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1909 – By now the Stanley Halls are foremost for performances of modern works of music, not necessarily populist.
By the 1930s – the Halls had remained a cultural focus for South Norwood, but possibly due to the increasingly popularity of cinema, its use started to decline.
25th September 1934 – The Board of Trustees, facing mounting debts, relinquished their responsibility for the Halls to Croydon Corporation. The Halls continued to be used for plays, talks, wedding receptions and public meetings.
The 1960s – saw the first real signs of dilapidation. The busts outside the building depicting figures such as Gladstone, Tennyson and Darwin were stolen and never replaced.
1987- Croydon Council refurbished the Halls and removed the copper flowers in clay pots adorning the gable ends of the roofline. The Croydon Society successfully secured funds to get them reinstated.
Today – over the years parts of the Halls have been incorporated into the adjoining Stanley Technical School (now Harris Academy South Norwood), including a hall, committee room and the clock tower.
We would like to acknowledge and thank local historians Eloise Ackpan, John Hickman and Adrian Falks for their help with these notes.