South Suburban Co-operative Society

The South Suburban Co-operative Society (SSCS) was a cooperative retailer in south London, Surrey and Kent, England. It became part of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, now the Co-operative Group.

The SSCS came into existence in 1918 with the amalgamation of the Croydon (formed 1887), Bromley and Crays (formed 1882 and 1870) and Penge and Beckenham (formed 1879) Societies. In 1930, SSCS merged with the Reigate Industrial and Provident Society, followed by the Tonbridge Industrial Society in 1938.

In May 1947, a 13-acre (53,000 m²) sports centre was opened at Beckenham and in May 1949 employees were accorded full membership rights.

The SSCS registered office was at 99 London Road, Croydon, Surrey, where it remained until it merged with the Co-operative Wholesale Society on 28 July 1984. Following the merger of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) with CWS in February 1985, administration of both the SSCS and RACS was moved to Woolwich on 6 May 1985. The London Road offices closed on 17 May 1985 and moved to 18 Blackhorse Lane, Addiscombe until later that year.

Penge

Coordinates: 51°25′03″N 0°03′53″W / 51.4174°N 0.0648°W / 51.4174; -0.0648

Penge is a suburb of south east London in the London Borough of Bromley. It has entered popular culture as the archetypal commuter suburb, but was a fashionable entertainment district in the 19th century and saw notorious murders in the 1870s. Notable residents have included Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones, Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law and painter Camille Pissarro. Penge is made up of the Penge and Cator Ward which had a Population of 17,326 in 2011.

History

Penge was once a small town, which was recorded under the name Penceat in an Anglo-Saxon deed dating from 957. Most historians believe the name of the town is derived from the Celtic word Penceat which means "edge of wood" and refers to the fact that the surrounding area was once covered in a dense forest. The original Celtic words of which the name was composed referred to "pen" ("head"), as in the Welsh "pen", and "ceat" ("wood"), similar to the Welsh "coed", as in the name of the town of Pencoed in Wales.

Penge Urban District

Penge was a civil parish and a local government district located to the southeast of London, England. It included the settlements of Penge, Anerley and part of Crystal Palace. It was part of the London postal district, Metropolitan Police District and, from 1933, the London Passenger Transport Area.

Background

Penge was a detached hamlet of the ancient parish of Battersea in the Brixton hundred of Surrey.

Parish in the Metropolis

Battersea became part of the area administered by the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and the main part of the parish was grouped into the Wandsworth District, whilst Penge became part of the Lewisham District. It formed part of the London School Board area established in 1870.

Penge remained formally part of the parish of Battersea, however it was established in 1859 that the two parts of the parish held separate funds and Penge had distinct local government arrangements. In 1866 it became a separate civil parish in its own right. In 1876 an application was made to the Local Government Board that the Vestries Act 1850 should apply to the parish. This allowed Penge Vestry Hall to be constructed.