Tag Archives: River Wandle

George Parker Bidder QC obituary

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The following obituary is from the
Wallington & Carshalton Herald – Saturday 08 February 1896, via the British Newspaper archive.

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Death of Mr. G.P. Bidder, Q.C.

Public references.

The inhabitants of Mission were profoundly moved on Saturday morning when they learnt
that perhaps the most distinguished inhabitant of the famous village, Mr. George Parker Bidder, Q.C. of Ravensbury Park, had passed away suddenly during the night at his town residence, Queen Anne’s Mansions. The primary cause of death was the formation of a clot of blood at the heart supposed to have been occasioned by some internal injury resulting from an accident in the streets of Manchester. He had been conducting an important arbitration case at the Assize Court in that city on the 9th of last month, and was going back to his hotel when he was knocked down and run over by a horse and van. The injuries received were not regarded as of such a character as to prevent his resuming the case on the following day, but at the close of the proceedings he was so exhausted as to necessitate his immediate return to London. On the 17th January he made his last public appearance in Mitcham at the inquiry with reference to the entrance to the proposed Lower Mitcham schools. He travelled to Mitcham
specially for that purpose, although he was then wearing surgical bandages.
After a few days rest he again resumed his professional work when he conducted the case
on behalf of the trustees of the Tower Hill schools in their claim against the London
and Blackwell Railway Company. These proceedings terminated on Saturday the 25th ult. and almost
immediately afterwards the effects of the injuries of the accident began to manifest
themselves more seriously. By order of his medical advisor he was compelled to go to
bed at the beginning of last week, and though to all appearances he was progressing rapidly
towards recovery, and the physician in attendance had given him permission to dictate instructions earlier this week concerning an important case, a sudden relapse occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, and before his medical advisor could be summoned the eminent counsel had passed away. His death was very pathetic, but quite peaceful. His devoted wife was reading to him as he felt somewhat restless during the night when Mr Bidder suddenly complained of a pain which he thought must be due to indigestion. Mrs Bidder hastily summoned the nurse and turned to give him a little stimulant when to her consternation she found that her husband had turned quite pale. A doctor was in the mansions and he was called and arrived in two or three minutes only to tell the watchers that he was dying. Mr Bidder, apparently hearing that, put out his arm and embracing his wife he died with his head on the shoulder of her who had so ably seconded the efforts of her honoured husband. On the news being telegraphed at Ravensbury Park it soon became known in the village the bell at the parish church was tolled and many of the tradesmen at once put shutters to their shop windows, and such marks of respect have been pretty general
until after the funeral. Much sympathy has been expressed throughout the week with Mrs
Bidder and the family. Miss Bidder, Mrs Devenish, Miss Minnie Bidder, Miss Ina Bidder, now in
Calcutta, Messrs George, Harold and Morris Bidder. The concert which was to have been
held at the Vestry Hall on Wednesday in aid of the new church has been postponed out of
respect for the deceased.

Mr George Parker Bidder was the eldest son of the celebrated engineer who bore the same name and who was known in the early part of the century as the calculating boy. The future lawyer was born in August 1836 and educated at King’s College School and at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge and his close and persistent study at the latter university secured for him marked academical distinction, he being 7th Wrangler in the mathematical tripos in 1838. Called to the bar in 1860 his thorough grasp of questions requiring special knowledge and skill soon placed him in the front rank of his profession and before parliamentary committee he was frequently engaged as council.
He took silk in 1874 and shortly afterwards became a bencher of his inn, Lincoln’s Inn.
He was recently elected master of the library and was next in rotation for the offices of
Treasurer in 1897. For several years he had been one of the leading council at the parliamentary bar and his name had been prominent in all the struggles between the water companies and the London City County Council. In nearly all the important opposed bills he acted either on behalf of the promoters or for some of the opponents and in particular represented the interests of the Midland Railway, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway Company, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, the Butte Docks Company, the North British Railway Company and a large number of water companies. The extraordinary calculating powers of the father were inherited in a large degree by the son who, it is said, could mentally multiply fifteen figures by fifteen figures and perform with apparent ease many similar feats. He has also been very successful as a cryptographer and published some years ago in one of the monthly magazines what is perhaps the only attempt at scientific method of analysis of ciphers. Mr Bidder was chairman of the Danish Gas Company, the Cannock Chase Colliery Company and the Sydney Harbour Colleries Company as well as being a director of the Rock Life Assurance Company and the West Lancashire Railway Company. In 1878 the deceased permanently took up his residence at Ravensbury Park of which he was the owner, yet having been acquired by his father the late Mr GP Bidder, CE. Mr Bidder’s residence in Mitcham was distinguished by an active and zealous interest in local affairs and the service he has rendered to the locality has been of almost incalculable advantage. Many years ago when the Brighton Railway Company promoted a bill in parliament for the purposes of obtaining powers to enable it to take a considerable part of Mitcham Common, Mr Bidder gave his services as counsel to the inhabitants
gratuitously to resist the application and worked so well for the cause that he had taken
up that the application was refused. After that, in conjunction with other gentlemen,
he spent a large sum of money in defending the rights of the Commoners against the attempted enclosure of common land at Bennington Corner in the well-known action of Bidder and Bridges, but in that case unsuccessfully. He was also prominent in other agitations connected with the Common and when the scheme for placing it under a Conservancy Board was propounded, was one of its strongest supporters. After public inquiry and in the face of much interested opposition, the Board of Agriculture approved of the formation of a Conservancy Board and Mr Bidder was unanimously elected the first chairman, a position he was peculiarly qualified to fill. With characteristic energy and zest he entered into a scheme for improving the Common and though his efforts have not always met with the appreciation they deserved at the hands of the people of Mitcham, no one who can remember what the Common was a dozen years ago and compare it
with its present state will deny that the work of the conservators has been attended with good
results. He, in conjunction with Mr A. H. Smee MRCS and others, successfully resisted attempts
to get the sanction of Parliament to schemes for extracting water from the Wandle by means
of waterworks and amongst his other appearances, in protection of the interests of the parish, may be mentioned his opposition to the scheme to place a huge cemetery just on the borders of the parish at Rosehill Sutton, which would have involved a constant stream of funerals through the parish and the strenuous opposition he manifested to the proposals of the Carshalton local board to obtain a site for their sewage out for works in Mitcham parish.
We’ve obviously obtained a lease of Mitcham Green in order that it might be preserved and regulated for purposes of recreation and the public advantage which has accrued can only be estimated by those who live in Mitcham. It has enabled cricketers of all classes to enjoy the national pastimes without less or hindrance. The policy which was pursued there was extended so soon as the larger area of the Commons could be dealt with. For many years Mr Bidder filled the office of church warden at the parish church of Mitchell and it was during this period that the beautiful east window, said to be the most beautiful in the country, towards the cost of which he distributed largely, was put up. Mr Bidder was also a trustee of Tate’s Alm Houses and at one time represented the parish upon the late Croydon Rural Sanitary Authority. He was a Master of Arts, fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an associate member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and an associate of the Institute of Surveyors. Mr Bidder has for many years held the commission of peace for the county and on the formation of the county council at once offered his services to his neighbours to represent them on that body. One paragraph in his address in 1888 is worth quoting now. He said one matter of local interest would at the proper time have my special attention vis the securing to our district more adequate representation having regard to its population and importance. You are perhaps aware at the recent meeting of the magistrates that quarter sessions I did my best to obtain the rectification of what appears to me to be the injustice which at present we suffer under from having only one representative allotted to us. I should strive before the next election to obtain a reappointment of representatives which would place us on a more equal footing with other parts of the county. Mr Bidder was elected by a majority of 150 over another old resident now for some years dead and that he did not forget his promise in that the records of the council will testify. Indeed this question of the unjust representation of suburban Surrey on the council was one of the points upon which he felt very strongly and more than once he referred to it and sought but in vain to persuade his colleagues to consent to a rearrangement. When the question of the future meeting place of the council came to be discussed he was perhaps the strongest advocate of the council chamber remaining in London. Holding as experience has since proved that there will be more difficulty in getting all the members to attend committee and council meetings if they were held in the country than there would be if held close to the terminal of the great railway companies and so easily getatable from all parts of the county. At the second election of the council in 1892 Mr Bidder was opposed by Mr George Parker, a socialist. The inhabitants showed their
appreciation of the difference between the merits of the two men by giving Mr Parker three votes and returning their old member with a majority of over 600. At the last election in 1895 Mr Bidder was returned unopposed. On the formation of the parish councils the deceased manifested much interest in the movement and besides attending public meetings where the matter was discussed became a candidate for a seat on the first council and being elected was asked by his colleagues to accept the position of chairman which he did and by his legal knowledge helped him to help to steer them safely and quickly through the difficulties inseparable from the establishment of a new body such as that. Prior to 1892 Mr Bidder had been regarded as a strong liberal but like many other good men he could not accept the home rule programme and at the time and at the general election of 1892 with other liberal unions in the division issued a circular calling upon his neighbours to support the conservative candidate Mr Bonsor and so to defeat the schemes of those who were anxious to bring about the separation of Great Britain and Ireland.

Anglo Saxon Cemetery at Morden Road

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The 1953 OS map shows “Anglo Saxon Burial Ground” in back garden of no. 67 Morden Road. Its location led to the road name of Runes Close, referring to the writing method of the Angles and Saxons.

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

These houses were built in the 1930s, and the burial ground had been excavated over a period of 1888 to 1922. This earlier OS map from 1910 shows the openness of the land between Morden Road and the river Wandle. It was part of the estate of the owners of Mitcham Grove House, who during the period of excavation were George Parker BIDDER II, Q.C., and his son Harold BIDDER.

1910 OS map reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland, reuse CC-BY

Remains from Anglo Saxon burials, human bones and artefacts such as brooches, extended over a much larger area. This sketch shows the excavations by Harold Bidder and is from his report he co-authored with John Morris from 1959, The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Mitcham, which can be downloaded from the Surrey Archaeological Society website (pdf of 98 pages).

What led to these excavations included gravel digging. Gravel is common in the flood plain of the river Wandle and where that river used to run millions of years ago, such as over Mitcham Common. Gravel gained value during the Victorian building boom as it’s used in making concrete. Workmen who found bones while digging for gravel tended to keep it to themselves, and one of the fields became known as Dead Man’s Close.

In addition, the cultivation of liquorice, whose roots go down 4 or 5 feet deep, led to further discoveries over an even wider area. Ben Slater, recalling in 1911, said:

Liquorice, which is grown for its root, penetrates the earth to the depth of from 3 to 4 feet, and has to be trenched out of the ground. In the work of getting this crop out the men came across a large quantity of human bones – some of the skeletons were found in stone coffins – with them a long sword was found; a number of spears were also found, also silver and bronze coins; most of these the men kept – also some of the spears. There used to be a man come down each week and buy these of the men employed in the work – all the swords – and most of the spears were taken to Major Moore’s house at Figge’s Marsh, where he lived at Manor House by the Swan Hotel.

Here is a list of the artefacts found:

- 44 brooches 
- 14 buckles
- 10 strings of beads
-  5 glass vessels
-  9 pottery vessels
- 39 knives
- 13 swords
- 15 shield-bosses
- 36 spears

Additionally, there were various miscellaneous objects made of bronze, iron, bone, and ivory. For drawings of some of the artefacts, see the Merton Historical Society webpage.

In 1914 Saxon relics were also found near Mitcham Station.

From the minutes of the Mitcham Parish Council
Volume 12 April 1914 to March 1915
Page 28

SAXON RELICS

The Clerk reported the receipt of the following letter from the General Manager of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway.

               LONDON, BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY

                             General Manager's Office
                                     London Bridge Station, S.E.,
                                            26th May, 1914.

Dear Sir,

I enclose herewith two bronze tin-plated brooches, a bronze pin and iron knife supposed surrounded by a wooden sheath, which were recently discovered during excavations on this Company’s property near Mitcham Station, together with a photograph of same, and as the articles are no doubt of antiquarian interest, I am authorised by my Directors to forward them to you to be placed in the Vestry Hall at Mitcham, where I understand other similar relics found in the neighbourhood are on view.

I also enclose photographs of three skeletons which were unearthed at the same place recently.

I shall be obliged if you will kindly acknowledge receipt.

                         Yours faithfully, 
                                 WILLIAM FORBES.

From the minutes of the Mitcham Parish Council
Volume 12 April 1914 to March 1915
Page 102

The following letter was read from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Co.

               LONDON, BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY

                             General Manager's Office
                                     London Bridge Station, S.E.,
                                            23rd October, 1914.

Dear Sir,

With reference to my letter of the 26th May last, and your reply of the 27th idem, another ornament has been found in excavating gravel near Mitcham Station. Captain Bidder informs me that it is a gold-plated bronze brooch, a beautiful piece of work and important, as its design (purely geometrical without any trace of “animal” motive) points to a very early Saxon period, probably the sixth or seventh century.

I am authorised by my Directors to forward this brooch to you to be placed in the Vestry Hall at Mitcham with the other similar relics found in the neighbourhood.

I also have the pleasure of inclosing a photograph of the brooch.

     Kindly acknowledge receipt.
                         Yours faithfully, 
                                 WILLIAM FORBES.

A find of 3 skeletons in 1920 was reported in the press:

GRIM DISCOVERY AT MITCHAM

From Our Own Correspondent.

Mitcham, Thursday.

—”Dead Man’s Close,” a beautiful spot on the banks of the Wandle at Mitcham, has justified its lugubrious name, for three full-sized skeletons, two of them with swords by their sides, have just been dug up there by workmen excavating for gravel. The field in which the gravel-pit is situated is the property of Lieut.-Col. Harold Bidder, D.S.O.

While Col. Bidder was describing the remains to me to day he was informed that more bones had been unearthed, and also a bronze buckle. “As the work proceeds.” he said, “I expect and hope many more relics will come to light.” It appears that the present discoveries are not the first the kind made in Mitcham, or even in the same field. “They began in a very curious way,” explained the Colonel. “They were due, in fact, to a lucky accident.

A Chance Discovery

“About 35 years ago labourers employed by my father in this same part of the Ravensbury Manor estate came upon a of skeletons, but thinking that (in the words the bailiff) people did not like to hear such things, they said nothing about the matter, and it was only the chance discovery of a human bone by a member of the family two or three years later that led to investigation and scientific exploration. Since we began excavating in earnest we have dug up about 150 graves, not all containing remains. They are undoubtedly Anglo- Saxon of the fifth and early sixth centuries. Mitcham, it is known, was a Saxon settlement, and the carefully laid out remains, all properly orientated, though the majority are male, point to a cemetery rather than battlefield.”

In 1922 the south side of Morden Road was widened by 16 feet and some graves were encountered in digging post-holes for a new fence.

In the introduction to the book, The Place-Names of Surrey from the English Place-Name Society, published in 1934, the burial grounds of Mitcham and Croydon were described as the principal heathen burial-grounds of Surrey.

The Anglo-Saxon cemetery is recorded as Monument No. 400549 in Historic England’s Research Records.