Carol HarrisMar 312 minCrimean ConnectionThe 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 HarrisFeb 282 minFields of OldFor centuries before the creation of Crofton Park, the London suburb we know and love, this area was a patchwork of fields and farms...
Carol HarrisFeb 221 minLost...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...
Mike BrownFeb 134 minMissing: 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 BrownFeb 16, 20212 minSign of the times at Brockley GroveBefore 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 BrownDec 19, 20204 minChanging fortunes of the Crofton Park Picture PalaceThe Crofton Park Picture Palace in 1913. Sketch by Mike Brown. As the nineteenth century became the twentieth, the new and exciting form...
Mike BrownSep 25, 20201 minChildren's History Quiz -- for under-12sHow 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...
Carol HarrisSep 25, 20201 minThe Writing on the WallsHow 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...
Mike BrownAug 16, 20202 minDouble-Name Roads on the Bridge House Farm EstateA while back, we mentioned the double-name roads in Mike’s blog, ‘The Names of the Roads’. Here is some more about their origins: This...
Carol HarrisMay 15, 20203 minA Question of NumbersAnother question we have been asked-- and one that we have puzzled over ourselves -- is why the strange numbering of the houses in...
Carol HarrisApr 18, 20203 minBrockley's Big HouseOne of the oldest features of what is now Crofton Park was the local ‘big house’, Brockley Hall, or, as it was known before 1850,...
Carol HarrisMar 26, 20202 minThe Brockley Road Board SchoolsThe original school, where Beecroft Gardens School stands today. In October 1885 the School Board for London announced plans to build...
Carol HarrisDec 17, 20193 minThe Names of the RoadsBrockley Green from the 1746 map by John Roque In medieval times, main highways were often known by where they led to. The part of a...
Carol HarrisJul 1, 20192 minA Hospital on Breakspears RoadCigarette cards, royal benefactors and the babies of Brockley This tiny picture from a cigarette card album, found by Tim Lund, shows...
Carol HarrisMay 7, 20193 minBricks in BrockleyIn recent years, many houses in Crofton Park and Brockley have had a ‘facelift’. With the dirt and grime of a century removed, gleaming...
Carol HarrisJan 4, 20192 minForest to Farm In Tudor times, the woods which had for centuries dominated the local landscape were still thriving and supplying timber for, among...
Carol HarrisDec 3, 20182 minCrofton Park in old postcardsFrom the 1880s, as the fields of Brockley made way for the suburb of Crofton Park, local photographers were capturing the new London...
Carol HarrisOct 24, 20182 minTelephones on the TitanicRead all about 'The Motor Horn Which Warns But Does Not Worry', the latest radio speakers and other delights made at the St Andrew's...
Carol HarrisJun 8, 20181 minCrofton Park Banks The row of four Brockley Road shops between Merritt Road and the cemetery were known by 1899 as Bank Parade. Despite this, there has...
Mike BrownJun 8, 20181 minBrockley ancient and modernFor centuries, the area now known as Crofton Park was the centre of Brockley, a hamlet on the road between Lewisham and Croydon. The...