Category Archives: Buildings

1961 Baths Superintendent retires

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From the Mitcham News & Mercury, 24th February, 1961

For the past 28 years Mr Charles Paterson Walker has been keeping 126,000 gallons of water clean and at the right temperature.

Next May he won’t have to bother any more. He is retiring from the post of Mitcham Baths Superintendent.

But 65-year-old Mr Walker will not be forgotten when he leaves. By the end of the month he hopes to finish his “diary of events,” telling the story of the Baths.

At his Epsom home he told me this week: “There have been so many events there over the years I thought I would keep a record.”

Mr Walker himself has led an interesting life. Before he took over the Baths in 1929 he was a marine engineer on a luxury shipping line. He left because of the big slump at the time.

During the last war his main task was keeping about 150,000 officers and men and 500 Wrens warm. He was in charge of the heating at a Fleet Air Arm training base in Lancashire.

Any plans for his retirement?
“I am just going to take things easy,” he said.

120 to 154 Morden Road

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120 to 154 Morden Road, Mitcham CR4 4DB, is a terrace of shops with flats above. It is on the north side of Morden Road, at the right hand side of the entrance to Deer Park Gardens. To its right is Ravensbury Path, which crosses the tram line and connects to Church Path.

Photo taken December 2017.

The tower is on the west end of the block. It houses the stairwell leading to the first and second floors. Photo taken December 2017.

Locally listed June 1994, Merton council says:

This is a terrace of inter war shops with flats over, which is built of brick. It is a three storey building, in which the top floor is contained within a mansard roof. The main frontage contains little of particular interest except for the glazed green tiles on the steeper of the slopes of the mansard roof. The end of the terrace has an unusual round tower feature surmounted by a pyramidal roof with the same green tiles. The brickwork on this tower also contains small details of interest. The chimneys at each end of the building are also of some interest, as they follow a curved line at first floor level. It should also be noted that almost all of the original details relating to the shopfronts has now been lost, and that original windows have almost all been replaced. The end elevation which is of greatest interest is disfigured by a large advertising hoarding.

Some of the original wall design is now visible due to changes in signs above the shops.

Photo taken December 2017.

1952 OS map

Stanmore Motors was at number 120. It is listed in the 1954 and 1971 telephone directories as MITcham 2796, and 01-648 2796.

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