Jump to content

Recommended Posts

DPF, if you have read threads I have created on here before, you will notice that I have mentioned more than the 7/11. Edwardes electrical store on the Caffe Nero site is a much missed shop, the old Binnesters toy shop where that over priced coffee shop now operates, the Never on a Sunday restaurant where the texmex place is. I miss many places. :)
  Quote
By the way - are you saying that ED'ers had a closed gene pool from the early 1900's until the 1970's. This may explain some things.


East Dulwich was completely isolated until the first intrepid explorers discovered the borough in the early seventies. This is not surprising as without a tube station the outside world would have no reason to assume that there was anything there. We must remember that back then our ancestors did not have the benefit of technologies such as streetmap.co.uk and sat nav and had to rely entirely on the London Tube Map and dashboard mounted compasses for navigation.


The first brave soul adventuring south from the city got out of his Ford Capri atop Dog Kennel Hill, wind blowing through his newly permed hair, and surveyed a rural scene of locals scurrying between wattle-and-daub lean-tos.


As the realization of his discovery dawned upon him and he started to picture the potential of the area he was hit from behind by his Ford Capri. His car was being driven by a brace of muck-covered locals and careered at full-tilt to the heart of the borough where parts of it still survive as fixtures behind the bar at the CPT.

If only the toy shop had held out for a few more years they'd be quids in. I've been here seven years and never heard of any of those businesses, didn't seem like the "others" gave them much financial support though or they'd still be here.

macroban Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> > I didn't hear anyone bemoaning the loss of the

> glass shop for example.

>

> Are you familiar with East Dulwich?

>

> The "glass shop" is not lost - it just moved a

> little way to Shawbury Road.


I know, but no-one is bemoaning its loss from Lordship Lane. Very rarely did I pop down LL to get some coffee, french bread, flowers, and a big ass piece of glass.

As is often the case, this debate has become rather polarised with some people making provocative, rather than constructive comments to support their views. The idea of "incomer" versus "oldtimer" is a false one. No doubt the majority of "old timers" are happy to see improvements in the area, the majority of incomers are glad there is still something of the traditional.


As it happens I would count myself as an incomer (8 years) but it is worth pointing out that I was not attracted to the area for any of its facilities or sevices, it was way more fortuitous than that - moving from the Midlands, I got a job in Camberwell and Mrs C got had one lined up in Greenwich - so we stuck the proverbial pin in the map and headed on down to this previously unheard of area called East Dulwich. As far as I can see, we got lucky...


citizen

Penge is nowhere near as rubbish as everyone makes out.


As for the incomers thing......


How about anyone who can't remember the "new side" of the CPT (the wooden floor and big windows side) being the spit and sawdust, red lino on the floor "public bar" with a dart board...... It only changed about 2001/02, so not as long ago as you might think.... ;-)


Oh and before anyone starts, I'm not after a ruck about whether it was better then or not!!! >:D<

> By the way - are you saying that ED'ers had a closed gene pool from the early 1900's until the 1970's.


I don't remember the early 1900s.


The core housing stock of East Dulwich was built between c1880 and c1914. You can check a map for earlier housing development. I suppose we could call the first ever residents "settlers" rather than "incomers". I wasn't attempting an historic working definition - if so I would probably have to take into account East Dulwich male heads of household who took a wife from outside East Dulwich and the wife took on her husband's attributes.


There was some more housing development between the wars, but not on the same scale. There would have been some incomers then, but my impression is that these properties were lived in by the children of of the settlers. My impression is also that East Dulwich was a pretty stable community and there was not much house moving. For a long time three estate agents were sufficient to meet the needs of the community.


Then came the Second World War with landlords' properties being requistioned to house the bombed-out folk from further north - the old boroughs of Bermondsey and Southwark. Many of these folk were tenants to the east of Lordship Lane well into the 1960s.


After the Second World War there was a fair amount of in-fill housing on the bomb-sites.


So. no, not a closed gene pool, but a more stable community.


I thought I was attempting a current definition.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • 'Tom Lehrer, acclaimed musical satirist of cold war era, dies aged 97' https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/28/tom-lehrer-dies-aged-97-dead-musical-satirist  
    • But all those examples sell a wide variety of things,  and mostly they are well spread out along Lordship Lane. These two shops both sell one very specific thing, albeit in different flavours, and are just across the road from each other. I don't think you can compare the distribution of shops in Roman times to the distribution of shops in Lordship Lane in the twenty first century. Well, you can, but it doesn't feel very appropriate. Haa anybody asked the first shop how they feel? Are they happy about the "healthy competition" ?
    • ED is included in the 17 August closure set (or just possibly 15 August, depending on which part of the page you trust more) listed at https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/25/full-list-25-poundland-stores-confirmed-close-august-23753048/. Here incidentally are some snippets from their annual reports, at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02495645/filing-history. 2022: " during the period we opened 41 stores and closed 43 loss-making/under-performing stores.  At the period-end we were trading from 821 stores in the UK, IoM and ROI. ... "We renogotiated 82 leases in the year, saving on average 45% versus the prior lease agreement..." 2023: "We also continued to improve our market footprint through sourcing better store locations, opening 53 and closing 51 stores during the year." 2024:  "The ex-Wilco stores acquired in the prior year have formed a core part of this strategy to expand our store network.  We favour quality over quantity and during the period we opened 84 stores and closed 71 loss-making/under-performing ones."
    • Ha! After I posted this, I thought of lots more examples. Screwfix and the hardware store? Mrs Robinson and Jumping Bean? Chemists, plant shops, hairdressers...  the list goes on... it's good to have healthy competition  Ooooh! Two cheese shops
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...