Engineering company that was at 309 and 371 Church Road, Merton SW19.

Listed as Constructional Engineers
in the 1963 Borough of Mitcham List of Factories,
(Available at Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.
Reference L2 (670) MIT)

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In the 1939 electoral register, Thomas Walter PALMER of 371 Church Road is listed as living at 123 West Side, Clapham Common.

News Articles

Mitcham Firm Helps Solve A London Traffic Problem

Company history, from the Surrey History Centre:

The company was set up in 1894 by T W Palmer, R H Alderman and Alfred Botting, who found themselves unemployed when a company of fencing suppliers, for which they worked, had to close. All three were members of the Baptist Church in Victoria Road, Clapham.

Operating from a rented basement in Victoria Street, Westminster, the three men purchased and fixed themselves wire fencing, sailings and gates and very soon moved on to making their own iron standards, pillars and gates. By 1901 they were able to purchase a site in Merton which became known as the Merton Abbey Ironworks. The fencing business was eventually made into a separate company, called the Victoria Fencing Co Ltd, in 1919 and the original company branched out into steel constructional engineering projects of a wide variety. Among these were some of the pontoons used in the Mulberry Harbour Scheme for the D day landings in Normandy in 1945, the London County Council’s Hyde Park Corner Marble Arch development, the Elstree Film Studios, the Avonmouth oil boom, a power station at Dekhelia, Cyprus, Kingston upon Thames railway bridge, and various factories, iron stairways, railings and gates.

In 1966 the Greater London Council redevelopment plan included a proposal to reallocate land in Merton including the T W Palmer site, from industrial to residential purposes. In spite of objections raised this resulted in the compulsory purchase of the site and the closing down of the company and selling of plant in 1969.

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Booklets and Brochures

Brochure

ABC of Fabricated Steelwork

Brochure

The following scans were provided by the son of an employee at the factory (photo below), who believes it is from the 1960s.

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ABC of Fabricated Steelwork

This booklet listed the products fabricated.

A

Angle Frames
Angle Curbs
Arch Bars
Ash Hoppers

B

Baffle Plates
Balconies
Balustrading, Stair and Balcony
Basin Supports
Beams, Simple and Compound
Bedplates
Bench Supports
Boiler Platforms
Bolts, Purpose Made
Boot Scrapers
Brackets
Bridges
Bridge Bearings
Buckets, Tipping, Dumping, etc.
Buildings, Complete Structural Framework
Builders’ Ironwork
Bunkers, Plate

C

Cable Supporting Steelwork
Caisson Steelwork
Canopy Frameworks
Cantilever Brackets
Cat Ladders
Catwalks
Ceiling Supports
Chassis Frames
Chequer Plate Covers
Chequer Plate Framing
Chimneys
Chimney Bands
Chimney Step Irons
Chutes, Plate
Civil Engineering Temporary Steelwork
Clothes Posts
Cofferdams
Columns, Solid Steel or Tubular
Column Guards
Column Moulds
Constructional Steelwork
Conveyor Structures
Corbels
Coupling Boxes
Cowls
Crane, Beams
Crane, Jibs & Booms
Crane, Structures
Crane, Rails
Curbing, MS or CI
Cutting Edges
Cylinders

D

Davits
Dock & Harbour Steelwork
Door Frames,
Doors, Fireproof
Doors, Hinged
Doors, Sheeted
Doors, Sliding
Doors, Wicket
Down Pipes & Clips
Duct Covers
Duct Framing
Ducting

E

Electric Cable Supporting Steelwork
Escalator Trusses
Expansion Joints, Bridge & Road
Eyebolts

F

Fencing, Mild Steel or Wrought Iron
Fender Brackets and Fittings
Field Gates
Fire Escape Staircases
Fire Escape Ladders
Fire Resisting Doors
Flanges, Plate
Floodlighting Towers
Flower Boxes, Plate or Sheet
Flues
Footbridges
Formwork
Foundation Bolts
Fruit Enclosures
Furnace Steelwork

G

Galleries
Gangways
Gantries
Gates, Mild Steel or Wrought Iron
Gates, Tubular
Girders, Simple, Lattice and Compound
Grandstands
Gratings, Pavement
Grillages
Grilles
Guard Bars
Gutters
Gutter, Brackets and Straps

H

Handrailing, Mild Steel
Handholds
Hay Barns
Hoist Frames
Holderbats
Hook Bolts
Hoppers, All Types

I

Incinerator Steelwork
Ironwork, General Builders’

J

Jetty Iron and Steelwork
Jibs

K

King Rods

L

Ladders, Mild Steel or Wrought Iron
Lift Cages
Lift Components
Lift Structures
Lighting Brackets
Line Pole Steelwork
Liner Plates
Louvres

M

Machine Guards
Machining
Manhole Covers & Frames
Manhole Ladders
Masts, Steelwork
Mat Well Frames
Mechanical Handling Steelwork
Mooring Rings
Moulds, Plate or Sheet

N

Netting Stakes

O

Oven Steelwork
Overhead Crane Structures

P

Parapet, Bridge Railing and Fencing
Partitions, Mesh or Sheeted
Pavement Gratings
Pedestrian Guard Rails
Pile Driving Caps and Leaders
Pile Frames
Pile Shoes
Piling Gantries
Pipe Supports
Pipe Brackets
Pipe Bridges
Pipes, Plate
Pipe Saddles
Plate Rolling and Bending
Platework, Riveted or Welded
Platforms
Platforms, Railway Awnings and Canopies
Pole Lighting Equipment, Railway
Portal Frames
Power Stations, Structural and General Steelw
Pressure Vessels
Profiling, Gas
Purifier Box Covers
Purlins
Putlogs

Q

Quarry Plant Steelwork

R

Radiator Brackets
Rafts, Mild Steel
Railing, Mild Steel & Wrought Iron
Railing, Tubular
Reaction Tanks
Refuse Chamber Doors
Refuse Chutes
Refuse Hoppers
Ring Bolts
Road Form Stakes
Roof Straps
Roof Trusses
Rope Standards
Runway Beams and Supports
Rush Barriers

S

Safety Bars
Safety Cages
Safety Rails
Scraper Mats
Screens, Mild Steel or Wrought Iron
Screens, Wire Mesh
Screwed Rods
Self-Supporting Chimneys
Sheeting Rails
Shin Bar Railing
Shuttering, Plate
Shuttering, Tunnel
Signal Structures, Railway
Sink Supports
Skips
Sliding Doors
Smoke Pipes
Smoke Plates
Solid Steel Columns
Solid Steel Handrailing
Spiral Staircases
Splice Plates
Spray Booths
Stable Fitments
Staircase Balustrading
Staircases
Stanchions, Simple and Compound
Standards, Solid Forged
Standards, Tubular
Step Irons
Stillages
Storage Racks
Storage Sheds
Straps, Mild Steel or Wrought Iron
Structural Steelwork

T

Tanks, Plate and Sheet
Tank Saddles
Tennis Court Surrounds
Threaded Rods
Tie Rods
Trailer Framework
Tree Guards
Trench Covers and Framing
Trestles
Trolleys
Troughing
Truck Frames
Tubular Columns
Tubular Gates
Tubular Handrailing
Tubular Structures
Turnbuckles
Trunking

U

“U” Bolts
Undercarriages

V

Ventilator Ducting
Vessels, Plate and Pressure

W

Walkways
Walings
Wall Plates
Wall Ties
Washer Plates
Welter Tower Structures
Water Treatment Steelwork
Weather Cravats
Weed Screens
Weir Plates
Welded Structures and Platework
Wharf Iron and Steelwork
Wicket Gates and Sweeps
Wicket Doors
Wind Tunnels Steelwork
Window Guard Bars
Wire Mesh Screens