Mermaids in the Lido, ghosts in Peckham, spooky ravens in Anerly Hill – there’s a whole new side to south London out there, if you know where to look. Anna Sayburn talks to London folklore expert and ‘penny dreadful’ editor Chris Roberts about the weirder side of life.
I met Chris when I turned up for his guided walk around Blackfriars, which promised to spill the beans about local legends, ghosts and more. Chris, who lives in Camberwell, has been leading these fascinating tours around the capital, for several years.
‘I got interested in London history in general pretty soon after moving here in mid nineties but only started serious research around 2001 for a series of walking tours. These bled into research for a book on London bridges (Cross River Traffic) which really got me started on the folklore. There is an awful lot of bridge folklore…’ explains Chris.
The research, along with an interest in new writing, eventually led to One Eye Grey, a ‘penny dreadful’ pocket magazine for the 21st century, which brings these legends up to date.
‘The research originally was for a book about London ghost stories and strange tales, that mutated into re-telling the tales for the 21st century. I realised that too many of the tales had been done in other books, and updating them seemed a more interesting way of introducing them.’
So what sort of stories from the south London area can readers find in One Eye Grey?
‘Well, where else would the modern mermaid spend her time but Brockwell Park Lido? There is also the pagan estate agent operating his business purely on the ley lines that cross London. This latter tale was based on a talk which postulated that throughout history King William Street in Greenwich has had a strong sexual history. Those quick to scoff might well pause to consider the obvious fertility ley line running through East Dulwich where at least half the population is about to, or just has, given birth.
‘In issue four there was a story about fashionable and wealthy Walworth and poverty stricken Primrose Hill, which took for its premise that the zoo at Manor Place SE17 had prospered and the one in north London closed, instead of the opposite. Coming tales include the spectral ballet dancer of One Tree Hill, the various manifestations of the Peckham Ghost, the Toll Raven of Anerley Hill and the standing stone that lies on its side at Brockley Station (London bound side). If that is your route to work, citing an ancient pagan curse as the reason for your train’s delay might at least be an original excuse!’
I love hearing old stories about London, especially the parts of it I know. Where do Chris and his fellow writers hear about these legends?
‘I find an awful lot through reading, a few via radio, TV and film, and over the last few years at the South East London Folklore Society and other meetings. Robert Elms on BBC London does interesting things with London tales and some have been the basis for films (Raw Meat or Death Line being the best known). The internet is not actually as helpful as one might think with this sort of thing, Bishopgate Institute Library is way better.’
Chris says that one of the points of One Eye Grey is to provide the modern commuter with a decent read, in a handy portable format.
‘The title comes from a belief held by an earlier bunch of underground London travellers, the sewer scavengers of Victorian London. They believed in an entity known as Queen Rat, a shape shifting rodent who could bestow great fortune, good luck and a huge family on those who pleased her. The first born of this family would be a girl with one eye grey and the other blue.’
Find out more about One Eye Grey at www.fandmpublications.co.uk. Writers, illustrators or photographers are welcome to submit work. Remember you can be creative, you can be horrible but you must be London. South East London Folklore Society meets at the Old Kings Head on Borough High Street, see www.selfs.org.uk.
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