Julia Atkins, Duncan Bowie, Gavin Bowyer, Steven Hicks, Eric Large and Sharon O'Connor, members of the Local History group, enjoyed a visit to the London Archives today. Archives Officer Jack Deeprose gave us a brief overview of the history of the archive, which goes back to 1067, before showing us behind the scenes including the state-of-the-art conservation studio and some of the storage stacks which hold the more than 70 miles of materials, the vast majority of which is on-site so can be called up and on a researcher's desk within an hour. We then saw some special items from the collection including photographs, maps and some poignant bomb records from WW2. With a staff of 70, this is a well-resourced and very well run archive and we are grateful to Jack for a chance to see how the materials are stored and preserved.
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As Kingswood Arts welcomes their new CEO Sydney Thornbury and says goodbye to founder Jack Hartshorn, take a look at what they've been up to over the past year including ongoing restoration of Kingswood House, performances, community events, a cafe, and historical research. Their annual report is here (PDF).
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Southwark Council is reorganising its multi-ward forums into ten ‘Neighbourhoods’. For our area, this will mean the existing South multi-ward forum (covering Champion Hill, Goose Green, Dulwich Hill, Dulwich Village & Dulwich Wood wards) will be replaced by two new Neighbourhoods: Dulwich (Dulwich Village & Dulwich Wood) and East Dulwich (Goose Green, Champion Hill & Dulwich Hill). Each Neighbourhood will have a Neighbourhood Champion which for our two Neighbourhoods will be Andy Simmons. Neighbourhood Community Meetings will replace the multi-ward forum meetings. Within each Neighbourhood, there will be new Neighbourhood Community Meetings (replacing the multi-ward forum meetings) at least three times a year with the following roles:
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Our local history walks for this year's Dulwich Festival were a great success with all ten walks selling out. We offered a wide range of subjects including a general introduction to Dulwich, our ever-popular social radicals walks, the River Effra and tours of West Norwood Cemetery focussing on its Dulwich residents. We also offered a family walk for the first time with an emphasis on getting children interested in their neighbourhood and its history. Our Local History Group researched, guided and stewarded the walks and all proceeds went to local charities.
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After a stellar season last summer Dulwich Cricket Club is back in the Premier League of the Surrey Championship for the first time in 18 years. For the 2025 season Dulwich CC are delighted to have secured Indian test star KS Bharat. The keeper and top order batter has played 7 tests for India, including against India in 2024 and Australia in the World Test Championship final in 2023. He has featured in multiple IPL franchises, including Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Dehli Capitals, as well as captaining his state side in first class cricket in India. KS Bharat made a dream debut for Dulwich CC scoring a match-winning 134 in their first match of the season away at Esher CC.
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Read more: Dulwich Cricket Club back in the Premier League of the Surrey Championship
Sydney Thornberry joins Kingswood Arts on 16 June 2025 as CEO and Artistic Director. A dynamic and entrepreneurial arts leader with over 20 years experience in the cultural and social enterprise sectors, Sydney has successfully revitalised and led multiple organisations, including The Art House in Wakefield, where her leadership earned the Gulbenkian Award for Civic Arts, and The Conservatoire in Blackheath and Beckenham Place Mansion, where she transformed heritage sites into vibrant, multi-use arts and community hubs. Known for her inclusive, community-driven programming, Sydney has developed nationally recognised initiatives such as the UK’s first Studio of Sanctuary for asylum-seeking artists. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an alumna of the Oxford Cultural Leadership Programme. Sydney said: 'I am so excited to be joining Kingswood Arts. What they have already achieved under Jack Hartshorn in such a short time is already impressive. I look forward to working with the community, staff and trustees to continue to take it to new heights and to demonstrate the deep social and civic impact that an arts centre can have on its local community.'
Kingswood Arts is a not-for-profit arts centre and cultural hub based at Kingswood House in Dulwich.
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Join us for one of our popular local history walks for the Dulwich Festival. Tickets are £8 family/£5.50 concessions and are available now but are selling fast. Half of all proceeds go to St Christopher's Hospice.
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Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is hosting the Dulwich Beer & Cider Festival this year at Dog Kennel Hill with over 50 cask ales, Belgian/German bottled beers and 25 ciders/perries. Hot and cold food will also be available. The Festival is open Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 May from noon to 10.30pm. Tickets are available from CAMRA and are £3 for CAMRA members, £5 for non-members.
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The Herne Hill Velodrome in Burbage Road celebrated International Women’s Day 2025 with a weekend track takeover for a mixed ability taster session including off-road sessions and ride-outs. There was a market, the bike doctor and the 2025 Women’s Track League race programme was launched. About 30 women joined the celebrations and tried the track for the first time or joined a mixed-ability group. See the Velodrome website here for more details. Photo by Mollie Keen.
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As a celebration of International Women’s Day 2025, the Dulwich Society hosted an evening on Tuesday 4 March with a distinguished panel of women leaders featuring:
- Baroness Harriet Harman: Britain’s longest-serving female MP and a trailblazer for women’s rights
- Baroness Caroline Pidgeon: Liberal Democrat peer and advocate for gender equality in politics
- Helen Hayes: MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, known for her work on social justice and public policy
- Naima Ali: the Mayor of Southwark, bringing valuable experience in local government and community advocacy
- Resham Kotecha: of Women2Win, working to encourage more Conservative women to enter politics
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Join Dulwich Society Wildlife expert Dave Clark for two free zoom sessions of a beginners and refreshers guide to bird song. Each session will be around one hour long and highlights the songs of our common and garden birds found in Southwark. Understanding how nature is faring in Southwark is highly important and we need more volunteer bird counters who are committed to providing citizen science data.
Tuesday 25 March 6pm-7pm: to join go to Eventbrite here.
Monday 7 April 6pm-7pm: to join go to Eventbrite here.
There will be a future live workshop (date to be announced) for participants who are interested in becoming a bird counter in one of Southwark`s green spaces.
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Wednesday 14 May 2025, 11am to 1pm
Dulwich Society Visit to Southwark’s Integrated Waste Management Facility
Have you ever wondered happens to the contents of your bins when they are emptied? Join us on a tour of Southwark’s IWMF and you will see! Operated by Veolia, the facility is one of the most advanced in Europe, processing waste and recycling material from across Southwark.
The visit is free and open to all members of the Society, but numbers are limited - if you would like to come, please book a space through Ticket Tailor here. This has full details of the visit and how to get there, and important health & safety and access information that you MUST read before booking. Members with pacemakers should not attend.
Photo credit Veolia
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