The Herne Hill Society blog

March 2012 report from our Chair

Our Chair, Sheila Northover, reports:

Safer Neighbourhood Team in Village Ward Southwark

It was suggested that there should be a HHS rep from the “North Dulwich Triangle’ which is an area affected by burglary and robbery. No one has come forward from our members; it is now on the HH Forum website as well. We do plan to nominate a rep.

Next meeting: Wednesday 11 April at 7.30pm at St Barnabas Centre, Calton Avenue

Velodrome User Group

We have been invited to join the HH Velodrome User Group.

The purpose of the User Group meeting is to bring together current and potential users along with local residents, so that the Trust can engage with each of you, update you on our latest work and hear your thoughts. The meetings will be held every two months.

In addition to the first User Group meeting, we are setting up a special Design Working Group specifically to get your input into the Southwark Olympic Legacy Fund which we were awarded late last year. This will be attended by members of our project team in addition to Trustees.

Lambeth Country Show 15-16 September

The Society agreed to take a stall on the rearranged dates.

Southwark and crossing patrols

News from the leader of Southwark council: by cross-party agreement, the budget also included the reintroduction of schools crossing patrols in Dulwich back into the council’s base budget. This was achieved – following an amendment with unanimous support from Dulwich councillors – by reducing the Cleaner, Greener, Safer Revenue Fund for Dulwich. This will mean that schools crossing patrols will be funded in exactly the same way as they have been in the past.

Lambeth Local History Forum summer walks

Robert Holden has offered to do a walk on behalf of the Society on 25 August, starting from the station. This is the date of the 150th anniversary of its opening.

Red Post - restored! And news on the former petrol station site

In a previous post we reported that our smart new red post (as in Red Post Hill) had been vandalised.

Fortunately the missing parts were found safe nearby, and have now been re-instated. Voila!

More good news: in case you missed the posters on the shuttering around the old petrol station at the bottom of Herne Hill (by Sainsbury's), Goldcrest Land has acquired the site. This has been an eyesore for so long that it's getting hard to recell what it looked like before.

It seems that Goldcrest are keen to talk to local communities. We are going to have a short exploratory discussion with them next month. It's likely that they will want to have an open meeting at the Herne Hill Forum before too long.

Lambeth Archives Open Day

Saturday 1 October is the date of this year's  Lambeth Archives Open Day.

Open Day is a free annual event which this year includes talks, films, workshops and an exhibition of original art and photographs around the theme 'Festival'.

Other attractions through the day include children's activities, local societies' stands and book stalls, and home-cooked refreshments.

Once again we'll have a stall and we look forward to meeting you. And if you've not yet got hold of a copy of A Short History of Herne Hill, this is a good time to purchase one (at only £3 )!

Lambeth Archives are based at the Minet Library,  52 Knatchbull Road, London SE5 9QY.

More about Lambeth Archives, the Minet Library and how to get there

 

Red Post - damaged

You may have noticed that two of the direction pointers on the Red Post outside the United Church are missing.

It appears that someone swung on them, presumably late at night having had a few pints too many, and the rivets broke. The two arms were found nearby and are now safely in the hands of the Dulwich Society, who as you will remember organised the Red Post installation on 2 October last year.

It appears that it will be a fairly simple matter to put them back. But how can it be prevented from happening again?

Coming Home: a Memorial in Brockwell Park

In 2012, to mark the 120th anniversary of the opening of Brockwell Park, the Herne Hill Society and the Friends of Brockwell Park are working to re-instate the bust of Thomas Lynn Bristowe to the Park. 

In 1888 Lambeth Vestry obtained consent to make a new public park on the east side of Brixton Hill.  When it became apparent that the Brockwell Estate would come on the market, Thomas Lynn Bristowe (Norwood’s first Member of Parliament) led a campaign to buy it.  In 1891, with contributions from local authorities and the community, it was bought and became Brockwell Park.

The Park was opened in 1892 by Lord Rosebery but Mr Bristowe collapsed and died at the opening ceremony.  In 1893 a memorial to Thomas Lynn Bristowe was erected.

 
It stood in the Park, near the Herne Hill entrance, where it remained until 1958 when it was taken down as part of a redesign of this part of the Park.  Fortunately, the bust was saved and given to the Bristowe family, for reasons that are still a mystery.  As we reported on 19 August 2010, it has been located and the Bristowe family have kindly given permission for us to bring it back to Brockwell Park.

Although the bust appears to be in decent condition, an expert opinion on how best to conserve it is being sought. A possible site for the bust will have to be agreed with stakeholders, including London Borough of Lambeth.  And,  finally, money for the project will have to be found.   But we are confident that the bust of Thomas Lynn Bristowe will soon be back in the Brockwell Park.  As a reminder of who it was we must thank for the Park.

A Short History of Herne Hill

We're now printing our latest book, which we plan to have ready for the Lambeth Country Show (16-17 July).

 
People keep telling us that they want a short, informal (and, frankly, inexpensive) book about their beloved local area. Since The Herne Hill Heritage Trail went out of print, there's been nothing to sell!

Hence this brand new, illustrated 44-page paperback, with text by our ex-Vice-Chair John Brunton.

To the west is Brixton, to the east is Dulwich, and Tulse Hill is to the south.  However there are no specific boundaries to Herne Hill. The London SE24 postal district is a good fit. But there are people living in SE21, SE5 or SW2 who would also identify with Herne Hill. So if you think you live in Herne Hill, you probably do!

ISBN 978-1-87352-083-3 : only £3.00 : Trade terms available

Herne Hill Abbey

A correspondent wrote to us recently concerning a map he had bought that shows a building labelled 'Herne Hill Abbey'.

But, sadly, it seems there was never such a religious institution in Herne Hill. The
'Abbey' was in fact an early 19th-century  grand private house, long demolished. Hence
'Abbey Mansions' (next to 'Herne Hill Mansions') on the same spot today.

Samuel Lewis, the publisher of this map, was active between c.1830 and c.1865.  Probably, the maps were drawn by somebody else and merely published by him.

Lewis also published historical material on Islington - 'Islington as it was and is.'

If you are seeking out demolished abbeys and the like, the 'environs' maps of London are the best opportunity of finding similar information.

You can locate zoomable images from the Crace collection of London maps on the British Library's website.

And Frederick Crace (1779–1859), the great interior designer, map and print collector, and sewer supremo, was a Herne Hill man himself, living at 'Springfield', Half Moon Lane. Though he claimed to be from Dulwich...

Winkworth's blast from the past

I know I am not the first to point this out, but what an unexpected pleasure to see these old 'corner shop' advertisements again. From the 1960s? It's like finding newspapers under the lino.

What was this shop before Winkworth's moved in? Enjoy before they sink from view again.

Red Post Hill gets its Red Post back

On a surprisingly dry, warm and sunny morning, Saturday 2 October, about 40 members of the Dulwich and Herne Hill Societies gathered in front of the Herne Hill United Church at the top of Red Post Hill. Also present were Cllrs Christiana Valcarcel, Deputy Mayor of Southwark, and Robin Crookshank Hilton.

The reason? To unveil a red-painted fingerpost. This replicates the former ‘cross of direction’, known as the ‘Red Post’, which stood here from at least the middle of the 18th century to around 1840.

Here, local historian Brian Green explains the background. The function of these red posts? There are a few theories, none of which seems relevant in this case. What is certain is that no red posts survive in London, with just a handful remaining in the West Country.

As you see, London (Cornhill) is a mere four miles away!

The new red fingerpost, which was awarded a Dulwich Community Council grant under the CGS Scheme (Cleaner Greener Safer), has an explanatory plaque.

Find out more on the Dulwich Society website [PDF]

Bristowe of Brockwell Hall

We are pleased to report that we have located the long-lost bust of Thomas Lynn Bristowe MP. It was well hidden in a remote corner of a country garden and appears to be in good condition

The owner, a descendant of the great man, is keen for it to return to Brockwell Park, where it stood atop a large statue with drinking fountain in the entrance for over 50 years. Mr Bristowe was instrumental in the creation of Brockwell Park, but died at the opening ceremony in 1892.

So now the hard work begins, and the project group made up of members of this Society and the Friends of Brockwell Park will start working out how to bring him home. There are logistical challenges, not least the size and weight of the bust, but decisions including about where to site him will have to made in conjunction with Lambeth Council, English Heritage and others.