THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW OfficialOfficial JournalJournal of thethe NorwoodNorwood SocietySociety No.No. 193193 SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 CONTENTSCONTENTS 2 Chairman’s Report 3 Secretary’s Report 4 John B Gent 6 Art Work in South Norwood Subway 7 From our Readers 8 Beaulieu Heights History 11 Friends of Horniman Museum Art Exhibition 2011 12 Kingswood House Open Day 13 The King's Speech (and the Sydenham Connection) 15 Herbert Wilcox and the Norwood Connection 21 Henderson’s Laboratories (1927-2004) 24 William Ford Stanley FRONTFRONT COVERCOVER ILLUSTRATIONILLUSTRATION Hazelwood (see page 8) THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW The Norwood Review is published four times a year, in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The deadline for each issue is one month earlier. The next edition of the Review will appear in September 2011. Contributions should be sent, no later than 20th August 2011, to the Editorial Board, The Norwood Review, 47 Ross Road, London SE25 6SB or [email protected]. (020 8653 8768). Would contributors please give their ‘phone number, address and e-mail address. - 1 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 CHAIRMAN’SCHAIRMAN’S REPORTREPORT Those who managed to attend the Annual General Meeting will know that Eric Kings has stepped down after 4 years as Chairman, and that I have agreed to fill the vacancy. Eric told the Meeting how much he had enjoyed his stint as Chairman, and how he has managed to combine it with helping to edit the Norwood Review and involve himself in planning issues in South Norwood. His retirement is caused by increasing difficulties with hearing but he has kindly agreed to continue to help with the increasingly popular Norwood Review. His input will be sorely missed, but I hope he will still be there to help the Society wherever he can. For the time being I am combining the job of Chairman with that of Treasurer. We have a much smaller Executive Committee this coming year (only 7 members), but I hope that we will continue to provide a good service to our Members. I will certainly do my best in my new role. RichardRichard LinesL ines - 2 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 SECRETARY’SSECRETARY’S REPORTREPORT The AGM produced a somewhat reduced Committee (names at the back), but I trust that we will work well as a team and will maintain our standards. AGMs have been well attended in recent years and this one was no exception. John Greatrex, who gave an expanded talk on the Crystal Palace Corner’s journey from the Black Country to our Park received a warm welcome. Jeremy Savage helped with the Power Point presentation. Do take the trouble to look at our expanding website: www.norwoodsociety.co.uk. If you click on links then you will find an enlarged section of sources for visitors to consult, which, mercifully, appears to be resulting in a lighter inbox for us. Many of you receive occasional e-mails from me about events that may be of interest to you. If you do not receive these (but do have e- mail) then it may be because the address that I have is invalid or because you have not given it to me. If you wish to be included then please let me know [email protected]. Peter Austin reports on an excellent Crystal Palace Park Conference on 20th May. It was organised by 3 local Societies with a view to address the implementation of parts of the Masterplan and future ownership and governance of the Park. There will be a detailed report in the next issue. On 7th June Eric Kings attended and spoke on our behalf at the Appeal Hearing for the Railway Buildings. Regrettably, the Appeal Inspector has decided in favour of the developer. AnnaAnna LinesL ines - 3 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 JOHNJOHN B. GENTGENT Local historian John Bannister Gent died on Tuesday 3rd May 2011, aged 79. He was born in South Norwood in 1932. He lived in Croydon all his life with the exception of his National Service in the early 1950s when he was based at RAF Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. An only child, he grew up in the house he shared with his parents at 302 Whitehorse Lane. He attended nearby Cypress School and wrote about his wartime experiences there in his ‘Croydon in the 1940s and 1950s’ (1994). He later transferred to Selhurst High School for Boys. John was proud of his time at Selhurst serving as Chairman of the Old Croydonians Association for several years and co-authoring its centenary history in 2004. His love of history was inspired by his history teacher Mr Kenneth M. King. King kept a very detailed diary which John later used extracts from in his books. Thanks to John’s efforts as intermediary, these diaries are now deposited at Croydon Local Studies Library and Archives Service. John’s earliest ambition was to be a tram driver and spent his school holidays travelling around London by bus, train and tram. As befits someone with a lifelong interest in transport, John spent his working career with London Transport, rising in course to senior executive level. During the 1980s, he was London Transport Representative on the (PTE) Planning Manager’s and Light Rail Groups and was involved in much of the early preparation for what became Croydon Tramlink. - 4 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 John started collecting postcards when he was sent one of the Crystal Palace by a neighbour for his fourth birthday in 1936. Thus began a lifelong love of postcard and photograph collecting and which grew into a collection of around 15,000 images of the local area and beyond. He published many books, all illustrated by examples from his vast collection and they will remain the first point of entry for researchers into Croydon’s History for generations to come. Among the most notable are Croydon: A Pictorial History (1991) and Croydon Past (2002) and his lifelong love of transport was reflected in his Croydon’s Tramways (with John Meredith, 1994). He joined the Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society in 1959 and they published nine of his illustrated histories of Croydon, the latest of which (‘A view of Croydon: Postcards from the Past’ (2011)) was published days just before his death. He served two terms as President of the CNHSS and was first Chairman of the now defunct Croydon Society. Nobody did more than John Gent to chronicle and popularise the history of Croydon. He was always generous with his time, knowledge and expertise and anyone who has done any research into the local area owes him a great debt. His talks were always well attended. He will be much missed but there is comfort in the knowledge that his legacy lives on. Chris Bennett Senior Borough Archivist Croydon Local Studies Library and Archives Service - 5 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 ARTART WORKWORK IN SOUTHSOUTH NORWOODNORWOOD SUBWAYSUBWAY Those of you who are regular users of the almost 100 year old underpass at Norwood Junction Station have no doubt noticed the remarkable change that has taken place. The entrance by the Clocktower has been embellished with a lick of paint and there’s an eye catching floral display. However, the most striking transformation has taken place inside this previously dingy and cheerless pedestrian tunnel. A local community, Croydon Council, a local historian and an imaginative artist got together and secured the necessary funding from Transport for London and a thought-provoking work of art ensued. Along the fresh white tiles on both sides are displayed images of shops, their owners, school children, images of historical figures and landmark buildings. These images are not without humour and, if you look carefully, you will find embedded in some of them cherished images of the past, such as an outing in a charabanc, a Zeppelin and buildings that are no more. The display draws attention to S. Norwood’s architectural, cultural and religious past but, sadly, also the way in which on too many occasions pragmatism and a lack of long term vision have been allowed to be the enemies of enlightened conservation. It is to be hoped that this delightful display may encourage the powers that be to treat S. Norwood’s heritage with sensitivity and imagination. AnnaAnna LinesL ines - 6 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 New Art Work in South Norwood Subway FROMFROM OUROUR READERSREADERS Congratulations to the Editor on a fascinating Norwood Review. If only he would allow Readers' letters to appear in it, I could write an interesting one! Anyway, it has prompted me to send this, to try to ensure that I always get the Review. NicholasNicholas Reed.R eed. Hi Anna Many thanks, I have been reading it online which has prompted me to join officially what a brilliant website. Are there any talks planned for the near future. HelenHelen FoxF ox Dear Anna, Thank you for sending me the fine article on Guy Verstraete for the Norwood Review. It will be a fitting tribute to him to publish it in your magazine and I will send copies to Belgium and Corsica. TerryTerry HodgkinsonHodgkinson - 7 - THETHE NORWOODNORWOOD REVIEWREVIEW SUMMERSUMMER 20112011 BEAULIEUBEAULIEU HEIGHTSH EIGHTS HISTORYHISTORY The Croydon Enclosure Act of 1800 stated that “We have set out and allotted and do hereby award unto the said Lord Archbishop of Canterbury in lieu of his share and interest in the woodlands of Norwood, All that allotment or parcel of wood and commonable land called Windall’s Coppice and part of Norwood Common adjoining the said Coppice, containing seventy three acres three roods and twelve perches (exclusive of William Smith’s encroachment and the road thereto)”.