**IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK ALL FUTURE MEETINGS AND EVENTS OF THE STREATHAM SOCIETY HAVE BEEN CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**
The Society holds two regular meetings each month throughout the year, with the main meeting focussing on local issues. It also engages with other local groups at their events and is a participant in the Streatham Festival and the Furzedown Festival. The Society, with its bookstall, is often present at other local events and at public meetings concerned with planning or development issues.
Help at events or with Society activities is always welcome.
Our meetings take place between 8pm and 10pm on the first and third Monday of each month at "Woodlawns", 16 Leigham Court Road, Streatham, London, SW16 2PJ. This splendid Victorian house is just a short walk away from Streatham Hill railway station.
Visitors are welcome to attend a meeting and there is no admission charge.
Streatham Society Zoom Talks - Lambeth Heritage Festival
Militant Activity: Chess in Victorian Lambeth and Beyond.
From a game of the elite, all classes got a taste for the joy of chess during the second half of the 19th century, when vigorous chess clubs got going in Brixton and Streatham. We will follow their early development, and meet the colourful characters, real and mechanical, who played the Royal Game in our neighbourhood: Howard Staunton, Isidor Gunsberg, Mephisto and others. Chess would never be the same again.
7.00 pm Friday 4 September 2020 Email streathamsoc@gmail.com to request a place and enter "Chess" in the subject
Martin Smith. Streatham and Brixton Chess Club.
From a game of the elite, all classes got a taste for the joy of chess during the second half of the 19th century, when vigorous chess clubs got going in Brixton and Streatham. We will follow their early development, and meet the colourful characters, real and mechanical, who played the Royal Game in our neighbourhood: Howard Staunton, Isidor Gunsberg, Mephisto and others. Chess would never be the same again.
7.00 pm Friday 4 September 2020 Email streathamsoc@gmail.com to request a place and enter "Chess" in the subject
Martin Smith. Streatham and Brixton Chess Club.
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Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens: A Place To See and Be Seen!
Before the days of amusement parks and fairgrounds, Londoners enjoyed an evening in a pleasure garden. Famous for their entertainment, and notorious for the fun and frolics that went on there, pleasure gardens were the places to see and be seen. Take a stroll through the most famous of London’s pleasure gardens, Vauxhall, and hear about its history, the people who frequented it, the scandal and the stories – and enjoy what goes on after dark! 7.00 pm Monday 7 September 2020 and Thursday 1 October 2020. Email streathamsoc@gmail.com to request a place and enter "Vauxhall" in the subject Julie Chandler, London Blue Badge Guide |
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South London and the 19th Century cycling boom At the back-end of the 19th century, cycling was the craze sweeping the nation. Whether a commuter, sports fan or entertainer; socialite, middle or working class; man or woman; in the 1890s the bike had something for everyone and everyone wanted in. Join Balham CC’s Paul Darby for a look at cycling during this period through the lense of the south London cycling scene. You’ll also hear the extraordinary story of how one photo and a niche local history blog morphed into one of the largest cycling club’s in the area. |
Streatham’s Theatrical History
When entertainment was not readily available or affordable, Streathamites have always made it themselves. The first building constructed with theatre in mind was opened in 1888, and within 40 years, the entertainment on offer in Streatham rivalled any in the West End. My talk reflects the way in which professional and amateur theatre have complemented each other through the ages, and shows how talented amateurs became stars of the West End stage 7.00 pm Tuesday 15th September 2020 Email streathamsoc@gmail.com to request a place and enter "Theatre" in the subject Liz Burton, Streatham Society, Streatham Theatre Company and Friends of Streatham Hill Theatre 
7.00 pm Monday 28 September 2020 Email streathamsoc@gmail.com to request a place and enter "Cycling" in the subject
Paul Darby, Balham CC |
