Tag Archives: Commonside East

Pinnock’s Pond

Leave a reply

Pinnock’s Pond was 0.13 acre (5380 sq ft) pond near the corner of Cedars Avenue and Commonside East.

1955 OS Map Pinnocks Pond

According to H.G. Winbow writing in 1962, the pond was named after Market Gardener Mr Pinnock.

Janet Morris, in her booklet Mitcham Common A short history, said:

Drainage water from the tip alongside Cedars Avenue polluted Pinnock’s Pond and a
nearby roadside ditch along Commonside East. The pond was emptied in an effort to
stop the terrible smell and the tip was closed. For years afterwards the pond bred plagues of mosquitoes that made summer evenings a misery for people over a wide area, stretching as far as Mitcham Park. The pond was eventually filled in.

Searches of minutes from Conservator meetings revealed:

Historical records for the pond at the corner of Cedars Avenue and Commonside East (OS Pond 5257) detail its naming, water source, maintenance history, and eventual infilling:

1. Naming and Identification

The “Pinnock’s” Name: The name “Pinnock’s Pond” appears only once across all Conservators’ minutes, dated 8 July 1959, regarding a request to spray for midges.
Official Terminology: The Conservators otherwise strictly referred to it by its geographic location, such as “Pond at Cedars Avenue,” “pond at the corner of Cedars Avenue and Commonside East,” or “Pond, Commonside East”.

2. Water Source and Hydrology

Surface/Ditch Runoff: A key minute from 13 January 1927 details that the pond was fed by an inlet from the Commonside East ditch with a return pipe to the ditch on Cedars Road.
Rain Dependence: Both the inlet and outlet pipe were noted as choked, requiring heavy rain for any fresh water to enter.
No Spring or Borehole Feed: There is no record of the pond ever being supplied by a spring, well, borehole, or piped water system.

3. Maintenance and Public Complaints (1926–1964)

Cleanings & Rubbish: The pond suffered from recurring silt, stagnant water, and dumped rubbish (tins, bottles, paper), prompting multiple cleared-out operations in 1927, 1937, 1938, 1940, and 1962.
Requests to Fill In: Local residents requested the pond be filled in as early as October 1926 and July 1939 due to mud and safety concerns for children. The Conservators initially rejected these requests, noting in 1939 that it was not intended as a paddling pond.

4. Infilling and Site Conversion (1964–1965)

Decision to Fill: On 9 September 1964, following reports of offensive smells and unperformed drainage works, the Board officially agreed to fill in the pond via a contractor free of charge.
Site Reclamation: By November 1964, infilling was nearly complete. In 1965, the site was grass-seeded and temporarily fenced to prevent illegal flytipping and car parking.

5. Related Distinctions in the Records

Cedars Avenue Borehole (1996–1997): A Thames Water observation borehole was installed nearby in 1996 for London Underground to monitor rising groundwater in the deep chalk aquifer; it had no connection to the former pond’s water supply.

Notes on Mitcham Common by H.G. Winbow

Leave a reply

Published in the South Warder, the newsletter of the South Ward Residents Association in August 1962.

Recently the question arose about the origin of the footpath near the Garden Village from Cranmer Bridge to Mitcham Junction. This path is on the site of the old road and when the London and Portsmouth Railway was constructed across the Common in 1863, the present Cranmer Road was realigned, owing to the sharp curve made to approach the junction of the Wimbledon/West Croydon line which was constructed in 1844.

Recently cars appeared to be using this footpath as a short cut from Willow Lane to Cranmer Bridge, and it is satisfactory to note that the Conservators agreed to the Preservation Society’s request to erect posts here.

Walking round the Common, you notice several old cart tracks, one just the other side of the bridge at Mitcham Junction led to a farm near the railway, this is now known as Aspen Gardens. Further on we come to the concrete road, which is called Drakes Road but nobody seems to know how this road got its name, except that it was the entry to the gravel pits which were worked here for many years.

A short distance from here we see another rough track across the Common, this is called Arneys Lane. At one time this went across the fields to some old cottages near the River Wandle. This track now stops at the footpath which runs along the rear of the houses; the footpath is believed to be on the site of the Surrey Iron Railway branch to Hackbridge.

Not far from here is the “Goat Inn”. Beyond here this part of the Common is called Mill Green and is maintained by Beddington and Wallington Borough Council. But opposite this inn there is another track which follows the southern boundary of the Common. This track ends at the railway, but there is a footbridge here, so one can continue the walk on to Beddington Lane Halt. This is one of the best parts of the Common, right away from any roads.

Some years ago a small area was added, so one can now walk through the avenue of trees to the footpath to Beddington Lane, a very pleasant walk in the summer. From here there is no need to follow the road to the Windmill House, but walk across the Common past the one-island pond, and across the Croydon Road to Commonside East,

Proceeding westwards, we come to the new factory of Tower Creameries, this is on the site of the old workhouse which was built about 1790 and for many years was used by the Woodite Rubber Company’s works. Sections of the first Atlantic submarine cable was supposed to have been made here.

Just near here we see two old cart tracks crossing the recently reclaimed part of the Common, these were used as the entrance to Sherwood Farm.
Crossing Manor Road we come to the rough road which runs along the Common to Commonside East; many years ago some wooden cottages stood here, which might explain how this road came into existence.

Owing to building development on the boundary of the Common, these old cart tracks present a problem. As they are all on Common land the question of keeping them in repair is a difficult point.

Further along Commonside East there is a small pond, known as “Pinnocks Pond”. Years ago opposite here there was a small cottage and market gardens, owned by a Mr. Walsh and later by a Mr. Pinnock; this explains how the pond became known by this name. The road from here across the Common to the “Blue House”, now called Cedars Avenue, was called the New Road by the old inhabitants. The end of this road, of course, brings us to the roundabout and the old wooden cottages, shown on old maps as “The Blue Houses”. It has been said that employees of the Surrey Iron Railway stabled their horses here. This could be true because these cottages are not far from the site of the old iron road.

The old “Ravensbury Arms” was the same as these cottages, the present public house was built in 1906. But a shorter walk can be made by taking the footpath from Beddington Lane over the Common and following the railway, this brings us out via the Golf Club House to Carshalton Road.

This is a nice walk, but I would not advise this way in wet weather as this part of the Common is very rough, owing to the extensive gravel digging that took place here before the Common was controlled by the Conservators. Along this path is where the new footbridge over the West Croydon line has been erected by the Golf Club and which is open to the public.