Festival of Britain 1951
The Festival of Britain was intended as ‘a tonic for the nation’. The main festival site was on London’s South Bank, however cultural events spread across towns and cities in Britain. This coincided with the centenary of the Great Exhibition in 1851. The Festival of Britain was designed with the aim of promoting recovery and to raise the spirits of a country still in the grasp of austerity and rationing from the Second World War.
In celebration of 70 years since the Festival of Britain, we share with you highlights from our Archives of the events and celebrations which took place in Croydon in 1951.
“The motives which inspire the Festival are common to us all – pride in our past and all that it has meant; confidence in the future which holds so many opportunities for us to continue our contribution to the well-being of mankind; and thanks giving that we have been saved from the disasters which threatened us, and that we have begun to surmount our trials”
Borough of Croydon, Festival of Britain Souvenir Programme, 1951
There were many who felt that a Festival of Britain was inappropriate in the difficult and challenging post war days. However many still chose to contribute, to bring people together:
“But what will remain when Festival of Britain is but a page in history? Firstly, we hope, a better understanding of our own heritage and a new awareness and faith in the future of this country. Secondly an increase in the amenities of each community and a greater care for the natural beauties of our surroundings and the countryside. Lastly, a stimulus to British trade, our manufacturers and designers, which will help every section of the community”
Event leaflet for Civic Hall, Croydon for Festival of Britain, 1951
Croydon created a programme of events to show what Croydon was about at the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851 to what it had become today! Events from May to September 1951 were grouped in the following categories:
Ballet and Dancing
Church Services
Cinemas
Concert Parties
Exhibitions and Competitions
Fairs, Fetes, Flower and Vegetable shows, Garden parties.
Festival Weeks in Particular Areas
Music
Pageants
Places of Interest open to Visitors
Plays
Sport
Croydon did not stop there, from decorating Town Hall, school plays, pageants at Stanley Halls to exhibitions in local libraries. The Borough came alive with events, bringing communities together to celebrate. See some examples of events below:
In 1851 Croydon was a quiet market town, a parish of about 10,000 acres with a population of 20,355, 3,583 houses and 81 roads. It is a far cry from 1851 to 1951, with a population of more than a quarter of a million, 66,780 houses and 14 railway stations. These incredible changes were showcased by different parts of the Borough, with areas like New Addington, Coulsdon and Purley producing colourful programmes of local events and their own history of changes within the Borough.
Coulsdon & Purley and New Addington programmes, 1951
As I write this blog, I recognise the connections the Festival of Britain in Croydon has to Croydon’s success in being awarded London Borough of Culture 2023. After the challenges we have all faced in Covid-19, Borough of Culture 2023 gives us the incredible opportunity for communities to come together once again and say ‘This is Croydon’!
Jessica Woolf
Collections Officer
Images: Local History Collection, ‘Festival of Britain 1951’