Croydon History & Current Affairs
I research, publish and give talks on aspects of Croydon history, am an independent historian on the Croydon Local Studies Forum. I co-ordinate the Croydon Radical History and the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Networks. Since July 2019 I am joint co-ordinator of the Norbury History Group.
Croydon Radical History Network
First Newsletter January 2014: Why a Radical History Network for Croydon?; Croydon Citizen Postings; Croydon’s Labour Movement 1860s -1930s; Some Croydon People; Riot Damages 1887; An Introduction to Ruskin House; William Pare – Advocate of Co-operation; Croydon International Language Club
In June 2014 it organised a talk 'Local investment: Are private developers the only option?' by Andrew Fisher, author of the book The Failed Experiment – and how to build an economy that works.
The Network organised the following events in the Croydon Heritage Festival 21 June - 4 July 2014:
Honouring Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and other black people through plaques talk: (with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Network & Nubian Jak Community Trust)
Alfred Russel Wallace as Social Reformer talk (with South Croydon Community Association)
200 years a slave – Croydon and slavery talk (with Legacies of British Slave-ownership Project)
Look How Far We’ve Come (about racism) film (with Kwaku of British Black Music)
Freedom Riders (US Civil Rights) film (with Kush Films)
Michael Tichelar: Labour Politics in Croydon 1880 to 1914 (Croydon Radical History Monograph No.1. (2015). £2
Croydon Radical History Network Newsletter No. 3 (2015). Network Events in Croydon Heritage Festival; Editorial; News Snippets; South Norwood Radical History Notes; The Battle for Sunday Opening at Crystal Palace; Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society of London; Croydon Newspapers; The Eliots – Quakers with Croydon Links; More Information of Black People in the Croydon area
Croydon Radical History Newsletter No. 4. (2017): Trade Union Activity 1834; Christianity and the Housing Question; Clarion Movement in Croydon in 1896; George Henry Young - Socialist candidate 1902-1909; Croydon and the General Strike; Croydon and the Spanish Civil War; Croydon & Brixton Black Peoples Organisation.
Croydon Radical History Network Newsletter No. 5 (2023): Editorial – Borough of Culture, Publications & Archival Work;
Peasants Revolt 1381; People; Miscellaneous; Petitions to Parliament; Freemasonry in the 1840s; Temperance 1841; Dr Daniel Percival Wildbore and the Weller Estate in the 1850s; Temperance 1866; Events in the 1860s & 1870s; Civil Society 1874; The Croydon Review 1888; Women and Music 1890s to 1910s; Socialists; Aspects of Croydon 1904; Croydon National Union of Clerks 1908; Christian Socialist League 1909; Socialists and Trade Unions 1912-1916; Activities in January 1919; Watch and Clock Makers; Nurserymen, Gardeners & Nature Study; Circuses & Showmen; Theatre; Painters; Miscellaneous Notes; Richard Bannerman Collection. £3.50. + postage
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Network
The Anglo-African composer lived most of his life in Croydon. The Network has its own website at
https://sites.google.com/site/samuelcoleridgetaylornetwork/
Norbury History Group
This was set up as an informal group in July 2019 to promote interest and knowledge in Norbury's history and to advise the Council's Regeneration Steering Group and its residents and community organisation members on potential projects which will help strengthen local identity. Due to COVID and the illness and death of the joint co-ordinator it has not yet been possible to organise activities.
Norbury History Newsletters
I have produced three newsletters, the latest being 2023.
Pamphlets about Croydon
published under History & Social Action Publications imprint
Croydon's African and Asian History. An Introduction. (2016). £2 + postage. Out of print - not being re-printed because of later pamphlets.
Croydon Borough of Croydon. Discussion Paper (2020): Introduction; Croydon Council and Culture; The Importance of Croydon’s Cultural Activists; Culture and Class; Croydon’s Economic and Social Realities and Community; The Focus on Neighbourhoods; Audiences and Participants for 2023; The Relevance of Local History; Croydon’s Musical Heritage; Croydon Writers and Artists; Environment and Green History; The Use of Different Forms of Cultural Output; Engaging Schools; The Problem of Communication and the role of venues; System Change and Other Issues. Appendices: An approach to activity about the environment and nature; Books relevant to Croydon; Footnotes.
Croydon's Crisis. Some Background Facts. (2016) . Out of print
Croydon Trade Unions, The Environment and Climate Change. An Information Paper. (2021). £1.50 + postage
Peace and anti-war campaigning in Croydon from 1816-1950s. (2018). £1 + postage
Radical Croydon 1860s-1939. An introduction ton the history of Croydon's labour, radical and socialist movements. (2016). £2 + postage
Suffrage Campaigns & Campaigners in Croydon. With Iona Davito and Louise Szpera. (2018). £3.50 plus postage
Who Controls Croydon? The local economy, planning, regeneration, developers, housing, education, culture, the Council and community action. (2016).Out of print
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