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Old School Ties
Crofton Park’s history is the history of the growth of the suburbs across the whole of the UK. The introduction of compulsory education...
Carol Harris
Dec 31, 20243 min read
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Crofton Park's war dead
The memorial cross at St Hilda's commemorates 145 men and one woman of Crofton Park who died serving in WW1 There are several local...
Carol Harris
Nov 10, 20244 min read
123 views
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Lost in Transformation
How trams and the Second World War changed a long stretch of the Brockley Road We recently picked up this postcard of a part of the...
Mike Brown
Aug 22, 20242 min read
113 views
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From Right to Left
Crofton Park has had a Labour MP for many years -- but that wasn't always so. Crofton Park has an interesting past, electorally speaking....
Carol Harris
Jul 4, 20244 min read
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The Streets Where We Live: Merritt Road
A look at the history of one of Crofton Park's oldest roads. We’ll start with a bit of proof-reading: the spelling of this road’s name...
Carol Harris
Nov 29, 20233 min read
420 views
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New sighting of an old sign
If you are in the Brockley Road near Hazeldon Road, look out for a glimpse one of Crofton Park's oldest shops. The shop signs above the...
Carol Harris
Oct 30, 20231 min read
183 views
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Advantage Crofton Park
A gap in a map and how a modern development got its name. In 1880 the Land Development Association, a mutual housing project, began...
Mike Brown
Sep 26, 20233 min read
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Seemed like a good idea at the time...
The local canal that came and went in a generation -- and what followed. The first big change which affected the rural settlement then...
Carol Harris
Jun 24, 20232 min read
189 views
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A View From the Hill
New insights from an old postcard, by Mike Brown We recently bought this postcard, showing the view looking south from near the top of...
Mike Brown
Mar 1, 20232 min read
239 views
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War casualties and commemoration
The war memorial at St Hilda's church in Crofton Park On November 11 each year we remember those who died in war. War memorials...
Carol Harris
Nov 13, 20222 min read
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BBC beginnings and Crofton Park
Recent celebrations marking the centenary of the BBC remind us of a local connection. The BBC began life as the British Broadcasting...
Carol Harris
Nov 8, 20222 min read
193 views
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Cats Meat of Merritt
Working from home is nothing new in Crofton Park. The Standen family and, next door to them, Freeman Brothers were doing just that over...
Carol Harris
Jun 29, 20222 min read
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Crimean Connection
The Coldstream Guards at the Battle of the Alma -- painting by Orlando Norie In 1902, the Oxford Times reported on the death of a former...
Carol Harris
Mar 31, 20222 min read
117 views
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Fields of Old
For centuries before the creation of Crofton Park, the London suburb we know and love, this area was a patchwork of fields and farms...
Carol Harris
Feb 28, 20222 min read
322 views
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Lost...and found!
The whalebone which was previously on show at the Brockley Jack (see previous post) has been found, and is with the family of the late...
Carol Harris
Feb 22, 20221 min read
285 views
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Missing: Crofton Park's oldest artefact
Mike Brown on the Brockley Jack's whalebone sign, which has been removed from public view. The whalebone displayed -- until very recently...
Mike Brown
Feb 13, 20224 min read
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Sign of the times at Brockley Grove
Before the latest lockdown, Father Bates of St Hilda’s church kindly lent us a box of old church magazines and other items. Among them...
Mike Brown
Feb 16, 20212 min read
412 views
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Changing fortunes of the Crofton Park Picture Palace
The Crofton Park Picture Palace in 1913. Sketch by Mike Brown. As the nineteenth century became the twentieth, the new and exciting form...
Mike Brown
Dec 19, 20204 min read
400 views
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Children's History Quiz -- for under-12s
How well do you know Crofton Park? Here is a picture quiz of local signs and decorations you probably pass by regularly. How many can you...
Mike Brown
Sep 25, 20201 min read
221 views
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The Writing on the Walls
How well do you know the area? Here are features which can be seen from the streets around Crofton Park. How many can you identify? Email...
Carol Harris
Sep 25, 20201 min read
211 views
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