Tag Archives: Mitcham Common

Police Call Boxes

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There were 3 police call boxes in Mitcham. On OS maps they are marked ‘PCB’ for Police Call Box.

Locations

Each division in the Metropolitan Police force had call boxes numbered from 1. The call boxes are listed below in the order of their reference number within division ‘W’. Dates of service from the website tardisbuilders.com

Manor Road, near Commonside East
Rowan Road, near Smiths Meters
London Road, opposite Lavender Avenue

Manor Road, near Commonside East

No. 25
Started service on 18th July 1932 and was removed 28th September 1970.

This call box was on Mitcham Common land, possibly because there wasn’t enough room on the pavement. Permission had to be sought from the Mitcham Common Conservators to site the box. The minutes of 3rd February 1932 read:

POLICE TELEPHONE BOX.

A letter dated the 26th January, 1932, was read from the Police Architect and Surveyor, New Scotland Yard, asking for permission to place a Police Telephone Box on the Common on the South East side of Manor Road at the position indicated on the accompanying map.

It was resolved that the application be granted.

At the bottom of the plan is the name G. Mackenzie Trench, Police Architect & Surveyor, who was the designer of the call boxes, see Wikipedia.

The minutes of the 2nd March confirmed that the box had been installed on the 23rd February 1932.

POLICE TELEPHONE BOX.

It was reported that on the 23rd ultimo the Police Telephone Box had been erected on the South-East side of Manor Road in accordance with permission granted by the Conservators at the last meeting.

This OS map of 1953 shows the position of the box.

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

Rowan Road, near Smith Meters

This call box was on the east side of Rowan Road, north of the junction with Long Thornton Road.

No. 26
Started service on 18th July 1932 and was removed in 1969.

1951 OS map, reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY (NLS)

There is an aerial photo from Historic England which shows the box. Zoom in on the bottom right hand side of the photo.

London Road opposite Lavender Avenue

The call box was on the east side of London Road, near the south end of Figges Marsh.

No. 27
Started service on 18th July 1932 and was removed 24th September 1970.

OS map published 1969, reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY (NLS)

There is an aerial photo from Historic England which shows the box. Zoom in at the bottom of the photo.

See also the website Ghost Monuments, which has street view photos with the police box added in to show what it would have looked like if they hadn’t been removed.

Mitcham Common Filling Station

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Three pumps that were erected in the early 1930s on the grounds of the Victoria Works, on what became known as the Windmill Trading Estate, today the Meadows housing estate, corner of Windmill Road and Commonside East.

1940 OS map reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY

This 1934 ad from the Croydon Times, via the British Newspaper Archive.

WARDOLEUM MOTOR OIL 10/- FOR 5 GALLS CAN FREE TAX FREE XL WARDOLEUM MOTOR OIL
medium heavy HIGH QUALITY ENGINE OIL. XL QUALITY Free delivery in the county of Surrey. Cash with order on delivery. MITCHAM COMMON FILLING STATION WINDMILL ROAD, MITCHAM

From The Merton Historical Society Local History Notes 18: by Iris C Marshall, née Overy on page 3 : “In Samuel Ward’s grounds was the house known as the Woodite Villa. A family by the name of Skinner had lived there and when they vacated the premises, the property served as an office dealing with customers calling at three pumps that were erected in the foreground in the 1930s.”