Tag Archives: 1976

Rogers Estate Agents

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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.

1976 : Mr Sparrowhawk out-drinks horse in Bucks Head

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From the Sunday People, 31st October, 1976, via the British Newspaper Archive.

Mr Sparrowhawk out-drinks Boozy Toby

It looked like a cert for Toby the pony when he met Ron Sparrowhawk in a challenge beer drinking contest.

Observers of form in the public bar at the Bucks Head, Mitcham, Surrey, pointed to the size of his mouth, the length of his his tongue and his great capacity for liquid.

Challenger Ron Sparrowhawk, they argued, though known to be a fast man with a pint, was taking on more than his weight. The smart money was going on Toby, a proven sprinter over anything from one to six pints.

The public bar was tense when timekeeper Mike Green, landlord at the Bucks Head, put up Toby’s pint.

It was a smooth three-lap performance – three laps of that long tongue and the pint was gone in a snappy six seconds.

Then it was the turn of Ron Sparrowhawk.

He looked confident as he took his stance opposite his pint, nicely placed at the edge of the bar.

He raised the glass with a nice easy action, placed it to his lips.

Then, as the crowd fell silent, Ron downed the pint in an amazing three seconds.

Over

The contest was over. The dark horse had won.

What the punters didn’t know is that Ron Sparrowhawk, of Bond Road, Mitcham, is an expert on the drinking capacity of animals.

“I’ve always been a drinking man,” he said later, “so naturally I’ve been curious about what other animals can sink.

“I wanted to put my theories to the test with Toby, hence the challenge.

“I just open my mouth and pour. It’s like tipping it down a drain.

“Toby has a long tongue, I grant you. But I’ve got the technique. And a long longue is no match for technique.

“Watch the drinkers in any local. How many long tongues do you see?

“Mind you, that Toby can hold more than I can. But he hasn’t got the speed.”

Ron, who owns a shellfish stall, was full of praise for his beaten rival.

“He’s a plucky contestant that Toby and I’m planning a rematch.”

Landlord Mike Green said that Toby started drinking beer six months ago.

“He has three pints in the morning and three at night.”