Norwood before the Great War
The history of the district of Norwood before the First World War has been catalogued in photographs featured in a new local history book. The publication, simply titled Norwood, is by local history enthusiast John Coulter, who lives in South Norwood, and examines the large and varied district.
Shared by four London boroughs, Croydon, Lambeth, Bromley and Southwark, Norwood was built in the 19th century and on the range of hills formerly covered by the Great North Wood.
West Norwood is the original early 19th century village while breezy Upper Norwood, close to the Crystal Palace, has been an area of expensive housing since the closure of the Wood in 1800.
South Norwood, on the lower ground, was developed as a railway suburb in 1839 and the whole district also incorporated parts of Penge, Dulwich Streatham and Tulse Hill.
The book shows the suburbs as they were before the First World War, with pubs and hotels, orphanages and schools, bandstands, bowling greens, churches and vicarages now fading phantoms of the memory.
It even looks at the sorry tale of Hawke Road while examining the trend of large houses being replaced by blocks of flats.
A spokesman from the book's publisher, Sutton Publishing, said: "A sad example of this is Hawke Road, where all 29 houses, originally built in the 1880's, have been demolished and the name transferred to a service road.
"This collection of photographs and informative captions on Norwood's streets, landmarks, pastimes and events will be of great interest to long-established residents and newcomers alike."
John Coulter has a long-standing interest in local history and has written a number of titles including the pictorial history, London of 100 Years Ago. The author's Norwood book, part of the Britain in Old Photographs series, is priced at £12.99 and is available from local bookshops, ISBN number: 0 7509 2919 7.