Charlton House

Charlton House, Open House

Neil Clasper
Charlton House
Charlton House

There’s only one SE7 property in this year’s Open House London event: Charlton House will be opening its doors for tours on Sunday 22nd September. Areas open to the public will include the Minstrel Hall, Long Gallery, Grand Salon, White Room, Newton, Prince Henry & Dutch Rooms, Old Library, and the grounds. It will be open 10am-4pm, and entry is free.

Full information (including a detailed factsheet about Charlton House’s history and features) is on the Open House London website here.

UPDATE St. Luke’s Church will also be open 10am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Charlton Horn Fayre – Sunday July 28th

Neil Clasper4 Comments
Charlton Horn Fayre banner
Charlton Horn Fayre photo by Nikki Coates

The Horn Fayre takes  place at Charlton House this Sunday, 11am – 4pm, and promises “traditional children’s rides and races, dog show, beer tent, music, food and much more”.

It is a shame that this year’s event has seen so little publicity, but we’re told that it was nearly cancelled (due to a clash with the Armed Forces Day event), so perhaps should be grateful that it’s taking place at all. It is to be hoped that the plans to include Charlton House in a new borough-wide Heritage Trust will give future Horn Fayre events a boost

Speaking of Charlton House, it appears that their website has been refreshed. It looks like a work in progress at the moment,  but given that there was practically no information about the Horn Fayre online until the last couple of days – and the old website hadn’t been updated this year – this looks like a positive development.

Enjoy the Horn Fayre if you’re going, and tell us what you thought of it in the comments below!

Photography exhibition at Charlton House

Neil Clasper
Aperture's Charlton House Exhibition
Aperture’s Charlton House Exhibition

Local photographic club Aperture have an exhibition at Charlton House opening tomorrow, running through to July 31st. The show presents some of the group’s best work, and is open Monday to Friday 9am-4pm. Additionally, it’ll be open on Sunday 28th of July for the Charlton Horn Fayre, where Aperture club members will also be out and about taking photos. If you’re interested in what else they’re up to, you can follow Aperture on Twitter: @aperturewps.

Update: We’re told the exhibition will be open on Saturdays, 10am-5pm.

In related news, Charlton House still have pitches available for the Horn Fayre. Hopefully they’ll have some more publicity for the Horn Fayre shortly (and not just on Facebook).

Greenwich Council plans to give Charlton House a boost

Darryl Chamberlain3 Comments

Charlton House flowers

There’s change afoot at Charlton House, with Greenwich Council planning to spin it off into a borough-wide heritage trust. The house has been owned by the council and its predecessors for nearly 90 years, but has always been overshadowed by higher-profile attractions, particularly since the push to rebrand the borough as “Royal Greenwich”.

The idea’s to make its future more sustainable with a new business plan, and a wider range of events during the year. A paper delivered to a council scrutiny panel last night reveals:

A new business plan has being drawn up for Charlton House, ahead of plans for it to be included in the borough-wide Heritage Trust. This focuses on new ways to maximise use, particularly wedding and conference/training business and will be done primarily through an increased presence in the market and coverage in the press.

Ways in which to engage the local community are being explored through ‘Sharing Heritage’, a Heritage Lottery Fund open programme, in partnership with the Friends of Charlton House and local schools.

In addition to providing meeting space for community groups, a series of evening and weekend social events will run throughout 2013, aimed at reaching new and more diverse audiences. This will be achieved through seeking and encouraging partnerships with local groups and businesses.

The lack of proper publicity for Charlton House events has caused some furrowing of brows here at the Charlton Champion for some time – it recently gained a woefully fiddly website (see a bit here) which has since been taken down. Enquiries to the council as to how much the now-pulled website cost have so far drawn a blank.

Otherwise, it seems to be relying on a Facebook page, and a Twitter feed which now doesn’t do anything much but redirect to the Facebook page. Oh, and a recently-installed street sign at the top of Charlton Church Lane, from where you can see Charlton House, pointing to Charlton House.

Which is a shame, because “new and diverse audiences” is what Charlton House badly needs to reach – classical recitals scheduled for when most locals are at work simply aren’t going to be enough.

Global Fusion Music and Arts has been putting on shows (see more on its Facebook page) including a folk night with Martin Carthy, but this can only be a start.

It’ll be interesting to see what this business plan for Charlton House entails – and if Charlton House want people to spread the word, we’re only too happy to help.

A ghostly historical show at Charlton House

Darryl Chamberlain

London Paranormal gets in touch with this message…

For the third year running Charlton House will be witness to yet another historical ghostly performance by Phantasmagoria Events this coming Halloween in a show recalling some of the capitals most wretched murderers, evil villains and sorrowful victims.

Local supernaturalist and gothic author, Algernon Blackwood is researching his new book ‘Cry Murder Scream Ghost’ and has rented Charlton House for the duration. Things are not going to plan. Lost in a mixture of alcohol, an over active imagination and on the edge of losing his mind, Algernon is unable to decipher the difference between reality and unreality, the natural and the supernatural.

Historical, scary and full of local gruesome facts, this promenade performance is suitable for all those aged 12 to 80

CRY MURDER SCREAM GHOST takes place at Charlton House on
FRIDAY 26TH and SUNDAY 27th OCTOBER 2012 ( No Show on Saturday 26th)

Opening Times: 7pm -9pm

(Please note: Your journey lasts approx: 70mins and requires you to walk around the house in groups on a specifically designed route)

Price: Adult £12.00 per person / Child £7.50 per person / Family Ticket: £26.00 (2 adults 2 kids)

Please note: a few tickets will also be available on the door ( cash only)

Please Note: This event is not suitable for under 12’s
Disclaimer: Unfortunately this event is not wheel chair accessible

HOW TO BOOK

Tickets are available:

1: GREENWICH THEATRE

Online: www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

By telephone – call Box Office: 020 8858 7755

In person: Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London, SE10 8ES

2: CHARLTON HOUSE MAIN OFFICE
( cash only please)

Open houses and a closing lido

Neil Clasper2 Comments


This weekend is Open House weekend across London (but not Croydon); Greenwich.co.uk has taken a look at what’s open across the Borough, but on a more hyperlocal level the nearest attractions included in the Open House programme are:
– tours of Charlton House on Sunday, 10am-4pm
– Thames Barrier (though it’s a bit unclear what’s different from a normal weekend there, apart from the ‘special display’; if you can work it out, let us know in the comments below).
So, slightly slim-pickings for SE7; but where else would you like to see involved in Open House in our neighbourhood?

Also, there’s only two more weekends of swimming at Charlton Lido before it closes for further refurbishment. It’s worth noting that as of this week they’re running a reduced programme: closed Tuesdays and Thursdays, and shortened evening hours on other days. The full timetable is here: http://www.better.org.uk/leisure/charlton-lido/. The second phase of redevelopment should see the addition of gym facilities, a new cafe, and indoor changing rooms, and is schedule to be ready for Easter 2012.

The re-opened lido seems to have been a great success to date, witth queues out of the door on sunny days. Have you been using the lido? If so, let us know where you plan to swim once it closes.