The Dulwich Society Journal for Summer 2023.
The cover of a magazine is its front door that you open to go inside. Welcome to our new look Journal. For those of you who don’t immediately recognise the subject of our cover image, I invite you to stroll around the village centre and enjoy.
Everything is new for this edition of the Journal of the Dulwich Society. We have new editors, Ian McInnes and Claire Richards, who have taken over as custodians of our treasured flagship publication. We have also taken a couple of measures to be more environmentally friendly. The new larger format has reduced off - cut wastage and the uncoated paper not only makes the paper more easily recycled but also will reduce glare and makes the text and images clearer to the eye. And the paper feels good too. Inside you will still find your favourite topics covered.
Welcome to our new editors. Ian is our immediate past chairman and the current chair of our local history group and has had a career as an architect. Claire had a career as a chartered accountant and is interested in culture and sustainability. They welcome input from our members and you can contact the editors with ideas and comments on
In this issue of the Journal, we have an interesting article on the DIY skaters at The Grove. Tilly, the author of the article, volunteers with the skaters and she is an inspiration of community engagement. The skaters and our community owe her a debt of gratitude. I won’t say more and will let you learn about their good works from the article. Looking forwards, however, The Grove will one day be redeveloped and then we will need to help them find a new base.
Thinking ahead to the autumn issue of the Journal, our editors are already hard at work on the pipeline of interesting and informative articles. One thing that the Journal will be looking at is Vision Zero. It is a concept to reduce deaths on the roads to zero by design, which has had success in Scandinavia and has now been adopted by the Mayor of London and TfL. The measures that are scheduled to be implemented in south London later this year will impact Dulwich, particularly as we have a large and growing number of cyclists.
In the months between editions of the Journal, you can keep up to date with all the latest news and events happening in Dulwich by subscribing to our monthly eNews. If you are not already signed up, just go to the camera app on your smartphone, point it at the QR code here and follow the instructions. Alternatively, email our membership secretary at
Please also don’t forget the Society’s website which is updated regularly and is worth visiting just to browse. New articles include a series of themed walks, where you are guided by your phone. Alongside the Dulwich Half Marathon from the Spring Journal, we now have mapped walks on the website covering Dulwich’s radicals, our blue plaques and our historic boundary markers. Also keep an eye out for new walks which we are currently working on, including one featuring some of our magnificent trees, others focused on our iconic architecture and finally our varied street art. If you have an idea for a themed walk, please let us know. Our Local History group has also been busy adding research and reformatting some pages of the website to make them more user - friendly. It is now easy to access our section on Dulwich People (previously Who Was Who in Dulwich) covering 130 famous names, and Dulwich Places (previously Gazetteer) covering 300 places. You can delve in to find interesting gems and you will find links to them at the bottom of the website’s homepage.
Before I go, just a reminder about the Diamond Anniversary Party of the Society on Thursday 13 July. Ticket numbers are limited so make sure to get yours as soon as possible.
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Dulwich Society Anniversary
The Society’s 60th Anniversary will be marked with a drinks party at the James Caird Hall, Dulwich College, on Thursday 13 July, 6.30pm - 8.30pm.
Tickets £20 via Eventbrite or Green’s Art Stationer’s & Toy Shop, Dulwich Village.
Society Risk Management Policy
At its meeting on 13th March, the Executive Committee approved a Risk Management Policy, which involves assessing potential risks for the Society under various headings, (governance, operations, finance, health & safety, external factors, compliance) and identifying steps to mitigate or remove these risks. The Society will produce an annual Risk Register and conduct a Risk Assessment on all social events, walks and tours. The new Policy and the Risk Assessment Pro - forma can be found at https://www.dulwichsociety.com/policies
Any questions or comments can be directed to Heather Stubbs, Secretary at
New Dulwich Estate Guidelines
The Dulwich Estate has published a new set of Guidelines specifically aimed at helping residents improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The advice includes suggestions on how to reduce energy usage, utilise alternative renewable energy resources and help water conservation. Alterations to the external appearance of a building still require a licence but there is also a list of works that can be done without. These include roof insulation, floor insulation, wall insulation (internal only), windows and front doors (if they are an exact match for the original design), electrical vehicle charging points and cycle storage at the side or rear of the house.
Kingswood House
After many years of closure, Kingswood House in Seeley Drive has reopened as Kingswood Arts, a new community arts centre and creative hub, designed to support the local community. There was a well - attended Gala Launch on 6th April, where members of the arts world and the local community were able to admire the beautifully restored house, which now provides an attractive venue for community and arts activities. A new café has opened on site, with Wifi and computers for free use. The family festival on the weekend on 8th/9th April gave local residents an opportunity to see the new - look Kingswood and hear about its history as well as future opportunities.
Jack Hartshorn, who is managing the project, would like to hear from anyone interested in getting involved as a collaborator, artist or volunteer. He can be contacted at:
Dulwich Library Sign
The Society has installed an information sign by the entrance to the East Dulwich Library giving a brief history of the building and providing the wording for the foundation stone which has now worn away. Funding came from the Council’s Cleaner Greener Safer (CGS) scheme.
Southwark Land Commission
Setting up a Land Commission, the second of its kind in the UK and the first in a London borough, was a commitment in the Council Delivery Plan for 2022 - 26. The aim is to bring together a panel of experts, community groups and major landowners, to consider how more of the borough’s land can be freed up for the public good. The first public meeting on 28th February was followed up by several more locally focused consultation events. Recommendations on a way forward should be published by the end of July.
Southwark 2030
Southwark 2030 is a council - led initiative to enable local people to share their ambitions and hopes to create a bright future for the borough. Working with local partners, community groups and businesses, the Council aims to generate a shared vision with an agreed plan to achieve it, the ‘Southwark 2030 plan’. Popular ideas at the local area meeting included improved cross - Dulwich public transport and accessibility at rail stations. Among other points were action on personal safety, litter, dockless ebikes, overhanging branches and pavements. Council - resident communication improvements were also mentioned as well as more support for the green transition, better community spaces, provision of youth centres and faster action on new homes.
Local Tennis Improvements
Southwark have been seeking tenders to find new coaches for a range of community tennis programmes at each of its park sites. The new model will have one coaching organisation operating at each park tennis court. The aim is to deliver a variety of activities for all ages to encourage wider participation. Four contracts in the north of the borough have already been awarded - to the EA Tennis Group CIC, a national partner of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Three other park sites Belair, Dulwich and Brunswick in Camberwell have yet to be decided on but it is hoped that new coaching provides will be in place by the summer. The Council have also been working on an application to the LTA for funding to deliver site improvements. If successful, this should mean new court surfaces at both Belair and Dulwich,
Society Southwark CGS Awards
At the Southwark South Area Multi - Ward Meeting on 14th March the Society was successful in obtaining CGS funding for additional planting on the Dulwich Village Roundabout and replacing plinths under the double benches in Dulwich Village. The Society also strongly supported a successful bid from COLAR (Court Lane Residents Association) for the restoration and planting of the historic flower beds at the lower end of Court Lane.
New Speed Limits on South Circular
TfL has identified Dulwich Common and Thurlow Park Road as two local roads under their control which will have their speed limits reduced from 30 to 20mph, most likely from September. An online ‘engagement’ began in March but it is pretty clear that the plans will go ahead - as part of the Mayor’s ‘Vision Zero Action Plan’ see:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/lowering - speed - limits.
Cox’s Walk Footbridge
Following agreement over how to proceed with the repair works to the historic footbridge in Sydenham Hill Woods and retain the oak trees directly adjacent to it, work has now started. The temporary access ramp was installed in March before the bird nesting season. The main works will commence in September.
Charter School East Dulwich
The main part of the school has been operational for some time, and the last sections of the old hospital were demolished a year ago. The school’s website has been updated recently and confirms that the remainder of the project has been split into three parts - site landscaping, the modular classrooms to house the additional teaching spaces needed for the academic year 2023 and the renovation of the Dulwich Hospital building plus the building of a new hall, library and drama/arts studio. The landscaping project is underway and completion is expected late summer. The modular classrooms will be built during the summer while the final phase of the work should start later this year.
Local History Talks Online
Following the talk on gentrification in East Dulwich, ‘Statutory housing action in the 1970s and its legacy’ in April and ‘The Hotel at Spy Corner’ in May, the online talks have taken their summer break, returning in October.
Dulwich Society AGM
The AGM was held at the Crown and Greyhound on 24th April. There were 50 attendees including two local ward councillors, Andy Simmons and Margy Newens (Richard Leeming sent apologies). The President, Dr Kenneth Wolfe, opened the meeting and, after the members accepted the previous AGM and SGM minutes, the Chair gave a resume of the Society’s activities in 2022. He particularly thanked Brian Green for his hard work on the Society’s Journal over 20 years and presented him with an honorary life membership to the applause of the meeting.
The Chair announced that draft new Rules are now on the Constitution and Accounts section of the website and members are encouraged to comment - the consultation period ends on 23 October 2023. There has been a small increase in membership to 1174 households and there is now a facility on the website to join or renew online using direct debit. The Society’s Twitter account usage was up almost 20% and the addition of 200 pages to the website has attracted more traffic to it. The annual report is available on the website and gives more details of the various subcommittee activities. Highlights included work on digitising the historic Court Rolls (with Dulwich College), a response to the Council’s consultation on the expansion of the local notable buildings list, detailed comments on 200 Scheme of Management applications, the installation of the defibrillator in the old red telephone box in the Village, and grants for various improvements in Dulwich Park and Sydenham Hill Woods.
The accounts were approved and the president re - elected, together with the list of honorary officers and sub - committee chairs. There were queries on the block voting system used for chairs of the subcommittees but the Chair confirmed that the Society had used this method in recent years and will review it as part of the consultation on new Society Rules.
Following the closure of the formal part of the meeting there was an opportunity for questions from members and the first of these was about the Society’s approach to the future development of the Grove Tavern site. The meeting’s view was that the Dulwich Estate should have been more proactive in dealing with a site that remained a major eyesore. The chair and councillor Andy Simmons assured members that it appeared that some progress, albeit very slow, was being made on outline plans for the site’s redevelopment.
There was a query about the provision of lift access to local stations and concerns were expressed over the operation of the Calton Avenue/Dulwich Village junction. There was a follow up question on LTNs regarding the increase in traffic in West Dulwich and East Dulwich Grove and, in answer to another question, the chair explained the perceived discrepancy between the Society’s neutrality on the matter of the Village LTN and the remit of the Travel and Environment subcommittee.
There was then a question about the Dulwich Estate’s green strategy and, while the new guidelines were welcome, there was a feeling that they did not go far enough and that the Estate should be leading by example - there were also calls for a public meeting with the Estate. The chair responded that the Society continued to raise green issues with the Estate when they met and Andy Simmons added that that a potential public meeting had been discussed.
There was also a query on the lack of progress on installing a pedestrian crossing at the Dulwich Common/Lordship Lane junction. Andy Simmons said that a scheme was ready to go but was on hold pending finalisation of the location of some of the support equipment.
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President of the Dulwich Society 2000-2010
It was very fitting that Michael Rich served as president of the Dulwich Society when plans were being made to raise a statue in memory of the Elizabethan actor and theatre owner, Edward Alleyn, on the 400th anniversary of his purchase of the Manor of Dulwich in 1605. Although a small committee had been formed to pursue this objective in terms of location and a competition to select a design, no one had been approached to shoulder the massive job of raising funds for the project. Initially the sum of £20,000 was thought to be required but when further estimates were received it was clear that this sum would be quite insufficient, and the target rose to £30,000.
Michael and his wife Janice were keen theatregoers and Michael had a great love and knowledge of the Elizabethan stage. He was delighted to be asked to chair the Edward Alleyn Statue Committee and provided wise and enthusiastic leadership. When Louise Simson was selected to create the statue, she shocked the committee by introducing a second figure - that of a poor boy - to the ensemble. Undaunted by the added cost of this challenge Michael encouraged the project to continue, even when the final cost rose to almost £50,000.
The statue project was not the only contribution Michael made to the Dulwich Society. He was a very early member, possibly a founder - member, and assisted when an application was made to the High Court in 1970 to require a consultative committee, made up of residents, to exercise oversight of the Scheme of Management granted to the trustees of the Dulwich Estate following the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. In 1974 he joined the Society’s new Town Planning sub-committee. Having recently co-edited Hill’s Town & Country Planning Acts 1967 (published by Butterworth 1968), he was in a unique position to provide expert advice.
Michael Rich was born in 1933 and grew up in Streatham, moving to Dulwich in 1964. He started school at Dulwich College Prep and in 1945 he went to Dulwich College, where he gained a State Scholarship to Wadham College Oxford. He deferred his entry to university by opting to carry out his National Service first and served in the RASC.
In Streatham, his grandfather, Samuel Morris Rich had been a founder member of the South London Liberal Synagogue, Michael followed in his footsteps, serving on the synagogue council. He led the fundraising and planning of the refurbishment of the building in the 1970’s and served as synagogue president until his death.
A keen scout, he became a King’s Scout and continued to be active in the Scout movement for over 25 years, becoming group scout leader in 1963 and running the Old Alleynian Troop, the 48th Camberwell ‘Lorne Campbell’s Own’. He led numerous scout camps and expeditions for senior scouts in this country and abroad. With Lt. Col. Bill Hall, Michael was instrumental in gaining the lease of the former WW2 gun battery site in Grange Lane and converting it into accommodation and activity blocks which they renamed The Fort. It continues to be used by the scout movement to this day with groups from overseas as regular visitors.
He entered the Law in 1958, being awarded both the pupillage prize and the Harmsworth scholarship at Middle Temple. He took silk in 1980, becoming a Bencher in 1985. In 1992 he was appointed a judge. He was elected Reader of the Middle Temple in 2006 and selected as the customary address a subject in line with his theatrical interests: ‘A Daniel come to judgement: The role of the advocate in three plays’. This demanding task he successfully undertook whilst still recovering from major surgery.
In his long career as an expert in planning issues, he represented Devon County Council in 1979-80 at the public inquiry of the Okehampton Bypass on the A30 road. The choice of the route had divided the town with an almost halfway split between the opposing sides over the issue of placing the new road to the south of Okehampton and on part of the Dartmoor National Park. The enquiry dragged on for over ninety days but one compensation for Michael, stranded so far from home, was that he was able to indulge in his passion for walking, when the legal timetable allowed. He enjoyed a similar experience in the Lake District on another road enquiry. A keen hill-walker, he completed the 170 kilometre circuit of Mont Blanc and shortly before his final illness he was walking the Thames Path from its source.
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By Sharon O’Connor
This year’s Southwark Blue Plaque scheme includes four nominations with Dulwich connections.
Pioneer nutritionist Dr Elsie Widdowson (see our article in the Summer 2021 Journal) was born in 1906 and grew up in East Dulwich, in Melford and Overhill Roads. She helped devise the government’s wartime food rationing diet, since acknowledged as the healthiest Britons have ever had. She also raised the standards of formula milk. In the early years of her career her breakthroughs often came from experimenting on herself, something that would be frowned upon now! Widdowson was involved in scientific research right up until her death aged 93. The British Nutrition Foundation said, there is no branch of nutrition science that has not been by Widdowson.
Victorian businessman and philanthropist Francis Peek (see our article in the Autumn 2020 Journal) was instrumental in establishing Dulwich Park. Born in 1836, Francis Peek’s family were tea merchants and the firm became the largest tea wholesaler in the world. Peek lived on Crescent Wood Road and believed that ‘to die wealthy is to die disgraced’ so gave away his fortune. He was involved in education provision and also personally funded the building of several churches in and around Dulwich. The Society and the Park Friends unveiled our own plaque to him on the Francis Peek Centre in 2022.
Actor and singer Michael Crawford, born in 1942, lived in Winterbrook Road for a formative decade of his life during which he attended Oakfield School, performed on Broadway and in the West End, and made his first Hollywood film with Steve McQueen. He credits a Winterbrook Road neighbour with his career as she recommended he audition for a role in Britten’s own production of ‘The Turn of the Screw’. Crawford went on to become a household name playing Frank Spencer in ‘Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’ and originated the title role in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.
The Concrete House at 549 Lordship Lane (see our article in the Autumn 2013 Journal) is one of the earliest buildings to be constructed of mass concrete. It was built in 1873 by the concrete pioneer Charles Drake who lived there for two years with his wife Janie and their family. It became derelict but was rescued by the London Historic Buildings Trust, the Dulwich Society and the Southwark Heritage Association. In 2014 the house won an RICS award for building conservation. Today, the Concrete House consists of five modern, shared - ownership flats.
Other nominees include George Dyer, a Peckham bespoke tailor, and Albert Tedam, a Rotherhithe PCSO. Voting closed on Thursday 1 June and the results will be announced later this year.
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By Jeremy Crump
Popular memory has it that the Dulwich Symphony Orchestra was founded as an adult education class in 1951, although the orchestra’s archive goes back only as far as the 1970s. DSO is now a charity with over 50 playing members, meeting weekly for rehearsals in James Allen’s Girls’ school. Over the years, DSO has performed at various venues around Dulwich, including St John’s Goose Green, St Barnabas Church, St Paul’s Herne Hill, the Vaughan Williams auditorium at JAGS and the Great Hall of Dulwich College, and with many soloists, often young professionals at an early stage of successful professional careers. DSO currently plays three concerts a year at All Saints Church, West Dulwich.
In January 2023, DSO appointed Chris Stark as its musical director and conductor in succession to Leigh O’Hara, who had held the post since 2014. Chris conducts two other amateur orchestras and is Principal Conductor of the Multi - Story Orchestra, a professional ensemble based in a former car park in Peckham (Peckham Levels) and with a commitment to community engagement and outreach.
DSO bassoonist Jeremy Crump asked Chris about conducting, music making in the community and his aims for DSO.
JC: Chris, what interests you about conducting, and how did you get into it?
CS: My uncle, Peter Stark, is a conductor and I had a couple of lessons with him whilst I was still at school. I studied music at Cambridge, sang in choirs and played the cello in orchestras. Conducting was a way to get challenging projects going. Conducting is about persuasion and if the projects were exciting and the music was rewarding, people would find time to play. I had more formal training, on courses with Martin Brabbins and others, but getting better at conducting is mostly about learning by doing. I have learned a huge amount from being an assistant conductor for opera companies such as Glyndebourne, the English Touring Opera and the Aurora Orchestra.
JC: Do you see your future as principal conductor of an opera company?
CS: What interests me is high - level music making with a community focus. When I finished at university, in 2011, a group of us decided we wanted to put on big orchestral music in a car park somewhere, to present the music in a new and accessible setting. It was a coincidence that we ended up in Peckham since I had grown up nearby, in Forest Hill. Our first performance was ‘The Rite of Spring’, which has about 100 players. The core were people from Cambridge and people we knew from the National Youth Orchestra and elsewhere, but we also had to ring up musicians we didn’t know to ask if they would like to play for three days in a car park in Peckham without getting paid. A surprising number said yes. The audience we attracted was younger than the usual concert hall audience, and very enthusiastic.
As time has gone on, Multi - Story has transitioned from the focus being on our players, who are all now professionals, to collaboration with local schools and community groups. There are fewer concerts and more projects, and we have hubs in Gloucester and Portsmouth as well as Peckham.
JC: Outreach work has been around in the classical music world for a while. Is it making a difference?
CS: The idea was once that the aim was to increase the audience for the traditional concert hall. I don’t think that’s the right approach. Classical music is at a crisis point now, trying to work out what its value is. I love projects where the music making is serving a function in society. People who like classical music feel as though their life is enhanced by it in some way, that’s what we want to share. We are all at risk of putting up barriers against things we haven’t had experience of. Our job in classical music is to be advocates of its value. It takes a small amount of positive experience in something to lose that feeling that you are going to be alienated by it.
JC: Why did you choose to come to the Dulwich Symphony Orchestra?
CS: I grew up round here and I don’t live far away. I really love the feeling of being part of the community. I had worked a lot with the leader of DSO, Paula Tysall. I really like her approach and she’s a great musician, so it was great to have the opportunity to work on another project with her. I also knew some of the players from other contexts. I did a trial concert last year and really enjoyed it. The level of music making was very high, and I could tell that people were really committed to getting better and better. Now it’s very exciting to begin thinking about the longer term with the orchestra and how things can pan out over the next few years. The London amateur orchestral scene is something special. Even if we are behind France and Germany in classical music in other respects, this aspect of it is very healthy, and let’s hope it stays that way.
JC: How do you see the orchestra developing over the next few years?
CS: We should think of DSO as an amazingly valuable thing, and we should want it to be shared and valued by the community. I like to look for opportunities when people are brought together in other contexts to be a part of that. We should make sure that our doors are open to a wide community. I’d like to explore how we might engage with the Dulwich Festival and local choral societies. I know that with amateur players, who have long days at work and domestic responsibilities, you have to balance what you would ideally like to do against what is feasible for the orchestra, but if you can make engagement something that people really want to do, they will turn up and play.
More than specific repertoire, the thing that really excites me is there being an atmosphere of music making where there is real electricity, a real sense of collective responsibility for the sound, a very physically alive experience. I’m really interested in the journey to get to that state, and for it always to be increasing. The challenge that I set myself in rehearsals and in thinking of how the orchestra can progress is to keep that feeling of electric charge.
DSO welcomes new members. www.dulwichsymphonyorchestra.org.uk
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By Alison Venn
Welcome to the new kids on the block. It’s Friday night and I’ve counted 47 children of assorted sizes, from 7 to 12 years old, having the time of their lives with Dulwich Children’s Choir (and it’s not just for Dulwich). They’re arranged over the choir stalls at St Barnabas Church, Dulwich, completely rapt in the warm - up, singing Nelly the Elephant and a Fruit Salad song with gusto, bobbing up and down, spinning and stretching to high - five their partners, part of the lively choreography. They’re learning to play their voices like instruments, tackling the challenges of rounds and syncopated rhythms, swooping up and down the scales, counting the bars, concentrating on the conductor and having fun. I’m mildly jealous!
Director of Music Christopher Woodward is on a mission to inspire children to sing. And it’s working: everyone is at ease, even when he calls random names to sing solo. DCC is in its second year, now bursting with confidence; it has its own identity working with the adult choir, but not playing second fiddle. DCC leads the singing at St Barnabas services on the first Sunday of the month and joins the adult choir to give a professional concert annually. It’s ambitious repertoire. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s The Manchester Carols in the choir’s first year, post - Covid, told a gritty and miraculous Christmas story for the 21st Century. In 2022 the choice of concert music included carols from Ukraine and the Australian bush alongside Vaughan Williams’ The First Nowell, embracing our new diverse community. The children have experienced the challenge and the thrill of performing to a huge audience, with a professional orchestra and soloists and a strong adult choir.
Eight - year - old Jacob explained. ‘You feel you have to sing better and listen harder. The songs could be filled with sadness or happiness. You could be singing really slow, but then really high and fast. At first, I found it quite overwhelming. Now I’m much more comfortable. I come here week in and week out and I relax and sing. It gives me a chance to take my mind off things elsewhere. I’ve made new friends.’ Jacob will be in his element when DCC goes on tour in July, with sleepovers for four days. ‘Going to Oundle will be fun, singing and eating together and looking round a new town.’
Hats off to Chris for making the opportunities to sing, learn and grow together so accessible. Junior roving reporters Felix aged 8, Muriel aged 9 and Lucy aged 12 wanted to find out more about their conductor:
Muriel: What inspired you to create the DCC?
Chris: I was a chorister when I was 7, 8, 9 and it’s definitely made me the person I am today, because I love singing and I love working with children between the ages of 7 and 13. They’re the best.
Lucy: How do you decide the songs we sing?
Chris: Many of the songs we sing are chosen for us for the festivals like Easter and Christmas. But I take a lot of time thinking about music we might sing at concerts because I like to find things that you’ll enjoy singing.
Muriel: What has been your greatest achievement so far with DCC?
Chris: The thing I’m proudest of so far is that we now sing adult services on our own, without the adult choir, which is a really difficult thing to do because there’s nobody behind us. So, the fact that we’re able to sing as a choir and get 34 children here on a Sunday morning…. I’m very proud of that.
Felix: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Chris: To make more people know how brilliant it is being in a choir. You can only do that by having someone like me and people like you to turn up. We’re very lucky in Dulwich because we have lots of people to help us. So, my superpower would be to recreate St Barnabas Dulwich in different places across the country.
Muriel: What’s your favourite musical?
Chris: I love musicals and I used to work in the West End. My favourite musical is one you may not have seen called Come From Away. It’s about what happened after 9/11 when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in Canada. The characters are based on actual residents and stranded travellers they housed and fed.
Felix: If you could play one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Chris: It would probably be Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
For more information about joining the choir, please email
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Claire Richards reviews the latest developments at the Picture Gallery
Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism
The first major UK exhibition of Morisot’s work since 1950, this is a feast not just for the eyes, but for the mind. It is an intelligent and thought - provoking exhibition, curated by Dr Lois Oliver. Far from being a fringe member of the Impressionists, Berthe Morisot was a leading light, a catalyst and an influencer.
Yes, we are surrounded by the beautiful pastel - coloured images that we associate with the Impressionists, but this is uniquely a woman’s perspective. The exhibition lays bare so many of the challenges faced by Morisot. As a woman, she was not able to paint freely outdoors like Monet and Renoir, as this attracted unwanted male attention. Consequently, she had to resort to painting very early in the morning, to painting while sitting in a boat on the water, or to simply painting the view through her own drawing room window. She was not able to paint street scenes, cabarets or music halls. Instead, she was obliged to focus on scenes of domestic life: a child chattering to a maid, her niece painting, her sister watering a plant. And social convention prevented her from painting men, though her own husband was an occasional and reluctant sitter.
Of course, paintings of women were, fortunately, in vogue, but Morisot’s perspective differs hugely from that of her male contemporaries. Her female models dress in front of a mirror and admire themselves; we do not feel them to be the object of an intrusive male gaze, as we do with Degas. Her sitters clearly share intimate bonds with each other and with Morisot herself and she paints them, their relationships and their daily lives with sympathy and understanding.
This exhibition not only shows us Morisot’s own work, but juxtaposes it with the eighteenth - century paintings which inspired her. Like so many artists, she spent hours growing up, copying masterpieces in the Louvre (with a chaperone, naturally!) and as a mature artist she continued to admire Fragonard and Boucher. Honeymooning in England, she became familiar with Reynolds and Gainsborough - and the Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition displays examples of these. It is fascinating to see an eighteenth - century portrait ‘translated’ into the Impressionist style and to consider how its subject matter and stylistic presentation influenced Morisot.
Fascinating too to see a small but skilful painting by Morisot’s older sister, Edma. The girls grew up sharing drawing lessons and exhibiting their paintings together, but, despite her remarkable talent, Edma eventually abandoned art for the more traditional path of marriage and motherhood. Berthe, on the other hand, staunchly resisted having her wings clipped and when she did eventually get married, it was to Eugène Manet, younger brother of the famous painter Édouard, who keenly supported her career as an artist.
Congratulations to Dulwich Picture Gallery on a beautifully curated exhibition!
The Launch of Osiris
The Gallery’s ambition to support health and healing through art took a step forward in March with the official launch of a stunning new sculpture commissioned by the Gallery and the NHS South East London Integrated Care Board in the garden of the Tessa Jowell Health Centre.
The sculpture is named Osiris, after the Egyptian god of life, the afterlife, reincarnation and agriculture, and is the creation of local artist Rafael Klein. Klein is known primarily for metal sculpture and Osiris is laser cut from steel. Like all his public sculptures, it is the result of a collaborative project with the local community. Through this approach, Klein aims to foster a sense of community ownership of the resulting artwork, rather than exclusively imposing his own ideas. In a series of workshops at Dulwich Picture Gallery, local people produced drawings inspired by landscape paintings in the Gallery’s collection. The human figures, animals and plants drawn were then incorporated in miniature into the sculpture, creating a living world, teeming with life.
Many stories are attached to Osiris in Egyptian mythology. In one, the god is murdered by his brother, but his wife, Isis, searches for him and eventually finds him embedded in the trunk of a tamarisk tree. Klein’s sculpture combines this story with the idea of rebirth and renewal in nature, resulting in an uplifting and completely unexpected work of art. The lower part of the sculpture is a rich warm brown, mutating gradually to green higher up, as life springs up and spreads out from the central human figure.
The transparent form cleverly allows us to see the courtyard garden, complementing the view of the plants without obscuring them. The work is partnered by 4 translucent vinyl images of landscapes from the collection at Dulwich Picture Gallery, placed in the staircase window, and further miniature sculptures.
This is certainly an artwork which invites contemplation. With so much detail to be found and so much meaning to be derived from it, how appropriate to place it outside the window of a doctors’ waiting room! It is a genuinely optimistic work for those who have time to look and think, because they are waiting.
Looking to the Future
The Gallery has submitted an application to Southwark Council to develop its outdoor space. As well as converting the Gallery Cottage into a family café and lunch room for school parties, a new Children’s Picture Gallery will be built and the under - utilised meadow will be landscaped to create a sculpture garden. The addition of over 150 new trees, new hedging to create wildlife habitats and hidden boreholes, providing ground source heat to the Gallery, will all play their part in enhancing this amenity. Further details are on the Gallery website, together with a feedback form, should anyone wish to comment on the designs and plans.
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David Moore, coordinator of women’s and girls’ cricket, shares a remarkable success story
Residents of the Village may have noticed a lot of construction activity over the winter at the historic Griffin ground in the heart of the village. The facilities at the Griffin had been neglected for a number of years, with the cricket pitches being scarcely useable for any form of cricket before the pandemic - but what has been going on?
As Readers may know, cricket is the fastest growing female sport in the country and 2023 represents a milestone year in the development of the Dulwich Women’s & Girls’ cricket teams.
Building on the success of the teams in the last few years, Dulwich has been invited to play in the new Kent Premier League and for the first time will be running three women’s teams in addition to numerous teams for girls of all ages.
Dulwich Sports Club is steeped in history, with the cricket section being formed in at least 1867, but for 137 years, like most clubs, it remained a male preserve, with women’s cricket in London being confined to a handful of teams in the outer suburbs.
In 2004, the first developments came as a local coach and cricketer, Lara, arranged an exhibition session for women at the Burbage Road ground. This is the first recorded mention of female cricketers at the club. However, it was not until 2006 that a women’s cricket section became a reality. The first match was played in June 2007, with the first victory coming in August 2008 at Burbage Road, featuring the first of over 200 wickets (and counting) for long - time captain Lyndsay Morton.
By 2010 the team felt brave enough to enter a league but, often short of players, gave a debut to an 11 - year - old Kira Chathli. Kira thrived on the challenge and responsibility and made her county debut at only 14 years old. Kira has been contracted to Surrey since 2019 and in 2022 was included in the squad for the Oval Invincibles. Also in 2022, she was selected for England A to play two warm - up/trial games against the full England team. She has been an inspiration for the girls at the club and a true role model. In the few hours that remain to her outside her professional playing, Kira coaches the teams at Dulwich and still plays for the club when professional commitments allow.
Back in Dulwich, cricket for girls remained very much a niche activity, with too few girls at the club to play matches. In 2016, an 11 - year - old Eleanor Varnier Moore emerged and played her first games for Dulwich Women. Wanting more, she pulled together some friends and the first girls’ games were played at the club.
In 2017 Eleanor gambled that cricket was for girls and teams were entered into the local leagues. Starting with 16 girls aged 8 to 16, by the end of the season over 30 played, attracted by the new club slogan “More girls, more matches, more cake”. The prospect of home - baked brownies led to an explosion of girls at training, with numbers doubling each season. The girls grew to young women and, in 2022, Eleanor took over the captaincy and led the team to the national cup quarter finals and Surrey cup finals. With now some 200 members and over 100 matches played, Dulwich is one of the largest and most active female clubs in the country.
As the number of women and girls playing grew, by the time of the ‘pandemic summer’ it became obvious that new facilities would be needed, as there were just not enough pitches. Although the new Dulwich Square was a bit of a road, a more sustainable option was needed. Fortunately, the Griffin was looking for new tenants.
Dulwich Women seized the opportunity and, together with partners Lambeth Tigers, took on the responsibility. The Griffin ground sits on the course of the Ambrook river, which rises in Sydenham Hill Woods. It has benefited from substantial investment over the winter, with a new main cricket square being laid and improved drainage. Further works to install nets will take place over the course of the summer. When complete, it will be one of the finest club grounds in the country and one of only a handful worldwide where women and girls have priority.
Any club is the sum of its members and any readers interested in playing or watching women’s and girls’ cricket are welcome to join us.
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By Tilly
The Grove skatepark was born out of the lockdown in 2020. As society shut down, young people were stuck at home, anxious but increasingly bored. Before long, some skaters spotted potential in the neglected car park, the word spread like wildfire and they clubbed together to turn the space into a DIY skatepark. The activity gave them a momentary respite from the devastating reality, a sense of camaraderie, being physically active as well as productive, and most importantly, having a space to skate.
As soon as the DIY skatepark was established, however, the landowners wanted us out. We organised what was meant to be the farewell skate event, but that "farewell" event caught the attention of a wider audience, who were desperately in need of a feel - good story during the pandemic, and the support flooded in. A Dulwich resident got in touch with a local councillor and persuaded the councillor to negotiate an informal ‘temporary’ use with the landowners on behalf of the skaters - and the rest is history. We still face uncertainty about our future, but that never dampens our love and passion for The Grove.
About half of all users are 11 - 15 years old, a further quarter are 16 - 20 years and the rest are adults. The adults are the main driving force in terms of gardening, skate obstacle construction and maintenance work, but the teenagers are the core population who spend the most hours in The Grove. Professional skateboarders and pro inline skaters grace The Grove from time to time, and some keen skaters visit The Grove from all parts of the UK.
All activities in The Grove are self - initiated and implemented by the people who frequent it. The majority of activities are self - funded, but we’ve learnt to be resourceful and do things within our means. No formalised structure or roles exist - the assumption is that "by deed the role will find you". The Grove community expects everyone to take an interest in its success. This helps to distribute a sense of community evenly regardless of age, background or tenure in The Grove. The youths are encouraged to develop a sense of ownership of the place and look after the site within their own ability (no matter how limited their ‘ability’ might be).
I stumbled on The Grove project in 2020 and, purely on a whim, I decided to help out ‘a little bit’ which led to me now visiting nearly every day and writing this article two years on. Who knew? I do most of the skatepark maintenance work as a volunteer, oversee the state of The Grove community and advocate externally when required.
The skatepark obstacle builds are initiated by a cluster of skaters, with more planned for the spring - summer period, thanks to the support from individuals, local businesses, skateboarding brands and Skateboard GB (the official body for selecting the Team GB skateboarders for the Olympics). Our most immediate need is access to onsite tap water. We simply don’t have access to a physical tap within The Grove, although we are willing to pay the water bill.
Gardening
The gardening project saw phenomenal growth in 2022, and the gardening team has been tirelessly working throughout winter in preparation for the 2023 season. There are still small patches of brambles intentionally left for biodiversity, but the rest of the garden area has been fully landscaped, thick brambles painstakingly uprooted one by one, and the soil has been lovingly prepared with organic compost for the joy of growing flowers and vegetables in 2023. From a humble beginning, the gardening project is now a fully - fledged entity in its own right. There are some sporadic workshops and small events in the pipeline for the warmer months. All will be announced on Instagram @the_grove_community_garden when confirmed. Any enquiries please email:
Graffiti / Visual Work
We encourage graffiti artists to work strictly within The Grove perimeters. We don’t condone unauthorised visual work outside The Grove; instead, we appeal to this population to use The Grove for their creativity and spare the surrounding properties. In this respect, The Grove functions as a free street art studio / gallery combined.
As a side note, graffiti artists, though often seen as mindless vandals, have their own unspoken code of conduct. A poignant example is the graffiti work ‘Sarah Everard’ which appeared on The Grove pub building wall in 2021 in response to her brutal murder. This graffiti work has not been destroyed by any other artists, as of March 2023, for over 1½ years, which is a remarkably long period of time for a graffiti work to remain intact. In contrast, a recent graffiti work on the adjacent wall was painted over with newer graffiti within a few days.
Conclusion
It is often a frustrating and occasionally stressful effort to deal with youths, but we’d rather not exclude anyone, partly because it is physically impossible to enforce, but also some of the youths may be dealing with extra burdens, be it domestic, financial, emotional or physical. We believe youths (and anyone, really!) need a place where they are allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, and remain in the community to grow up. We don’t tolerate abuse or high - risk behaviours, but usually a quiet, friendly chat or two would set the youth on the right path. And when you get to know them on a personal level, you’ll glimpse their caring and tender side hidden under their scruffy, rebellious outlook.
The Grove gives local youths a unique opportunity to be closer to nature, be creative, be independent, be resourceful and have fun in a post - apocalyptic - chic ramshackle ambience. The adults only step in for minimum safety and welfare reasons, and we continually appeal for self - moderation amongst the youths. We believe such experiences will touch their personality and broaden their horizons. The Grove is a shrine to their childhood this even applies to adults!
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Katy Millis, Head of Sustainability and Procurement, shares progress
Our aim is to be a leading educational establishment in sustainability issues and practical solutions, demonstrating our commitment to the environment. We educate our students on Climate Change, empowering them to make important small changes, not only in the College setting, but within their home communities too. We divide our Sustainability Action into six key areas.
Energy Analysing gas and electricity consumption is so important as it accounts for 27% of our total carbon emissions. We have introduced various energy saving initiatives including solar panels, LED lighting in all new projects and refurbishments, movement sensor lighting, upgrades to our building management system and the introduction of a live data analytics dashboard. The solar panels on the Laboratory roof (2016) and the Lord George and Pool arrays (2018) have generated in excess of 500 megawatt hours of electricity to date. This equates to a saving of over 100 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Looking to the future, we are reviewing additional options for installing solar panels, to increase electricity generated and used on campus, therefore using less from the grid.
To minimise gas consumption, we have set our heating systems at a lower temperature in offices and classrooms. We have an excellent solution for ground source heat pumps that would enable the College to become less reliant on gas, but this is not yet funded.
Water The College understands the need to conserve water; we have installed Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) on 75% of our water meters. We have installed water saving shower timers in our boarding houses and auto taps and waterless urinals in bathrooms.
Waste We do not send any waste to landfill. Much is recycled, while general waste is sent to an Energy Recovery facility and food waste to an anaerobic digestion centre and made into fertiliser.
Supply chain We have engaged with 70 of our main suppliers to explore their response to climate change, in order to reduce our carbon footprint when we purchase goods or services from them.
Biodiversity The Ground’s team have planted new trees that have been selected to create our wildlife corridor, running along the fence line. We have eradicated pesticides that damage the environment and harm wildlife and have created wilding planting at many of our boundaries. We will continue to plan a campus that can be enjoyed by all students and staff, whilst preserving and encouraging new wildlife and plants to thrive.
Travel Student and staff commuting is reviewed and data captured on an annual basis. The College is proud that only 13% of students are driven to school. We encourage sustainable travel by offering our Foundation Schools coach service, supplying bike racks for over 500 cyclists and congratulate those who choose to walk to school. Much work is being done on exploring other routes and methods of travel that are lower in CO2 emissions.
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