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Gentle ‘gentrification’ in an area of East Dulwich with Julia Atkins
8pm on Tuesday 4 April 2023
Our next local history online talk will cover current research into a part of East Dulwich. In 1898 Charles Booth surveyed the area of East Dulwich as part of his studies of poverty in London, and defined many streets in East Dulwich as a mix of poverty and comfort.
Into the 1970s housing in East Dulwich, east of Lordship Lane, was approaching 100 years old. One small part of the area was declared a statutory housing action area (HAA) to concentrate resources on improving properties and helping households.
Current research in a small Study Area, including a part of the HAA, looks at the area over time and considers its sustainability for the twenty first century.
About the Speaker
Julia Atkins, now retired, has conducted housing policy research for local, London and national government for over fifty years. She had research responsibility for the Pellatt Road Housing Action Area, when she worked for Southwark Council.
Tickets are £5 and are available from Bell House.
Social Reformers in Dulwich in the late 19th and early 20th Century by Duncan Bowie
8pm on Tuesday 7 March 2023
Our next Dulwich local history online talk will cover birth control and moral hygiene and sex reformers, housing and planning reformers and anti-slavery campaigners, all of whom at one time lived in Dulwich. It will include Annie Besant, Alice Vickery, Havelock Ellis, Ebenezer Howard, Rev. John Harris and Alice Harris and more.
About the Speaker
Duncan Bowie is a research associate at University College London. His most recent book, The Radical and Socialist Tradition in British Planning: From Puritan Colonies to Garden Cities, was published in 2016.
Tickets are £5 and are available from Bell House. All proceeds go to Bell House activities. If you need a free ticket please use the code FreeTicket at the checkout.
Britain on the brink of war! Foreign agents on our shores! Can Richard Hannay, innocent man on the run, evade the police, get the girl, and save the country from a ring of murderous spies? Six plucky actors, who between them will be taking on more than 50 roles, will bring Alfred Hitchcock’s epic cinematic masterpiece to the stage in a visual and emotional feast of drama, villainy, adventure and pure silliness. The production includes the famous chase on the Flying Scotsman train, a scene on the Forth Bridge and the world’s first ever on-stage plane crash. This is a must-see for all ages.
The 39 Steps by The Dulwich Players
Wednesday 19 - Friday 21 April 2023: 7.30pm
Saturday 22 April 2023: 3.30pm and 7.30pm
Great Hall, Alleyn's School, Townley Rd, SE22 8SU
Tickets: £14 Adults, £10 under 18s, from www.dulwichplayers.org (small fee payable)
Southwark 2030: Southwark Council would like your views on how to make where we live, work and study a better place by 2030. There are several ways to participate including a survey, council-run sessions including one at Dulwich Library on 25 February, 10am-1pm, or via local schools.
This is our chance to shape the future of our borough, to help decide the kind of Southwark we want by 2030. There are lots of ways to get involved between now and mid-March when the consultation ends, and more detail can be found here.
The London Wildlife Trust (LWT) would like to hear about your experience in the Great North Wood so that they can continue to improve your experience when visiting the woods. Here in Dulwich, the Great North Wood includes Dulwich Wood, Hitherwood, Sydenham Hill Wood & Cox's Walk and further afield includes One Tree Hill and Crystal Palace Park. Complete LWT's Great North Wood visitor survey here, it should take no more than ten minutes.
Our Wildlife Group would like you to take part in the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch, the world's largest garden wildlife survey. In 2022, just under 700,000 people took part. Over the weekend of 27-29 January 2023, taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch couldn't be easier. You just spend an hour watching the birds in your garden or local park and tell the RSPB what you've seen. If you see very few birds or none at all, that's still useful information, so please let them know. You can register and find out more here. Please also send your sightings to our Wildlife Group at
The Society has contributed to the repair of an 1870 Camberwell parish boundary marker that was recently discovered almost submerged in Sunray Gardens.
Some volunteers came across the top of the boundary marker after clearing some weeds in the park and Paul Millington took on the restoration project. Most of the boundary marker was deeply buried, and its base was surrounded by concrete and tree roots. Dulwich Village councillors Margy Newens and Richard Leeming allocated Cleaner Greener Safer (CGS) funds to have it excavated, cleaned, and reinstalled. When it emerged from the ground damaged and broken, the Dulwich Society paid for the welding repairs undertaken by Priest Restorations.
This year's Dulwich Festival promises to be one of the best yet as they celebrate 30 years. Registration is now open for the Festival's wonderful Artists Open House. Apply here.
2023 promises to be a great year for Dulwich Park Runners. With nearly 200 members the club provides plenty of opportunities for local people to get fit, stay fit, and work on their pace and endurance.
Their calendar features weekly social runs, cross country races, marathon training and lots of social events. It’s a great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle and make new friends.
The club is famous for its beginners course which has been running for over 20 years and has helped hundreds of people transform their relationship with running. The next course starts on 4 March 2023 and is for people who have never run before or not for a long time. For more information see their website or
The club is based at the Trevor Bailey Sports Ground on Dulwich Common and the regular club night is Tuesday with social runs at different paces starting at 6.30pm and 7.30pm. Why not go along and try them out?
See their website for more information.
Contact: David Mullany, Chair,
A personal review of four short plays devised by Brian Green, Gill Daly and Jill Alexander
Performed by The Dulwich Players. Reviewed by Alison Venn
It was dark, damp and my mood was unpromisingly wintry on the cold night we had tickets. It had been a long time since I’d squeezed into high heels and a black-tie outfit, hoping to meet the Dress to Impress code for Gala Night. When the front door opened wide into Bell House, however, I stepped into a different world: elegant guests in black and sparkling technicolour, spiced mulled wine, mince pies and enviable Christmas décor in the stunning entrance hall.
We’d been offered four plays and an immersive experience, but how was it going to work exactly?
Read more: Picture Perfect Christmas at Bell House, December 2022
The new defibrillator, funded by the Society, is now set up in the old telephone kiosk outside the shops in Dulwich Village. Also known as a defib or an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), it needs no training to use as the machine guides you with simple instructions and tells you out loud what to do. You can’t deliver a shock accidentally, the defibrillator will not shock the patient unless it is needed so it is not possible to hurt someone - they can only be used to save someone’s life. This short film by the London Ambulance Service shows you how to use it. Society volunteers check regularly to ensure it is charged and ready for action but we hope it will never be used.
The skaters at the derelict Grove Tavern car park held a thought-provoking event on 17 November 2022 to show their parents and local residents what they do at the site. After a display of skateboarding skills there was this documentary by Nick Vieweg including interviews with the skaters and with Tilly, the site ‘caretaker’, who also provides emotional support to the younger skaters. This was followed by a talk on the Grove allotment from Becky, one of the gardeners who grow fruit and veg in the old pub garden; a musical interlude by the skaters; a presentation about their summer Shakespeare adaptation ‘A Midsummer Skate Dream’ and finally a panel discussion.
Read more: What's happening at the Grove Tavern DIY Skate Park?