial contributions, towards total This book is written by Janet Smith and project costs of £4.5 million. published by English Heritage at £14.99 Enquiries to BCA on (020) 7582 8516, (ISBN 0954744 50 0). [email protected]

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Archives Closure Lambeth Archives is such a major resource for local research that we should remind you all that it will be closed for stocktaking from Monday 30 January to Saturday 11 February inclusive. The Minet lending library will remain open as normal.

Independent Church Brockwell Park News I’m doing research into my This 1911 postcard view of the clock-tower grandmother’s family and have was e-mailed by Robin Sharp, who discovered that a niece was married discovered that it included his grandmother at Brixton Independent Church, Lucy Delworth (2nd on right) on her day off Brixton Road, in June 1932. I can’t from service in a house in Sanderstead. find any recent reference to this

church – would I be right in thinking Preparing the Restoration bid for a park as it no longer exists? large and complex as Brockwell required

more time to resolve all the details, so Chris Hicks, High Wycombe. submission is now intended for March 2006.

The Park’s Management Advisory The institution itself did not survive the Committee had several meetings in the Second World War, when the church Autumn with Land Use Consultants, revising building was damaged and lost its the plans in the light of public feedback spire. However the building was during the Summer. restored to use postwar as The The total cost of all aspirations runs into Rosary Roman Catholic Church and more millions than the Heritage Lottery Fund still stands in Brixton Road just north or Lambeth Council could find, so items of the Town Centre, opposite Villa have been prioritized and the work divided Road and Max Roach Park. The old into phases. This means asking for enough spire appears in the background of money to restore most of the Landscape our postcard BX11. and Infrastructure in a Stage 1 bid for £5m., Alan Piper. then putting in a “Stage 1 phase 2” bid for £2m. to cover the restoration of the Hall and Stable block at the same time as the Stage 2 Remembering application for Landscape and Infrastructure. Sudbourne School However, money will have to be raised from other sources for sports and leisure facilities, My name is Bill Joscelyne and I now which are outside the scope of HLF. live in South Ockendon, Essex. The next step will be for the MAC to agree During my childhood and in my youth the final form of the bid during January, for after World War II, I lived at 17 LUC to submit by end of February. Kildoran Road, Brixton SW2.

I can still remember the names of the lads and lassies that were my friends and lived in Kildoran, Glenelg and Strathleven Roads. It would give me great pleasure to hear from anyone who remembers me from that time. Particularly two lads who were The Wallzine is an innovative quarterly evacuated with me from Sudbourne poster/magazine produced by local artists Road School to live with Mr & Mrs and writers under the editorship of Bridget Moore at Bevendene Crescent, Hugo. You may by now have seen a flyer, or Brighton. even the launch Victorian issue displayed My phone number is 01708 856932 – somewhere in Brixton. For your own copy, there is an answering service if I am send your name and address by e-mail to: away. [email protected] or if you want to contribute to future issues, contact the editor on (020) 7207 3464.

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that give a place its own Revitalise Brixton Town character. Centre Focus Update The turning of the year Welcoming Visitors In November, Lambeth seems a good time to A clutch of entertainment Council issued another review the issues facing venues have kept people progress report on its our Town Centre. coming to Brixton after it wide-ranging Revitalise dropped off the scale of Programme. For major Attracting New Shops significant shopping sites in Brixton such as We have lost another centres, but the Council the Recreation Centre valued shop in the form has failed to provide and adjacent Popes of Index Books – but facilities to suit, such as Road Car Park, further bookshops seem to be public toilets or even local consultation is an endangered species, clear signposting. No-one promised during 2006, with Words Worth about has taken responsibility with a draft Master Plan to close at Camberwell for encouraging visitors to appear in September. too. On the other hand, to Brixton, or making Three alternative sites there are up-and-coming them welcome when they are being considered for shops interested in get here. sports facilities as well as coming to Brixton, if only scope for refurbishing the somebody would go out Creative Industries old Recreation Centre. and bring them in – In addition to supporting surely a role for a Town One of the Council’s big entertainment and leisure Centre Manager? ideas is for Joint Service this can also include

Centres, for local contact wider design and craft- It’s no secret who these with a range of public based activities. The LDA firms are – they advertise services. Current plans and other business their needs in the Estates are to adapt the Ground support agencies now Gazette in case local Floor of Olive Morris acknowledge this sector’s estate agents can offer House on Brixton Hill employment potential but them a spare shop. (now the Council Tax practical help is slow in Phones 4U, Topps Tiles office) as Brixton’s JSC. coming. The biggest and LA Fitness have threat is displacement of Our last issue reported named Brixton among cheaper business space the plans for Schools, their wish list of new by private housing and more details have sites. Other names seen development, for which since been announced recently include Julian land values are so much about the Shakespeare Graves (specialist foods), higher. Depot site. The original the Peacock Group (with A “local enterprise growth depot and about a third of their two other national initiative” will be launched the former BT site will be chains, Bon Marche and at the end of January and used for the proposed the Fragrance Shop), the efforts are being made to Academy while the rest Pizza Express group, revive Brixton’s own of the site will be retained Subway, Flight Centre Business Forum. for the bus fleet which travel agency and ferries children to and Machine Mart tool hire. Linking Transport from special schools. The (I have ignored those This should be Brixton’s ServiceTeam dustcart seeking far more parking strength, with the number fleet is to be based in space than any local site of bus routes and rail adapted buildings in part can offer.) lines passing through the of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, but it’s never Industrial Estate on the Some readers have said been pulled together. other side of the railway, that just attracting the The Tram service looks a in Milkwood Road. national brands turns distant prospect while TfL Brixton into another is busy with putting tracks Further updates should “clone town”. down the Uxbridge Road appear on the Council Better that than a ghost first. Meanwhile the website at town perhaps, but we do Council is trying hard to www.lambeth.gov.uk/revit need to think how we can discourage people from alise encourage the one-offs visiting Brixton by car, by

Adv\ BS\ News\ Jan 06 Regen.doc 6 Regeneration News intensive enforcement been used for one-off and threats to close the improvements for parks sole multi-storey car and road safety. park. Restructuring of Lambeth Community Links First a year ago meant The Brixton Area Forum delays in getting to grips could play a valuable with the practical issues. role, but in recent months In recent months the we have found its various theme partnerships for working groups to be Mainstream or Housing and for poorly co-ordinated and Environment have begun their meetings happening Backwater? to gel, with constructive at short notice which The long-term aim of discussions among the makes participation more local strategic different interests taking difficult. Some of this partnerships like part. may be due to a climate Lambeth First has always It would be a great waste of uncertainty while the been to improve the way of everyone’s time to cut Council reviews its Town public services are all this short in favour of Centre Forums generally delivered, not by “add-on” some wider grouping – closing date for funding for special from which only vague comments on this is 20 measures, but by better generalities can emerge. January. co-ordination of all the different agencies, or Alan Piper, Alan Piper. “mainstreaming” of new Environment rep. for methods, as Government Lambeth Community Brixton NET likes to call it. Empowerment Network.

Brixton NET is a new Political reality though is information initiative Seeking that there are also short- aiming to keep you up to term pressures for early Planning date and informed about results and “good news”. local issues and health Applications? It’s been suggested that opportunities. It is an Although the Planning theme groups should be area-based network Department left Acre merged to reflect funding providing information Lane by 29 November, its patterns from Central from the Brixton Town weekly list of planning Government. The CEN Centre Office and the applications continued to too is under pressure to Lambeth Primary Care direct visitors to the old sharpen up its act, Trust. Local initiatives to address for another though resources are be covered include month – perhaps they barely adequate. events and festivals, don’t want to be found? smoking cessation and We can reveal that the The test now for Lambeth healthy living new office, Phoenix First is how well it can opportunities, crime and House, is part of the resist these pressures safety campaigns and gross new development and stay focussed on the environmental upstream of core strategy. Funding – improvements. Bridge – doors are from the Neighbourhood midway between the Renewal Fund – is only Registering with Brixton bridge approach and the about £4.5m spread NET is free and open to old Brunswick House. across all services. As an groups and individuals example, the share for resident or working in the If you prefer to see plans Housing is not enough to Brixton Town Centre. at the Library instead, provide for even one Complete the form online remember it will not extra home, so it’s been at www.lambeth.gov.uk always be Brixton – new used mostly to support or contact the Town drawings for 2 sites on the specialist partnership Centre office on (020) the eastern boundary of meetings on housing 7926 1077. Brockwell Park were sent issues. For Environment, to Library! NRF funds have mostly

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By request, there will be two outside the borough, in Greenwich (13 Aug.) and Richmond (provisionally 8 Oct.).

London Open House weekend is already lined up for 16/17 September. Lambeth Archives Open Day is likely to be on Saturday 30 September. October brings both Black History Month and Age Concern’s “Celebrating Age” Festival, so look out for news of related local events nearer the time.

It seems that the debris has no sooner been cleared away from the last event than some bright spark says “Let’s do it again next year!” or worse still, “Let’s do something for National Gutters Day!” or some other ill-timed campaign. Well, it’s hard to say no when your mission statement goes on about raising public awareness, protecting the local environment and supporting community initiatives etc. In short, we have already been persuaded to sign up to several

events for the year ahead, so maybe you should make a start on filling in Pictures at an Exhibition that shiny new diary – fuller details will Dulwich Picture Gallery (above) work follow later. hard at promoting their events, which maybe is why they were recently voted The London Maze (Saturday 18 “Small Visitor Attraction of the Year”. March) is a bigger London-wide But even if you’re a taller visitor, time is version of our local Archives Open running out if you have not yet seen their Day (see p.2). Lambeth’s amenity Beatrix Potter exhibition – it continues societies and local history groups are only until Sunday 22 January. combining to run a bookstall. Their next special exhibition will be of the work of the American artist Winslow London’s Open Garden Squares Homer (1836-1910) best known for his Weekend (10/11 June) has been seascapes. This will run from Wednesday suggested for another event in Tate 22 February until 21 May. Library Gardens, and perhaps even something for Trinity Gardens nearby, Bus P4 from Brixton passes the gallery, a more traditional residential square. otherwise it’s a brisk walk or cycle ride from Herne Hill or North Dulwich stations. Lambeth Country Show will be on For further details and opening times, the weekend 15/16 July in Brockwell contact the gallery on (020) 8693 5254 or Park. see their website: www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk Summer Sunday Walks dates are being lined up, including two “beating We also now receive e-mailings from the the bounds” of Lambeth in Norwood Tate Galleries (maybe they saw the (14 May) and Waterloo (11 June). biography in our last issue) but it would be There’s a house history walk on our good to hear from galleries on our home turf home patch on 10 September. - perhaps for next time?

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