Tag Archives: 1959

River Wandle Improvement Scheme of 1959

The following articles are from the Clapham Observer, via the British Newspaper Archive, who say that the copyright holder is unknown.

17th April 1959

14th August 1959

30th October 1959

From other newspapers:

South Western Star – Friday 12 February 1960

Search for bomb at brewery

As we went to press, a group of bomb disposal experts were still digging to find the exact location of an unexploded bomb on the banks of the River Wandle. The bomb is believed to have been dropped in 1942 when a small hole was sighted in the kitchen garden of the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth High St. A bomb disposal unit called at the time decided the bomb was comparatively harmless in the garden and left it. Now, some 18 years later, a big improvement scheme has been planned for the Wandle, and the bomb has now to be found before work can start.

Norwood News – Friday 02 February 1962

Part of river plan ready

WORK on section of the River Wandle improvement scheme which affects Merton High Street to Phipps Bridge Road, Mitcham, and the London County Council boundary to Chuters Mill, Wimbledon. bee now been substantially completed. Negotiations for the acquisition of the water rights at Chuters Mill, Wimbledon, Surrey County Council were told on Tuesday, have been completed and work on the section from Chuters Mill to Connolly’s Mill, which Is estimated will cost £55,000, is to start in the near future.

Norwood News – Friday 01 June 1962

Wandle work

Work on the second section of phase three of the Chuter’s Mill to Connolly’s Mill stretch of the River Wandle improvement scheme has started. Tenders have also been invited for the fourth and final phase of the scheme and Surrey County Council hope that work on both these sections will be nearly finished by the end of the year. They hope that all the improvement scheme will be “substantially completed” by August, 1963.

Streatham News – Friday 05 October 1962

Land for sale

Mitcham Council are to sell about 125 square yards of land in Ravensbury Park, Morden Road, to Surrey County Council in connection with the improvement scheme for the River Wandle.

Streatham News – Friday 25 January 1963

WANDLE WORK GOES AHEAD

Latest progress report on River Wandle improvement scheme is that the contract for the work comprising the second part of Phase III — Chuter’s Mill to Connolly’s Mill, Wimbledon — has now been completed. The contract for the first section of Phase IV — Phipps Bridge to Eagle Leather Works, Mitcham – is proceeding according to pro-ramme and should be completed within the next two or three months. Tenders for the work on the final length of the improvement – Eagle Leather Works to Croydon borough boundary – have been invited, while tenders have been received for the supply of the two automatically controlled sluice gates to be installed on this length of the scheme.

Rogers Estate Agents

Estate Agents that was in business from 1957 to 1989.

Albert Rogers ran the business in 21 Eastfields Road from 1956 to 1976.

1953 OS map reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY (NLS)

This ad from 18th October 1957 shows that they also had an office at 397 London Road.

This was near the Crown pub.

1953 OS map reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY (NLS)

This ad from the 1961 Mitcham Cricket Club Yearbook shows both addresses:

1961 Rogers ad

ROGERS ESTATE AGENTS
BUSINESS TRANSFER AGENTS

21 Eastfields Road
MIT. 8527

397 London Road
MIT. 1671

SURVEYS VALUATIONS
Mortgages Arranged with Leading
Building Societies

The Mitcham Chamber of Commerce Yearbook for 1967 shows an ad for F. Strowger with the address 395/397 London Road, which suggest that Strowger’s bought the Rogers estate agents office at no. 397 between 1961 and 1967.

1967 Chamber Commerce Yearbook

Albert Rogers’s son Tony ran the office at no. 21 Eastfields Road. He commented on the post for Eastfields Road that he was born at no. 21, which:

was changed to a News Con Tob in 1957 before becoming a Rogers estate agents in 1959.

The estate agency was sold to Sunley in 1989.

Tony Rogers had set up a branch at 260 Mitcham Lane, SW16 in 1981 and also sold it to Sunley in 1989.

Many famous people bought houses from Rogers Estate Agents, especially on the new Stadium Estate the Wates houses nearby. Namely Ken Barrington in Fowler Road. Esther Rantzen and her husband Desmond Wilcox in Priestley Road, Gary Chivers in Fowler Road.

The Stadium Estate development Tony Rogers referred to, was on the site of the former Mitcham Stadium, which was called the Laburnum Park Estate, although in this 1959 ad it is simply called the Laburnum Estate. This isn’t to be confused with the Laburnum Court estate as that was council housing.

Streatham News – Friday 29 May 1959

Streatham News – Friday 03 February 1961

Norwood News – Friday 26 November 1965
Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

An aerial view of No. 21 Eastfields Road can be seen in the bottom right hand corner of an 1953 aerial photo on Historic England.

Albert Rogers had leased land behind no. 21 for use as a garden, as shown in these minutes from Merton Council:

From Merton Council minutes, 7th June 1967

From Merton Council minutes, 22nd October 1969:

Eastfields Road, Mitcham. – Land at rear of No. 21 – The Town Clerk reported that Mr Rogers, who leased from the Council and maintained as a garden an area of land at the rear of No. 21, Eastfields Road, Mitcham, has given notice terminating his lease.

Resolved – That the notice be accepted and the land be converted for use as a paved seating area and planted with a few small trees.

No. 21 was demolished around 2013 as part of a redevelopment, planning application 13/P1383. These views of the proerty are from the Design & Access Statement Part 1 (PDF).


A comment from the Mitcham History Group on Facebook:

Mum and Dad bought our house in Worcester Close from Rogers Estate Agents in 1966…My dear Dad thought really highly of Mr Rogers as he was so helpful during the process.