Road between Church Road and Western Road. According to the Royal Mail postcode finder, Lewis Road as 119 addresses.
No. 1, Lewis Road is Lime Court, on the corner with Church Road. This has 46 flats, numbered 1 to 46 inclusive, with postcode CR4 3LS. Lime Court was built around 1987/8.
Evens numbers 2 to 10, 10A, 12 to 24 to 34, 34A, 36 to 46, 50 to 70 Lewis Road are CR4 3DE.
Odd numbers 19 to 27, 37 to 47, 47A, 55 to 69 are CR4 3DF.
Numbers 29,31,33 and 35 Lewis don’t exist now, as Dalton Avenue cuts through there.
In the article “Mitcham Notes”, penned by “The Commoner” in the Mitcham Advertiser, 26th February 1909, development plans for Lewis Road included 108 houses and 14 shops.
There is more than one way of calculating the growth of Mitcham besides referring to the annual report of the Medical Oflicer. The 28,000 people — “mostly gipsies,” we are asked to believe — who inhabit this parish, are not going to have it all to themselves. We can find room for plenty more in Mitcham, but of course we want them all to come up to the Parish Council’s standard of respectability. And not only can we find room for them, but we have got to do so. There is no choice in the matter.
The cup of London is evidently so full that it is spilling its people over into the county of Surrey, as I think I have said before, and the builders are busy finding house room for them and estates are being developed at a rate which promises to becomes faster as time goes on, I find support for my remarks, and others can find it too, in the report of the New Streets and Buildings Committee of the Croydon Rural District Council.
That committee passed plans for no fewer than 151 houses and shops ot Mitcham at their last meeting. Of these 105 houses and 14 shops were on one site, viz., at. Lewis-road, while ten are to be erected at Devonshire and Robinson roads. Collier’s Wood, and nine at Seeley-road. It will be noticed that all the property is of the smail class. Mitcham is filling up principally with working people. There is a significant absence in all these reports of plans for villas, semi or wholly detached. Mitcham in evidently the Mecca of the man with the small weekly wage from whose ranks the unemployed are so largely recruited.
1913 OS map
Occupants from 1915 street directory
from Church Road to Western Road
… here is Oakwood Avenue
… here is Ashtree Avenue
7, George READER, shopkeeper
William SEARLE, contractor (Oakwood Villa)
Occupants from 1915 electoral register:
1 Orchard villas : Alfred READER
2 Orchard villas : Albert NEALE
3 Orchard villas : Edward lee GRICE
Cornelia Cottage : Charles HACK
Cornelia Cottage : Henry DAY
Emily Cottage : Frederick Augustus FOSSEY
Violet Cottage : James Edward TOOGOOD
7, George READER
Rose villa : Alfred John SLATER
Orchard villa : Henry SEALE
Westfield farm : Sydney CORNWALL
4 Rosemary cottages : John SEALE
3 Rosemary cottages : Daniel ELLIS
1 Claremont cottages : Henry George SMITH
2 Claremont cottages : William SAVILLE
3 Claremont cottages : Samuel George HUMPHREY
4 Claremont cottages : Alfred Samuel GOODWIN
5 Claremont cottages : John SMITH
6 Claremont cottages : John DOLBY
7 Claremont cottages : James BEARMAN
8 Claremont cottages : Samuel PAYNE
10 Claremont cottages : Griffin CRESSWELL
11 and 12 Claremont cottages : William ASPLAND
13 Claremont cottages : Walter STAGG
14 Claremont cottages : Thomas STEVENS
15 Claremont cottages : Thomas STAGG
16 and 17 Claremont cottages : Charles WILLIAM
2 Rosemary cottages : Isaac SEALE
Occupants from the 1925 street directory:
from Church Road to Western Road
… here is Oakwood avenue …
… here is Ashtree avenuse …
1, George READER
2, John HUMPHREY
3, Charles William HACK
4, Richard STEVENS
5, Edward Charles Le GRICE
6, James E. TOOGOOD (confectioner)
7, George READER and Miss V. READER (fried fish shop)
8, Alfred John READER (metal merchant)
Mitcham Poultry Food Co. Limited
Henry HISLEY
Cavendish villa : Alfred George BROWN
Ivy villa : Harry PATEY
Rose villa : Mrs SLATER
Laurel villa : John W. SALES
Orchard villa : William SEALE
Isaac SEALE (metal merchant)
Rosemary villa : Sidney D. CORNWALL
Westfield farm : John CORNWELL
Rosemary cottages:
1, William SEALE (confectioner)
2, Isaac SEALE
3, Mrs FORDHAM
4, Mrs EVANS
P.J. Nash & Co. Ltd. (sauce manufacturers)
From the 1930 commercial directory
1, George SMITH (dairy)
31, A. Couling & Sons (fried fish shop)
33, Alfred READER (firewood dealer)
41, William SEALE (greengrocer)
59, John CORNWELL (hotel waste contractor tel: 0880)
The following have no number given in the directory:
Mitcham Poultry Food Co. Limited (poultry food manufacturers tel: 0800)
Seal’s Yard : George HARKWRIGHT (haulage contractor tel: 3919)
Isaac SEALS (scrap metal merchant) (note: could be SEALE not SEALS)
Zalmo Pickle & Sauce Works (A. D. Robertson, propr.)
World War 1 Connections
Bombadier Frank Osborne Broster
From the Surrey Recruitment Registers:
G ASPLAND of 9 Lewis Cottages, Westfield Mitcham, aged 31 Years 6 Months, Fitter. Conscripted on 2 March 1917 to the Royal Engineers.
D ELLIS of 3 Rosemary Cot, Lewis Road, aged 38 Years, Scaffolder. Volunteered on 15 January 1915 to the Royal Engineers.
W HUMPHREY of 4 Lewis Cot, Mitcham, aged 19 Years 11 Months, Labourer. Volunteered on 24 February 1915 to the East Surrey Regiment.
A J READER of 1 Orchard Villa, Lewis Road, aged 27 Years 3 Months, Carter. Conscripted on 18 June 1917 to the Army Veterinary Corps.
P O SLATER of 3 Lewis Road, aged 19 Years 8 Months, Machinist. Conscripted on 6 December 1915 to the Middlesex Regiment (29th Batn).
H SMITH of 16 Lewis Cottages, Mitcham, aged 36 Years 11 Months, Iron Worker. Volunteered with the Derby Scheme on 12 December 1915 to the Royal West Surrey Regiment.
H G C SMITH of 1 Lewis Cottages, Lewis Road, aged 33 Years, Labourer. Volunteered on 15 January 1915 to the Royal Engineers.
W G SLATER of Rose Villa, Lewis Road, aged 18 Years 6 Months, Belt Maker. Conscripted on 7 March 1917 to the Royal West Surrey Regiment (30th Lab Co).
R T STEVENS of Emily Cottage, Lewis Road, aged 31 Years, Belt Maker. Volunteered with the Derby Scheme on 7 June 1916 to the East Kent Regiment (3rd Batn).
News Articles
West Sussex Gazette – Thursday 15 September 1910
The Royal Humane Society has awarded a life-saving certificate. with £1, to Abraham Bates, of Lewis-cottages, Mitcham, for his pluck in rescuing from drowning two boys who fell into a pond at the gravel-pits. Bates has a crippled arm. and is unable to swim.
Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
Mitcham History Notes 