BACK IN 1851 when the building which became known as the Crystal Palace was first put up, it enclosed elm trees in Hyde Park – and the sparrows which nested there.

A perplexed Queen Victoria asked the Duke of Wellington what should be done about the sparrows.

“Sparrowhawks, Ma’am” was the terse reply.

And that’s how the former Holly Bush pub on the corner of Westow Street and Westow Hill has acquired its new name – coupled with the possibility that sparrowhawks are nesting not too far away.

The new owners are husband and wife team Danielle and Jamie Mason - backed by chef Robin Priestley who was previously head chef at Brinkley’s Wine Factory in Notting Hill.

Danielle and Jamie, who live in Wandsworth, originally came up to Crystal Palace because they had seen The Alma on Church Road was up for sale.

“We didn’t know Crystal Palace that well” says Danielle. “Then we did a lot of market research, going into the local pubs and restaurants and loved the villagey feel to it.

“Our friends were saying ‘You’re opening a pub in Crystal Palace?’. “I don’t think people knew a lot about Crystal Palace and their views were quite outdated. “But we’re thrilled to be here and it was definitely the right move for us.

“And all of our friends who have been here since have loved it. “We’ve changed their minds on Crystal Palace – and we’ll probably be residents ourselves soon enough.”

They prefer to call The Sparrowhawk, which has had a complete refit, a food-led pub rather than a gastro pub. The Sparrowhawk serves bar snacks which change daily but can include home-made scotch eggs, home-made sausage rolls and home made pork scratchings.

A typical menu can include cauliflower soup, deep fried goats cheese or half a pint of prawns among its starters, spiced lamb stews, chicken Kiev or home made burger as the main course and chocolate espresso tart Good Taste cheese and biscuits with onion marmalade among its puddings. And there are roast dinners on Sundays.

See the Sparrowhawk’s facebook page

SAINSBURY’S have caused outrage among traders and businesses in the Crystal Palace Triangle by demanding annual (51 week) licence fees of £50 per space to park in the outside area at the rear of the store.

The outside parking area of the Westow Street store has always been regarded as a public car park since the site was developed in the early 1980s and Safeway took over the supermarket part of the development which is collectively named Norwood Heights.

But in a letter to various businesses from their head office Sainsbury’s say that if motorists do “not wish to take up this offer” then Sainsbury’s reserve all legal rights to take action against any non-customer “parking on our property”.

The letters led to an article and photograph appearing in the Croydon Advertiser which highlighted the situation. Crystal Palace and Norwood Chamber of Commerce chairman Frank Lissimore said: “This is a shoppers car park – it says so on the sign. “It’s always been available for shoppers and people working in the area for the past 25 years.”

Another trader who has used the car park for 25 years said: “It stinks and it’s a cheek. “There’s nowhere you can park throughout the day and get on with running your business.”

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “We are asking the commercial businesses that use the spaces in the car park to pay £50 a year for unrestricted parking for 51 weeks of the year.

“We believe this is good value for money for parking in a safe, well-maintained car park in London.”

A Croydon council spokesman said the issue had been raised with the council’s estates team but they had been unable to shed any definite light on the matter.

“The best we can get is that we’re fairly sure there is nothing to stop Sainsbury’s doing what they are doing” added the spokesman. Legal and General, the original owners of the development, are unable to help and Morrison’s, the former occupants of the supermarket, have yet to respond.

HISTORICAL NOTE: The site was already being used as a public car park in January 1960 when plans to extend it were mooted (Norwood News Jan 22) following the demolition of Grosvenor House, one of the buildings which formed part of the Royal Normal School for the Blind which occupied the site up to the start of the Second World War.

After the car park – which covered the left hand side of the development from close to where the bus stop outside Sainsbury’s is –  was extended the Norwood News reported (March 1961) that motorists were refusing to use it after Croydon council started charging drivers to park there.

The Norwood News reported: “During the day motorists constantly drove into the park but promptly drove out again on hearing the charges”.

In August 1984 the Croydon Advertiser described Croydon council as ‘the major landowner’ of the site in a story headed “New Safeway superstore a bit nearer opening”.

In February 1993 the Croydon Advertiser, in a story headed “Supermarket to clamp down on all day parking” said Safeway was threatening to wheel clamp motorists who stayed longer than two hours in their 300-space covered parking area,.

“The adjacent public outdoor car park for up to 100 vehicles will not be affected by the plan” the story added.