Tag Archives: 1925

Commonside West

Road from Upper Green East towards the junction with Madeira Road. Buildings are on one side only, as the other side is Three Kings Piece, which is a part of Mitcham Common. An exception being the sports changing rooms opposite Madeira Road.

Houses are numbered sequentially, from 1 (Newton House) to 72, which is part of the News of the World Houses. Between the Cold Blows footpath and the entrance to Park Places is currently only the Windmill pub and Merton Sea Cadets, but there were houses near the pub. Numbers 51 and 52 were demolished in 1967.

c.1900 : Newton House on the right in this clip from Merton Memories photo reference Mit_​2_​10-9 copyright London Borough of Merton

Occupants from Street Directories
Listed below in order from the Upper Green towards Madeira Road. The beer retailer referred to in these listings is for the Windmill pub.

1896
This directory lists the road as Mitcham Common (west side), and Cold Blows is shown as St Mary’s Avenue, which was a temporary renaming of that footpath.

John RICHENS (Newton House)
William WILLIAMSON (Holly Cottage)
Mrs SAHLER (Maori Cottage)
Christopher ROBINSON (The Lawn)
William BARNES, engineer
Mrs Lilian IRLAND, music teacher
Mrs DREWETT senior
Thomas GARDNER, furniture dealer

…. here is St Mary’s Avenue

Thomas Bodle LAWRENCE (Avenue Cottage)
James BROOKSON
James SAYERS, beer retailer
Charles GOULD
George SAWYER
John THOMPSON, diaryman
William F.J. SIMPSON (Park Place)

1904

John RICHENS (Newton House)
William Rutherford McLEOD (Holly Cottage)
William James DICKISSON (Trent Cottage)
Charles LESTER (The Lawn)
William BARNES, engineer
Thomas LAWSON, shopkeeper
Alfred GARDNER, furniture dealer

PILLAR LETTER BOX

…. here is Cold Blows

Thomas LAWRENCE
Miss SHEPHERD
Alexander Tully GRANT, beer retailer
John THOMPSON, diaryman
William F.J. SIMPSON (Park Place)

1911

Mrs RICHENS (Newton House)
William Rutherford McLEOD (Holly Cottage)
William James DICKISSON (Trent Cottage)
Charles LESTER (The Lawn)
William Howard BARNES, confectioner
William BARNES, engineer
Thomas LAWSON, shopkeeper
Alfred GARDNER, furniture dealer

LAMP POST LETTER BOX

…. here is Cold Blows

Thomas LAWRENCE, decorator
Miss SHEPHERD
Henry Edward CLISBY, beer retailer
John THOMPSON, diaryman
William F.J. SIMPSON (Park Place)

1915

Mrs RICHENS (Newton House)
William Rutherford McLEOD (Holly Cottage)
Ernest Frederick GOERING (The Nook)
Charles LESTER (The Lawn)
Mrs TURNER (Meriden)
Frank JAMES (Allesley)
William Howard BARNES, confectioner
William BARNES, engineer
George Frederick LOCKYER
Alfred E. GARDNER, furniture dealer

LAMP POST LETTER BOX

…. here is Cold Blows

Thomas LAWRENCE, decorator
James JORDAN
James BOXALL, beer retailer
John THOMPSON, diaryman
William F.J. SIMPSON (Park Place)

1925
Note that Cold Blows is not named as such, but is shown as ‘footpath to Lower Green’ i.e. the cricket green

Thomas George BAKER, builder (Newton House)
William Rutherford McLEOD (Holly Cottage)
Charles LESTER (The Lawn)
Alfred DREWITT (Fernhurst)
Mrs TURNER (Meriden)
Henry Willam ORFORD (Allesley)
William H. BARNES (Malvern)
William BARNES
George Frederick LOCKYER (The Cottage)
Alfred Ernest GARDNER, furniture dealer (Homeside)

.. footpath to Lower green ..

George Oliver NASH (North Lodge)
Lawrence Thomas BODLE, builder (Avenue Cottage)
James JORDAN
Alfred KILLICK
Harry LOCK
George WEST
Benjamin HILLS
Thomas HIGGS, confectioner
James BOXALL, beer retailer
Charles Thomas SEARS
George SAWYER
Mrs ODELL
John THOMPSON, dairy
William Charles HINES
News of the World Sports Ground (Leonard WHITE, hon. sec.) (Park Place)

In the 1938 commercial directory, T.G. BAKER is listed as builder at no. 1 Commonside West, telephone number 2915.

Edenvale Road

Road that runs northward from Gorringe Park Avenue, crossing St Barnabas Road to Ashbourne Road. Its shape seems to follow the path that separated Gorringe Park House from the farm on its east side, as shown on this OS map of 1911.

1911 OS map

The 1925 street directory names the road as Eden Vale and lists the properties from number 79 Ashbourne Road:

East side.

North Mitcham Improvement Association Sports Ground
William TYRELL, poultry farm

West side.

1 through 17

… here is Milton rd

19 through 33

This directory only lists odd-numbered houses on the west side of the road. The electoral register for Autumn 1925 also lists only the odd numbers, and the occupants were:

1, Frederick Walter and Ethel CATTERMOLE
3, David MUSTARD; Thomas TAYLOR
5, Joseph William GOBBY; Kezia Maude ADAMS
7, Marguerite BROWITT
9, Harold and Mary Elizabeth ODAM; Mary Elizabeth WOOD
11, David and Annie McGREGOR
13, John Joseph HANDCOCK; William John BATTLE
15, Frederick LIFE; Charles BECKETT
17, George Frederick GOODBODY; Ernest WALLER
19, Thomas Robert and Ethel Elizabeth BLACKMORE; Francis LAMBLE
21, Frederick William HALLET; Bertram Charles AGATE
23, Cecil Armfield WAKELING
25, Elizabeth WISEMAN; Sydney William EADE
27, Walter William and Emily STALLWOOD
29, James Thomas and Hilda JACKSON
31, Minnie TURNER

North Surrey Poultry Farm, Albert and Louise TYRELL

The Autumn 1926 electoral adds some even-numbered houses:

2, Alonzo James & Margaret Mary SHARP
4, William and Jemima and Harold Percy BULL
6, Nellie Hannah GREENSTREET
8, Arthur and Gertrude HULKS
10, Albert George and Lucy Matilda CONSTABLE

North Surrey Poultry Farm, Albert and Louise TYRELL

In the 1929 electoral register appears more even-numbered houses, from 12 to 28:

2, Victor and Florence ANGLE
12, Bernard Eden and Dorothy Charlotte CANDY
14, Frank and Mabel Winifred CHEESMAN
16, George Boswell and Getrude Maud CHAMPNISS; John William McFarlane and Margaret Josephine KIDD
18, Ernest Leslie and Emily Beatrice ANSTY Joseph John and Elsie Mabel IVE
20, Hedley Frank and Margaret Gertrude JACKSON
22, Thomas Joseph and Annie Esther SAGE
24, Frederick William and Rebecca Esther EAGLESTONE
26, Benjamin Frederick James and Norah Winifred BALDWIN; Percy Edward and Kathleen DODSWELL
28, Ivan Albert and May and Ellen WEALE

North Surrey Poultry Farm, Albert and Louise TYRELL

1932 is the last year that the poultry farm is listed in the electoral registers. In 1934 there are more even-numbered houses from 30 to 36.

This 1950 OS map shows ‘Tennis Courts’ on the east side of Edenvale Road. These were on the North Mitcham Improvement Association sports ground referred to in the 1925 street directory.

1950 OS map


Embed from Getty Images

High jump athlete Dorothy Tyler-Odam MBE moved to Edenvale Road as a young girl with her parents. From the 1925 electoral register, she lived at number 9. She died in 2014, aged 94.


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