At the end of July I popped by the Museum of Croydon’s latest exhibition, Forge: Industries of Croydon. The exhibition, which is in the level 1 special exhibitions gallery space, delves into the borough’s industrial backbone – celebrating the people, places and innovations that have helped shape the Croydon we know today. From its rural beginnings to powerhouse factories and iconic brands, Croydon has been making things for centuries.

Forge brings together stories from across the borough, exploring three key industrial themes – fabric, metal and brewing – and features well-known names such as Bourjois, Trojan, Philips, and the Gillet & Johnston bell foundry (creators of the largest tuned bell in the world, no less). There’s even a deep dive into Croydon’s beer brewing history. Did you know a brewery first opened on the High Street in 1586, with beer made on the site for 350 years? Then there was a brewery on Surrey Street from the 1850s for over a century. It’s nice to think Art & Craft on the market is serving beer nowadays sitting on all that history. And always with my graphic design hat on, I was particularly enamoured with the collection of beer mats on display with a rather fetching illustration of Croydon Clocktower on one and an elephant on another. But also great to see our modern breweries, Cronx and Signal, represented in the exhibits too.

At the heart of Forge (and I’m guessing the reason for its name) are some striking portraits by local photographer Lee Williams, who offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the still-working 18th-century forge in Addington – a rare survival of traditional blacksmithing in the capital.

Forge is a charming exhibition, and well worth a visit. If you’re an adult, you’re guaranteed to learn something you didn’t know about Croydon’s industries (it was fascinating to read stories from workers’ perspectives too). And if you’re a kid there’s plenty of hands-on activities, from ringing bells to creating your own clocks. There are drop-in free craft activities linked to Forge between 10.30am and 12.30pm, Wednesday to Friday throughout the summer.

Oh and I was very pleased to see the museum’s iconic Trojan bubble car back out on display (Trojan, in case you didn’t know, had a factory on the Purley Way from the 1920s).

‘Forge: Industries of Croydon’ runs until 1 May 2026 in the Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 1,  at the Museum of Croydon, in Croydon Clocktower. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 11am–4pm. Entry is free.

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of talks, workshops and family activities, offering even more ways to explore our borough’s industrious past. Find out more at museumofcroydon.com/forge and follow the museum on Instagram at @museumofcroydon.

Photos by the Croydonist

Posted by Julia