Secret Streets of Deptford

A month or so ago, Jaime Taylor of Century/Halcyon Heart Films wrote to us about a BBC documentary series that she was working on about the last 120 years of history focusing on 6 London streets.  One episode of this series will be looking at our very own Deptford High Street - the only High Street in the series.  The idea  (see here for their introduction) is to pick up on London's social history from the point where Charles Booth  left off with his poverty map.  


This is where you, readers,  come in.  Jaime is eager to hear of any bits of history you have about the high street, be it old family stories, historical records, memories, whatever...  Below, we've copied her letter, but before reading that think about this: if you have a tale to tell and you send it directly to Jaime there's a risk that it won't get to be used and that little bit of local history will disappear again from view.  However, wouldn't it be better if you post up your stories here (or send them to crosswhatfields@gmail.com and we'll post them up)?  That way, local readers will get to see it and so will Jaime. 

So this blog (and the Deptford Dame's very shortly) welcomes reading any tales you may have  to tell, ideally via our email address , failing that as simple comments (it's harder to get further information without contact details) or directly to Jaime.

Here's what Jaime Taylor has written to us...

BBC HISTORY SERIES – OUR SECRET STREETS

Century and Halcyon Heart Films are an independent production company who are currently making a major new documentary series for BBC2 which will chart the history of six London streets.

One of the programmes will focus on the history of Deptford High Street. We are currently collaborating with several businesses on the street to build up a picture of the past 120 years. Having been a shopping street for almost two centuries we're sure every shop and building will have a fascinating story, so we're keen to speak to people who have lived or worked in the area about their memories.

The questions we want to ask are quite straightforward: How long have / did you live in Deptford? Do you know anything about the history of the high street? What are your memories of the pubs and shops there? And if you lived close to the street, or knew the residential streets nearby, do you remember them before they were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s? Even if you no longer live in Deptford, if you used to know it well we'd really like to hear from you.

At this stage, it’s purely for our research and there’s no obligation to appear on television. However, in the coming months we would like to interview people for the documentary. We think it’s going to be a fascinating project – and even if you don’t think you’re going to be interested in appearing on television, it would be great to have a chat with you.

If you can contact us at your earliest convenience, we’ll be sure to get back to you. It goes without saying that everything we talk about will be treated in the strictest confidence, and will not be passed on to anyone outside our team.

We so hope that you’ll consider taking part in what is going to be a very exciting project. You can email me at historystreet [at] centuryfilmsltd.com or give us a call on 020 7378 6106. We'd love to have a chat and answer any questions you might have. For more information you can also see our website … www.oursecretstreets.com

Best Regards,

Jaime Taylor

Century Films/ Halcyons Heart Films