Sydenham Town Forum

Alternately ,there's the St.Christophers Hospice Choir,which meets on Friday evenings 7pm to 8.30 pm at the Anniversary Centre in St.Christophers,Lawrie Park Rd.,or the Crystal Palace Community Choir which is on Tuesday evenings 8 to 9.30 at Goodliffe Hall,Highland Rd. SE 19

Hello James- well,both really;I was around in Sydenham in the 60's but only an infant,and still here.Definitely a lifelong music lover and musical historian,as well as having an interest in the history of other subjects.
Glad to be of help-hope you're enjoying life in the U.S.
Michael

James-Thanks for sharing those great local musical memories but I think you have two 60's U.S. Soul men mixed up -you probably mean Sonny Childe and his backing band The TNT,rather than Sonny Charles (of the Phil Spector- produced classic 'Black Pearl' fame-who never came to the UK to my knowledge) ...

There were three large Victorian houses originally on the site prior to the building of the Corporation Of London's/Donald McMorran's fine 50's creation Lammas Green Estate,which was officially opened Nov 1st 1957.One of the houses was destroyed by WW11 bombing,the other two were demolished for the ...

Lucy-Thanks.Yes,the framed photo of the Wiverton Rd. 53' Coronation Party was one of the pictures which hung in poor old Pete's(RIP) downstairs hallway just a matter of months ago.I remember it well.It's very sad to think that all the things he collected over the years are now being dispersed.It's p...

Lucy-If you found these photos in a charity shop or junk shop,I think I know how this happened;a good friend of Don and I sadly passed away earlier this year ,his name was Peter Edis (1945-2017) a lifelong Sydenham resident who had an interest in Sydenham local history among other things .His house ...

Lucy-I'm a friend of Don Vaughn.Don has copies of the photo,as do I..Don does'nt have a computer,but I'll be happy to pass on any message to him.You can contact me privately,if you wish.
Kind Regards,Michael

Alywin- the Penge Jumble Trail is on Sunday 2nd July.

Rachel- the Leach family you mention must be the ones who lived at 103 Venner Rd.,which is still there today,of course. Those old directories only listed the 'head of the household'- usually the man of the house,unless a widow lived there;in the 1930's Arthur Ernest Leach was listed as living there,...

Further research has shown that it was The Crown & Anchor until 1963; it then became 'The Galleon Wine Co.Ltd' off-license,which it remained until it became a paint shop in more recent years.

It was still The Crown & Anchor in the late 1950's-possibly with the same signage-when one Winifred Keyes was the landlady (from the 1958 Kelly's Directory)

The precise location of tragic hermit Samuel Matthews' cave is unknown,but it was in Dulwich Woods in College Road(the area on the other side of the road from Sydenham Hill Station and St.Stephen's Church ,stretching on and upwards to Fountain Drive

Here are a couple of photos of now-gone houses in Sydenham Hill where Woodsyre is now They are at the two opposite ends of Woodsyre-there is a a photo of 'Birchwood' 37 Sydenham Hill,near the Dulwich Wood House pub and 'Hitherwood', well known as the 'International Guest House' of the 20's& 30's...

Dear Leigha in Canada- 22 Bradford Rd. Sydenham in 1916 was the home and business of the appropriately and coincidentally named Alfred Bradford,Picture Frame Maker.He moved there in 1912 and lived at the address for many years.He survived WW1 and was still there in 1939 but he seems to have passed a...

The blue plaque will be unveiled at No.14 Westwood Hill (next to Ernest Shackelton's house,No.12) on 5th July at 3pm

Dear Prussian-There is the grave of a John Norman-died 1852,aged 62-in the churchyard of St.Bartholomews Church,Westwood Hill,Sydenham.Could this be a relation? The headstone is very worn with age and only just legible. There has never been a cemetery in Sydenham(other than the private Catholic one ...

Masumi,I wanted to echo Mr Orton's comments-it was an enchanting and exciting concert;Misa is a fabulous pianist,she plays with such feeling and emotion,it's a pleasure to see(and hear)
Thanks for putting the concert on.
Michael

Dear EllenAllen, Yes,34 Wells Rd. was a maternity home;it was known as the 'Sarnia' Private Maternity Home in the 1920's and 30's.It was built in 1850 and was originally called Lonsdale Lodge and was a home for curates and vergers(owned by nearby St.Bart's Church) in the late 19th century before it ...

Sherlomi-yes,I remember him very well,too,The building our friend lived in was an out building-a laundry block,I believe- of the large Victiorian villa 'Beechgrove', 111 Sydenham Hill,which stood there and was sadly demolished in the 1980's.You'll find out more about the fascinating history of this ...

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5728/20473457284_a9c57a0254_z.jpg St Magnus by Michael Viner , on Flickr Aard-Here's a very rare photo of St.Magnus-the only one that seems to have been found so far-kindly lent by John Seaman .It's a postcard sent in 1909 by then resident Dorothy Koenig to another fa...