BOOKS AND MAPS BY POST

Books and maps may be obtained from Mrs Sylvia Dibbs, 19 Lime Tree Grove, Croydon, CR0 8AY.
Please make your cheques payable to East Surrey Family History Society.
The books and maps currently available are listed below but we will be expanding our selection.
The listings are available here to save or print (PDF opens in new window).

Special feature - Spotlight on Publishers
Books - Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Shire Library
Maps - Godfrey Maps

Publisher	Title	Cost	UK p&p	Cost incl UK p&p
		£	£	£
CNHSS	Croydon Between the Wars	4.75	1.45	6.20
CNHSS	Croydon from Above	6.75	1.45	8.20
CNHSS	Croydon in the 1940's & 1950's	6.75	1.45	8.20
CNHSS	Croydon Old and New	6.75	1.45	8.20
CNHSS	Croydon's Transport	8.75	1.45	10.20
CNHSS	A View of Croydon	10.95	1.45	12.40
LB Southwark	Bankside - story of	4.00	1.45	5.45
LB Southwark	Bermondsey - story of	1.95	1.15	3.10
LB Southwark	Borough - story of	1.95	1.15	3.10
LB Southwark	Camberwell - story of	3.50	1.15	4.65
LB Southwark	Charles Dickens in Southwark	2.50	0.50	3.00
LB Southwark	Dulwich - Story of	2.00	1.15	3.15
LB Southwark	Peckham - Story of	3.50	1.15	4.65
LB Southwark	Rotherhithe (Story of)	3.50	1.15	4.65
LB Southwark	Southwark Illustrated	6.95	1.45	8.40
LB Southwark	Walworth - Story of	4.00	1.15	5.15
Shires	Victorian & Edwardian Prisons	4.99	1.15	6.14
Shires	The Victorian Asylum	5.99	1.15	7.14
Shires	The Victorian Cemetery	5.99	1.15	7.14
Shires	The Victorian Hospital	5.99	1.15	7.14
Shires	The Victorian Soldier	4.99	1.15	6.14
Shires	The Victorian Workhouse	4.99	1.15	6.14

Spotlight on Publishers by Brenda Hawkins

CNHSS
Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, despite its daunting title, has an active local history section. Most of its publications are on various aspects of the history on Croydon and most of these were written and edited by John Gent.

Titles include:
Croydon from Above
Croydon Old and New
Croydon Between the Wars
Croydon in the Forties & Fifties
Croydon’s Transport Through the Ages
A View of Croydon – Postcards from the Past

These are A4 books, lavishly illustrated. John had a career in London Transport and was an inveterate collector of local postcards. He sadly died earlier this year, but he lived long enough to see the published copy of his final book. His unique collection of postcards covered every aspect of life in Croydon.

Croydon from Above has aerial views dating from 1870 (taken from landmark buildings!) many from the heyday of Croydon Airport before WW2, and right up to the end of the twentieth century. They range from Crystal Palace in the north, to Coulsdon in the south, reflecting the immense change the Borough has undergone in the period.

Croydon Old and New has several contemporary reminiscences from the 1800s, illustrations and early photographs. The more recent photographs are chosen to reflect the buildings we have lost and the changes that have taken place. As the latest of these was taken in 1995, even these have become historical records.

A View of Croydon – Postcards from the Past was a project that John had long had in mind. It brought together all his interests. Postcards fulfilled the role that emails and text messages do today. Vast numbers were produced, of every conceivable subject. In 1914, over 8 million cards were sent. There were perhaps a dozen prolific publishers of Croydon postcards, but scores of smaller firms existed. Besides the general views that we are familiar with from modern holiday postcards, there were trade photographs, traffic accidents, prize cows, railway staff. No subject was too bizarre. There are floods, snowdrifts, domestic interiors. In this book, some have been blown up, to show the wealth of detail in the images.
All the postcards are accompanied by explanatory text, and the name of the publishers, where known.

Shire Library
Shires are well known for their large range of books on aspects of social history, industrial history, collectibles etc. Their Victorian series describe aspects of life that many of our ancestors would have experienced. The books are well and imaginatively illustrated with examples from all round the country, although because of the importance of London as the metropolis, many of our East Surrey ancestors would have had personal knowledge some of the places described (like the ancestor of mine incarcerated in Millbank Prison!).

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Maps

Godfrey Maps
There are times when just getting the birth certificate or the census record are not enough. You want to know more. Some areas are very well served by local history books and websites, but if you want to get a feel for the names of the local roads, where the workhouse was, whether the house had a front garden or where the trams ran, then you need an Ordnance Survey map.

The Society stocks a good range of Godfrey Maps: high quality facsimiles of large scale Ordnance Survey maps (approx 14” to the mile). There are three main editions reprinted: 1870s, 1890s and 1910s. Where all three editions are available, it is a reflection of the changes the area has seen. If nothing is available, this suggests that the area was largely undeveloped through to fairly recent times. We also have a select range of very large scale maps (36” to the mile) for areas such as the Elephant and Castle where there was an extremely high density of housing. These are shown in bold type in the list below.

In the 1870s, a great many roads changed their names. The plethora of King Streets and Henry Roads disappeared and more esoteric, unique names replaced them. Thus your best chance of finding an 1881 address is by looking at an 1890s map.

Because the titles of maps are sometimes ambiguous or misleading, we are offering the following facility: if you are not sure which map you want, just quote:
• the name of the road
• a complete census reference (1871 – 1911)
• pre 1881, pre 1901 or Post 1901 and
• scale
when sending payment eg: Pawsons Road RG12 piece 593 folio 84 page 2 pre 1901 14” to mile
Then we can check whether we do hold a relevant map.

Click here for a printable list of the maps that we stock (PDF opens in new window).

Maps and all postal books are obtainable from Mrs Sylvia Dibbs, 19 Lime Tree Grove, Croydon, CR0 8AY.
All maps are £2.50 plus 50p current postage & packing.
Please make cheques payable to East Surrey Family History Society.

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