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Our online Local History talks started in January 2021 and are a huge success. They reach a growing number of members, other Dulwich residents and even people further afield as we have had online attendees from Europe and the US. Feedback on the talks is always excellent and over 1,500 tickets have been sold, meaning that something like 3,000 people have attended, as many ticket holders watch with someone else. And this doesn’t include the people who watch the recordings on YouTube afterwards, who number over 1,000 so far.
The talks have raised over £6,000 for local charities including £1,700 for St Christopher’s Hospice, £1,100 for King’s College Hospital charities and £2,200 for Bell House educational projects. The talks also contribute to fulfilling the Dulwich Society's charitable objective of increasing awareness of what makes Dulwich special.
Read more: On the Street Where You Live: local history talks
Have you seen the post box toppers that have been appearing in Dulwich recently? They are crocheted by ‘guerrilla yarn bombers’ and placed on top of post boxes to brighten the neighbourhood and delight passers-by. Every topper is different and some even have lights inside. The Royal Mail has welcomed the toppers, saying 'We love seeing the various post box toppers that that different groups have showcased in communities across the UK'. Check out our Twitter feed for more toppers.
Abbeyfield House, 89-91 Stradella Road, London, SE24 9HL is a sheltered home for the elderly. Applications are now open for people over the age of 70 who are reasonably active and mobile and able to live independently but in need of companionship, support and healthy home-cooked food in a friendly community. The house offers: independent living within a secure setting; six comfortable 2-room flats and one studio flat, all with en-suite facilities; pleasant communal dining area with large well-tended garden; optional programme of activities and events; strong links to the local community and affordable, all-inclusive fees. For more information please visit Abbeyfield Dulwich
Abbeyfield Dulwich is affiliated to The Abbeyfield Society, a charity established to relieve loneliness in the elderly. Please note Abbeyfield Dulwich is not a care home or nursing home and is not suitable for people with dementia.
You may have seen the DIY skateboarding park in the car park of the increasingly derelict Grove Tavern on Dulwich Common. A group of young people made the skate park during lockdown last year and have been highly respectful of the site, keeping it tidy and litter free. You can read more about them here: thegrovediy.com. The younger members of the project, who are around 10-16 years old, have made a short five minute film about their project which you can watch here.
The Dulwich Society unveiled its latest information board on Saturday 19 February 2022. During World War Two, Camberwell Borough Council announced that it was collecting metal railings from churches, houses and other buildings to be turned into weapons. Some of those railings were used to make stretchers for the dead and injured. After the war the stretchers were themselves recycled and turned back into railings which were installed on the East Dulwich Estate, Dog Kennel Hill. When the estate was refurbished the stretchers, now more than 70 years old, were mostly removed but some were retained.
Read more: Unveiling of the stretcher railings information board
Following Storm Eunice and the heavy winds last week, a number of trees fell in Dulwich including on Greendale, Croxted Road and Ruskin Walk. You can report fallen or dangerous trees in Southwark on 02075255000 or email
The Dulwich Society & Dulwich Park Friends recently contributed £2,500 each to the relocation of a path and gate in the wildlife conservation area of Dulwich Park. This was to protect three English oaks likely to be over 250 years old. The work has now been completed and the path reinstated. The remainder of the cost was funded by £5,000 from Southwark Trees Department and £5,000, from Southwark Council’s Cleaner Greener Safer fund.
Planting of the micro forest at the Horniman Museum & Gardens is now almost complete. A 300 square metre area has been redeveloped alongside the boundary with the South Circular, planted using the Miyamaki method to create a dense and fast-growing micro forest that will act as a visual, noise and particulate barrier to the gardens. Funding was provided by a public appeal to which the Dulwich Society contributed £500. Errol Fernandes, the Horniman’s Head of Horticulture, explained the design and planting to donors, including members of the Dulwich Society's executive committee.
Dulwich now has a new wholefood and green grocery, at 10 Croxted Road, West Dulwich. Electric cargo bikes will offer environmentally friendly home delivery services to residents in the local area.
Duncan Bowie, Society member, has published a new book: 'Two Hundred Years of Dulwich Radicals', available from local bookshops. A history of Dulwich suffragettes, anti-slavery campaigners and social reformers, it is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in British political and social history, the history of the Dulwich area, or both. It documents the lives of men and women, some of them - like John Ruskin, Ebenezer Howard and Sam King - celebrated figures whose stories are well known, others less so, but no less fascinating. Who knew that radical reformers from George and Harriet Grote in the 1830s, suffragette Agnes O'Mara and her Sinn Fein MP husband James O'Mara in the 1900s, Lewis Silkin in the 1920s and Leslie Hale MP for Oldham and champion of decolonisation in the 1940s, all lived on College Road?
For an updated version of this notice please see here.
The 59th Annual General Meeting of the Dulwich Society will be held at 8pm on Monday 9 May 2022 in the Function Room at The Crown and Greyhound, 73 Dulwich Village, London, SE21 7BJ
Depending on Government guidance, it may prove necessary to hold the meeting remotely. Members are asked to check the website or the Notice Board after 2 May for confirmation of the location or (if the meeting is to be held remotely) details of the joining instructions for the Zoom meeting. A review of the Society’s Rules is in progress but will not be completed before the AGM. The AGM will therefore take place under the existing Rules and a Special General Meeting will be held in due course to approve amendments to the Rules.
14-15 May and 21-22 May 2022. Registration is now open for the 29th year of the Dulwich Festival Artists’ Open House. For anyone wishing to apply here is the registration link. Registration forms need to be returned by Friday 14 January. Please forward these details to any artists you think will be interested and any queries please email Kim and Yvonne