Tag Archives: 1941

1941 Agreement between Mitcham and Morden Councils to keep Morden Hall Park open to the public

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Source: The Mitcham and Colliers Wood Gazette, 7th July 1941

A conference of representatives of the Mitcham Borough Council and the Merton and Morden Council has agreed to recommend both Councils to support the National Trust in keeping Morden Hall Estate open to the public.

The conference considered correspondence with the National Trust with regard to the offer which has been made to the Trust by the executors of the late Mr. Gilliat E. Hatfeild affecting the Morden Hall Estate.

The Park is about 105 acres in extent, of which 50 acres is in Merton and Morden and 55 acres in Mitcham, and the offer includes the park, mansion, cottages and properties adjoining

If the offer is accepted by the National Trust an endowment fund will be handed over with the property. An estimate of anticipated income and expenditure shows a probable deficit of £175 a year, after taking into account the income from the endowment and rents of cottages and other properties.

The conference was informed that if the Trust could be given an assurance that the Mitcham and Merton and Morden Councils would be willing to contribute towards any loss there may be on the upkeep of Morden Hall Park the Trust will be willing to accept the bequest.

The conference reached the following decisions unanimously :

To recommend the Mitcham and Merton and Morden Councils to give an assurance to the National Trust that on the understanding that Morden Hall Park is to be kept as an open space free to the public, any deficit approximating to that shown in the draft budget received from the Trust will be met by the two Councils; and

To recommend that any such deficit be shared equally by the Mitcham and Merton and Morden Councils.

Bramcote Avenue

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Road that runs in a south westerly direction from Cricket Green to Mitcham Park.

As entered from Cricket Green, on the right is a block of flats called Bramcote Court with shops called Bramcote Parade, and on the left corner the former Queens Head pub.

The houses, mostly in blocks of 4, are numbered odd on the east side from 1 to 55, and even on the west side from 2 to 56. Addresses at Bramcote Court and Parade have the postcode CR4 4LR, odd numbered houses have CR4 4LW and even have CR4 4LU.

A house, 1A, was added before number 1 possibly in 2003, according to planning application 03/P0491.

1954 OS map

Turners Bakery horse drawn delivery in Bramcote Avenue around 1969/70

The road, along with Denham Crescent, was built in 1935 on land that had been the market gardens of Mr W. Carlton.

1910 OS map

From local newspapers :

BIG LAND DEAL AT MITCHAM

8 1/2 Acres the Council Wanted

The market garden land adjoining Mitcham Park, which has been the subject of much discussion of late and was the cause of a petition to the Ministry of Health, has now been sold to a firm of builders.

The land belonged to Mr. W. Carlton, a former chairman of the old Mitcham Urban District Council.

Only last week the Mitcham Town Clerk said he had received from the Ministry a formal consent to the borrowing of £15,000 for the purchase of eight and a quarter acres of land for a Council housing estate. The Council was informed that Mr. Carlton was not prepared to give any further option in respect of the land at the sum named, nor was he prepared to consider any offer for the land at present.

The Council was recommended to submit to Ministry for confirmation a compulsory order for the acquisition of the land.

Mr. Carlton told one of our reporters yesterday (Thursday) that the land had been bought by the Ideal Homes Estates, of Erith, who have other land in Mitcham. “I have got a much better price than the Council offered,” he said.

Source: Mitcham News and Mercury, 4th January 1935

The efforts of the Mitcham Borough Council to acquire 8 1/4 acres of market land near the Cricket Green as a site for council housing estate has evidently been nipped in the bud by the action of the owner of the land, Mr W Carlton, a former member of the council, in selling the land to a private building firm only a week after the council have decided to apply to the Ministry of health for a compulsory purchase order for the acquisition of the land. The Council has already received the consent of the ministry to borrow £15,000 for the purchase, but Mr Carlton, who had given the council an option on it which they failed to exercise, refused to consider any other offer by the council, and would not continue the negotiations. So it would seem that yet another attempt by the council to meet the requirements of an extremely large number of would-be the tenants has failed. Not, it may be added, through any particular fault on the part of the council, who were taking their usual and legal steps to attain the desired end. The proposal to make a council housing estate on the particular land in question had met with opposition, and 250 residents of Mitcham Park send a petition to the Ministry protesting that the proposal would destroy the amenities and the character of the district. In view of subsequent developments, the effects of this protest will not be seen. The land had for many years been worked as a market garden by Mr Carlton, his father and his son, and included in the sale is the cottage where he was born, and which he will now have to leave. Mr Carlton was reported to have stated that he got a much better price for the land than the council offered, and he understood that the firm proposed to build about 100 good class houses on the site. He added, it was stated, that he did not want to sell, and had previously refused all offers, but the council “forced his hand”. The difficulties which a local authority has to contend with in matters of the sort are well known, but the Mitcham Council is meeting with more obstacles and is usually the case.

Source: Mitcham Herald 18th January 1935

Council Minutes

Thursday, December 13th, 1934

LAND, LOWER GREEN.

—The Town Clerk reported that he had received from the Minister of Health formal consent to the borrowing of the sum of £15,000 for the purchase of 8 1/4 acres of land at Lower Green under Part 3 of the Housing Act, 1925; and a letter was read from Messrs. Chart, Son and Reading stating that they had been in communication with Mr. Carlton, who had informed them that he was not prepared to give any further option in respect of his land at Lower Green East at the sum previously named nor is he prepared at present to consider any offer for the same.

Resolved, That the Council be recom-mended to submit to the Minister of Health for confirmation a compulsory order for the acquisition of the 8 1/4 acres of land at Lower Green East for the purpose of Part 3 of the Housing Act, 1925.

Source: Proceedings of the Council and committees, Mitcham Borough Council, Volume 1 1934-35 page 124

WW2 Civilian Casualties

17th February 1941

21 Bramcote Avenue
William Henry HILLARD, aged 9

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

Minutes of meetings held by the Mitcham Borough Council are available on request from the Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.