In Dan Dempsey's hands
this small, grey tool
helped to shape Croydon.

Dan cut kerbs and paving stones
with it.
He worked on Croydon underpass
in 1964
and on Croydon flyover
in 1969.

Dan describes
how Croydon flyover was built:

"We worked on the flyover
for about 12 to 18 months.

Now they have machines,
but then it was all manual work.
I used to cut the kerbs by hand
with a pitching tool.
You could take the skin off your hand
if you weren't careful.

It was good money,
but it was bloody hard work."

As more people bought cars,
Croydon's streets
were choked with traffic.
Croydon Council
transformed the town centre
so that it could cope.

Wellesley Road was widened to 6 lanes
with an underpass
at the George Street crossroads.
A flyover took traffic away
from the main shopping streets.

By the end of the 1960s,
these huge roads cut across Croydon.
The way that people moved around town
changed completely.

A good way to start finding out about
the physical changes in Croydon
is by studying maps and photographs.

These are available to see in the
Local Studies Library and Archives.

Entrance to the Local Studies Library
and Archives is FREE.
It is open at all times
when the museum is open.

Visit:
Local Studies Library and Archive
Level 3, Central Library, Clocktower

Phone: 020 8726 6900 ext 61112

Email: localstudies@croydon.gov.uk

Web: www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/
artsentertainmentculture/culture/
localstudieslibrary