Fairlawn Park area before and after the war

[Falkor]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would just like to welcome Reg O'neil to this forum... Reg was a resident of Sydenham from 1920 to 1961.
1920 to 1935 - 42 Burghill Road.
1935 to 1961 - Derby House, 46 Trewsbury Road (56 after the war).
Reg has generously provided some photos of his house--before and after the war!

© Reg O'neil


© Reg O'neil


© Reg O'neil

Reg's parents were both air raid wardens and were sited at the rear of the rink cinema. His Mother and Stepfather were both inside a homemade shelter that Reg constructed at the start of the war, and they both survived the V1 attack with only minor injuries.

We've just been discussing another V1 attack that happened nearby at the Fairlawn Park junction with Sydenham Road. Did you know there were once shops on both corners of Fairlawn Park before the war? The photographic record for the bottom half of Sydenham Road is seriously lacking, and it's only through a recent £70+ Ebay postcard that we get to see these shops.


© John Coulter / Lewisham Local Studies


© Steve Grindlay



New skill in Photoshop taught to me by my Russian mate!




The last WWI bomb and first WWII bomb to fall on Sydenham Town was here at the Fairlawn Park junction, and it's not clear which war the photos show.

The bottom-right circle is the area where the V1 hit Fairlawn Park; Reg has kindly given up some of his free time to draw up a map--entirely from memory--showing the area before the war, listing the shops and their type of business.

© Reg O'neil

Leading up to the War

1+2 was a Church of England infants school; 2-3 buildings (no picture available).
3 to 7 (Broadway Parade) replaced 2 houses called Hanover Lodge and The Grange that were demolished in c1901 (no picture available).
8 to 12 built late 19C.
13 - the Library built c1901 near the site of Home Park Lodge (no picture available).
14 - the RC Presbytery built on site of Sir George Grove's house, which was demolished in 1929 because of a leaky roof (picture availabe in kennyb's thead). A brick extension at the rear was retained as part of the Presbytery.
15 to 19 - Shops built late 19C (distant view above).
20 - RC Church built 1882 (picture above)

After the War

1+2 - destroyed by V1!
3 to 7 - parade still exists today, but not sure if anything of it needed rebuilding after the war.
8 to 12 - I think they were unaffected by the war.
13 - the Library remains unchanged, except for the entrance being moved from the front to the side.
14 - was the Presbytery rebuilt?
15 to 20 - totally destroyed in the V1 attack!

I started this topic in the hope that Steve G, Kenny B or others could possibly add some additional information. Also, if anyone out there has any questions for Reg O'neil, please don't hesitate to post! As you can see from the map above, Reg has a very good memory, so don't miss out on this opportunity. Reg even remembers the Crystal Palace! He's already a member of this forum, although still figuring out how to use it, so no doubt will join in the discussions as they develop. I'm told Reg has lot's of other photos of Burghill Road, plus a wealth of knowledge. Again, Reg said he would be more than happy to answer any questions at all about Sydenham, and provide information where possible...

[leenewham]

This is great, thanks for this steve. AS you know I had been looking in the road for some time at houses (looks like it might have finally paid off).

Funny how everywhere looks so much better without cars on the streets.

It's a shame the V2 Rockets fell there, it would have been so much better as a proper cul de sac. It's an even bigger shame the shops are no longer there, it would have looked so much better.

Great post.

One thing about the road, some of the houses have stairs from the top floor and a door from the back bedroom (I believe these were originally bathrooms) any idea why this was, it's only on a few houses (nearly all the houses I have seen along there still have the outside toilets and a lot of original features, they lok great and are quite large!)

[leenewham]

I mean thanks Falkor! And Reg of course.

[Falkor]

Thanks mate. I've had a few walks around Fairlawn Park up to the allotments and through to the Home Park estate. I remember when the adventure playground was there and a kid's community hall where we played table tennis.

Up the middle of the 2 roads that form Fairlawn Park, opposite sides were also bombed, and there just happens to have been a photo taken of the eastern side before the war, published in one of John Coulter's books. The 3 or so houses here that were destroyed created today's shortcut I referred to above; it's not really a cul de sac anymore because of the war.

[user100]

Very interesting indeed!

Where was 46 Trewsbury Road? say in relation to the laneway going down to the recreation ground? was it in the 'open' space just north of that i.e. to the south of the row of victorian houses on the west side of the street, almost opposite Dorryn Court?

And incidentally, was Dorryn Court and Cator Court beside it built on a bomb site? Or just the site of houses that were demolished?

[Steve Grindlay]

Fascinating, Falkor, thanks. Incidentally, 46 Trewsbury Rd was next to the lane leading to the park, on the northern side. The lane marks the boundary between the ancient parishes of Lewisham and Beckenham and is still, I believe, on the boundary between Lewisham and Bromley. It is because of the boundary that, at this point, Trewsbury Rd becomes Cator Road.

[user100]

Thanks Steve, interesting to know that.
Not to hijack this thread, but you may be interested to know that the border contines across Trewbury / Cator Road and passes *under* the front block of Dorryn Court.
So, part of each the 3 apartments on the south end of Dorryn Court is in Bromley Borough, and part is in Lewisham.
I have heard it said, but not sure, that one of the 3 apartments pays council tax to Bromley, and the other 2 to Lewisham - anyone know if this is true?

[kennyb2]

I'm old but not ancient young Falkor........

The bomb crater that is now under that playground is the site of one of my first escapades,
It was huge hole after all the rubble had been cleared, probably a basement area, like all bomb sites it was rapidly colonised by Buddleia bushes, I had managed to get down into it but could not get out; It was mid summerish about late evening,my cries were heard and I was helped out by a passer by and sent on my way home, to meet my agitated mother looking for me, coming down Champion Grove.
Not such a story really..but I could not have been more than about 4 -4 1/2 years old, and lived in Adamsrill Road.
Can you imagine the furore these days if a 4 year old was left to wander the streets?
But the fact is that is how is was in those days, no cars to speak of, the streets were full of kids and toddlers, generally the smallest would be looked after by the older ones, family or not.
We all lived and played in the streets.
Assitance would be given by strangers,without suspicion on the part of the helped; and as kids we were taught, if in case of any concern knock on the door of the nearest house and ask for help.
Always someone at home in every house.
Or ask a policeman, imagine that, there'll be one along soon, on foot or bike.
Almost all of those streets had a shop or two of some kind on the corners,
shops of all kinds and trades, they could all make some kind of a living as prices were set by the retail price acts, so you always knew what things would cost; no supermarket scams in those days.
Not a lot of crime, lets face it, you would be a bit stupid to try your hand mugging some bloke that had just spent 5 years killing Germans would'nt you? For much the same reason youth gave little or no back chat to its elders, they were in no mood to mess about with your "rights",.
Its why old age brings grumpiness, so much really was better in those days, its not that one wants to go back, merely that it would be nice to reinstate some of those standards.

[Falkor]

Kenny, you raggamuffin, thanks for sharing that story!

[lbere]

Thanks, I love all this information. I grew up on Fairlawn Park, and now live in Larkbere. My children school is on the corner off Fairlawn Park and our church is Our Lady and St Philip Neri, which is celebrating the Golden Annniversary of the laying of our keystone on Friday 7 December at 7.30. All are welcome. If anyone remembers the laying of the keystone our Priest would love to hear from you.

[Steve Grindlay]

The site of Fairlawn Park has an interesting history. For centuries it consisted of three fields belonging to St Olave's parish, Southwark. They leased the fields to tenant farmers and used the income for charitable purposes. In 1843 it was decided to use the land for building and the road was laid out under the direction of George Allen. At that time George Allen was also drawing up plans for the development of Sydenham Park, so one can imagine the style of houses he was planning for Fairlawn Park.

For some reason the development at Fairlawn Park was stalled and by 1869 it was decided that at least 80 modestly priced houses should be built on the land. The drop in value, which affected the whole area, was the direct result of the opening of the Crystal Palace District Gas Company's works at Bell Green in 1858.

Still no development happened at Fairlawn Park, as this map of 1878 shows:
Although building finally began in 1883 progress was quite slow. I have three leases (all dated 1889) covering 38-52 (even) and 134-148 (even) Fairlawn Park showing that some, at least, of these houses were still unfinished.

One thing about the road, some of the houses have stairs from the top floor and a door from the back bedroom (I believe these were originally bathrooms) any idea why this was...

That is curious, Lee, but it might explain something that has been puzzling me. The 1891 census (by which time most of the houses were occupied) shows a surprising number of houses with two families, each with their own set of rooms. Is it possible that some of the houses were actually designed for two families?

By the way, the bomb damage photos are in the right order: the first shows the result of a raid of May 1918, the second was, I believe, taken in July 1944, and was described as "Sydenham's final flying bomb".

[Falkor]

By the way, the bomb damage photos are in the right order: the first shows the result of a raid of May 1918, the second was, I believe, taken in July 1944, and was described as "Sydenham's final flying bomb".

I still can't figure out where these photos were taken from... And now I'm wondering what different damage occurred in each separate attack. My main interest is in the buildings across the road, and the biggest puzzle is whether the Presbytery was rebuilt or not. Anyway, many thanks for the info, Steve! If the WWII bomb was the last then the WW1 bomb must have been the first or vice versa (according to Reg).

[leenewham]

I know Fairlawn park was built in a few stages and some houses are slightly different to others inside. The layouts inside differ a little too.

In reference to your question steve, the houses with the steps at the back seemed to have an upstairs toilet with loo being on the balcony outside. This seems to back up what you were saying about the census.

One house I'm looking at has a flat registered on the land registry, despite the fact that it is also registered as a house, which again may explain why 2 families were registered as living there.

The houses near the top of the road have a cellar, you can see the vents in the stop up to the front door.

Originally all the houses had slates as roofs, now you will notice that most have tiles. These were done together about 30-40 years ago as many residents were pursuaded together their roofs done at the same time. Unfortunately the extra weight of the tiles affected some roofs causing them to sag.

I was also told that the gardens differ greatly in size depending on where they are and some back onto a council estate that used to be fields or the back so the Kent House lane houses.

[GillM]

Thanks for posting the pictures of Fairlawn Park. I have lived in Fairlawn for 25 years and yes quite a few of the houses were 2 flats. In fact, our house had an outside loo upstairs as well as downstairs! We also had stairs that led down to the garden. A lot of the houses in Fairlawn differ in some ways, e.g. some have basements, some have slightly wider or longer rooms.

[Jessie]

This is so intresting I live in Fairlawn Park and love seeing anything like this well done to the person who posted them would love to see more

[jackieboo]

why there are newer houses, i.e. the maisonettes up on the right in Fairlawn Pk, due to bomb damage? I knew someone who lived there in the 70's.

[leenewham]

I guess they must have been a bomb crater for years untill they were built in the 1970's. Anyone know who owns these as they are pretty rough looking from the outside. They seriously need a coat of paint. The whole block could look really nice with a modern makeover.

[jackieboo]

They looked nice then!!! I also knew someone who lived at about 28? Opposite the man who rented most of the houses out in those days as the were mostly rented. We knew the Smith family at 120 and the Culley family.

[leenewham]

I heard that most of thehouses in fairlawn were owned by the council, which is why many were turned into flats and why they many have the same frontgates and tiled roofs instead of slate as they were all converted at the same time. Originally all the houses in fairlawn park had railings and if you did under the walls you can still find the bases of them (all this is according to my neighbour).

[regoneil]

Thank you for your message re Fairlawn Park (1 Dec 2007)
Much appreciated, I would be very pleased to add some of my memories of the inter-war period if required.
May I refer to the item by Kennyb2 posted 2 Dec 2007 and enquire if the crater he refers to was located in the area between Knighton Park and Broseley Grove?
If this is so, then perhaps he would be interested to learn that this was the result of a parachute mine dropped in 1940 which created a very high death toll.
These “Land mines” as they became known, were attached to a parachute from which the mine was suspended; (the size of a pillar box) and would detonate as soon as the mine touched the ground, (spring loaded), which caused the blast to extend outwards in all directions, thereby demolishing everything in its path.
This particular incident was centred within the square making up the four roads and contained most of the Anderson shelters in the back gardens. They, and their occupants, were blown around a very large area extending as far as Bell Green Lane with the junction with Kent House Road, where it turns right in a westerly direction, well over the Kent boundary.
There was a great loss of life which included all the family (Parents, Uncles and Aunts) of a great pal of mine, who was serving in the army at the time and, fortunately, not home on leave.
Most of the buildings surrounding the site were destroyed and for a very large area most buildings suffered considerable damage.
I saw the crater and, without any exaggeration, two double decker buses could easily have been contained therein.
In 1940/1 it was said that the square mile of Penge received more bombs than anywhere else in the London Area! It should be noted that at the time of the declaration of the war, the area outside the boundary of London with Kent (Trewsbury Road and Cator Road) was considered a safe area and not protected by the Balloon Barrage and children were not evacuated until after the Blitz was well under way.

May I add a note to the posting of “User100! of the 2.Dec 2007 re Dorryn Court, that he possibly is correct regarding the payment of rates to two councils. During the period Feb. 1946 to Feb 1961, I and my family resided in No 49 (It had suffered some war damage but was later demolished to make way for Dorryn Court) and we had a lean-to garage constructed on the side of the house with the permission from Lewisham, that if it did not exceed a certain height, it would not be rated. Several years later we received a rate demand from Beckenham Council saying that it was too tall and demanding payment, which caused some sorting out as we were unaware that we were trespassing into Kent! The side of the house was the boundary and I would say that I slept in London with my feet in Kent.

Best regards
Reg O’Neil.