A question from Darren…
I was thinking about Flexi discs in the middle of last night – you know, those cheap acetate records that used to come in mags? Nobody – except a dodgy company in San Francisco make ’em anymore.
However, the company that made them in the UK was based in Charlton. Any idea who that was?
I remember flexi-discs, but have no idea where they were made. Can you help Darren?
Inside St Luke’s Church, Charlton Village, lies the unintended victim of an assassination attempt on a British prime minister. Charlton Champion historian Boneyboy tells the story of Edward Drummond…
St Luke’s Church is the burial place of the only British prime minister to be assasinated, Spencer Perceval. But less well known is that the unlucky victim of a later attempt to assassinate a British prime minister died in Charlton, and is also buried and commemorated in St Luke’s. The subsequent trial of the culprit, and a parliamentary inquiry, established an important principle of British law which lasted for over 120 years.
In 1843, 31 years after Perceval’s death, Daniel McNaughton attempted to shoot the Prime Minister Robert Peel outside Peel’s home in Whitehall. In what seems to be a case of mistaken identity, McNaughton walked up to Peel’s personal secretary, Edward Drummond, and shot him in the back.
Drummond was treated by doctors, and his wounds were not thought to be life-threatening. But five days later Edward Drummond died at Charlton and was buried in the Drummond family vault in St Luke’s. It’s possible that his medical treatment – including blood-letting and leeches – contributed more to his death than the wound or his brief stay in Charlton.
Edward Drummond was a wealthy man from a family who owned Drummond’s Bank. He lived in Whitehall, so the reason that he died and is buried in Charlton wasn’t initially clear to me. However the 1841 census, records that the Rector of Charlton was the Reverend Arthur Drummond, and I think it’s likely that Arthur was Edward’s brother, and that after the shooting, Edward went to Charlton to convalesce.
Arthur Drummond was also a wealthy man. The 1841 census list nine servants living at the rectory labouring to support Arthur and six member of the Drummond family.
The man who shot Edward Drummond was immediately overpowered and arrested by constables. He was Daniel McNaughton ( also known as M’Naughten and various other spellings) a wood turner from Glasgow. McNaughton seems to have links with a number of radical political groups including the Chartists. In 1842, a year before the assassination, McNaughton sold his business in Glasgow and embarked on a tour of Europe.
When he returned to Glasgow in 1843, he developed an obsession that he was being persecuted by the Tory Party and that he was being followed by their spies.
At his trial, McNaughton admitted shooting Drummond but said that the Tories in his native city had compelled him to do it. The defence called witnesses about his delusions and doctors who testified that he wasn’t responsible for his actions due to his insanity. He was found not guilty but sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum at Bethlem Hospital (formerly Bedlam) and was later moved to Broadmoor where he died.
The trial and verdict caused an outcry in the press and parliament. A House of Lords inquiry led the development of the M’Naughten rule which defined in British law the principle of defence on grounds of insanity.
A London mayoral hopeful has voiced fears for the future of the Thames Barrier’s visitor centre after it was revealed visitor numbers have dropped sharply over the past three years.
Liberal Democrat Mike Tuffrey, who hopes to become the party’s candidate in next year’s election, said the fall in visitors was a “serious concern”.
The London Assembly member said: “At a time when awareness of flooding needs to be increased, I suggest that perhaps the centre could be doing more to engage with the public.”
Between April 2007 and March 2008, 15,191 people visited the centre, but this had fallen to 9,351 in the year to March 2011.
In a letter to the Environment Agency’s chairman, Lord Smith of Finsbury, he said many of the exhibits were “somewhat dated” and did not address the threat to the river from untreated sewage.
“I would be grateful if you could provide some assurances that the Environment Agency is committed to maintaining the centre and is planning improvements,” he continued.
“It is an important asset for London and a public showcase for the agency. An updated information centre, properly marketed, could attract far more visitors each year and would be hugely beneficial for your work and London.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson told the Mercury that the fall in numbers was down to fewer school parties visiting since its learning centre closed, but it had a target of 15,000 visitors for the current year.
From Telegraph.co.uk:
Laura Johnson appears as far removed as is possible from the lawless “underclass” said to have been blighting Britain’s streets.
The 19–year–old is a high–flying pupil who attended St Olave’s Grammar School – the fourth best performing state school in the country.
She is now reading English and Italian at the University of Exeter.
However, Miss Johnson now stands accused, along with two others, in connection with the alleged theft of £5,000 of goods from the Stonelake Retail Park in Charlton, south London.
The goods were allegedly found in a car being driven by Miss Johnson.
It was claimed that they were stolen from a Comet store [sic]. Miss Johnson appeared before Bexleyheath magistrates’ court where she indicated a plea of not guilty to five counts of burglary.
Her parents, Robert and Lindsay Johnson, live in a large detached farmhouse in Orpington in Kent. They bought the house, which has extensive grounds and a tennis court, in 2006.
Before moving there they sold their previous house, 10 miles away near Greenwich, for £930,000.
Mr Johnson is a successful businessman, with directorships in several companies. The couple run Avongate, a direct marketing company. Mr Johnson was also a director in a company that took over the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers in 2007.
Miss Johnson was granted bail on condition that she does not associate with her co–accused, wears an electronic tag, submits to a curfew between 7pm and 6am and does not enter any London postcode. Both her parents were in court to offer her their support.
She is due to return to the court on Sept 21 when her case is expected to be committed to the Inner London Crown Court.
More on Telegraph.co.uk.
Most shops and businesses in Charlton had closed by the middle of Tuesday afternoon as fears grew of further riots across south-east London. In Charlton Village, all premises were closed except the Bugle Horn pub and the new Baguette sandwich bar.
Down the hill, the clean-up continued after a night of looting at the local retail parks. Charlton Champion reader Simon captured the scene in the Greenwich Shopping Park, and the debris from a night’s thieving was still obvious around the foot of Victoria Way this morning, with piles of wrappings adding to the usual clutter in the alley leading to the GSP.
Despite rumours carried by a local newspaper website, there was no fire at Asda, which opened for business as usual. Argos, Staples and the Carphone Warehouse were all closed, along with other clothing and electrical retailers.
But the worst damage, though, was at the Stone Lake Retail Park, where PC World and Currys were looted and daubed with graffiti. This afternoon, PC World staff were removing stock from the store.
It’s not known when the affected stores will be back in operation.
Greenwich Borough Commander Richard Wood said last night’s scenes were “utterly unacceptable”, adding “I will do everything in my power to ensure that those involved are caught.”
He continued: “I urge everyone in the borough of Greenwich to clear the way for police at night so that we can deal with those criminals who intend to bring disruption to our area. Also, people must not to take matters in their own hands and have to let the police deal with incidents in a law abiding manner.
“I ask parents, schools, local leaders and others to stand together and convey the message that the crime and disorder we have witnessed will not be tolerated. I have spoken to many people across the borough today and without exception, they are appalled by the outrageous criminal acts of thuggery that took place.
“Many arrests have already been made, but I would ask everyone to work with police and help us to identify those involved so that we can arrest them at the first opportunity.
“We continue to work with the Council and other emergency services to ensure that we keep everyone in Greenwich safe.
“Above all, we remain unfaltering and united in tackling criminals on our streets and look for support from you, the community we serve.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101, or images and video can be e-mailed to rgviido@gmail.com.
The grimmest night in south-east London I can remember. Seeing masked youths swarming around the alleyway to Asda and the Greenwich Shopping Park felt inevitable, seeing discarded clothing wrappers across Victoria Way wasn’t. Looters’ cars racing up Victoria Way rammed it home – and no police in sight.
There’s been a lot of nonsense spread about tonight, both by social media and by broadcast media, including persistent rumours that Asda was on fire. A caller claimed on LBC a little while ago there were 500 looters at work and a police officer was run over by them. Did you see anything? If you saw anything in Charlton, please share it below.
One immediate consequence is the postponement of Tuesday’s League Cup match against Reading at The Valley.
http://twitter.com/#!/jamiefletchertv/status/100723266888548352
http://twitter.com/#!/primanirules/status/100733834479407105
There’s a new sandwich shop in The Village. ThePirateKing reports:
Was passing at lunch time and bought six sandwiches for the gang. All good. Prices v reasonable at £2.20 for a stuffed sandwich. Also things like scrambled eggs on toast for £2.50. Was busy and the staff and owner seemed a little overwhelmed, but am sure they enjoyed the trade. A very welcome addition to Charlton Village.
Anybody else visited yet? Any thoughts? From passing by earlier, it’s certainly added a bit of life to the village, and that’s only after being open for a day and a half…
The Charlton Champion 