Thorpe Hamlet History Group

Thorpe Hamlet has an active local history group. It started after publication of the book Memories of Thorpe Hamlet. The Group's publications can be viewed in the local library on Plumstead Road. 

The Group's publications

The Group's publications are available when we have a stall at events and from City Bookshop in Davey Place and Jarrolds in Exchange Street in the city centre - both shops sell on-line via their websites. They can also be seen in, or borrowed from, Plumstead Road library.

Occasional Paper 4, Thorpe Hamlet and the Second World War, published in July 2020, explores the effect of World War II on life in Thorpe Hamlet, with many air raids, danger, damage and loss of life, together with the commemoration in Thorpe Hamlet of those whose lives were lost both locally and elsewhere in the world. More details on the home page.

Our Occasional Paper 3, published in May 2019, explores the effect of World War I on life in Thorpe Hamlet with two army barracks, the construction of thousands of aircraft, and massive upheaval to everyday life in schools and the workplace, and the subsequent commemoration of those who gave their lives. 60pp A4, ISBN 978-0-9955487-2-5, £5.

In May 2016 the Group published A Thorpe Hamlet Miscellany. This 124-page book, with over 60 photographs, is a collection of articles by group founder member and Blue Bage Guide June Marriage, written over a 10-year period for the St Matthew's Church parish magazine. As a collection, the articles cover just about every aspect of Thorpe Hamlet and life in it. Price £8

There are over 100 streets in Thorpe Hamlet, some following routes that have been there for centuries, others recently created. Why do they have their names? Why do they have their names? Includes street map and index and 18 photographs. Second edition 2016. A4, 20pp + cover, £2.50 ISBN 978-0-9955487-0-1 Available from Jarrolds and City Bookshop, and online from the City Bookshop website  

Shops in Thorpe Hamlet have changed greatly over the last 100 years. Then shops were small, often little more than a room in a house: today many are large and branches of national chains. This publication records where shops are now, and where they have been, so the reader can judge how shopping has changed. Includes maps showing locations of shops past and present and 85 photographs. A4, 40pp + cover, £4.50, ISBN 978-0-9955487-1-8 Available from Jarrolds and City Bookshop, and online from the City Bookshop website