Category Archives: Roads

170 to 174 Church Road

Leave a reply

A terrace of 4 shops, with flats above, numbers 170, 172, 172A, 172B, going north on the east side of Church Road. Number 174 is a shop at the northern end of this terrace on the corner with Hawthorn Avenue.

Photo taken 13th February 2022

When the Patel family took over the shop around 1974/5 their daughter Shalini was born, and so they named it after her. The shop is still known by locals as Shalini’s even though it changed hands around 2017. The new owners tried to retain the name in their logo, but a mistake was made in the spelling.

“SHAHINI” in the logo

With planning permission 18/P3567, the shop was enlarged with the upper flat’s side entrance being moved further along Hawthorne Avenue.

The shops in 2022 were

170 : Danmirr Associates
172 : New Wonder Chinese Takeaway
172A : The Sandwich Box
172B : Friends Food and Wine
174 : Express Newsagent

The shops in 2015 were

170 : Danmirr Associates
172 : New Wonder Chinese Takeaway
172A : S & J Sandwich Bar
172B : off-licence
174 : Shalini’s Newsagent

From the 1930 commercial directory:

172 : Ronald W. FAWTHORP M.P.S., chemist
172A : George William ROPER, hairdresser

According to a fellow on the Facebook Mitcham History Group, the corner shop,
number 174 :

was Reeds … it was ran by two ladies, one extremely old the other may of been her daughter, the barbers was Frank Gretch’s shop, Kents/Jacks sweet shop was taken over in the early 70s by footballer Butch Wilkins parents for a short while, the last shop was always empty then became a cafe, then a Chinese takeaway, next to that was the rubber belt factory Belatas I think, then became Gough bros wine warehouse

In a planning application for number 172A, Merton Council refused the change of use for the sandwich shop to residential because:

The application site is located on land that was historically used as a varnishing works. There are no records to indicate that remediation works were carried out on the site at the time the present properties were built. The applicant has failed to provide a land contamination report with submission of the application to demonstrate that there will be no adverse risk to future occupiers. Proposed development is there a risk due to the risk from the land contamination.

Source: Planning application 16/P1540.

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

1920 Refugees from Russia in Workhouse

Leave a reply

79 YEARS IN RUSSIA.

England is Heaven.” Mrs Harkness, who has lived in Petrograd for 79 years and who left England at the age five, and is now in the Western Road Workhouse Infirmary, Mitcham, Surrey, considers that after Russia “England is just heaven.”

A old English lady with a high, intellectual forehead, hair of silvery hue, and twinkling brown eyes, Mrs Harkness looked very peaceful she lay in bed and discussed with a representative of “The Daily Mail” what she thought of England after her long life in Russia.

“Petrograd was a miserable state when left,” she said. “People were literally starving in the streets. We had to pay a fabulous sum even for 1lb. of potatoes. Now (oh, it is too wonderful!) I get as much as I want to eat and drink, even eggs and abundance of milk. The few people I have met have been exceedingly kind. In Russia there is

Neither Religion Nor Morality,

“I was a governess when Russia was happy home, but now it is all havoc and hunger and death. Petrograd when we left was city of desolation. People with money in their pockets could not buy provisions, and motor cars were openly stolen. Nearly all the shops were shut, and hunger was common complaint.

“Three of the doctors in our home at Petrograd died from lack of food. We were not allowed to bring any luggage, and the only books I have are my Bible and Prayer-Book. England has progressed wonderfully since my days. There were, of course, no aeroplanes then, no electric trains, and none of your modern wonders of civilisation. Paraffin lamps and sewing machines were thought to be quite up to date in my earlier days.”

Mrs Harkness is one of 56 Britons recently repatriated from Russia.

Source: Motherwell Times – Friday 20 August 1920 from the British Newspaper Archive (subscription required)