The Herne Hill Society blog

Conservation status for Station Square?

We received acknowledgement yesterday from Lambeth Council of our Conservation Area submission regarding Herne Hill "Station Square".  The text of Colin Wight's letter of 16 May 2018 appears below.

"I am writing on behalf of the Herne Hill Society. The Society has always taken an active interest in the built environment and historic heritage of Herne Hill. Conservation Areas, and national and local listing, are vital tools in conserving the special character of our area.

The Society understands that Lambeth are considering preparing proposals for the designation of Herne Hill Station and that part of Railton Road often referred to as “Station Square” as a Conservation Area (CA). We strongly support such proposals and urge that they be given urgent attention. Given the existence of the Herne Hill CA on the east side of the railway, that CA could be readily enlarged to include the station and Station Square.

In the past few years, especially with the exclusion of through traffic, the great variety of many independent shops, the establishment of a popular Sunday market and the restoration nearing completion of several buildings by Network Rail, this part of Herne Hill has seen a huge improvement. We want to see this improvement enhanced and protected from inappropriate development. The station and the buildings that form the “village centre” around it have a natural cohesion and work together as an architectural group, making the area particularly suited for CA status.

There is now a great urgency to progress this designation as a very characterful historic building immediately adjacent to the station, currently occupied by the Flower Lady florists, which it is understood dates back to the early 20th century (it is clearly shown in the attached photograph of c.1921 when it was Raphael The Tailor) is now under threat of demolition to be replaced by an electricity substation which would seriously reduce the quality of the local environment and have a negative impact on the likelihood of CA status. 

We would be interested to know the current state of the draft proposals and when it is thought they might be put into effect. The Herne Hill Society is able to call upon resources in terms of architectural expertise and historical research (not least from Lambeth’s leading architectural historian, Edmund Bird) and would welcome the opportunity to make these resources available to the Council’s officers."

 

Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18

Call for volunteers!

This is a new volunteer-led project to tell the story of all those from Herne Hill who served in the First World War - as well as other residents who suffered as a result of the conflict.

We’ve been awarded £5,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. It will need extensive research to identify the names of all the casualties and find out more about their lives. We will also investigate the stories of other residents who lived through the war, including conscientious objectors and those of German origin. The project is being run jointly by the Herne Hill Society and the Charter School. The school’s involvement will be led by the Head of History, Dan Townsend.

This project will require lots of volunteer researchers over the next six months. Everyone will need some training and support, but no prior research experience is necessary. Could you spare some time?

The first task is to help complete the research on local soldiers who were killed in the conflict and upload the information to a website. The process is surprisingly simple, and all you need is to be able to use the internet and Microsoft Excel at a very basic level.

A formal training session will be held on Monday 13 November 2017 (6:00 - 7:30pm) at the Charter School.

The only requirement is an interest in the history of Herne Hill. If you are interested in taking part, please send an email to [email protected]

The Pubs of Dulwich and Herne Hill

What a wonderful addition to the great range of books on our local history of Dulwich and Herne Hill! This book is a fascinating read with a rich mix of primary research, gorgeous photos by John East, great images, engravings and maps from Lambeth Archives and Southwark Local Studies library and compelling accounts of the histories of the 40 hostelries featured by authors John Brunton, Laurence Marsh, Ian McInnes and John Walters.

Not just an architectural history, this book explores the intriguing social history and the human dimension of the publicans and their customers, recounting often engrossing individual events that occurred in centuries gone by. The account of the not uncommon hazard in the Victorian era of exploding soda-water bottles is recounted in the entry for the Cambria pub as is a burglary at the former Green Man at Loughborough Junction in 1833 that resulted in a constable with a cutlass giving chase and apprehending the robbers, one of whom was sentenced to transportation to Tasmania.

The book is a both a celebration of the survivors and a nostalgic commemoration of those pubs no longer with us which sadly constitute the majority of the 40 featured establishments. Some closed many moons ago such as those destroyed during the Blitz (e.g. The Sun on Effra Parade and the Royal Oak on Dulwich Road) or those on the Brixton border such as the fine old Windsor Castle on Mayall Road and The George on Railton Road, both burnt out following acts of arson and larceny during the unrest in 1981. However most licensed premises have been lost during the orgy of closures in the last 20 years. Thankfully we are spared photographs of some of the dismal developments that have replaced wonderfully characterful old pubs in recent times.

The grandes dames justly listed by Historic England are showcased – namely the Crown & Greyhound in Dulwich Village, whose reopening (with a boutique hotel added) later this year is keenly anticipated; as is the recently consented refurbishment of the Half Moon in Herne Hill (current buildings both completed in 1896). Others probably deserve heritage protection such as the newly-restored Tulse Hill Hotel, the stately Rosendale and the Italianate-style Paxton at the foot of Gipsy Hill (all erected in the early Victorian era); the 1890s Prince Regent on Dulwich Road with its wonderful ‘streaky bacon' façade of bands of brick and stone; and the quirky George Canning on Effra Road (now the Hootananny), both built in the last decade of Victoria’s reign.

Inter-war and post-war pubs are also described in detail - the charming 1930s art deco style former Hamilton Arms (now a supermarket) on Railton Road and the 1950s Fox on the Hill - an intriguing fusion of the Neo-Georgian and Jacobean/Dutch styles) - both surely good candidates for Local Listing, though in the case of the latter, regrettably Southwark has yet to adopt a Local List. Finally, the entry on the Phoenix is a tribute to all those in the local community who campaigned to save the 1860s Denmark Hill station from demolition after an arson attack in 1980 which was then restored by British Rail and converted into a pub - a highly imaginative and successful conversion of what was a redundant heritage asset.

So all in all, this beautifully presented book is a must-buy for anyone who loves living in Herne Hill and Dulwich, a fabulous record of the Now and the Then, and a reminder to us all when it comes to our local community’s pub assets: Use Them or Lose Them!

Available at Herne Hill Books, The Barber Shop or the Society's website for £9.50.

Edmund Bird

History Hear: Oral Memories of Herne Hill

This new local oral history project is now underway. You can listen to the first batch of interviews on SoundCloud.

 

Our aim is to collect and share many more recollections of life in Herne Hill, such as celebrations and floods, whether from long ago or more recently. We are keen to find and interview people who have lived or worked here over a long period. And you do not have to have been born before 1945 to take part!

'History Hear: oral memories of Herne Hill' is led by a small team of volunteers and is still in its infancy. It is hoped that it will continue for many years: as long as funds and enthusiasm survive! The material will eventually be deposited with Lambeth and Southwark Archives.

As well as hearing from people who might be interviewed, we would be grateful for assistance from anyone with interviewing or audio editing skills. We are also keen to make copies of photos of Herne Hill taken after 1930 that we can use to prompt memories.

History Hear will be officially launched at the Carnegie Library on 16 March, at 6.30pm. Please email [email protected] or contact Carnegie Library if you would like to come.

Beth Taylor & Colin Wight

Latest on the Half Moon

The Half Moon, Herne Hill's iconic pub, has been closed since the disastrous flood of August 2103.

The current building dates from 1896, but the freehold has been owned by the Dulwich Estate for centuries. After the 2013 flood the licensee surrendered his lease.

The Dulwich Estate wanted to re-open the pub, but as part of a scheme that would see new uses for the upper storeys. There were preliminary discussions with Southwark planners (and a short public consultation) about converting the upper floors into flats.

Southwark were against this idea, since they favour retention of the building as a pub, especially as it is Grade II* listed with a fine original interior. The current position is that Dulwich Estate has agreed in principle to let the building on a 25-year lease to a 'brewery' who will run the pub and convert the upper floor into 'rooms'.

The plans indicate a large restaurant at the back facing the garden and a live music venue in the old stables at the end of the garden. 

The potential lessee has discussed its scheme with Historic England and Southwark Council planners. Historic England came back within a few days with minor comments but Southwark have yet to respond. No agreement will be signed until the lessee is aware of the Council's requirements.

The historic interior appears to be in a reasonable condition but the exterior is not. The building requires a new roof and this, together with the proposed alterations to the upper floors, means that the Half Moon is unlikely to re-open before the end of 2016 at the earliest.

The Next Chapter for the Carnegie Library

Carol Boucher writes:

Well, now we know. Lambeth has published its strategy for “Cultural Services by 2020”. It proposes closing Waterloo and Minet libraries, providing the statutory service through “town centre” libraries and no longer providing a service at Carnegie, Durning and Upper Norwood. Community groups are invited to bid to an Endowment Fund to run a community library in those buildings. Lambeth will, crucially, continue to provide stock, technical and professional back-up.

None of this comes remotely as a surprise. When Lambeth reviewed its library service in 2012 and declared the Carnegie to be a Community Hub it was clear that the status quo would not continue. The building is a huge potential community asset that most local people never set foot in. It costs £200,000 a year to run the building as a 31-hour a week library for around 1500 adult and 1000 children users, many of whom do not live in Lambeth. This is difficult to justify given the cuts to other vital services. So, the challenge is to retain the library and develop the building for wider community benefit as well as generating income to sustain it into the future.

The Project Group’s work aims at a Charitable Trust taking ownership of the building to run it as a Community Hub. Our Architects’ Options for a mix of new uses were exhibited and consulted on. Everything is on our website: carnegiehernehill.org.uk

Lambeth’s proposal to seek a community organisation to lead on running the library service came as a complete surprise; we always envisaged a Lambeth service in the building. So, we urged the Friends of Carnegie Library, via an Open Letter, to accept this challenge and be that community organisation – we would support them in every way.

At the Friends’ AGM it was announced, without incidentally any debate, that the Friends would, instead, ask Lambeth to transfer the building to their user group so that they can commercially rent out space to subsidise the library service. It was not clear whether they will bid to the Endowment Fund if that asset transfer proposal fails. But what is clear is that unless someone steps up the library service will close in 2016.

In our view, this is a risky strategy. Lambeth will not allow the Friends to rent out space in a valuable building in order to subsidise a service it sees as marginal. Unless the building is used for much wider community benefit it will be disposed of. The Council has made clear both to us and the Friends that had the Community Hub project not been in development the Carnegie would have been added to the closure list. So, the Friends strategy is doomed, despite assertions at its AGM that Lambeth will back down in the face of a campaign. It is one thing to take a principled stand against cuts but quite another to adopt a position that will lose us our library.

So, the Community Hub project will press on led by the Carnegie Shadow Trust Board (STB) while an independent process is set up with the Council to recruit the proposed Carnegie Trust. It will apply for an Asset Transfer, develop a Preferred Option and a Business Plan. Architects will be appointed to prepare detailed architectural drawings and funding applications. This project proposes a major refurbishment of the building to ensure its future as a community asset for generations to come.

If the Friends decline to bid separately to fund the professional staff and space needed to run a community library then I will urge the Carnegie STB to do the job itself.

Herne Hill must close ranks; we will get one bite at this cherry and failure is not an option!

Carol Boucher
Chair
Carnegie Herne Hill Shadow Trust Board
Friend of Carnegie Library