Stanley Arts has been a place for the community to come together since 1903. To this day, it provides a space for local residents to see music, take part in a dance class or watch the pantomime every year with the family. Community is at the heart of Stanley Arts - but who are those people in the community who are part of Stanley's performing history? John, Danielle, Carly, Steph and Terry are all local to South Norwood and have been part of the Stanley Arts story. Carly and Danielle grew up in the area and took to this stage in this year's pantomime. Steph found her folk family in South Norwood and played on the stage with The Conquering Heroes, a ceilidh band. Local historian John Hickman used an old photo album to discover who the first performers on the Stanley Arts stage could have been. And Terry can see Stanley Arts from his window at the Manse Residential Home across the road. Together, they tell the stories of some of those who performed over the years on the stage at Stanley Arts.&nbsp; This project is part of the Inventing South Norwood programme, funded by Historic England.

Stanley Stories

This project is a celebration of South Norwood’s history of invention and creativity. It is inspired by famous South Norwood historic figures like the inventor &amp; industrialist William Stanley and the composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor. We celebrate the creativity and invention of our community today, as well of lots of unknown stories from the past.

Inventing South Norwood

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