Category Archives: Garages

Allen Bros (Mitcham), Ltd.

3 Replies

360/364 London Road

Car sales and repair business that was the on west side of London Road, south of the White Hart pub and on the north side of the corner with Broadway Gardens.

Being a Austin Rover dealer they did a repair on my Rover 3.5 in 1984:

13th November 1984 invoice for repairs to a Rover 3.5

89th February 1985 receipt

The garage also rented cars:

part of rental agreement dated 17th May 1985

Clip from Merton Memories photo, copyright London Borough of Merton.

The site was used by KwikFit for a number of years, as seen in this 2008 Google StreetView:

These aerial views are from Bing:

kwikfit-to-north

kwikfit-to-south

The site was bought by a property developer who wanted to build a block of flats. With the KwikFit signage removed, parts of the original words used by Allen Bros could be seen.

September 2014

September 2014

September 2014. Allen Bros (Mitcham) can just be seen revealed after KwikFit signage was removed.

September 2014. Allen Bros (Mitcham) can just be seen revealed after KwikFit signage was removed.

Demolition began in early December 2016.

13th December 2016

13th December 2016

Photo taken on 2nd January 2017

Photo taken on 2nd January 2017

From 1953 Who’s Who in the Motor Industry digitised by Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History:

Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Stockists.
360, London Road, Mitcham, Surrey.
Telephone: 0867.

Directors:
M.D. Allen.
Lt. Col. F.E. Manning O.B.E.
P.L. Smith.
H.F. Priest.

Merton Memories Photos
Mr. F.E.Manning, with his son in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in 1957
Vintage car outside Allen Bros. Garage

Advertised as the Broadway Garage in 1937:

1937 ad

1937 ad

1961 advert from Norwood News, via the British Newspaper Archive

Millars Motors (Mitcham) Ltd.

Leave a reply

363 and 365 London Road

1953 OS map

1953 OS map

Listed in the 1938 commercial directory as motor cycle dealers, 365 London Road, telephone number 0829. Not shown in the 1930 commercial directory.

In 1954 phone book as Millars Motors (Mitcham) Ltd., Motor dealers, 363 London Road, telephone MITcham 0829.

Listed in the 1963 Borough of Mitcham List of Factories as Motor Vehicle Repairs, Sidecars.

This letterhead shows the outline of the building.

undated letterhead

undated letterhead

This clip from Merton Memories shows the left hand side of the building where ’36’ can be seen which matches the ‘363’ on the letterhead.

clip from 1938 photo of tree in garage next to Millars Motors building at 363 London Road, from Merton Memories photo reference Mit_​Work_​Industry_​18-1


Note that the description on Merton Memories says that this site was used by Kwik Fit and is now vacant, but that is incorrect. Across the London Road at Allen Bros. is where Kwik Fit was the last occupier.

Adverts

22nd September 1939 ad from Croydon Advertiser

1982 ad from Mitcham Diary

1955 Stationery

District Stockist
Agents for
A.J.S.
ARIEL
B.S.A.
COVENTRY
EAGLE
DOUGLAS
ENFIELD
EXCELSIOR
JAMES
MATCHLESS
MORRIS
NORMAN
NORTON
PANTHER
SUNBEAM
TRIUMPH
VELOCETTE
VINCENT H.R.D.

Sidecars:
NOXAL
SWALLOW
WATSONIAN
Part Exchanges
a
SPECIALITY
Insurances Arranged

The site at 359, 363 and 365 were built on around 2002 by Green Acre Homes (South East) Ltd whose planning application, no. 02/P0208, was for

Erection of a 3 storey building fronting London Road and comprising 3 x 2 and 6 x 1 bed flats and a 2 – storey building fronting Baron Grove and comprising 4 x 1 bed flats with associated car parking (the proposal involves demolition of all existing buildings on site)

Merton Council haven’t put online any documents for planning applications before 2005, so no other details are known.

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