of the Crystal Palace Community Association

Palace Magazine Dec 2007

Those responding to the suggestion ‘Lets go up the Palace’ as quoted in Don Madgwick’s article in The Palace Magazine November issue, “…as often uttered in Victorian times…” would have strolled through leafy lanes between fields and farms, in what was then the countryside.

Those responding today to hearing this “…again throughout South London…if Ray Hall has his way…” would travel through the congestion and air pollution of roads and streets grid-locked with traffic, in an area of dense occupation, with, railway stations, schools, super-markets, housing estates, office blocks, petrol stations and a burgeoning population now measured in millions, unlike the ten thousands of the Victorian era.

As emotive as the “opportunity to rebuild the Palace” may seem, closer scrutiny of what is proposed exposes it as anything but a rebuild of the original Crystal Palace, as a pastiche of Paxton’s masterpiece, incorporating some original design and material features, and as a blatantly commercial development where “interested operators include: a 4 rising to 5 star hotel with conference, exhibition and spa/gym facility, entertainment, and educational and business incubation provision in partnership with relevant universities, further education colleges and schools.”

Although “A New Crystal Palace Charitable Trust is proposed that could enter into a long lease with the London Borough of Bromley as the owners of Crystal Palace Park and that trust would then commission, build and own the Crystal Palace” it is also stated that New Crystal Palace Ltd, specifically set up to contract with the New Crystal Palace Charitable Trust “…would take a lease on a significant proportion of the volume that would be shaped within the structure of the New Crystal Palace. and “That company would then in turn contract with operators of leisure, sports, entertainment, business start-up and community facility.”

It is extremely doubtful that these commercial arrangements would satisfy “…the legacy of the people of South London latent in the name ‘Crystal Palace’ and that the proposed construction “…would make a lot of people’s dreams come true.” concerning “…one of the most beautiful and loved buildings in the world.”

Ray Hall’s scheme was not, as claimed, excluded from (LDA) public consultation, but was, together with other proposals for the Park, presented at a Crystal Palace Park Dialogue Special Main Group Meeting on Saturday 25th November 2006 by no less than Ray Hall himself, whilst the LDA could hardly have disregarded Ken Livingstone’s commitment to preserving London’s open spaces, by including Ray Hall’s proposal for massive commercial development, in its publicly funded £67 million Park Master Plan.

To describe the new Crystal Palace, as, “…a very large conservatory in a park setting” and in the context of “…within the framework of a business plan geared to the economic viability of the new Crystal Palace”, will persuade few and concern many.

To solicit support, included as “…possible contents…” are museums for Crystal Palace, Sport and an Edwardian fun-fair and a  “…butterfly museum…” which if to be dead  specimens of butterflies mounted on cards in display cases, would be poor substitute for a proposed purpose built house for beautiful living butterflies in their natural environment.

The November feature ‘rebuild the palace?’ makes the critical reference “…In any case after the longest and one of the most expensive consultations in England, it is crucial questions like this (rebuild the palace?) should be decided by the public and not second guessed by LDA grandees, and compounding the misrepresentation, “…that the rebuild option should have been included in the consultation and its exclusion has denied the public an opportunity to consider an important option.”

What was crucial to Ray Hall’s ‘important option’ and what would have enabled robust consideration of it, was that a planning application was submitted to Bromley Council together with and supported by the results of Environmental Impact Assessment.

The “Enthusiastic Support”, further qualified to “… enthusiastic personal support, from Cllr Stephen Carr, leader of Bromley Council…senior councillors and officers… and “…the leader of Croydon Council Cllr Mike Fisher and his colleagues…also invited…”, was not a formal decision or declaration of support, made as it was in the absence of any planning application and Environmental Impact Assessment.

It is highly likely that Bromley would exercise caution in this respect following the successful application by CPCA member Diane Barker to the European Courts concerning failure by Bromley to require Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed cinema multiplex, following which The House of Lords, in endorsing the European ruling, made an order for substantial costs against Bromley Council.

What is intriguing is that a few people so resolutely opposed to the abortive multiplex are now giving their support to a proposal likely to provoke the same undesirable and damaging environmental consequences and minimal contribution to the local economy..

We are told “Operators have been short listed and will now be chosen for their  commercial and management skills and for their ability to partner with other community organisations” when it is unfortunate that such ability does no outweigh “…reasons of commercial confidentiality…” in the withholding of their identity, which does not instil trust and conflicts with claim of “…socially responsible commerce servicing a strong charitable arm…” and Ray Hall’s modest goal of “…enabling the regeneration of not only Crystal Palace Park but the whole of South London.

Though Mr Madgwick predictably seeks common ground in objection to sale of parkland for housing that will bring only a one-off payment and the possibility of legal challenge, he or is naive to imagine that the “…universal unpopularity…” of this will not extend to the construction of a massive commercial development in Crystal Palace Public Park.

Audrey Hammond with some of her family portraits at her November 2008 exhibition

Audrey Hammond was born in South London and studied Fine Art at Bromley College of Art. She has taught ceramics and art at Sydenham High School and has exhibited paintings and drawings in galleries all over England (including five times at the Royal Academy Summer Show) and many exhibitions locally. She now works entirely freelance. Audrey and her husband Martin have lived in Crystal Palace since 1956 and have brought up two sons and two daughters here. She is a founder member of the CPCA (formerly CPTCA) and has been its president since 1970.

I met up with Audrey at her annual Christmas Exhibition at her home. She was exhibiting oil paintings and woodfired ceramics made by her husband Martin, embroidery pictures by her daughter Judy and, of course, her own watercolours, drawings etchings and lino-cuts.

How did the CPTCA come into being?

In the summer of 1969 there were various rumours that the Triangle area was going to be redeveloped. I could not bear the thought of this Victorian village and its community being destroyed. With my experience of teaching arts and crafts to all age groups, and the benefits this brought to people, I thought building a family arts centre in the middle could constructively regenerate the whole Triangle. At the time the centre of the Triangle was made up of the Paddock, the Laundry, the stables and cottages: approximately 14 acres of historically important land.

I took my ideas to the local newspaper and to the Norwood Society but things didn’t really start to move until we thought about forming a community association.

So a meeting was arranged with local interested parties such as church groups, societies, activity groups, businesses and schools for a slide show on the special character of the area. Interest was so strong that it was not long after that the CPTCA was ready to be formally constituted in January 1970. So with 20 or so enthusiastic people we began organising events we would like to see going on in a proposed Arts centre such as drama, music, chess, dance and rambles. The membership soon increased and events were held in hired halls, people’s houses or in the open – all without grants.

Who were you hoping to attract?

Everyone. So there were activities and events for children, grown-ups and old people and festivals including one a week long commemorating the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Crystal Palace here in 1854.

How did you move from essentially an Arts movement to local protectionist campaign?

At the time there were a number of major development plans by the then Greater London Council (GLC). As we became more organised we could protest against unpopular plans such as their Road Plan and the threat of a Disneyland type theme park on the Crystal Palace site. We became a strong local voice asking for a more sympathetic approach from local planning authorities for the visual qualities and character of the Triangle area to be upheld.

With the growing tide of development in the area we got more involved in making continuing appeals to the councils to prevent the loss of an important shopfront, a house or open space. We had to quickly learn about ‘Listed Buildings’ and ‘Conservation Areas’ and how unless an historical area was ‘designated’ that there was no hope of protection.

Conservation areas did appear in Gipsy Hill, Belvedere Road/Fox Hill, Harold Road and Church Road but the Triangle was left out. The Department of the Environment refused to recognise it as an area of intrinsic historical and visual value worth designating. Thus many buildings of character were destroyed, spaces filled and shopfronts lost. And this was in the 70’s and 80’s!

It was in order to draw attention to the special character and beauty of the area that I began making pictures of views showing the character of the area. Pictures were turned into prints, cards and stationery and sold in aid of CPTCA funds.

Then Croydon’s decision to sell the land contained inside the Triangle shocked me into a making a series of pictures in 1979 showing these places for the last time. The pictures were exhibited in the Upper Norwood Library in an exhibition called ‘The Vanishing Triangle’. There was a lot of local interest but it was now too late as the bulldozers moved in and a housing estate was hastily built.

So how did your book ‘Crystal Palace – Norwood Heights’ come into being?

The making of the book is a story in itself. It was totally self-funded; everyone had their day time jobs. It took four years and many late nights of work by Brian Dann, Mike Conrad and myself – our partial record of the area with Brian’s poetry, Mike’s graphic design and my drawings and watercolours.

The idea was to bring to the public’s attention the special character and historical importance of the area with the hope of the Triangle becoming a conservation area.

Initial dealings with a local publisher went awry due to concerns over costs although we had sponsorship contributions and advanced book sales from local people, businesses and associations. The then local MP Bernard Weatherill stepped in and introduced us to Robin Redsull of the Croydon Society. Robin really got things moving and with much voluntary effort and a very helpful printer, the long awaited book was published jointly by the CPTCA and the Croydon Society in 1988 amid great local festivities. The initial run of 3,500 copies sold out in 11 months and had to be reprinted.

The Triangle was finally declared a Conservation Area by Croydon in 1989.

Why did you lose the ‘T’ in CPTCA?

We had always considered the whole Crystal Palace area ‘the area of interest’ with the Triangle as the focal point therefore it seemed logical to drop the ‘T’.

Why do you think recording Crystal Palace in drawings is important?

Making pictures is a very personal business; it is a means of expressing feelings about a subject. For the viewers there is the pleasure of seeing pictures, which express their own feeling on a subject; or see truths; or see aspects they were unaware of.

When the same ties of affection hold the artist and audience, such as with Crystal Palace then there is further rapport, a sort of mutual understanding. Even for people who do not have much of an interest in pictures there is still the delight of recognising their area and there is the reassurance too, that someone has cared enough to make pictures of what is part of their past or present.

One of Audrey’s watercolours of Crystal Palace Park from Anerley Hill

Apart from the Crystal Palace area my other favourite subjects include flowers, fruit, family, and friends, together with landscapes in France and elsewhere. I usually work in ink and watercolour, or watercolour alone, although I do enjoy working in oils and mixed media such as ink, gouache and acrylic.

With my portrait commissions, the medium is very much the choice of the customer.

What have you exhibited recently?

In February I had a watercolour accepted and hung in the Royal Watercolour Society’s Open Exhibition at the Bankside gallery.

In the summer I showed work locally at the St Stephen’s festival and with the Friends of the Horniman exhibition. Currently (until December 9th), I am exhibiting ‘Paintings and Drawings of Musicians and Musical Instruments’ in the Café Gallery at the Horniman Museum.

I also had seven portraits shown on the Dulwich Picture Gallery website in the ‘Paint your Children/Grandchildren competition.

What would you like to see happen with Crystal Palace Park?

I’d like to see something on the lines of the Horniman Gardens and Sydenham Wells Park- well tended gardens and beautifully restored terraces. Perhaps a small replica of the Palace in glass and a plant house.

What I don’t want to see is a sell out to commercialism by having a hotel and conference centre, as we will be back to the multiplex situation all over again.

Audrey Hammond gives talks of interest to amenity and art groups by arrangement, with slide illustrations, on various aspects of her work. Viewing by appointment only call 07947168138 ‘Crystal Palace -Norwood Heights’ is available in Bookseller Crow; Kirkdale Bookshop and Dulwich Bookshop.

(First published in the Palace Magazine Dec 2008)