Parade of shops on east side of London Road, south of the Upper or Fair Green, consisting of 12 shops to Langdale Avenue, then a further 6 shops south of there. Historic England defines a ‘parade’ as
‘planned developments incorporating rows of shops (facing onto an outdoor space), with a strong degree of architectural uniformity…. (which) includes at least three shops’.
aerial view of The Parade
Built around 1905 according to Montague, in his Mitcham Histories : 12 Church Street and Whitford Lane, page 107.
Could the builder have been J. Harding? This planning application was approved at the same time as another for 12 houses in Langdale Avenue:
From the minutes of the Croydon Rural District Council
Volume IX 1903 – 1904
7th May 1903
page 72
No. 2505, Harding, J., 12 houses and shops, London Road, Mitcham
From a Tuck postcard dated 1950
1913 map (1:2500 scale):
1913 OS Map courtesy of Merton Heritage Service.
This 1953 map shows it with the shops renumbered. (The map has been rotated.)
Occupants from Commercial Directories
1911
| Number | Occupier | Trade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton IRELAND | grocer |
| 2 | Wm. Geo. EVANS | customs & excise officer |
| 2 | Mrs. Annie Brooking MARTIN | ladies’ tailor |
| 3 | Mitcham Liberal Association | |
| 3 | The World’s Stores Limited | provision dealers |
| 4 | Alfred Thomas JENKINS | confectioner |
| 5 | Leonard Thomas DAVEY | auctioneer |
| 6 | B. H. CRAIG & Co | photographers |
| 6 | Gordon WILLIAMS | artificial teeth maker |
| 7 | National Telephone Co. Limited | |
| 7 | James WHITE | oil and color dealer |
| 8 | John DOOLEY | stationer |
| 9 | Charles BREESE | chemist |
| 10 | Jean Baptiste ROMPEL | watch maker |
| 11 | Clement CARLTON | greengrocer |
| 11 | Cyril MARRIOTT | printer |
| 12 | Frederick George PEARCE | baker |
| 13 | Wraight, Dumbriil & Co. Ltd | dairymen |
| 15 | Jas. NELSON & Sons Ltd. | butchers |
The Parade – Brookman, baker, at number 12 on the corner, is listed in the 1915 directory, but not the 1911
No. 13 The Parade, occupied by Wraight Dumbrill Ltd. dairymen.
From the London Gazette : “Wraight & Dumbrill Ltd. was registered in 1899, changed name to Curtis Brothers & Dumbrill Ltd. in 1917, which went into voluntary liquidation in 1931.”
1915
| Number | Occupier | Trade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton IRELAND | grocer |
| 2 | George OAKES | tailor |
| 3 | The Worlds Stores | provision dealers |
| 3 | Mitcham Liberal Association | political |
| 5 | Leonard Thomas DAVEY | estate agent |
| 6 | Miss Ethel DIXON | milliner |
| 7 | James WHITE | oil & color dealer |
| 9 | Charles BREESE | chemist |
| 10 | Gregory WILLIAM | boot repairer |
| 10 | Harry HARDING | builder |
| 12 | A.W. BROOKMAN & Co. | bakers |
| 13 | Wraight Dumbrill & Co. Ltd. | dairymen |
| 14 | Hawkins & Desmond | laundry |
| 14 | Herbert SPENCER | upholsterer |
| 17 | Cyril MARRIOTT | printer |
After renumbering
1 -> 225
2 -> 227
3 -> 229
4 -> 231
5 -> 233
6 -> 235
7 -> 237
8 -> 239
9 -> 241
10 -> 243/5
11 -> 247
12 -> 249
13 -> 251
14 -> 253
15 -> 255
16 -> 257
17 -> 259
18 -> 261
From the 1930 commercial directory
| Number | Occupier | Trade |
|---|---|---|
| 225 | James REYNOLDS | grocer |
| 227 | George OAKES | tailor |
| 229 | The Worlds Stores Ltd | provision dealer |
| 231 | Percy MAYHEW | confectioner |
| 233 | Pearks Dairies Ltd | provision dealer |
| 235 | Walter HUNT | greengrocer |
| 237 | James WHITE | oil and colour dealer |
| 239 | Percy MAYHEW | stationer |
| 241 | Edward WAVELL | chemist |
| 243 | Harry HARDING | builder |
| 247 | Russell and Son | watch makers |
| 249 | Leonard T WELTEN | confectioner |
| 251 | United Dairies | dairy |
| 253 | Peckham Steam Laundry Ltd | laundry |
| 255 | Stanley Philip BLOGG | greengrocer |
| 259 | The Mitcham Printing Works | printers engravers and account book makers |
Minutes of meetings held by the Croydon Rural District Council are available on request from the Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.
Mitcham History Notes 