A cul-de-sac road, off of London Road north of the telephone exchange, with its southern, closed end at the Cold Blows footpath.
Houses are numbered from the London Road end, odd on the left (1 to 95) and even on the right (2 to 84). In 2019, a Royal Mail postcode lookup shows 87 addresses, and 4 postcodes, CR4 4AE/F/G/J. Some houses have been converted into flats.
The name comes from the Langdale family who owned Elmwood (previously called The Firs), an 18th century house, sold in 1822. Albert Road, Elmwood Road, Langdale Avenue and Whitford Gardens are all built on the site of the Elmwwod estate. The family were related to Marmaduke Langdale, who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War.
In this 1910 OS map, the terraces have houses numbered odd from 1 to 11, then after a narrow alleyway 13 to 19, and are the only houses shown on this side of the road.
1910 OS map
The 1910-1911 street directory shows the occupants:
1, Frederick Arthur LOOSLEY
3, Edward James WILLIS
5, Alfred Albert Henry COOPER
7, Raymond REED
9, Rev. Wallace PERRY, B.A.
11, Mrs ACOCKS
15, John William MOORE
17, James HARDING
19, Frederick HAZELL
Next is a pair of semi-detached houses numbered 21 and 23. Then is a terrace of four houses, numbered 25 to 33, after which is a public footpath leading to Commonside West.
Land at the rear of Newton House was developed as a pair of semi-detached houses as numbers 49 and 51, according to planning permission MIT1986, which was granted retrospectively on 27th March 1953.
Next are two more pairs of semi-detached houses, numbered 53 and 55, 57 and 59. After this are terraces, divided by small alleyways: 63 to 67, 69 to 75, 77 to 81, 83 to 95 which is at the end of the road next to the Cold Blows path.
Number 93 on the left has the builder initials H.H. in the gable, and number 95 has the year 1907.
On the right hand side, from the London Road end, is an alleyway that still has cobblestones on the footpath at its entrance. Then there is a terrace, numbered 2 to 12, and in 1911 the occupants were:
2, Frederick James CHARMAN
4, George D.N. FORD
6, Thomas HARRIS
8, Miss CLAYTON
10, John William COULSON
12, John Hunter RIGDEN
The 1910 OS map showed a gap between these houses and Elmwood Road, after which is a terrace that curves right with the road. The houses are currently numbered 22 to 34, but originally they had names as shown in the 1911 directory:
The Lees, Walter HOGG
St Brelades, Walter ATTWOOD
Woodlands, John McLennon JONES
Moss Dale, Louis BRIGDEN
St. Leonards, Henry MOYCE
Chamonix, William Arthur GREGORY
Glenroy, Walter Edgar WARNER
There are no more houses shown on this side of the road on the 1910 map.
From a postcard dated 1916. Houses currently numbered, from right to left, 22 to 34, with the junction with Elmwood Road out of shot on the right. These houses had names at the time of this photo.
1953 OS map
Next is a terrace of six houses numbered 38 to 48. The 1937 electoral register 38 as occupied by John Kentish and Alice Mary HARVEY, with John Kentish junior and Lawrence Reginald Harvey. J.K. Harvey had the chemists at the Fair Green up to 1966.
Then there is a terrace of ten houses from 50 to 68, followed by a pair of semi-detached houses numbered 70 and 72, then a terrace of six houses numbered 74 to 84, which is the end of the road at the Cold Blows footpath.
From the minutes of the Croydon Rural District Council
Volume IX 1903 – 1904
7th May 1903
page 72
No. 2506, Harding, J., 12 houses, Langdale Avenue, Mitcham
From the minutes of the Mitcham Urban District Council
Highways, New Streets and Buildings, and Lighting Committee
Tuesday, 8th June, 1926
Page 120
Plans submitted for approval
No. 808
Applicant: Mr. Isaac Wilson, The Hut, Commonside East
Nature and Situation:
Amended layout for five houses, Langdale Avenue (for subsidy)
World War 1 Connections
Private W Bassett
Private V W Jones
News Articles
1921 suicide in Langdale Avenue explained
Lamp Explodes
A gas street lamp in Langdale Avenue, Mitcham, exploded on Thursday last week – startling people in nearby homes. A jet of flame flared from a broken pipe until Gas Board engineers arrived. Firemen stood by.
Source: Mitcham News & Mercury, 5th June, 1959, page 1.
Occupants in 1925
2, Miss E. ELLIOTT (school)
3, Ernest Edward JONES
5, Alfred Albert Henry COOPER
7, Hugh CLAYSON
9, Donald HADFIELD
11, Mrs DODD
13, Henry George RUSSELL
15, William James BIGSBY
17, William ANSTEY
19, William Bernard FARADAY
21, Charles Henry PARSLOW
23, Albert George WELLS
The Bungalow, Raymond Edgar REID
4, Edwin George CARD
6, Frederick G. CULMER
8, Misses A.R. & C.C. CLAYTON
10, Thomas FRANCIS
12 Charles E. JENNER
… here is Elmwood Road
The Lees, M. ALLSOP
St. Brelades, Walter Charles BATCHELOR
Woodland, Samuel MICHIE
Moss Dale, Robert WALLS
32, Frederick Richard CANN
34, James Alexander CORMACK
36, John Kentish HARVEY
38, Bodwin SELIER
40, Mrs MILLER
42, Mrs L.E. BEACON
44, John Stuart CAPBELL
46, Alfred John KNIGHT
48, Philip HARDING
50, Mrs COOPER
Number 6 had the name Iveldene according to the 1937 Mitcham Cricket Club Yearbook that listed R.S. Culmer as the club’s Hon. Secretary.
WW2 Civilian Casualties
18th September 1940
Doris Christine ORSON, aged 42 and Nelson Humphrey ORSON, aged 49, both at 7 Langdale Avenue
Mary Maud WEBB, aged 68, 9 Langdale Avenue
Minutes of meetings held by the Croydon Rural and Mitcham Urban District Council are available on request from the Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.
Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
