Category Archives: News update

Update on park heritage

Zeppelin 1917 – well and truly launched on 7th October

Event, HLF Project, News update, Zeppelin
Friday 6th 11am….26 hours to launch

The day before saw the arrival of our amazing Zeppelin art piece, specially built by Keith Roberts for the Zeppelin 1917 season.  After “flying through” Burgess Park, the artwork was carefully hoisted into place by Jon and Keith. What an excellent way to kick off our launch. Keith has also contributed another artwork to embellish our project – Silent Voices, which can be seen in Chumleigh Gardens, opposite the First World War memorial stone.

 

Saturday 7th 10am…3 hours to launch

The day began in a flurry of good-natured activity fuelled by tea and biscuits. Massive thanks to all the hardworking exhibition installation volunteers (Jon, Andrew, Monica, Chris, Susan, Catriona, Judith, Charlie, Mercy and John) who worked tirelessly on both days (Friday till 10pm!) to get the TheatreDeli exhibition up and ready for the opening at 1pm. Wonderful teamwork. and it looks incredible!

Whist the exhibition setup was finished, over 50 parents and children enjoyed “Flying Designing” at the Fun Palace with hands-on workshops to make a Zeppelin, design a rocket and create a paper bird and flowers. Great excitement ensued when rockets were launched outside using plastic bottles, water and air pressure. Thanks go to Florence Goodhand-Tait for running the workshop with Art in the Park, Alice Sheppard, Citizen Science and Sue Smith, Camberwell Arts.

Flying machine design and model

The exhibition was then was formally opened by Councillor Johnson Situ, who was introduced by Susan Crisp, chair of the Friends of Burgess Park.

Councillor Johnson Situ opens the exhibition, with our speaker, Ian Castle looking on
Honoured Guests

Later in the afternoon we were honoured to host members of the two families at the heart of our project – descendants of the Balls and Glass families. The Boyce/Balls family includes Mrs Greta Druce (102 years old next month), who actually survived the raid, although, tragically Greta’s two brothers Eddie and Sonny Balls died and brother Leslie never recovered from the trauma. We also loved chatting to John and Barbara Shaw (up from the south coast) and Mark Draper (down from Crewe) all relatives of the Glass family – who lost 4 members that night.

Diane Druce (Balls family – centre) talks with John Shaw (Glass family – right) and Cllr Hargrove

At 4pm, Ian Castle gave a fascinating talk on ‘The Silent Raid’. The talk, illustrated with vivid images, was  dramatic, touching, and funny at times. Above all, what Ian gave us was an evocative journey through the mind-set of the Zeppelin commanders and the damage they did to ordinary people and even to their own crews.

Warm thanks are due to our gallant speaker Ian Castle and his partner Nicola Price who overcame many obstacles to be with us. It was especially poignant to hear from the family members during the talk Q&A.  It brought home what life was like for bombing victims – no one in the room could fail to truly understand the human cost of war.

 

Special thanks to John Whelan who has kept us on a steady course, coordinating the researchers and the fantastic volunteer sessions with our supporting partner organisations. John, will of course, be leading the Animated Walk on 21st October 2-4pm (meet at TheatreDeli), which promises to be a fitting coming together of all the research and experiences we have painstakingly gathered. I personally can’t wait for this experience!

The exhibition can be seen on Saturdays through October, and especially at our next talk ‘Black Poppies’, on the black community in WW1. On Saturday 14th, given by Stephen Bourne – book now!

Lastly a huge vote of thanks to our army of exhibition and walk research volunteers:

Joan Ashworth, Katie Bates, Neil Bright, Joy Campbell, Giles Camplin, Christine Camplin, Helen Crisp, Susan Crisp, Carol Field, Oran Hassan, Monica Heeran, Mercy Hopper, Sally Lynes, Joe May, Andrew Pearson, Jon Pickup, Barbara Selby, Frank Silva, Peta Steel, Peter Stevenson, Mercy Sword, Sam Tilling, Marion Wallace, Judith Wardle, Stella Young

Posted by Sam Tilling, 9th October 2017

 

 

The Bridge to Nowhere Podcast is now available!

News update

We’re very excited to announce the launch of the brand new Bridge to Nowhere Podcast!

Over the past few years we have made a number of audio recordings of our most popular events that the Friends have organised, and we’ve posted them up on various sites along the way (YouTube, Soundcloud, and indeed here on our own website). Now for the first time we’re bringing all our audio features together in one place in the form of a new podcast series, which will feature not only the highlights from our previous talks, but will also continue to be updated with all our audio offerings in the future.

And as with any podcast series, this means you can now download the audio to your own device, and if you choose to subscribe (it’s free!), you’ll be able to receive all our new episodes automatically.

Available from today are newly reversioned highlights of recent talks including From Bombs to BMX, and the excellent Oral Histories series, and if you subscribe you’ll be among the first to receive the next new edition which will form part of the forthcoming Zeppelin 1917 series of commemorative events this October.

So, please start listening and let us know what you think!

The bells are installed in Chumleigh Gardens

Event, HLF Project, News update, Zeppelin

Local artist Keith Roberts, who has a keen interest in the First World War, installed his sculpture Silent Voices in Chumleigh Gardens this week.

Keith has exhibited a similar piece in the exhibition ‘War in the Sunshine: The British in Italy 1917-1918’ at the Estorik Collection in Highbury earlier this year. We are delighted he has chosen to show this work here during Zeppelin 1917.

Many cups of tea and coffee from Parklife Café were consumed during the installation and there was lots of interest from regular visitors to the lovely English garden. Sadly the bells can’t go on the lawn but are instead looking equally amazing nearby on the broad central pathway. A word of thanks to the park’s staff who were so helpful on the day.

Keith has also made a Zeppelin to hang in the exhibition at Theatre Delicatessen and there is a plan being hatched to film its journey from his studio through the park to the Old Library on 6th October. Watch this space….

Check out all the other Zeppelin happenings this October!

You can also volunteer to help us!

Posted by Monica Heeran

 

Southwark News Article #2!

HLF Project, News update, Zeppelin

On 14th September, Southwark News published a second article on our remembrance of the 1917 Zeppelin raid on Camberwell.

The article covered the story of the Boyce-Balls family who Jon Pickup and Andrew Pearson, volunteers on the Friends of Burgess Park Zeppelin research project, met recently. They spoke to Greta and Peter, younger siblings of the two brothers killed in the raid. Peter described how their family had crossed the road from their father’s grocers shop to be with the doctor’s wife who was nervous in air raids, on the night of 19th October, 1917. The surgery and surrounding houses were subsequently hit by the Zeppelin bomb.

Southwark News article, 14th September

Read the article in full here.

 

Southwark News: Zeppelin 1917 story

HLF Project, News update, Zeppelin

Last week, local south London paper Southwark News published our story on plans to remember the raid in October. On page 5, in the Walworth section, they previewed our story of the Boyce-Balls family, who had to be rescued from 101 Albany Road after the bomb hit, and lost two young sons. Members of the family hope to be at our events in October.

BoyceFamily
The Boyce family pictured around 1914

Sonny (standing) and Eddie (on his mother’s lap) both died in the attack, and Leslie (on his father’s knee) was permanently affected.

Read the full article online here.

St George’s War Memorial

Event, News update

Friends of Burgess Park and the Walworth Society are supporting the application by Historic England to have the World War One war memorial outside St Georges Church listed as having special architectural and historic interest. Some people may be surprised that this wasn’t already done. You can see more information on the bronze sculpture by Danish artist Arild Rosenkrantz on our page on St Georges Church.

Although born in Denmark, Rosenkrantz grew up from the age of three in Scotland and settled in London at twenty eight. He had a strong interest in mysticism and spirituality, and worked mainly in stained glass and painting. He studied and worked in Rome, Paris and New York, and also worked in Switzerland for Rudolf Steiner.

Bronze Sculpture of Christ holding a crown of thorns
© Jon Pickup

The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 19th September 1920 by Camberwell Mayor John George Spradbrow, and Reverend PM Herbert, Vicar of St George’s church. The funds for the memorial were raised by local parishioners.

The listing should give it a degree of protection, which would be useful, considering that it’s already been stolen for scrap and recovered once, and considering that the other memorial to war in the area has also disappeared. There had been a plaque to the memory of the 10 people killed in the Zeppelin raid in Calmington Road, until the buildings were demolished for the formation of the park.

WarMemorial
© Susan Crisp

A memorial stone was recently placed in Chumleigh Gardens, in recognition of all the lives lost during the first world war in the Camberwell area.

We intend to commemorate the centenary of the Zeppelin raid in October this year – watch this space.

Stop Press!!

We heard on 3rd July 2017 that the War Memorial has now been given grade 2 listed status. The reasons for the listing are given as

  • Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the
    sacrifices they made in the First World War;
  • Design: as an attractive and emotive sculpture of Christ by Danish artist Arild Rosenkrantz;
  • Group value: with the Grade II-listed St George’s Church.

The  memorial is now officially known as the Burgess Park War Memorial.

Trafalgar Avenue bridge

Canal, News update, , ,

Yes – there is still a bridge taking Trafalgar Avenue over the route of the former Grand Surrey Canal! It was news to this author that the slight rise in the road where it crosses the park disguises a modern concrete replacement bridge, not merely a pile of demolished buildings.

Early Glimpse
A first glimpse of the bridge appears in 2016

It’s not quite clear (maybe someone can explain) why an expensive bridge was built, although the canal had been filled in in 1970.

Unfortunately, bridges need inspecting periodically, and when that time came around last year, it proved to be a bigger task than at first envisaged.

Typically for the development of the park, it was discovered that the void beneath the bridge had been used to dispose of all kinds of waste, including asbestos.

Works have therefore taken quite some time, and the whole space beneath has been excavated in order to build permanent inspection chambers, so that in future, the job will be a bit easier.

Cleared space beneath 2 bays of the bridge
Under-bridge area cleared – visualise a canal now?!

The brick tower next to the bridge above is a ventilation chamber for the 132kV London electricity ring-main, cables for which were laid under the park as it was being developed in the 60s or 70s.

Of course, an imaginative administration might have thought about the posibility of restoring some water to the area, in some sort of memorial to the days of the canal. However, a brick-built inspection chamber is going in and the whole are will be backfilled and restored to grass.

Glass bottle
Archaeological find

 

Did you spot the ubiquitous R Whites lemonade bottle in the image above? Somehow recovered intact, despite the heavy earth-movers, these can be found all over the park, wherever a hole is dug.

 

 

Wooden hump-back bridge over canal
1830 view of what was probably the first Trafalgar bridge, looking west. Glengall wharf and the Peckham branch are behind the artist/extreme left. St Georges church in the background

 

Glengall Wharf Canal Wall – Update 1

Canal, Industry, News update

GWG

You may have seen our blog 2 years ago on this historic bit of Surrey Canal infrastructure. The only remaining section of canal bank, which marked the junction of the Camberwell branch (1810) with the Peckham branch (1830) of the Grand Surrey Canal, has probably stood in this position, if not this state, for 120-150 years.

However, although still absolutely solid, the surface is beginning to crumble and become unsightly, especially for the new flats opposite, and the council have been determined to replace it. Work started at the beginning of 2017 on a like-for-like replacement (rather than suburban bypass-style concrete block planters), as far as funds and practicality allow. The top end of Surrey Canal walk has been closed whilst this happens.

Cobbles before removal, garden pergola built on top
Cobbles of the former council refuse yard forming a beautiful basis for the garden. Pre-works test pit in the foreground

First up was the removal of a two metre-wide strip of the beautifully worn cobbles on the top surface, which now forms the ground level for the  Glengall Wharf Community Garden.

The work has been majorly disruptive for the garden, involving the removal of a fine old self-seeded plum tree and many garden structures. However, it was arranged to take place in winter, outside the growing season, to at least minimise this.

These cobbles, known as granite setts, have been taken up with a JCB and as far as possible preserved for replacement when the wall work is complete. It was thought that they’d been set solidly in concrete, but they’ve mostly come away cleanly, minus a few breakages.

Plum tree chopped down and rubble for cobbles
Plum tree cut down and cobbles being taken up
Stacks
Granite setts being sorted and stacked for storage and reuse

Around the end of January, work started on excavating beneath the garden surface and removing soil from behind the wall. Here things got interesting for the contractors, as they discovered the foundations of the rubbish chutes, visible in the photo beneath, and on our previous blog

Girders
Bases of rubbish chutes, buried in concrete beneath the cobbles. Probably cut down at the closure of the yard and formation of Burgess Park
68a
Sailing barges moored up next to steel girder refuse chutes

Now, it’s a case of tearing down the old wall and carting it away.

teardown
Note the girder, impossible to remove from the concrete, to be cut back

One or two interesting finds were made:

Earthenware
Stash of earthenware mineral water bottles, various manufacturers. All previously broken, unfortunately!

It also became clear that a previous wall had existed further back than the concrete wall, judging by the foundations uncovered:foundations

Work is due to finish in March 2017, so watch this space for updates. Please do go and see the works for yourself, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment here!

Marking Places

Event, Life, News update

Art in the Park premises in the Park, with tulips

Art in the Park, based here in Burgess Park, have launched a new project to find out from those old enough to remember, more about some of the places which used to exist in and around the Park, and permanently mark them. They’ve already had some fascinating visits and talks, and have collected some great recordings of local memories.

Check out the project – called A Place to Remember – and see if you can contribute or learn more. Or develop your artistic side and contribute ideas for Markers for these places!

So far they’ve worked on 4 places in the Walworth area – two of which were or still are in the Park – North Camberwell Radical Club and the New Peckham Mosque, formerly St Mark’s church, Camberwell. There’re some fantastic interviews on the website and images to check out.

B/W image of two former victorian house frontages with arched double dooorway in one
North Camberwell Radical Club

The Radical Club ran for around 100 years and was on the northern edge of the park near the lake, fronting onto Albany Road. Art in the Park are organising open sessions for people to contribute to the design for a marker for the Radical club on Tuesday 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th November 2016 from 11-1pm at the Art in the Park studio.

Listen to a SoundArt piece by Jane Higginbottom on the Radical Club, featuring modern sounds from the park, with local peoples’ memories of the club.

Art In the Park are still open to suggestions for other markers in the Park. Do check out the Marking Places page, and contact them to see how you can share ideas and get involved, or come along  on Tuesday 17th, 24th, 31st  January, 7th, 21st, 28th February 2017 to Waterside Care Home, 40 Sumner Road, SE15.

Suggestions so far include:

  • The Cold Storage Depot that used to sit across the Old Kent Road entrance.
  • The corner of then Calmington Road and Albany Rd, remembering people killed and injured in the First World War Zeppelin Raid  – replacing a previous plaque placed in 1927
  • Gilros Sheepskin Factory
  • The Bible Factory
  • The Foundry
  • R Whites factories
  • Bus Depot

Open House 2015

Event, News update

OH

Once again, Friends of Burgess Park will be opening up several usually-hidden parts of the Passmore Edwards building on Wells Way – or to give it its full title, the Old Library, Baths And Washhouse (OLBAW)! This year, we’re forging ahead with making plans for the future of the building, having received a grant of seed funding to assist with this from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Come along and help us visualise the possibilities for the future of the building. The Wells Way Popup in the old library building will provide hospitality with refreshments, and there’ll be a second chance to look at the displays we set up for for the Making of a Modern Park meeting in May.

Old Library Baths and Washhouse building on the left, with Wells Way bridge over the drained canal, in about 1960
Old Library Baths and Washhouse building on the left, with Wells Way bridge over the drained canal, in about 1960

OHkey

Come and join us 1pm to 5pm, 19th and 20th September 2015.