It’s September, which means the Open House Festival is just around the corner. As a bit of an architecture fan, it’s a festival I always look forward to, especially as the nosy part of me loves to explore what’s usually behind closed doors. The festival is of course London-wide, and buildings are opened up across all the boroughs with a variety of talks and tours on offer too. It takes place between 14 and 22 September, mainly over the two weekends, and Croydon’s programme is largely centred around the festival’s first weekend.
In addition to the usual (but interesting) suspects, such as our Tudor Whitgift Almshouses, the Museum of Croydon Behind the Scenes Tour, Peter Cushing’s House, South Norwood’s Brutalist Library, Stanley Arts, and the Town Hall) Croydon has some quirky and cool offerings this year.
Here’s just a few of the listings that piqued my interest.
Walking tour
Saturday 14 September (Drop in)
Attendees will learn about the history of the area in and around Addiscombe Road from the 1500s onwards.
Central Croydon- Stories, Styles & Spaces
Walking tour (Need to book)
Sunday 15 September
Attendees will be treated to stories of the diverse building styles in Central Croydon from Medieval to Brutalist.
Open day
Saturday 14 September (Drop in)
Of course I dedicated a feature to my visit to this striking 70s church back in June with its modernist stained glass and stunning aluminium spire. If you’ve never visited I highly recommend popping by.
Saturday School: Quakers’ Hall
Open day
Saturday 14 September (Drop in)
Now I’ve walked past this Grade II listed Arts & Crafts style building many a time but never been inside, so this one is definitely on my itinerary.
Croydon Unlocked: Exhibition and talk
Rachel Adams and John Grindrod
Talk (need to book) Saturday 14 September
Exhibition (drop in) Saturday 14 September – Sunday 2 February 2024
This is a new exhibition that opens at the Clocktower to coincide with the Open House Festival, showcasing photos by artist and photographer Rachel Adams of the borough’s iconic architecture and the people who look after these buildings. If that isn’t intriguing enough, Rachel Adams is joined by modernist architecture guru and New Addington-born writer John Grindrod to give a talk on Saturday 14 September, where they will discuss the buildings featured in the exhibition (John has also crafted the exhibition text). You’ll find me at the talk fighting for a seat in the front row.
You’ll have to be quick to secure your spaces on the ticketed listings (and some of the above tickets will inevitably have gone by the time you click through). What can I say, Open House books up fast. We are obviously a nosy bunch in London…
See the Croydon programme here (but also check out the map, as not every Croydon listing is on the programme page). Also keep up to date on Open City’s Instagram.
Photos of ‘Croydon Unlocked’ courtesy of Rachel Adams and the Croydon Council Culture Team.
Posted by Julia
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