Tag Archives: Ravensbury

2,000th post-war council home built in 1955

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Mitcham and Tooting Advertiser
Thursday, 7th July 1955

TWO THOUSAND HOUSES – AND NOBODY NOTICED

Housing chairman unable to give Phipps Bridge date

‘Impossible to say when work will start’

Mitcham Council have built their 2,000th post-war permanent home – but no one realised it at the time.

It happened a few weeks ago. Calculations show that the 2,000th home is a flat on the Ravensbury Estate.

When the town’s 1,000th post-war home was opend at Pollards Hill several years ago, there was a special celebration to mark the event.

Up to date, 2,128 permanent houses have been provided by the council since 1945. In addition, 345 temporary Arcon bungalows were erected shortly after the war, as well as 107 short-term hutments.

Now, the council are waiting to go ahead with their big Phipps Bridge redevelopment programme. They plan to build 636 new flats and houses at a cost of more than £1.75 million on land at present occupied by the closed-down dust destructor and old property.

Planning problems

Ald. Fido said it was impossible to say when work would start. There had been delays because of planning problems. It had been hoped to obtain the Mitcham Stadium site for building to fill in the gap until the Phipps Bridge scheme could go ahead.

The eight-acre stadium site has been bought by Wates Ltd., the local building firms, who intended to build blocks of flats there.

Because of shortage of land the council’s future building plans – apart from Phipps Bridge – are restricted to one or two small sites such as Pitcairn Road where 17 flats and houses are to be built, and Inglemere Road where a dozen flats are to go up.

Work in progress

A number of old people’s bungalows and flats are being, or will be, built on existing estates. These include 17 cottage flats on the Short Bolstead Estate, where work should start soon. The Elm Nursery Estate will be completed when 20 homes for old people have been erected, and work is in progress on 36 more at the Glebe Estate.

In addition Mitcham has 184 flats under construction at the Banstead joint housing estate.

The 2,500th home was celebrated in 1956, see Completion of 2,500th Post-War Dwelling

See also this Engineering website about the Arcon design, and this website for details about Nissen huts, or ‘hutments’.

Ravensbury Villas

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The 1925 street directory describes the properties on the south side of Morden Road, heading west, away from the London Road.

Ravensbury terrace :
1, Mrs HIGGINS
2, Ernest NICHOLAS
3, Mrs. Annie OAKES, shopkeeper
4, Ernest TAMPLIN

Ravensbury tavern, George Thomas DEEPROSE

..here is Ravensbury grove

Ravensbury villas
1, George EDWARDS
2, William WOODCOCK & Son, decorators
3, John George ATKINSON
4, Thomas GREEN, cycle repairer

here is bridge over River Wandle ….

This 1910 OS map shows a terrace of 4 houses just past Ravensbury Grove.

1910 OS map

This terrace can be seen in this clip from a Merton Memories photo, which looks east along the Morden Road. On the left is the Ravensbury Tavern pub.

clip from Merton Memories, photo reference Mit_​TomFrancis_​A13, copyright London Borough of Merton.

Although the Merton Memories webpage says the photo is around 1900, the name of the licensee of the pub can be seen as John Dent, who was licensee to 1876.

News Articles
From the Surrey Advertiser, Saturday 11th April 1874, via the British Newspaper Archives

At Nominal Reserves.— Mitcham, Surrey.

—Nineteen Villa Residences and Cottages, in the road, Mitcham, a most healthy locality, five minutes’ walk from the railway station.

MR. S. WALKER will Sell by Auction, at the Mart, on MONDAY, April 13, twelve for one, Nineteen Leasehold Villas and Cottages, known as Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, Ravensbury villas, term 91 years, ground rent £4 year each, estimated value £25 a year each ; eight Cottages, Nos. 2 to 16 (even numbers). Ravensbury grove, term 90 years, ground rent £20, producing £125 16s. per annum; and seven Cottages in Ravensbury-road, estimated to produce £80 a year, together with an improved ground rent of £3 10s. per annum, secured in seven adjoining cottages.

May be viewed, and particulars and conditions of sale obtained of R. Miller, Esq., Solicitor. 6, Copthall-court, E.C ; of Mr. John Wade, House Agent, Lower-green, Mitcham ; and the Auctioneer’s Offices, 61, Coleman-street, Bank, E.C.

Croydon Advertiser and East Surrey Reporter – Saturday 15 April 1876

MITCHAM.
A Troublesome Fellow.

— At the Croydon Police Court, Monday, George Jones, of Ravensbury Villas, Mitcham, was charged with being drunk and creating a disturbance on Sunday morning.—P.c. 183 stated that at half past 12 o’clock on Sunday morning he was on duty in Merton-lane, when he heard a great noise, apparently that of lot of females screaming. As he was proceeding towards the spot, he was met by woman about forty years of age, who begged of him for God’s sake to come. When he got near the spot, he found the prisoner running away. He asked him what was the matter, and the prisoner replied, “Nothing.” Witness took him back, and found a man who was bleeding from a wound under the right eye. The man charged the prisoner with having assaulted him. Prisoner said, “All right, old pal! I shall square it with a sovereign in the morning.” Prisoner was very violent, and witness apprehended him to prevent further breach of the peace, which he thought was imminent. —Prisoner, in answer to the charge, alleged that the man referred to challenged him to fight, and struck him. The man afterwards came to him, and said he was sorry for having done so.The constable said the man referred to did not formally charge the prisoner with having assaulted him, he said he was unwilling to lose a day’s work. The prisoner, witness added, was a great source of trouble to the police at Mitcham.—The prisoner was bound over in the sum of £5 to keep the peace for three months, and was then discharged.

1911 Census for Private Albert Morgan.

Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.