Sydenham Arts Festival – Monday July 11
Film and music – a talk by Steve Grindlay on the “lost” cinemas of South-east London, a performance by the Raise the Roof Choir and a showing of short films by local young people
Local history
Do we have more in common with Beckenham than we think?
A recent article points out the many largely forgotten historic links between Sydenham and Beckenham
Sydenham Arts Festival – Monday July 4
The well-known architectural historian, Gavin Stamp, talks on lost Victorian Britain
150 years of music in Sydenham – Friday June 24, 7.30pm
Talk on the history of music in Sydenham – brought to you by the International Music Festival
1911 Festival of Empire at Crystal Palace – Wednesday 18 May
Marking the centenary of this landmark event – a talk by Jan Piggott at the Golden Lion
Proposed closure of the Kirkdale Learning Centre – Sydenham & Perry Vale public meeting, 7pm Thursday 7 April
Thursday 7 April, 7pm at the Naborhood Centre, 44a Sydenham Road SE26 5QX
Lewisham Council is reviewing its provision of adult education following a reduction in central government funding. To save money, the Council are proposing closure of the popular Kirkdale Learning Centre at the end of the summer term. The consultation period runs until May 20th and a special meeting for residents of Sydenham and Perry Vale wards has been arranged for Thursday April 7th (details above).
We would urge as many residents as possible to attend one or other of these meetings, to listen to the arguments and to make their voices heard. For more information, go to this weblink:
www.lewisham.gov.uk/NewsAndEvents/News/ConsultationStartsOnKirkdaleSite.htm
Details of the officer presentation given at the Forest Hill Assembly here:
Kirkdale 1 Kirkdale 2 Kirkdale 3
Photograph of Kirkdale Institute by Steve Grindlay
Fanfare for Beckenham concert – Saturday 26 March 7pm St George’s Church
The Lewisham Concert Band with Paul Allen (Baritone), Dave Lee (Solo Horn), Derek Foster & Anthony Green (Piano Duo), and Christian Strover (Pianist and Narrator) present an evening of music by Arthur Bliss, Carey Blyton, Benjamin Britten, Gordon Carr, Anne Dudley, Edward Elgar, Jacob Gade, Hubert Gregg, George F Handel, Gustav Holst, Aram Khachaturian, Felix Mendelssohn, Keith Mansfield, Donald Swann, Gilbert Vintner and Peter Warlock. Director of Music Leslie Lake.
All of the music will have a local theme celebrating people and important events in the history of the local area including Sydenham and Crystal Palace.
Tickets £10 at the door from 6.15 pm or telephone 020 8650 7347. Children under 18 free. Complimentary refreshments
Proceeds to Woodlark Camp Site Trust for the Disabled and St Christopher’s Hospice
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazybobbles/454883157/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Michael Portillo travels from Brighton to Crystal Palace
In the 2nd series of BBC2’s Great British Railway Journeys, Michael Portillo visits Crystal Palace.
To playback click HERE (link to BBC iplayer) :
A history of Perry Vale fire station
An application to redevelop Perry Vale fire station into flats has just been received by Lewisham Planning Department. www.sydenhamsociety.com/2010/11/perry-vale-fire-station-to-become-a-church/
Local historian, Steve Grindlay, tells the history of this distinctive building:
Before the opening of Perry Vale Fire Station on 22 March 1902 fire defence in Sydenham and Forest Hill was fairly haphazard.
From the 1860s there was a horse drawn pump based at the Crystal Palace. Beside the Bricklayers Arms there was a fixed hose, attached to a water pipe, by which “any person may direct water in abundance”. There was also a fire escape (a cart with a ladder fixed to it to rescue people from burning buildings) next to the Woodman. In 1872 a volunteer fire service was formed in Forest Hill, but it was severely constrained and constantly in debt because it depended entirely on voluntary contributions.
After its creation in 1889 the London County Council began building fire stations across London. The earlier buildings were Victorian Gothic but by 1900 the Arts and Crafts style predominated. Building began on the Perry Vale fire station in 1901; the foundation stone was laid on 4 July 1901. The architect was most probably Charles Canning Winmill, the LCC Fire Brigade Department’s principal architect. The building is considered a particularly fine example of an early arts and crafts fire station.
The building was designed to house 12 firemen and their families. The 1911 census has 10 firemen, 2 coachmen (who drove the appliances and cared for the horses) and their families, a total of 50 people living in the station. The reason the accommodation was provided was because the firemen were on call 24 hours a day. This system ended in the early 1920s when shift work was introduced and the firemen had a fixed working week.
At the time the Perry Vale station opened there were two basic types of fire appliance: the pump, for extinguishing fires, and the escape with a ladder for rescuing people. The familiar dual-purpose fire engine, with both a pump and ladder, was introduced in 1934, partly for greater efficiency, and partly as an economy (reducing staff numbers).
When the new Forest Hill Fire Station on Stanstead Road opened in 1972 the Perry Vale Fire Station closed. In March 1973, within a year of closure, it was listed Grade II. Since the building closed as a fire station it has been used by the Council as a housing office and for temporary accommodation. In 2008 the Council decided that the building was surplus to its requirements, and put it up for sale.
Nikolaus Pevsner described the Perry Vale Fire Station as “an especially picturesque example of its type”. Recent surveys make it clear that although there have been internal changes, some original features do survive. We must hope that any plans for the future of the building respect its past.
Steve Grindlay
sgrindlay@gmail.com
Perry Vale fire station to become a church?
A planning application lodged with Lewisham council appears to open the way for the former fire station building in Perry Vale to be used as a church.
The application is to turn the upper floors of the building into 13 flats (nine x 1 bedroom; two x 2 bedroom and two x 3 bedroom). The planning forms state that “a further application will be made for the change of use of the ground floor to create a church and ancillary spaces”. Local gossip that a Tesco Metro was moving onto the site turned out to be nothing more than an unfounded rumour – and the listed status of the building would make it very difficult for any retailer to make a success of the site.
Full details of the aplication can be found here: