CROYDON RADICAL HISTORY NETWORK Newsletter No. 3 – April 2015 Contents – Page 1 Network Events in Croydon Heritage Festival; Editorial 2 News Snippets; South Norwood Radical History Notes 3 The Battle for Sunday Opening at Crystal Palace 4 Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society of London; Croydon Newspapers 6 The Eliots – Quakers with Croydon Links 7 More Information of Black People in the Croydon area Edited Sean Creighton, Network Co-ordinator. [email protected]. 020 8764 4301 NETWORK EVENTS IN CROYDON HERITAGE FESTIVAL Heritage Open Day Stall Saturday 20 June in North End with Agenda Services, History & Social Action Publications and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Network. Croydon’s Slavery Links and the black presence. Two talks by Nick Draper (Legacies of British Slave-ownership project) and Sean Creighton (Croydon Radical History Network). Monday 22 June. 7pm. Terrace Lounge, Fairfield Halls, Croydon. Croydon’s Labour movement 1880s-1900s . Talk by Sean Creighton (Croydon Radical History Network). Tuesday 23 June. 7pm. Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, CR0 1BD. John Lilburne and the Struggle for Democracy. Talk by John Rees (Levellers Association). Organised by Croydon on the development of ideas for democracy to commemorate the 400th anniversary of ‘Free born’ John Lilburne, a leader of the Levellers in the English Civil War and Revolution. Wednesday 24 June. 7pm. Ruskin House. 23 Coombe Rd, CR0 1BD. Ancestral Voices – Olaudah Equiano and Black Emancipation. Matthews Yard, Surrey St, CR0 1FF. Saturday 27 June. 2-5pm. 2-3pm. Brycchan Carey: Olaudah Equiano and the Black Abolitionists: An Overview 3-4pm. Arthur Torrington: The Life and Times of Ignatius Sancho 4-5pm. Anti-slavery readings Sunday 28 June, 2-5 & 7.30-10pm 2pm-3pm. Cugoano & Equiano Martin Hoyles. Cugoano Against Slavery Arthur Torrington. Olaudah Equiano, Haiti and Emancipation 3pm-4pm – Play. Olaudah Equiano, The Enslaved African 4.20-5pm. Q&A with Adam Tulloch, Writer and Director 7.30-8.30pm. Equiano, Haiti & the Wars with France Arthur Torrington. Olaudah Equiano, Haiti and Emancipation Sean Creighton. Black Soldiers and Sailors in the Wars with France 8.30pm-9.30pm. Play – see above 9.30pm. Discussion of play – see above EDITORIAL One of the most appreciated events co-sponsored by the Network in last June’s Croydon Heritage Festival was Nick Draper’s talk on Croydon and slavery. It was reviewed by Ann Giles (a Tory supporter) in Croydon Citizen: http://thecroydoncitizen.com/culture/croydon-heritage-festival-review-talk-croydons-slavery-connections. Given the interest and the additional information still being found Nick will be speaking again in this year’s Festival. Across the range of my activities I have continued to Planning issues: promote the Network and also to publicly discuss http://thecroydoncitizen.com/politics- heritage aspects of modern day Croydon. society/controlling-pubs-betting-fast-food- shops-can-croydon-learn-wandsworth 1 Industrial Heritage of the Wandle: http://thecroydoncitizen.com/history/wand The Network co-sponsored with Agenda Services: le-industrial-heritage-volunteering- opportunities The film shows on 4 and 18 March on Black Croydon in 1914: British Civil Rights at David Lean Cinema: http://thecroydoncitizen.com/history/croy Divided by Race; United by War & Looking don-like-1914 for Claudia Jones Council’s compromise of heritage: Various events in this year’s Heritage http://thecroydoncitizen.com/culture/coun Festival (see below). cil-admits-croydons-heritage-significantly- compromised I have completed transcribing Michael Tichelar’s The future of SEGAS House: dissertation on the labour movement from the 1880s http://thecroydoncitizen.com/politics- to 1914. This is now available as a PDF with a copy society/segas-house-triggers-concerns- deposited with Local Studies. Croydon material on schools-sports the reaction to the 1887 Trafalgar Square ‘riots’ is contained in my chapter in the book on riots The Network was co-sponsor with Kwaku of British sponsored by the London Socialist Historians group Black Music of the African History+@ Croydon event to be published soon. on 22 November: http://thecroydoncitizen.com/culture/event- As material from research builds up a series subject preview-african-history-croydon-saturday-22nd- notes will be prepared. The first on Croydon’s november-matthews-yard. Part of the outcome of Suffragettes is now available. this – the discussion of the problem of racism today has been fed into wider debates in Croydon and into The overlap with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor the work of Kwaku’s Look How Far project. Network continues. I was able to promote the Network at the event I will be leading a walk in the Croydon organised by Nia Reynolds of Black Stock films Heritage Festival. launching her book When I Came to England: An I will be speaking about the composer’s life Oral History of Life in 1950s and 1960s Britain, I and work at the Friends of Grangewood was able to give a brief talk about work on British Museum in Sutton in October. Black History. NEWS SNIPPETS British Pathe films of Croydon. There are several films made by Pathe from the 1930s to 1960s on the archive website. e.g. Churchill campaigning in North Croydon 1948 http://www.britishpathe.com/video/churchill- election-campaigning/query/Churchill+Croydon Historic Croydon. This is a Facebook group started by Andrew Kennedy stimulated by his concern about the historic building facades in North End posed by the Westfield/Hammerson scheme. Whitgift Area CPO Inquiry Andrew’s submitted evidence on the facades to the Whitgift Centre CPO Inquiry. In my evidence I drew the Inspector’s attention to the admission of the Council is its Sustainability Review last year that it had been neglectful of protecting the historic built environment. Both sets of evidence can be accessed at http://www.persona.uk.com/Whitgift/E-OP-Proofs.htm. SOUTH NORWOOD RADICAL HISTORY NOTES Friendly Societies 1860s Norwood to a meeting on waste land in Handcroft Rd, W. Croydon. Sanctuary Pride of the Sea, Ancient Order of Foresters. Registered 1865. Members 38. Assets £32. In 1891 J. A. Edwards polled 180 votes out of 6,700 Meeting at Albion Inn, S. Norwood. in South Norwood, Gardeners Friendly Society. Registered 1869. In August 1891 the Bricklayers demonstrated at Duppas Hill with Will Thorne as principal speaker. Members 52. Assets £55. Meeting at Selhust Arms, S. Norwood. ???? On 19 September 1891 4,000 marched from South Norwood to Duppas Hill to raise money to help New Unionism 1889-92 carpenters and joiners on strike and locked out in March 1890 the members of the Gas Workers & London. Crowds lined the streets. Speakers included General Labourers Union processed from South J. Robinson, and James Chapman (bricklayer). 2 Socialist Activity 1894 the S. D. F., and the Co-operators, who enlisted the necessary local support ad did all they could to Open air meetings were a favourite method of make the van’s visit a success.’ putting the socialist case in this period. On 9 June 1894 an open air meeting on Duppas Hill saw Keir Co-operation 1909 Hardie address c.500 people. The collection raised 11s.8d. The following week saw Bernard Shaw, the Croydon Co-operative Credit Society, 40 Ferndale Fabian playwright, with a collection of 10s. 8d. In Rd, S Norwood. Established 1909. Members 24. October outdoor meetings were held on the corner of George and High Sts, while indoor ones were held Labour Councillors 1911-13 with James Ramsay MacDonald at South Norwood and Hyndman at West Croydon. In 1911 Stranks was joined on the Council by Muggeridge for Whitehorse Manor ward. By now they Journal 1898 were nominees of the Croydon Trades & Labour Council. In 1912 P. G. A. Cosedge won in South Coming Day was a monthly journal edited by John Norwood. He was killed in France in 1914. Cosedge Page Hopps at Oak Tree House, South Norwood Hill. Crescent is named after him. Later his house was (The Labour Annual 1898. p. 146. Further lived in by William Maile for 30 years, who was information about Hopps can be seen at organiser of Woodside Labour Party. In 1913 Joe www.le.ac.uk/litandphil/presidents/1886.html Bradshaw (an ILPer) gained a South Norwood seat, and Stevenson and Fagg in West Ward. Land Nationalisation Campaigning 1901 April 20-23 1901. ‘The League ran yellow vans going Workers’ Educational Association 1913-14 round the country campaigning. The first meeting using new Van No 3. was parked near Croydon Town ‘The Croydon branch is arranging a Literature class Hall, chaired by H. Sidey, a member of Croydon at South Norwood, which is to be led by Mr. W. School Board. ‘There was a large audience, and a Hughes Jones. The Lambeth branch hopes to form a good start was made.’ An afternoon meeting was class in West Norwood. held at Duppas Hill, and an evening one near the ‘South Norwood Brotherhood Institute. A social Town Hall with Cllrs A. Gore and S. Stranks presided evening of the SNBI concluded a very successful . W. Muggeridge spoke at Duppas Hill. Monday 22 saw a E. A. class in English Literature. Mr Van Wyck meeting at Thornton Heath with Rev. J. Page Hopps Brooks, the tutor, who is leaving England shortly, in the chair and T. Jarvise speaking. On Tuesday 23 was the recipient of a small present as a parting gift April W. Copleston presided at a meeting at the and token of appreciation from the members of the South Norwood Tram Terminus. ‘At each of the class. Some discussion took place in regard to next meetings much interest was displayed and our season’s work, It is hoped to have a University literature found many readers’ The reporter said tutorial class in Economics and Political History.