Camberwell, Greater London

Katie Barnes and the Hermits Cave

The one thing that sticks in my memory about growing up in Camberwell was the newspaper stall outside the Hermits Cave pub and the young me being in awe of Katie Barnes (I think that was her name), the 'old' woman who used to sell the papers. She knew everyone's gossip and had a slightly hairy chin!

my ancestors

The Soulby family and the Audy family all lived around this area, the Miller family started my ancestral name from here too.

Searching the tombs!

Oh I know it always seemed so huge and scary, with its giant red doors, but my brother and I had such fun in the churchyard climbing the trees and exploring the broken tombs and crypts. Pretty scary as I always expected a monster to grab me and take me down inside never to be seen again! I think the horror... [more]

Those were the days !!!

My twin brother and I were born in 1960 and I think we were about five  or six years old. Mum always did the shopping at Camberwell Green and we regularly and always unwillingly traipsed after her or my sister Cora from our home at 53 Rainbow Street through the green to the shops. If mum had been lucky on the... [more]

Church Street, Camberwell

1950s. This is the view down Church Street from the cross road which we all knew as and called "the green" which is to the left of this picture. The large double fronted shop on the right was at the time a Joe Lyons where you could get a cup of tea and a bun from a lady in a white... [more]

Old blokes in white coats!

Sometimes on the way to the Green we would watch the men walking up and down the Bowling Green. They really took things seriously! The Green was mown to precision and I'm sure the bloke that cut it measured the length of the grass with a ruler! We were amazed!
When the bowler would prepare to bowl my brother and I... [more]

South East London Photographic Memories

A break in the traffic gives a clear view of the shops on the south side of Denmark Hill. The buildings above the shops survive today, and the bus stop has moved only a few yards to the left. The large building in the distance beyond Camberwell Green is the Father Red Cap pub.

South East London Photographic Memories

Camberwell Green is seen from the bottom of Denmark Hill. Approaching is an LCC ambulance; on the left a tram, about to go out of service, heads towards Walworth Road. The impressive building with the word `Bank` over the door is the Camberwell Green Surgery.

South East London Photographic Memories

All the buildings in the picture survive, although the shop fronts have changed. The white and gold-fronted Lyon`s tea shop is now an Italian restaurant. The road islands and street furniture have also moved and been changed. Buses run across the recently redundant tram lines.