The Herne Hill Society blog

Changes afoot in Herne Hill

You might have noticed that the First World War memorial stone in the station booking hall, which commemorates the death of over 550 Herne Hill residents and the suffering of thousands more, has been need of some TLC.

The memorial's creator, Mark Brooks, has been paying us a visit in order to gild and repaint the hard-carved lettering. It looks splendid now and is more readable in the unfavourable light of the booking hall. Mark will also create a permanent stainless steel label to replace the "temporary" one which has been there since the memorial was unveiled by Helen Hayes MP on Remembrance Day 2019.

The new(ish) row of retail premises at the south end of Station Square has recently been dominated by the stern-looking hoardings set up to protect the premises during the crucial works to install the electricity substation in one of the units. 

The foundations are being prepared and the kit is due to be installed next month. Thereafter, when it’s all wired up and running, the contractors will finally depart and the shop units can be returned to their intended purpose. There are reassuring rumours that at least one and perhaps two of the units have been let, or are at least under active negotiation, which would do wonders for this bit of Herne Hill. Meanwhile, with the recent relaxation of Covid rules, Lark has at last been able to reopen.

Across the square, much refurbishment has been going on outside and inside the Green Parrot Lounge. We understand that that it will be keeping the now-familiar name but is being redesigned and rebranded as a "networking cocktail lounge", supported by an expert cocktail barista lured over from Italy. It’s due to open mid-May. If you need to network, do make a note!

In the meantime, you can enjoy a pre-booked and strictly non-networked pint at the Florence or The Half Moon. Llewellyn's is also open (outside tables only), but the Commercial remains closed because it has very little "garden" space.

Over on Half Moon Lane, Bronwyn Lowenthal at Lowie has not only recovered from Covid but has now just opened her smartly designed and painted new womenswear and lifestyle shop in the long-empty premises next door to Peachy Goat, the temple to veganism. A very bright and colourful addition to this part of the town, and a more favourable location than her former premises on Dulwich Road. 

Finally, work on the new furniture workshop/store Unto This Last, on the corner site of the former Café Prov, is progressing nicely, with some pleasing and appropriate modern-but-traditional large windows. They tell us that they are excited to be opening up their second workshop here, with plans to be up and running by early May.

Pat Roberts

Never such innocence again

Half Moon Lane is a chilly place at this time of the year but I am basking in the warm glow of a job well done. It's nearly a week since a very successful event at Herne Hill Station and I am still asking myself how we did it. In less than six months we planned and delivered something that even a year ago would have seemed highly unlikely: a hand-carved memorial slate in prime position in central Herne Hill’s most important building. But there it now is, fixed to the wall.

A new 1914-18 war memorial for Herne Hill was on the agenda two and a half years ago when we were sketching out our research project with the Charter School but… where would we put it, what would it say, who would design it, what would it cost? With no clear answers and so much else to do, we put the idea to one side.

A year ago we published the memorial website and our little book to schedule, then held Herne Hill’s first ever two-minute silence on Armistice Day: an event that left many close to tears. A perfect way to celebrate the completion of the project. Except that it wasn’t complete; there were literally hundreds of casualties left to investigate. One fine June morning Dave Statham, Managing Director of Southeastern and a great supporter of community projects in Herne Hill, said to me “How about a permanent memorial in the station? You commission it and we’ll pay for it”. No committee, no fiddling about with our proposed text (though we did check that we had got the name of the railway company right!). We were trusted to get on with it.

Through the Lettering Arts Trust the name “Mark Brooks” was suggested. When we met him at the station, Laurence and I were sure we had found our man. Southeastern liked his work as much as we did and I wrote a letter of appointment.

So here we are. Websites and books come and go but a big lump of Welsh slate is as permanent as it gets. It will outlive us all.

War Memorial Stone for the Station

The Herne Hill Society, in association with Southeastern Railway, who run Herne Hill station, has commissioned a hand-engraved Welsh slate plaque in memory of “all the people of Herne Hill” who suffered as a result of the 1914-18 war.

Calligrapher and stone-carver Mark Brooks is designing a hand-carved Welsh slate plaque, financed by Southeastern Railway and to be unveiled by Helen Hayes MP at the station ticket hall on Remembrance Sunday.

Everyone is welcome at the unveiling: 10:45am on Sunday 10 November.

Currently based in Canterbury, Mark's formative years were spent in Kennington, Walworth Road, Stockwell, Crofton Park, Honor Oak, Forest Hill, East Dulwich and Crystal Palace!

Mark says: “It is a wonderful opportunity for me. I am delighted to be making something beautiful, interesting and appropriate for this important memorial”.

Southeastern, whose Managing Director David Statham is a former Herne Hill resident, have been strong supporters of the Society’s “Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18” research project.

There are several individual memorials in churches to men who lost their lives, but nothing to commemorate all the people of Herne Hill. The station, at the heart of our community and a place through which countless men must have passed on their way to the Channel ports and thence to France and Flanders, seems the most appropriate place for a permanent memorial.

David Statham says: “During the First World War the railways played an important role in the transport of troops and resources to and from the front. It's a fitting privilege that, come November this year, Herne Hill station will serve as the site for a permanent memorial in commemoration of all those residents who died, were wounded or otherwise suffered in that terrible conflict.”

Colin Wight, Chair of the Herne Hill Society says: "When we began our National Lottery-funded research project together with the Charter School North Dulwich two years ago I never imagined that it would lead to the creation of a new First World War memorial. I would like to thank Southeastern, who have generously funded this superb artwork."

The text of the memorial follows. You may recognise a short quotation from Philip Larkin’s poem “MCMXIV”.

Herne Hill 1914-1918
In memory of all the people of Herne Hill who suffered in consequence of the war, including more than 500 who lost their lives
Never such innocence again
This stone was placed here in 2019 on behalf of
The Herne Hill Society * The Charter School North Dulwich * London & South Eastern Railway Limited

 

***

The new memorial links to another important centenary with a local connection.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed 100 years ago on 28 June 1919. It is a little known fact (not mentioned in his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or in our own book Herne Hill Personalities) that local resident George Nicoll Barnes was one of the primary signatories of the Treaty.

His signature is there alongside those of Lloyd George, Bonar Law and Balfour.

Barnes was a Scottish Labour politician. He joined Lloyd George’s war cabinet in 1916 and it was for that reason he was present at Versailles. He is included (seated second from the right) in a famous painting by William Orpen, who was commissioned to capture the occasion in the Hall of Mirrors.

George and Jessie Barnes lost their youngest son Henry in the war, killed in France in 1917. His life and death are described on our Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18 website.

The following year they moved to 76 Herne Hill. It was George Barnes’s home until his death in 1940. The late-Victorian house at the junction with Kestrel Avenue, which would have matched the Herne Hill surgery next door, was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by a block of maisonettes.

Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18

Who lived in your Herne Hill street 100 years ago?

"Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18" is a volunteer-run project that has mapped the addresses and researched the stories of hundreds of local men killed in the First World War. You can find out more at memorial.hernehillsociety.org.uk

The Herne Hill Society and The Charter School North Dulwich are also investigating the lives of other residents who were affected by the war, including many of German origin. Come and hear more about the project on Wed 12 December 2018 at Herne Hill Baptist Church, Half Moon Lane (corner of Winterbrook Road). Start time is 7:45pm.

We'll also be introducing Grace’s Story. Just published by the Society, this is the memoir of a young girl growing up in Herne Hill during and shortly after the First World War. You can get it at Herne Hill Books and Village Books in Dulwich, or direct from us online for £8.00 a copy, plus £1.50 P&P.

­­­­­­­Everyone is welcome at our Wed 12 December event –  Herne Hill Baptist Church - doors open 7:30pm - admission and refreshments free

National Service of Thanksgiving

Three Society members who took part in the Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18 project will attend The National Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on 11 November 2018, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. Members of the Royal family, and religious and political leaders will be joined by members of the public who have contributed to the Centenary on a national, regional and local level.

Recognising the huge contribution the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and its First World War projects have made to the Centenary, the Department for Digital, Media and Sport invited HLF to nominate people to attend the Service. As a result over 300 people who have been involved with HLF-funded First World War projects across the UK will be attending the Service on Sunday.

Our Centenary project was made possible by a grant of £5,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which distributes the heritage share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide variety of projects across the UK. HLF has invested £97million in 2,200 First World War Centenary projects.

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]