Tag Archives: Wandle Industrial Museum

Surrey Iron Railway Sleeper Stones

What remains of the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway that passed through Mitcham?

The Wandle Industrial Museum have a couple of rails and sleeper stones. The largest collection of sleeper stones was used by Youngs Brewery in Wandsworth, as part of a wall. The brewery closed and the site sold off in 2006. The stones remain in possession of the property developer.

The museum’s video gives the history of the railway:

My video includes photos of the pile of stones at the former brewery site. Their fate is unknown.

Wikipedia entry on the Surrey Iron Railway

Paul Bowness Memorial Gardens

A small memorial garden, dedicated to Paul Bowness, near the north end of Abbey Mills where the footpath on the west side of the river Wandle meets the Merantun Road.

This map is from the information display at the gardens.

map of Abbey Mills showing the location of the Paul Bowness Memorial Garden as near the Merantun Way

Photo taken 26th September, 2018

Underneath this display is the plaque:

Wandle Heritage
The Paul Bowness
Memorial Gardens

Photo taken 9th September, 2004

Paul Bowness was Chairman of the Wandle Heritage Trust. He died in 1998. His obituary was published online in a newsletter from 2000 by the Wandle Industrial Musem.