Last Tuesday I attended a talk about the tea journey along the Silk Road at the Horniman Museum.

The talk was by Helen Saberi, author of Tea: A Global History. As an avid tea lover, it really came as no surprise to learn that tea is the second most popular beverage in the world. In fact, we Brits drink more tea than any nation on earth, with 66% of the British population drinking tea every day.

Helen’s talk was about the tea journey along the Silk Road from Xian in China to Istanbul in Turkey passing through such places as Tibet, Central Asia, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Iran. Helen discussed the various ways this versatile beverage is prepared and drunk along the way, including the butter tea of Tibet and pink tea of Kashmir and Afghanistan. She also described some of the tea drinking customs and traditions in countries such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tibet. Helen showed us some lovely images of tea drinking and tea equipage including many interesting and rare ones from the Horniman Museum and Gardens collections.

Tea cups and equipment from museum collection.

The history of tea is an interesting one. Legend has it that tea was discovered by the Chinese Emperor, Shan Nong, in 2737 B.C. The Emperor had a habit of boiling his drinking water. One day while he was in his garden a few tea leaves fell by chance into his boiling water which then gave off a rich, alluring aroma. The Emperor, upon drinking this brew, discovered it to be refreshing and energizing. He immediately gave the command that tea bushes to be planted in the gardens of his palace. Thus the custom of brewing fresh tea leaves in hot water began and it quickly spread.

Since the discovery of tea, the tradition of drinking tea brewed from fresh tea leaves in boiling water established well in China. Until the fifth century A.D., tea was primarily used as a remedy, due to the medicinal benefits attributed to it. From this time onwards, China’s upper class adopted the fashion of presenting packages of tea as highly esteemed gifts and drinking tea at social events and in private homes.

Arabian Camel Caravan

The increasing importance of tea in daily life led to high demand and tea was being promoted to countries outside of Southern China. The Chinese were the main exporters of tea. The Silk Road was a trade link from Yunnan, one of the first tea-producing regions, to countries in Asia and the Middle East. The tea loads were carried on horses or camel caravans.

Tea brick

Back then, tea was compressed into tea bricks, they were usually made with thoroughly dried and ground tea leaves that were pressed into various bricks or other shapes, although partially dried and whole leaves were also used. Some tea bricks were also mixed with binding agents such as flour, blood, or manure to better preserve their form so they could withstand physical use as currency. No-one still knows why blood was used as a binding agent and where the blood came from. It remains a mystery to this day.

Drinking tea became popular over the centuries. People would gather at tea houses to chat, socialise, and enjoy tea – tea houses often served as centres of social interaction. In countries such as Afghanistan, they have chaikhonas (tea house) – people will visit chaikhonas to drink tea and listen to native music or storytelling. In Baltistan there is a saying about 3 cups of tea, if you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect their ways. The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you share a cuppa, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for family, Balti’s prepared to do anything, even die.

Helen concluded the talk by sharing the story of Frederick Horniman (founder of Horniman Museum), Frederick was the son of John Horniman, who established Horniman’s Tea, a tea business using mechanical packaging. By 1891, it was said to be the biggest tea company in the world. The business was sold in 1918 to J. Lyons & Co., who moved production to their new factory in Middlesex, in July 1921, even though worldwide distribution ended in 1993, Horniman’s Tea remains a popular brand of tea and infusions in Spain – so do keep an eye out next time you visit Spain.

Sugared almond and green tea

After the talk, everyone had the chance to taste two types of delicious English green tea from the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall and eat some yummy sugared almonds. We were invited to bring our own mugs and teacups, so the tea drinking experience felt more personal and comforting.

Tea tasting and the sunset at Horniman Gardens.

Tea has a long and important history of bringing people together. It was fascinating to learn about the history of tea and tea customs in different cultures. Everyone at the Horniman enjoyed chatting away over a hot cup of tea and watching the sunset in the Gardens.

Do you have a tea story to share? You can leave your comments below…

Dulwich OnView held a tea party in 2010, it was a huge success and the tea helped us to mingle with the locals, enjoying time relaxing with the warmth of tea and friendship.

An article on Dulwich OnView has attracted visitors to Dulwich from across the Atlantic!

Two sides of the Druce family, reunited in Dulwich

In 2010 Melanie Lewis of Albuquerque (New Mexico) was researching her family history. She traced her genealogical line on her father’s side back as far as a family called Druce; she knew they originally came from the UK, but not whereabouts exactly. (There was one member of the family who couldn’t be mistaken, with the charming and exotic name of Decimus Druce.)

And then she stumbled on an article I wrote for this website a few years back, all about street names in Dulwich. This pointed her in the right direction for her next research trip. She found that the man who gave his name to Druce Road in Dulwich was actually Decimus’ father, her long-lost relative Charles Druce (1762-1845), whose portrait is in the collection of Dulwich Picture Gallery.

And so last week Melanie and her family came to Dulwich to find out more about him. While they were here they managed to meet up with a newly found third cousin, James Druce, and his family, who now live in Portsmouth.

Two sides of the Druce family, reunited in Dulwich – The Lewis Family (New Mexico) and the Druce Family (Portsmouth)

I went to meet both families at Dulwich College, who kindly showed us around and pointed out some local areas of interest, relevant to the life of Charles Druce and his family. Druce worked as a solicitor to the College (which was then located next to where Dulwich Picture Gallery stands now) and was responsible for planting many of the trees on College Lane, some of which may still be growing today. So there was plenty for our American friends to see here relevant to their ancestor – much more than just humble Druce Road!

Interest in family history research is huge now and the Internet is an incredibly powerful tool for putting people in touch with their ancestors. Not only can people check the censuses online, but a simple name check in a search engine can bring up content like the articles on this blog. And we are delighted that a little article I wrote, some years back, has inspired someone to come and visit our area.

It turns out that Charles was quite the fellow and young Decimus Druce had 21 brothers and sisters, so there are sure to be more people out there descended from the family. Is anyone else out there related to them? Why not come and visit us in Dulwich …

The above is a video about the regeneration, or gentrification, of Brixton. If you have any opinions about the issue, leave comments below.

Through the random nature of the internet I came across this location The Asylum.

It’s a chapel in a converted almshouse complex fairly near to where I live. The name is somewhat misleading as I don’t believe that the location was ever an actual ‘asylum’ for the insane.

I shan’t repeat the history from the owners website, everything you need to know about The Asylum can be found HERE. The location can be hired for all sorts of events and there were people chatting to the owner (Dido) about holding an art exhibition and weddings, I believe that there was some ballet taken place previously as there was lots of fake snow on the floor!

I contacted the owner and arranged a shoot there this morning. Due to the fact that it is used for several different situations there were a lot of people in and out. Dido was kind enough to let me shoot after the people had left which was great. No time restriction and the ability to do as I wished without blurry people in shot.

Click here to view The Asylum in full 360 glory.

The image is made up of 18 images each with three shots run through Photomatix and Photoshop using Nik filters.

About Mark: IT Account Manager by day, photographer by night and weekends. I specialise in Urbex, MMA and HDR. Based in Crystal Palace, South London. You can visit my website here: markblundellphoto.com and follow me on twitter @MarkB_Photo.

Kingswood House dates back from the late 19th century, when it was given its castle like appearance by John Lawson Johnston, a dietician who invented Bovril (a popular British beef extract).

Kingswood House, Dulwich, 1914

I don’t have much information on how Lord Bovril used the house, but I do know that it was a popular location for entertainment before and after World War 1 – with weekend parties, balls and other social events. Further information about the history of the house, can be found here.

The house is a beautiful Grade II listed mansion, located between Gypsy Hill and Sydenham Hill train station. Like many old buildings, however, it is very expensive to maintain. There is a need to carry out extensive and very expensive works, while still retaining its community use.

Kingswood House today

The fantastic building is home to a variety of uses for the local community. There’s a branch of Southwark libraries and a variety of small arts organisations rent office space in the building. A room is given over to the Paxton Green Time Bank – a project set up by local residents who wanted to do something useful with their time, in exchange for services from other members. So, someone knits a scarf for someone else in return for some gardening. (A bit like the swap club in a well-known radio drama, but much more efficiently run!). It’s also possible to hire the rooms in the house for meetings, weddings or local events at very reasonable prices. However, in more recent times, the building has been under-used.

Paxton Green Time Bank’s Fix and Mend event outside Kingswood House

No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the house, and any changes will be dependent on maintaining and improving public access to and use of the ground floor spaces. Southwark Council are consulting people at this point in time, to share what has been discovered about the house and some potential ideas for the future and to ask for the views of local residents and businesses on potential changes which could be introduced. The feedback will inform the decision-making process on next steps.

Do you have any potential ideas about the future of Kingswood House? 

For further information about the community activities or to hire the house, please visit: www.kingswoodcommunity.org.uk. 

Many regard Charles Dickens as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, others do not agree: they see him as the greatest novelist of all times. And it is true that his books have never been out of print and that his novels are continuously turned into plays, films and even musicals.

It is to celebrate 200 years since his birth that Jill Alexander, former Chairman of the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery and Brian Green, Chairman of the Dulwich Society, have come together to devise a programme to pay tribute to the great writer.

It is not well known that Dickens had several connections with Southwark, both literary and personal. His father was thrown into the debtors’ prison at Marshalsea when Dickens was only twelve and the rest of the family moved in with him, this was often done in those days. It fell on poor Charles to help to support his family and he did not join them. He lodged and started working in a shoe polish factory down by the Thames, an area he got to know well.

This was not an easy time for young Charles, he felt abandoned and betrayed by his family, as he was left on his own. This feeling of abandonment would later be a theme in many of his novels.

When his grandmother died the family was left some money and could leave the prison and Charles could go back to school and move back with his family.

His links to South London continued. His first major serial work was the popular The Pickwick Papers. Mr Pickwick is known to have retired to Dulwich and we have Pickwick Cottage and Pickwick Road in the Village to remember him by.

“The house I have taken is at Dulwich. It has a large garden and is situated in one of the most pleasant spots near London. It has been fitted up with every attention to substantial comfort; perhaps to a little elegance besides; but you shall judge for yourselves.”

In later life, when Dickens had left his wife Katherine, mother of his ten children, he lived with the actress Ellen Ternan. It is known that he rented a house in Linden Grove in Nunhead, for the two of them.

Dulwich Players

His life is worthy a novel in his own right. He became the first literary global celebrity, and no one has since reached his fame both in the UK and abroad. He toured the States and his readings were sell-outs everywhere. It is said that he never used props or costumes but somehow managed to make the characters come alive through his voice and facial expressions.

Now it is the turn of nineteen actors from the Dulwich Players to enact passages from his plays and to read excerpts from his writings. Scenes from The Pickwick Papers -  for obvious reasons – Bleak House, Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol are promised as well as songs from the musicals Oliver! and Pickwick. The music director is Paul Grimwood.

It promises to be an evening of delight in the atmospheric Christ’s Chapel next to Dulwich Picture Gallery. There are still some tickets left.

A Bicentenary Evening with Charles Dickens
Thursday 29 November 2012 at 7.30 pm Christ’s Chapel, Dulwich
£12, £10 Friends, includes a glass of wine.

Tickets available online: www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
By phone: 020 8299 8750 (Mon-Fri 10am – 4pm)
Or visit the Friends Desk in Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dr Hadwen

Like a challenge? So did Walter Robert Hadwen, born in Woolwich on 3rd August 1854. He left school at the age of thirteen; and even at this young age, he managed to pass the pharmaceutical society entrance examinations.

A chemist by trade, then a preacher, and finally a doctor, when a friend bet him he couldn’t survive for six months without meat, he won the bet, and subsequently became a lifelong vegetarian. Dr Hadwen moved to Gloucester after qualifying as a doctor at St Andrew’s University, and was invited by Miss

Celebrate World Animal Day

Frances Power Cobbe to speak at the newly formed British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV.) He began to study the history of medicine in relation to experiments on animals, concluding that that vivisection had “done nothing whatever for the amelioration or the cure of any human disease.”

He became the president of BUAV and “his manner of dealing with opponents, especially medical men, was a delight to witness.” according to audience members. In 1970, the general secretary of BUAV formed a new Trust for the advancement of medicine without harming animals, naming it the Dr Hadwen Trust.

In 2012, the Dr Hadwen Trust is the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity, and has been actively funding projects which are also ethically viable for forty years. The new era of cutting-edge medical research features computer models of virtual organs, with incredibly accurate indicators of both disease and treatment, human volunteers providing cell or tissue samples, and cultures which can be grown in test tubes.

At 7:30pm on Tuesday 2nd October, Canvas & Cream Art Gallery and restaurant  will be HOSTING Dr Had’s Jazz Charity Event. The event is also a celebration of World Animal Day, and the venue has already received some media attention, as Nigella Lawson enthused about the cakes, and the Saatchi Gallery buying all the painting in one of their first exhibitions. The jazz night will feature songs on an animal theme, with Alex Carter (me) with top notch jazzers Dave Chamberlain and Christian Vaughan.

Me – Alexandra Carter

There will be a vegetarian food and bar, and the evening coincides with the first night of artist Martin Aveling’s beautiful animal portraits exhibition; he will hopefully be back from New York in time! Tickets are £10, available from alex@alexandracarter.com or ask for them at Canvas & Cream. All proceeds go to the Dr Hadwen Trust.

As for The Leopard’s Spot, you’ll have to come along to find out…I know, you DOV readers didn’t really think they’d spotted leopards south of the river.

The raffle prizes are kindly donated by CRED jewellery, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Beyond Skin shoes, Cyrine Aromatherapie, Feelgood Handbags,Vegan Wines, Plamil foods, Paul Mitchell Hair Care, with a hat made specially for the event by Bailey Tomlin (Vogue.)

For further info and to book tickets please visit: http://www.alexandracarter.com/drhadsjazz.

Alex Carter, singer, lives in Sydenham, specialising in European cabaret songs.

This pleasant and quiet wooded path runs south of College Gardens and along the boundary of the Dulwich tennis Club.

Many resident don’t know it’s there, but those who do can take this short cut from Gallery Road to College Road and avoid much longer routes via Dulwich Common, the Dr Webster roundabout or the Old College Garden.

It appears to be un-named but a copy of the Estate map confirms it as ‘Grove Walk’. But it has never been known by this name, it was always called ‘Lovers Walk’ and it was a popular subject for Edwardian and Victorian postcards.

The Dulwich Society have decided to put things right and, at 11am on Saturday 22 September, we will dedicate two new ‘Lovers Walk’ signs at each end of the path. The event will start at the College Road end and we may be joined by a pair of ‘lovers’ to replicate the postcards in real life.

This summer, come and get a glimpse of one of Peckham’s hidden architectural gems. For 3 days only, Peckham Vision are holding an exhibition, with talks and more, in the Old Waiting Room, in Peckham Rye station.

Old Waiting Room (later Billiard Hall), Peckham Rye Station.

This will be a unique opportunity for you to immerse yourself in this atmospheric space, learn more about Peckham’s buildings and past, and find out about hopes and plans for Peckham’s future.

The station opened in 1865 and was designed by Charles Henry Driver at a time when engineers, not architects, generally took the credit for a project.

The Old Waiting Room is a magnificent space with a high vaulted ceiling and four open fire places that stretches the length of the building above the ticket office and is today accessed from Platform 3, on the Victoria line.

When the work is finished, the Old Waiting Room will be looking for a good use, perhaps as a restaurant. What do you think?

Old Stairwell to Waiting Room (later Billiard Hall) Peckham Rye Station.

The exhibition is open from 2nd – 4th August

THURSDAY 2nd August 5pm-9pm

FRIDAY 3rd August 1pm-9pm

SATURDAY 4th August 11am-3pm

Entrance details:

* Entrance from Platform 3, come to the ticket hall
* Children under 18 must be with an adult
* No disabled access for this event (but the provision of full access to all the platforms is now part of the planned work for the station; the success in getting the station restoration under way has helped to bring this forward. It shows how wider benefits can come from historic buildings restoration)
* Refreshments, bookstall, interactive activities
* Part of the Peckham Cultural Olympiad

For more information please visit: http://www.peckhamvision.org.

The finale of the summer’s Wednesday After Work Walks produced by Andrew Stuck from Rethinking Cities’ Museum of Walking, is an investigation into south London’s most notorious lost river, the Neckinger.

Tom Bolton in Green Park

It is rare chance for you to accompany, Tom Bolton, author of best selling London’s Lost Rivers: A Walkers’ Guide, on a walk through Southwark Bankside. The Neckinger is a very unusual river as its source is almost at the Thames, close to what is now Bernie Spains Gardens and the Oxo Tower Wharf. It follows a U shaped course, marking the original boundary between Lambeth and Southwark, south towards Elephant & Castle, before twisting back towards the Thames, through Bermondseys’ back streets to emerge at the Thames close to St Saviour’s Wharf and the Design Museum.

Listening to the Tyburn

Everything about the Neckinger is a little mysterious, and open to interpretation – even its name could refer to the numbers of victims on the gallows whose necks were broken, or to a triangular scarf, once known as the ‘neckerchief’. Some say that its waters brought health and cures – being associated with Bermondsey spa – others, declared it poisonous and the source of cholera and other water-borne diseases and plagues.

It flowed through a marshy area associated with tanneries and animal slaughter, childhood home to Charles Dickens, and to a myriad of factories producing best known twentieth century brands of preserves and pickles, and latterly urban chic art galleries and restaurants.

Similar to previous Wednesday After Work Walk lost river walks with Tom, participants are encouraged to come dressed in blue to emulate the river – there’s a £2 cash discount on the day for anyone who dresses in blue – and there will be divining rods, listening tubes and other secret prompts to assist participants in their explorations.

To join the walk at 6.15pm on Wednesday 18 July from the Oxo Tower Wharf, online booking is essential – it assists organiser Andrew Stuck in making up the hand-assembled field notebooks that each participant receives.

To book the walk, please visit: http://wednesdayafterworkwalk4.eventbrite.co.uk/.

Museum-goers in London are spoiled for choice. There are museum covering every subject from ancient Egypt to modern football clubs, from gardening to steam power and from canals or Docklands history to contemporary design. It can be rather fun to sometimes visit some of the more obscure displays, to find out something new and get a different perspective on our city. And it’s a good place to pick up new geeky tidbits of local history.

Salvation Army Museum

Think about our local area and you’d probably come up with the Horniman Museum (a great place to expand the mind) or Dulwich Picture Gallery (England’s first public art gallery).

But did you know there’s a museum all about the history of the Christian movement called the Salvation Army in the area? It’s right by Denmark Hill train station, in the huge William Booth College building.

Tidbit: the building was designed by renowned architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott – you can see from looking at the front that it’s by the same chap who had a hand in the power stations at Battersea and Bankside (now Tate Modern) and Cambridge University Library.

The Salvation Army Museum is housed on the third floor of the building. I’ve got to say, it wasn’t very busy when I visited last week.

Salvation Army Armbands

And I can’t say I ended up taking much away with me in terms of new insights into the Salvation Army as an institution – to be honest, my cultural reference to the SA is mostly based on the tuba-playing Harold Bishop from Neighbours.

The displays started out more like a historical text book on the walls, telling the history of the founding of the movement – there were some rather charming objects on display, including armbands from around the world with Salvation Army in different languages.

The display was keen to explain the aims of the Salvationist movement and how their work is carried out.

But beyond this, the narrative of the exhibition didn’t tell me much about the church itself. After visiting I’ve no idea what the SA stands for spiritually, or what it means to be a member – just that they like music and helping people. There’s nothing to do with what the faith really involves – just how it’s acted out.

In fact, the museum hardly ever refers to the SA as a church – they are a church, but they don’t seem to like this word as that has very immediate connotations and associations.

Much of the display is devoted to describing what the SA does today and how far the movement has reached around the globe so far. It’s all very impressive, but by the end it had all begun to seem to sound like a sales pitch – all rather self-congratulatory, and not really about anything at all.

So I was left wondering who this museum was for? Who is it aimed at?

It seems that if you were already a member of the Salvation Army the level of information would probably have been covered already. So it’s not for SAs themselves.

Perhaps it is aimed at people who are waiting to be ‘saved’ by the evangelical mission? With little about the tenets of the faith, it didn’t seem to be that persuasive.

Or maybe it’s for attracting press attention and sponsorship?

Whoever it’s aimed at, it’s on the third floor of an incredibly austere building in Denmark Hill, with no signage outside, so it’s hardly surprising that there’s little passing trade.

While the quality of the presentation and display was rather strong, my visit there just left me wondering, rather than answering any of my questions.

If you’d like to go and see it for yourselves, it’s free to enter.

Tuesday – Friday 9.30am-4.00pm
William Booth College, Champion Park, London, SE5 8BQ.

Images: thanks with CCL to sarflondondunc and Ooklnet.com.

Imperial War Museum’s ‘A Family in Wartime’ exhibit: Photographs, films, audio recordings, and household artifacts are on display for us to discover what it was like for ordinary people to live in a time of uncertainty and fear in London, as victims of air raids, food rations, and evacuations.

The Allpress family were a working class family with nine children living in South London. The exhibit features a miniature model of their house, which is extremely detailed, showing everything from the pots and pans, gas lamps, and wallpaper, to the blackout curtains, bomb disposal kit, and Anderson shelter in the garden. Alongside the house model are large touch screens in which you can see virtual tours of the home, click on specific objects of interest to learn more about them and their uses during the war, and watch video clips pertaining to specific household objects.

During the war, materials for clothing were scarce, and people were encouraged to “Make do and mend.” This phrase was used to encourage civilians to think beyond the scopes of their own homes and to make little sacrifices for the sake of the country. Resources were scarce, the economy was in trouble, so frugality and resourcefulness was not only valued but it was a necessity.

So how did all the fashionable women deal with the lack of nylon, which was used to make stockings? They painted their legs to make it appear as though they were, in fact, wearing stockings, often adding minute, though necessary, details such as a line on the back of the legs to represent the seams. The exhibit features an audio recording of one of the Allpress daughters who retells stories of the attitudes people took on about the limited clothes they had and the ways in which they dealt with the problem, including one anecdote about parents buying their children shoes that were several sizes too large just to save money and materials on new ones as he grew.

We also hear one of the Allpress daughter’s account of working as a volunteer in the Women’s Voluntary Service for Civil Defence, a role she took up because she knew how important it was to help during the during air raids. These women served various tasks during the war, and were an essential taskforce for the organization of people and medical assistance for the injured.

One of the most interesting features of the exhibit was the personal account of one of the Allpress sons’ account of being evacuated from his primary school during the Blitz. In an audio recording, you can hear his recollection of the frightening time when he and his schoolmates were taken onto a train and driven out several miles away from London to be taken in by foster families in the effort to keep the children safely away from the bombings that were to occur in London. He recalls being incredibly frightened and sad, and after a few months of living away from home in a stranger’s house, he was finally taken back to his family. Many families during the Blitz preferred to stay together in the city because if they were to die, they were to die together.

The exhibit features the vast array of alterations that had to be done to the lives of ordinary people during the war. Unlike many history books, the exhibit teaches us about the children, the homemaker women, and ordinary citizens who served the war at home rather than on the battlefields. Women were essential during the war, battling domestic issues that arose from the war, enlisting as nurses, volunteering in Women’s Voluntary Service, taking up manufacturing jobs, and coping with the issue of food rationing. The household objects, such as gasmasks, propaganda posters, radios, advertisements, and clothing are shown to reveal how very intimate the war became, how the war trickled into the homes of ordinary people.

A Family in Wartime exhibit, is free to attend and is on until 31 Dec 2012. For further information please visit: http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london. 

The sight of the Cutty Sark against the horizon in Greenwich is impressive in and of itself, but the opportunity to explore the historic tea clipper, from bow to stern, hull to deck, is an entirely more exciting venture.

I’ll admit, when I headed out to see the Cutty Sark, I didn’t know what the big fuss was – it’s only a ship, right? Well, when I arrived at the Cutty Sark station and turned the corner, I was confronted by the beautiful, massive sailing ship by the river. With its rigs and poles and ropes hanging in the air, I was taken aback by it’s impressive beauty and size. Contrasted with the restaurants, pubs, and stores all around, it became clear that it was much more exciting to see it in person than in pictures.

Cutty Sark is one of the nation’s greatest treasures and a World Heritage Site, preserved for it’s history, beauty, and as a memorial for those who served in the merchant service. It is lucky for us that Cutty Sark survived the rough seas during her many voyages around the world transporting various goods to London. Beginning her journeys in the second half of the nineteenth century alongside many other sailing ships, Cutty Sark outlasted the rough seas (with several rudders having been ripped off by high seas and collisions) while most others were wrecked or lost in the first twenty years.

The Cutty Sark, recently restored and presented for public viewing by Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, now houses exhibits in the upper and lower hull that that inform you about the ship’s journeys transporting tea from China and wool from Australia, presented in video form and with information written on decorated wooden cargo boxes. Scattered here and there are photographs and artifacts illustrating Cutty Sark’s nautical history.

Upon reaching the deck, the artful craft of the ship is most evident. You get to see the beautiful detail of the different parts of the ship, and are able to enter many of the rooms for the crew, including the steward’s, first and second mate’s, and captain’s quarters, and several other rooms decorated with old furniture and wood-carved walls, old photographs, maps, and various sea-faring devices. You feel transported back in time to the days in which Cutty Sark was one of the fastest tea clippers of its time.

What was it like taking school exams during an air-raid?

What happened to the schooling of those London secondary school pupils who weren’t sent away on an evacuation scheme?

How did the school children and teachers cope in the post-war austerity years with the scarcity of books, equipment and kit?

Group shot of our AOB-guests, pupils and staff

Answers to these questions – and many more – can be found in ‘Alleyn’s in the 1940s’. This is the fruit of Alleyn’s School’s oral history series whereby pupils interview Alleyn Old Boys (AOBs) about their childhood memories of Alleyn’s. The first report, ‘Alleyn’s in the 1930s’, was published last year.

A Memories Day for AOBs was held last March and Daniel Petrides, then in the Lower Sixth, was one of the pupils tasked to interview our AOB-guests. He says that ‘the opportunity to talk to this wonderful group and not only learn about the events they lived through but also compare notes on our experiences of the same school over half a century apart was too good to miss.’

Alleyn’s had quite a peripatetic existence in the Second World War. Along with many other London schools, Alleyn’s was first evacuated to Kent where they had ‘first-row seats’ for the Battle of Britain – and indeed, many of the  AOBs described what it was like watching dog-fights in the skies above Pilgrims’ Way. The younger boys were then evacuated to Rogerstone in Wales – and more bombs targeting the steel and aluminium works. Finally the boys moved to Rossall where they stayed from January 1941 to March 1945.

Daniel the young quizzical (one between two AOBs).

Meanwhile, back in SE22, the Townley Road buildings were not gathering dust and cobwebs. On 18 March 1940, the staff opened the School’s doors to boys whose families had not sent them on an official evacuation scheme. Boys from nearby schools, such as St Dunstan’s College, Strand, Wilson’s Grammar, continued their education at the South London Emergency Secondary School (SLESS). Over 1,200 boys from 24 local schools were on the roll during the emergency school’s existence from 1940-March 1945. It is these boys who give unbelievable – and comic if it weren’t so chilling – accounts of taking their School Certificate exams whilst cowering under their desks as the Luftwaffe raged overhead.

After the war, rationing and shortages continued and the AOBs remember the awful food, the war damage to the area, the paucity of books and kit. One of the AOBs described the communal approach to PE: ‘I remember how in the gym they had a stack of plimsolls and you just put on two plimsolls that fit your feet.’

Daniel reports that ‘the differences noted by the AOBs were remarkable. The science block, we were told, used to be a row of houses and we heard how one of the options for detention was weeding the gardens of a teacher who lived in one of the houses. The sixth-form common room was the Buttery – the 1940s’ answer to the dining room, built in the next decade.’

We wondered how our AOBs would manage being asked to recall events from 60-70 years ago but Daniel comments that ‘all the gentlemen more than exceeded expectations. The clarity of memory and eagerness to share was admirable and there was no end of fascinating stories: the gentlemen were very artists in painting vivid and tangible pictures of a now intangible time.’

Some of the AOBs’ recollections revolved around the ‘the dreaded cane, the strict limitations imposed to prevent “fraternization” with JAGS girls, and even the French mistress [Dora Wiggs] who had been a spy for the French Resistance! There were also fascinating tales about rationing, National Service, famous alumni and even the bomb that fell on the school roof only to be calmly thrown out of a window by one master [Dr ‘Eddie’ Giles] before it blew up!’

For Daniel and his fellow pupils, the Memories Day itself was hugely memorable – and not just because ‘we each had 30 pages of transcript to type up! The gentlemen were fantastically entertaining and friendly, and I sincerely hope that they all enjoyed the day as much as we did.’

Headmaster Dr Gary Savage says: ‘The Alleyn’s oral history series is a fascinating and hugely worthwhile project for the School and our pupils. As an historian myself, I have relished the way our AOBs’ memories have given a local flavour to national events which happened in our relatively recent past.

Like its predecessor (“Alleyn’s in the 1930s”), “Alleyn’s in the 1940s” is an eminently-readable synthesis of first-hand testimony, archive documentation, images and official evidence, all beautifully put-together by the School’s Head of Alumni Relations. I have received many letters of appreciation about it from our AOBs who have enjoyed remembering their Alleyn’s school-boy days; and I hope that other Dulwich residents might also enjoy this insight into Dulwich days gone by.

There are a small number of copies available and if you would like a copy, please send a cheque made payable to ‘Alleyn’s School’ for £5 (£15 for overseas). Alternatively you can download a copy here.

The last stop on my architectural tour of Dulwich takes us right back to where we started, to see a design classic.

This time last year we were marking the 200th anniversary of Dulwich Picture Gallery. I was looking at Rembrandt’s Girl at a Window and found myself wondering what she was thinking. And where she was? Who’s window was it? If only we could zoom out and look at the whole building. This inspired me to start looking around the local area at windows and buildings in our local area.

Take a look at this picture of a traditional red phone box. There’s me, in the window (posing) like the girl in the Rembrandt’s painting. And also in the reflection you’ll make out the top of Dulwich Picture Gallery itself – indeed, this phone box stands in the grounds of the Gallery.

But why?

Under the terms of the bequest which established the Gallery Sir Francis Bourgeois RA insisted that the architect for the new building should be his friend, Sir John Soane (1754-1837).

And later, in 1924, the Royal Fine Arts Commission invited three respected architects to submit designs for a new telephone box that could be mass-produced, yet would be a design classic. The winner was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designer of the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. Scott was a trustee of the Sir John Soane’s Museum at the time, and it’s interesting to note that the shape of the roof of the Gallery’s mausoleum influenced his design.

Next time you’re passing, stop and take a look and you’ll see it. So this phone box stands here as a reminder of that link.
And it’s quite fitting that we return back to the Gallery for the last stop on the tour, as it’s now one year on from its bicentenary – this world-class institution is now two-hundred-AND-ONE years old.

As I’ve moved around our area, I’ve seen some charming buildings (and I dare say, some rather ugly ones) from hospitals and museums to churches and schools. What I’ve learned from looking at these building is that often the charm and form of what we know consider to be a well thought-out structure isn’t always the responsibility of one architect. Buildings are remodelled, have extensions built or repairs damaged. They are continually reinvented and redesigned with one design idea being replaced by another.

We might think of Dulwich as a place of tradition and conformity. But in many ways, it’s a place of invention and reinvention, especially in terms of the buildings we see here.

My selection of nine buildings is just one interpretation, however – these are structures which have captured my eye. There are countless other fascinating buildings in our area, each with their own interesting back-stories of invention and reinvention.

If you’ve got a favourite building and want share a story about it, do let us know.

A big thank you to Ingrid, who kindly took all photographs for these articles. You can see the lot on flickr here.

This one isn’t really a window – more a doorway. But I like the look of it and it’s got a good story, so I included it in my architectural tour of Dulwich.

It’s an archway in what today we call Ruskin Park. But it hasn’t always been a park. In the late 1700s there stood a row of houses here. Eight of the original houses facing the road were demolished to make way for the formation of the park in 1907. And luckily for us, someone was clever enough to leave behind a reminder what stood here before.

The remains of the house we’re looking at now come from what was once number 170 Denmark Hill. The building is described in an English Heritage historical survey from 1956 as being almost identical to the house next door which was:

“a large detached house of late 18th century date, with a wide-fronted centre of three storeys and one-storey wings fronted by colonnades of three bays. The stock brick front was a balanced design in which paired windows flanked the central porch and an elaborated first-floor window, the windows generally being rectangular and without architraves, their heights proportioned to the three storeys.”

The description gets a bit hairy after this, and talks about “crowning mutule cornice”, “triglyphed entablature” and “wide segmental-headed opening.” I think we’ll leave the architectural history there. The only last point to note in the description is “the ground storey of the garden front projected from the body of the house, having at its centre a recessed portico,” which is what we must be looking at here.

And who lived here?

It was home, apparently, to Captain James Wilson between 1799 and 1814. Wilson was 39 when he moved in, but he’d already had an adventurous life at sea. He’d been present at the Battles of Lexington and Bunker‘s Hill and was confined nearly two years in the Black Hole at Seringapatam. He is also said to have served in the London Missionary Society as Honorary Commander of the ‘Duff’, the first British Missionary Ship of modern times.

Quite the chap – and it must have been quite the house too, if this was just the portico for the front door.

Do you know of other architectural fragments with good stories behind them in the local area? Please do get in touch if so – we’d love to hear about them.

For more details on the history of the houses which used to stand in Ruskin Park, and for thousands more pages of great historical content, take a look at the British History Online website – a favourite browsing and snooping spot of mine and source for much of the information in this post.

Images: thanks to Ingrid.

Frederick Horniman’s shrine to learning and discovery is less than a mile from the centre of Dulwich. As well as housing a magnificent world-class collection, the Horniman Museum is also a magnificent building. So I visited recently as part of my tour of architectural sites in and around Dulwich.

From ancient remains of massive beasts (right) to collections of musical instruments from around the world (below left) the Horniman’s collection describes the experience of life on earth – and the sea – in all aspects. DOV has featured plenty of articles about the Horniman over the last few years, but here are the bare essentials of the place.

The museum was founded by Frederick Horniman (a tea trader and philanthropist) who’s collection of objects, specimens and artefacts ‘illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world’ from around 1860. His overarching mission was to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill’ and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Ceylon, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which ‘either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands’. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.

The collection grew so huge that the family’s former London Road residence became known as the Surrey House Museum and was freely thrown open to the general public on 24 December 1890.

But it was such a success that the building was closed and demolished. Charles Harrison Townsend was the architect commissioned to design the new museum and the foundations were laid between June and September 1898. When the building was completed in his determination to increase the popularity and utility of the museum, particularly with regards to learning and education Mr Horniman resolved to donate the museum, collections and adjoining grounds as a free gift to the people in perpetuity.

The Museum and Gardens were formally opened to the public on 29 June 1901. The Horniman family continued to take an active interest in the museum donating objects and large collections of books to the library and in 1912 Emslie Horniman generously donated money to build a new library and lecture theatre.

What strikes me about this building as a visitor is the very easy juxtaposition of the Victorian elements of the display. Traditional museum objects (such as stuffed apes and the now famous stuffed walrus) in display cases, housed in a charming vaulted room, are set alongside modern museum galleries, with large glass-fronted display cases, electronic interactive elements and spot lighting.

Yet wandering the galleries and bouncing between these very different spaces, it all seems to work.

The building too is an amalgamation of Victorian charm (galleries with balconies, arched doorways and even a steel and glass conservatory!) with modern style (glass doors, airy skylights, chrome fittings). These two seem to sit hand in hand very happily at the Horniman.

A radical overhaul of the building between 1999 and 2002 saw the creation of three new gallery spaces, a cafe, shop and event an education centre with grass growing on the roof!

They spent £13.4million on the project and doubled the available space for display and public programmes – and I think it was worth every penny. It’s a very happy melding of classic charm with the enthusiasm we all had for building projects in the new millennium. And while other cultural architecture projects which opened soon after 2000 might not all have been such huge successes, the Horniman in a building which will continue to be fit for purpose for many many years to come.

The museum runs a large programme of public activities including exhibitions, workshops, talks and courses and there’s loads for the family to do there. And they continue to try and make Frederick Horniman’s ideal of bringing the world to Forest Hill (and Forest Hill to the world) through their twitter feed  – if you’re a tweeter you can follow them at @HornimanMuseum for updates about what’s on.

And there’s also an occasional feed from the Horniman’s Walrus at @HornimanWalrus who offers sporadic witticisms and sarcastic comments about visitors and other museum objects. (I doubt it’s written by the museum themselves, but it’s certainly worth a follow for a giggle!)

The Horniman Museum is open 10.30-17.30 daily and is free. (There is a small charge for the aquarium and some temporary exhibitions.)

Their current temporary exhibition about Bali closes on 8 January, but the next show, The Art of Harmony, opens on 26 March 2011.

Images: with thanks again to Ingrid. Some great pictures here. Cheers!

For the next stop on our architecture tour of the local area we’re off to the impressive Cathedral-like building of All Saints’ Church, West Dulwich. Indeed, it was originally intended to be the cathedral for south London when it was built in the 1890s – hence why it’s so huge and dominates the landscape around.

The church stood very happily on the site for over a hundred years, until 9 June 2000 when a huge fire – the cause of which remains unknown today – ripped through the building and gutted the internal structures. Only the Victorian walls remained standing and the now ruined church was open to the sky.

But the congregation decided that All Saints’ should be restored. After a fundraising campaign, a huge amount of work and a three-year rebuilding programme the church opened its doors again at Easter 2006.

What’s intriguing about visiting this building is the striking juxtaposition of the old and the new. The walls and pillars inside the nave of the church have been deliberately left, showing the scars from the flames.

This large, lumbering gothic structure must have been rather dark and gloomy inside, previously. But now it is filled with light – from the huge windows which allow sunlight to stream in, and from the modern lighting fixtures which hang delicately from the ceiling. In some places the modern LEDs and halogen bulbs create the gentle effect of candlelight – easily combining the ancient with the modern.

And then there’s a massive metal structure, which sits high up above the congregation, affording views over the whole church. I must admit to a small twinge of nerves as I walked out over the boards, but it’s from up there that the blending of the old church with new technologies and materials is perhaps best appreciated.

There’s also a reminder of All Saints’ journey through fire on display in the middle of the church – a cross made of charred beams from the old roof.

The structure of the church has been brought up to date as well, meaning that the main space – and the crypt beneath – can be used to hold concerts and other events.

The beautiful and imaginative reinvention of this building is just as apparent from outside the church as it is inside. The west end of the church has been completely remodelled with a large, modern brick and glass extension. The line where the old structure meets the new extension is clearly visible, but it’s not as if it’s a harsh add-on to the existing building. The new areas of the build are, to my eye, incredibly sensitively planned. They bring an air of modern grace and charm to an already handsome and imposing Victorian structure.

It’s the perfect combination of Ancient & Modern.

For more information about the church and service times, see their website: www.all-saints.org.uk/.

Images: with thanks to super snapper Ingrid. Other photos of the church are available to view on the DOV flickr page.

Next stop on our architectural tour of the local area is the magnificent Dulwich Hospital.

Modern hospitals tend to be rather unappealing places – concrete blocks and stark, white corridors that all look the same. I suppose the NHS doesn’t want us to go there that often, and to be honest we try and spend as little time in them as possible.

Fortunately for us, utilitarian design didn’t seem to be part of Victorian architect Henry Jarvis’s plan for Dulwich Hospital, which was built in 1885. Situated on East Dulwich Road, behind impressive iron railings it can look more like a school or even prison at first sight, with its grand facade and soaring turrets. And take a look at the fabulous arches and walkways linking some of the hospital wings – it’s awesome in scale.

But this wasn’t intended to be a prison – more a caring institution build on land purchased by the ‘Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of St Saviour’. When the hospital opened in 1887, it offered 723 beds for the sick. How generous of them.

As I’m finding with many buildings in the local area, it’s had a varied career over the course of its life. During the First World War it was transformed from an infirmary into the Southwark Military Hospital, when it is estimated that between 14,000 and 15,000 wounded soldiers were treated there.

And there’s more to this building than meets the eye. When Dulwich OnView went to snap some photos of the site – and marvel at its architectural details – we discovered a secret underground tunnel, linking the rear of the hospital with the other side of the railway line, which runs across the back of the site. It was probably built for a good reason, but nowadays it’s overgrown with ivy and strewn with rubbish, so it felt more like a smugglers’ tunnel.

In fact the whole place feels a bit spooky right now. The site is pretty unloved with windows boarded up in some areas and there’s clearly not been much investment in the place for a while. It’s sad to see that one of the wings of the original building has been pulled down recently. But we hear that there are great things planned for this place, with new facilities being installed. So hopefully patients will once again be able to be treated in Victorian splendour rather than in a nasty white box.

Let’s see what happens in the future.

Boy at a Window 6 will be published on 27 Dec 2011.

Images: Thanks to Ingrid B!

St Barnabas Church, Calton Avenue, Dulwich, 1952

It always seemed to me the centre of the village was the area abounded by the small parade of shops at the Dulwich Village/Carlton Avenue junction.

At this location everyone appeared to ‘bump’ into each other as they went about their daily business. It felt like I spent half of my early childhood standing at that junction as adults ceaselessly chatted to each other.

Adults were always addressed as Aunt or Uncle even if there was no family relationship. As I dawdled passing the time at these seemingly endless and boring encounters, I always noticed the church of St Barnabas on the brow of the hill in Carlton Avenue. The bend of the road made the profile of the church stand out impressively, St Barnabas also being the church where I was christened. I was saddened one day when reading a daily internal fire service news report that St Barnabas suffered destruction by fire during the night before. I suspect my name on the christening roll was destroyed also. The vision of this hilltop church however still remains embedded deeply in my mind like an iconic memory.

A large blue police box was located outside the old burial ground in Dulwich Village directly opposite Turney Road. It was the type that would be recognised by all Dr. Who fans as being the mythical Tardis. For some reason as a small boy, I used to think there was a policeman always inside the box,  secretly watching passers-by for any potential wrong doing. I also had the childish notion that if the policeman did see anyone doing anything wrong, he would suddenly pounce out of his box and then proceed to lock the offender inside. Whenever I walked pass that spot, I always ensured I was on my best behaviour, just in case. The box has long since gone, possibly to battle with the Daleks elsewhere in the universe.

Entrance gates to the Old Burial Ground, Dulwich Village

The old burial ground also at this location formed something of a converging apex between Dulwich Village and Court Lane. As children we always believed deceased individuals were entombed within some of the larger ornate box type monuments. Views on Google Earth indicate there is now a bus stop outside the burial ground. In my childhood, no public transport was allowed to run through Dulwich Village at all, with the nearest transport links being bus stops at Dulwich Common, East Dulwich Grove or Lordship Lane. My father told me that apparently the college authorities owned much of the land or access rights to the village and prevented through public transport to preserve the character of the village.

I do not know how much truth there was in that little piece of folklore but either way, there certainly used to be no buses. I also note that Village Way which was once a quiet side road is now a main thoroughfare and the section of Half Moon Lane leading up to the railway station, previously the main road, now appears to be a relatively quiet residential road. I suppose if anything, it is the growth in traffic that has done more to change the character of the village than anything else. Until about the mid 1950′s car ownership and consequent traffic was rare. It was possibly to ‘see’ every street as it was designed without the ever pervading mist of parked vehicles that obscures such views today like an all blanketing cloud. I sometimes enjoy watching outside scenes in films made during this brief post-war period. It helps remind me how clean, uncluttered and natural our environment used to be.

Trams - Lordship Lane Station, Dulwich, c. 1910

Occasionally one would hear a thunderous like rumbling, interspersed with a ‘clickety-clack’ noise in any of the gently sloping roads between Woodwarde Road and Court Lane. This noise came from older children playing with their home-made scooters.

Immediately after the war, professionally manufactured toy scooters were still something of a rarity. Many had met their demise donated as scrap metal for the war effort. I cannot recall if the railings in Dulwich Park suffered the same fate. Due to rationing, I believe metal shortages may have curtailed the production of toy scooters and most fathers built their children a popular home-made variety. These consisted of two planks of wood, one for standing on, the other for steering joined together by door hinges. The wheels were solid metal ball races which made the awful noise as they went over the cracks in paving slabs. Due to the lack of traffic, it was also ‘safe’ at the time to ride these scooters on the highway of side streets.

My grandmother who lived with us frequently took me on outings or shopping. I always recall waiting expectantly for the tram to arrive in Lordship Lane. A conductor always hauled me aloft to the inside platform by an extend arm. The bench type seats were not particularly comfortable for a small fidgety bottom and the seat backs were hinged at the base. At the end of a journey the conductor would walk through the tram pushing all seat backs to face the opposite direction for the return journey. Although I never fully understood how they worked, I would always watch fascinated as the driver standing at the front of the tram, operated two metal levers which he continuously pivoted in various directions. I suspect like many small children, I imagined it was myself driving the tram.

Michael Gilbey

Michael was born in Dulwich Village in January 1946 and lived there for five years. He served as a firefighter for 42 years. Now retired, one of his hobbies is genealogy. Michael also maintains his own blog at http://micksmuses.wordpress.com where he writes about personal recollections of life, Dulwich recently added, and his outlook on life, the universe and beyond.

*Keep reading Dulwich OnView for the next article: Memories of a Dulwich Lad 4…