The Dulwich Society Journal for Winter 2018.
Traffic, and the volume of it, is a perennial discussion point in Dulwich - but several things that are, or are about to happen. around us should be concentrating our minds. We have yet to see the promised changes in school coach routes (though hopefully they will be with us early next year) and it would probably be fair to say that the recent Junction alterations in the centre of the Village have not had universal approval. It appears to have made pedestrians crossing to the adjacent schools safer but many motorists feel that the junction is more dangerous (partly because of confusion over the priority cyclist traffic lights), and some cyclists are also questioning what are the benefits for them - the recent installation of a yellow box to overcome misunderstanding over road priorities is a case in point. (you can submit feedback on the junction https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/environment-leisure/quietway-7-dulwich-village-feedback/). It also now appears that TfL are having second thoughts about funding the continuation of the Turney Road Quietway into Lambeth and the consultations on the new Quietway along Court Lane, and the Cycling Super Highway, which was due to come through Dulwich Village, have gone quiet. And what has happened to the ‘holistic’ traffic report on Dulwich that the Council recently funded?
But one thing that is coming to the fore is Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). Whatever your views on them - there will be more in our area. Those that have them like them (ask anyone who lives in the North Dulwich Triangle), but many of those that don’t remain ambivalent, some even seeing it as a Council money-making exercise. Turney Road residents have suffered from the impact of teacher and commuter parking displacement from North Dulwich, and this will not be made any easier by current plans to extend the CPZ there to include Village Way. In addition, following requests from residents, Lambeth are starting a consultation on Croxted Road to the west, and Southwark is about to start consultations to the south and east - in the area around Dog Kennel Hill and from Goose Green south along Lordship Lane. The latter will have implications for Beauval Road, Calton Avenue and Dovercourt Road, and also, potentially, Woodwarde Road and possibly Court Lane. To the west, there is already a CPZ on the roads between Thurlow Park Road and Herne Hill, so Turney and Burbage Roads could suffer even more.
You would think that the Council should have learned by now that controlled parking in isolated areas merely moves the problem somewhere else. They must be reviewed over a whole area, in conjunction with other measures. How can we make sure that you can park outside your house when you come home - why should many of our elderly residents be reluctant to use their cars because they fear not being able to park nearby when they return? How can we stop people parking their cars and leaving them on our streets while they go on holiday (it happens regularly, sometimes for months on end)? Why should parents bringing children to our schools think that they can park in our streets while they then commute to work? How can we reduce pollution near schools? How can we reduce traffic in our roads so that pedestrians feel safer and cyclists don’t feel the need to ride on the pavements? How can we stop mini-cabs and the ever-increasing number of delivery vans driving up our narrow streets merely because their sat navs tell them to?
In short, how can we all make Dulwich a better place to live? Southwark Council needs to bring the ‘holistic’ plan out of the drawer and start discussing it with the local community - rather than imposing ideas, it needs to listen to what residents actually want.
To start the dialogue off, the Dulwich Society has arranged a public meeting on Saturday 12th January at the Herne Hill Methodist Hall (starting at 2.30pm). Local ward councillors will be attending as will Richard Livingstone,/ the Cabinet member for Environment, Transport Management & Air Quality.
The theme is ‘A liveable Dulwich’ and the aim is to have a general discussion on how residents see the future of traffic in the area, what improvements they want, what are easy fixes, and what will take a bit longer - whatever you view, please come along, the community needs to pull together on this or we will all suffer.
150th Dulwich Society Local History meeting
The local history group which is active in promoting interest in Dulwich’s fascinating past celebrated its 50th year and its 150th meeting on 1 October. Many of the results of this research have been printed in the Journal and remain accessible online.
Here are just a few of the activities with which the group has been involved:
Who Was Who in Dulwich: since 1982 the group has been producing short biographies of people connected with Dulwich. In 2002 these were collated into a book and since then many more have been published. The original book is still available.
Information boards: the group has put up a number of information boards around Dulwich giving historical detail about local landmarks such as the burial ground, the tollgate, the millpond as well as the long-lost windmill. These have been very popular and more are planned.
Pubs of Dulwich: the stories of pubs in our corner of South London were collated in a beautifully-illustrated book published in 2016. This superb history is packed with detail and reveals much about the growth of London over the past three centuries. Copies are available to order on the website.
World War One: the group was responsible for the rescue and re-installation of three large bronze war memorials at the former Christ Church, Barry Road and instigated a publicity campaign involving BBC London News which covered the story.
The history of the Dulwich Volunteer Battalion, which has a memorial dedicated to it at St Peter’s Church, Dulwich Common, was researched and published
There has been a joint venture with the Herne Hill Society and the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery to commemorate the centenary of WW1 through in an interactive map. It shows how our neighbourhood was affected and illuminates Dulwich’s contribution to the war effort.
Dulwich Hospital’s historical significance when it was Southwark Military Hospital was traced, including the memorial to the 119 soldiers who died there in WW1. The memorial was restored using the list of names we researched and was funded by the War Memorials Trust.
World War Two: to mark the Society’s 50th year, the group researched twelve sites around Dulwich where there were significant civilian casualties during the Blitz and the V1 and V2 campaigns. At each site Dr Kenneth Wolfe conducted a dedication to the memory of those who lost their lives and the Society placed plaques bearing their names. At a number of the unveilings, survivors were traced and were present.. A free map showing the sites of the plaques was subsequently circulated to members and to Dulwich schools to be used by children studying WW2. A history of WW2 - ‘ Dulwich: The Home Front’ was published and reprinted and copies are available.
Walks and Talks: Local history walks are organised to coincide with the Dulwich Festival and are always sold out. Talks take place throughout the year and have included subjects such as Georgian Dulwich, the burial ground and tracing the history of your house.
Houses of Dulwich: booklets on the more significant houses in Dulwich, such as Belair, Kingswood and Bell House, have been produced as well as architectural and social histories of individual roads. A book on the lost houses of Dulwich is currently being researched.
Dulwich Maps: the local history group collaborated with Dulwich College Archives in making Dulwich Estate maps available online. The estate extends from Denmark Hill to Crystal Palace, and Herne Hill to Lordship Lane. Dating from 1852 through to 1932 the maps give a fascinating picture of the Estate's development over the last one hundred plus years.
Dulwich’s Road names: Ever wondered why your road has the name it does? A gazetteer on the website contains information on the names of all the roads on the Dulwich Estate. Iy may be reviewed on the Dulwich Society’s website.
King’s College Hospital ward name derivations: the names of 74 wards, buildings and centres were researched to provide a comprehensive history which has been adopted by King’s as their own archive had lost much of the information.
Old Burial Ground: the group researched the 114 graves and monuments that are visible on the site. Details of the inscriptions and background on many of the individuals interred there are available on our website and we also produced an illustrated leaflet and information board. The group has hosted guided tours around the burial ground as part of the Dulwich Festival.
Anyone actively interested in the history of Dulwich who wishes to join the group or help carry out research would be most welcome. Please email the Chairman, Bernard Nurse:
New Charter School, East Dulwich
by Ian McInnes
The new Charter School East Dulwich shares the former Dulwich Community Hospital site in East Dulwich Grove with the new Dulwich Health Centre - which is expected to bring together a range of community health and GP services under one roof. Designed by architect, FieldenCleggBradleyStudios (FCBStudios) the school will start taking pupils in January 2019 - at the moment it is on a temporary site on Southampton Way. Planned with a capacity of nearly 1700, construction of the final phase awaits the completion of the health centre in early 2020 - when the NHS Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group will be able to decant services from the old buildings. Contractor Kier won the £25m contract in October 2017 and the project is being project managed by Southwark Council. The design of the two projects, although by different architects, is complimentary, with both using a red brick for their facades.
The school’s main access will be off East Dulwich Grove and the much loved ‘Chateau’ building will be retained. The class room buildings are at the rear of the site, behind the health building, near to and parallel with the railway. Playgrounds and sports pitches will replace the old wards to the west of the present gates while the site of the old doctor’s accommodation is now a lecture hall and drama complex - which will also be available for community use.
Given that the catchment area is very limited, most children should cycle or walk, the school has a positive green travel plan to try and reduce teacher car travel as much as possible - and East Dulwich station is within easy walking distance. There are also two bus routes passing the front door, the No 37 and the no 42.
The new school was funded by Central Government through its ‘School’s Building Programme’. Budgets are considerably less than the previous administration’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme which was largely funded via the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
Dulwich Hospital
The original Dulwich Community Hospital was built by the Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of St Saviour, Southwark in 1887. Originally planned for Peckham, it was finally built on this seven-acre site purchased from local housing developer Ezekiel J Bailey for £14,000. There was stiff local opposition from both existing residents and the Dulwich Estate (led by the Estate's surveyor Charles Barry jnr.) over concerns about the impact on local property values - plus ca change! Designed by architect Henry Jarvis on the ‘Nightingale’ principle of several ‘fingers’ to maximise natural light and air to the wards, the final cost was just over £50,000 - at its opening it had a capacity of 723 beds. In 1902 the Infirmary was renamed the Southwark Union Infirmary, after St Saviour's Union became the Southwark Union. In 19l5, during the First World War, it was requisitioned by the War Office as a military hospital and the number of beds was increased to 800. Of the 12,522 wounded soldiers treated in the hospital only 119 actually died, a remarkably low figure. The War Memorial to them, restored after pressure from the Dulwich Society, remains near the front entrance and is now grade 2 listed.
The hospital was transferred back to the Guardians in April 1919 and, in 1921 it name was changed - to Southwark Hospital. When the LCC took over administrative control in 1931 it became a general hospital and became the Dulwich Hospital. Additional facilities were built, including a new operating theatre, pharmacy, and a new boiler house, and the ground floor wards were converted to an Out-Patient Department, offices and laboratories, reducing the number of beds to 423.
It continued to serve the local population during WW2 and, although bombs and V1's exploded close by, the hospital was not hit. In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS, coming under the control of the Camberwell Hospital Management Committee, which included St Giles and St Francis' Hospital. The Accident and Emergency Department was closed in 1964 when it was taken over by King's College Hospital Group - it became a District Hospital and then a centre for renal treatment. Local support was so strong that in 1988 a new renal ward, designed by Sir Terence Conran opened, paid for from the £1m raised locally over five years.
In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital was again under new management - the Kings (Teaching) District Health Authority, part of the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham (Teaching) Area Health Authority. After another major reorganisation of the NHS in 1982, the Hospital came under the control of the Camberwell District Health Authority, part of the South East Thames Regional Health Authority.
The first ideas about setting up a community hospital were discussed as early as 1996 but it took ten years of consultation, and changes in Central Government Policy, before a decision was made to close the hospital and clear the site for the construction of a Polyclinic. Even though the east wing was demolished in 2006 in preparation, more changes in government policy led to further delays. The original intention was for the remainder of the site to be sold to a residential developer but Southwark Council and local residents campaigned strongly for a new secondary school and this was finally agreed by the NHS Estate in 2014.
Following the Society’s sponsorship, the BELL HOUSE POETS group was launched at the last Dulwich Festival and has now held two very successful meetings with poetry and music. The next will take place on Tuesday January 15th 2019 7.30-9pm
4 invited poets TBC and 6 floor poets, first come first served. Floor poets may read up to 25 lines and entertain us as we are always on the look-out for new voices.
Free event with refreshments. Donations are requested for wine please. Music to lighten the soul on the dark winter nights.
Hope to see you there in the delightful Bell House, 27 College Rd. SE21 7BG
Further information: Wendy French
and Robert Hancock
There was a lot of interest from members of the Society in our visit to Southwark’s Integrated Waste Management Facility(“IWMF”), which is managed by Veolia and which is where the borough’s recycling and “black bin” waste ends up. Southwark’s recycling rate at 34% is the highest of the inner London boroughs, with much higher rates in the south of the borough measured by the number of recycling bins per household. Encouragingly, little waste goes to landfill although a lot is ultimately burned to provide heat and energy, some even being used to produce cement. We learned a lot in a well-managed and enjoyable tour of a fascinating facility, and we aim to rerun the visit in 2019.
We reported on the new website in the last Journal and the first of the Estate’s new quarterly newsletters was published in September - it was sent out as part of the annual SoM charge, but copies can also be picked up in other locations around the area - by the Society’s notice board next to the Crown and Greyhound for example.
Regular Estate eNewsletters will also be sent out to those who register on the new Estate website (https://www.thedulwichestate.org.uk/living-in-dulwich). The open surgeries that are held on the first Monday of every month are continuing, the next dates are Mondays, 3 December, 7 January and 4 February. Go to the Estate office in the Old College between 10 and 4pm and you will be able to see either Simone Crofton, the CEO, or Adrian Brace, who manages both the Estate’s property portfolio and the Scheme of Management.
There has been an ongoing spike in youth on youth robbery, mainly of mobile phones or bicycles. The use of force has increased and masks/balaclavas are now being seen - and we have now learned that none of the four Dulwich wards has a dedicated schools’ police officer. The local safer Neighbourhood Ward Teams do their best by changing their shift patterns so as to be on patrol at school coming out times - but some of the wards do not even have their full complement of officers. There is no cover on their days off, and they clearly cannot be everywhere at the same time. If Dulwich is to make a case for increasing police resources to at least previous levels, it is essential that all incidents are reported.
Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist who treated King George V1 for a speech impediment lived at Beechgrove on Sydenham Hill. The house is now demolished, and the large garden absorbed into Sydenham Hill Wood which was recently leased by the Dulwich Estate to the London Wildlife Trust. His sons were all married at St Stephen’s Church, and he served as an ARP (Air Raid Precaution) warden at the post at the Dulwich & Sydenham Golf Club.
The story of Logue’s successful treatment of the King became an Oscar winning film starring Geofrey Rush as Logue and Colin Firth as George V1 with Henrietta Bonham-Carter as his Queen. The film was based on the book ‘The King’s Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy’ which was a best-seller and translated into more than 20 languages. The authors are Logue’s grandson and custodian of his archive, Mark Logue, and the Sunday Times columnist, Peter Conradi.
They have written a new book about Logue, The King’s War which provides a fascinating account of the continuing relationship between the king and the speech therapist who sometimes treated the king at Beechgrove and follows the course of the war, from George V1’s broadcast to the nation on the outbreak of the war in September 1939 - which formed the climax of the film, through to Dunkirk, and the dark days beyond to D-Day and victory in 1945.
The book draws on exclusive material in the Logue archive - the collection of diaries, letters and other documents left by Logue and his feisty wife, Myrtle. Mark Logue and Peter Conradi will talk about their new book at Bell House on Sunday 16th December at 3pm.
The Dulwich Society
Invites you to Bell House, College Road on
Sunday 16th December at 3pm
For a talk by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
On their new book The King’s War
Tickets £10 (includes tea & Christmas cake), in aid of The Bell House Project
Copies of The King’s War which makes an excellent Christmas present will be on sale.
Tickets (strictly limited) will be on sale at The Art Stationers, Dulwich Village (tel: 0208 693 5938)
Please note that subscriptions for 2019 are due on January 1st. Subscriptions remain at £10 per household. Most members pay by standing order and if so, you do not need to take any action.
However, if you pay your subscription by cheque (or cash) then please send it, payable to The Dulwich Society, to me at the address below. To save on costs of posting reminders it would be appreciated if this was done promptly. If the Society has not received payment by the end of March then names will be removed from the membership list.
If you would like to start paying by standing order then please contact me at the address/number below for a form or download it from the membership leaflet on the Society website. Alternatively payment can be made by BACS but please contact me for your reference number and our bank details.
A Happy Christmas and New Year to all our members.
Diana McInnes, Membership Secretary,
11 Ferrings, Dulwich, London SE21 7LU.
020 8693 6313
If you have not told us your email address you will not be receiving the monthly members eNewsletter, which is becoming a very popular source of up to date local news. Your Journal continues to be sent on a quarterly basis. Please send your email address to the membership email address above.