Author Archives: Wade

The Willows

Demolished in the late 19th century and the roads Graham Road, Graham Avenue, Elmfield Avenue and Fernlea Road were built on this land.

Described by Eric Montague in his book Mitcham Histories : 2 North Mitcham, page 74, as having extensive stabling, farmery, meadows and gardens.

1865 OS map

1865 OS map

One of the developers of houses on the Willows Estate may have been Nott & Cartwright, as shown in the auction ad of 1899:

SALES BY AUCTION. THIS DAY.

NOTT – CARTWRIGHT.— Freeholds. 34 building plots. the Willows Estate, Mitcham i ; at the Falcon Hotel, Clapham Junction, at 7.

Source: London Evening Standard – Thursday 27 April 1899 from the British Newspaper Archive (subscription required)

In the 1900 electoral registers, owners were named of some of the lots on the Willows Estate:

Name Address Lot(s)
Frank Denyer 183 Clapham Park Road 11, 12, 13
Benjamin William Dale 130 Falcon Road, Battersea 36
James Dale 130 Falcon Road, Battersea 36
William Frederick Laing Mortimer House, Bond Road, Battersea 40

Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

McDonalds

A McDonalds restaurant opened in Mitcham in 1988 at 1 Majestic Way. It closed after 24 years on 8th September 2012. When questioned about the closure on their website, they replied:

Closing the Mitcham McDonald’s restaurant was not a decision we took lightly, but as we constantly review our estate, we decided not to renew it’s lease. There is another restaurant in Tooting which is only 1.7 miles away. With over 1,200 restaurants across the UK, it’s essential that we continue to have the right restaurants in the right places to ensure we stay relevant and convenient for our customers.

Clip of photo taken by Eric Montague in 1990. Reproduced by kind permission of the Merton Historical Society. Image reference mhs-em-ug-9