death of a much-loved landmark - and many more might be ... · pdf filemade in this case and...
TRANSCRIPT
March 2011
For the latest information at any time go to www.wimbledonsociety.org.uk or wimbledonmuseum.org.uk
NEWSLETTER
INSIDE
News P 3
Local History Group P 4
The lost lake P6
This year’s tours P8
Planning issues P10
Around and about P12
Death of a much-loved landmark- and many more might be sacrificed
Above, left to right: Going, going, gone. One of our great historic cedartrees, it recalled a time when Wimbledon was part of rural Surrey.
A much younger survivingneighbour of the felled cedar.
Destruction of a 150 year-oldcedar tree in Highbury Road,near Wimbledon Village, hashighlighted a potentiallygrave threat to our localheritage.
A possible saving of thetree using secure props wasignored. The Society hassuggested to Merton Councilthat an independent assess-ment should have beenmade in this case and a surveyof all Wimbledon cedars isnow needed. This would
avoid similar cases of theCouncil facing demands forurgent felling decisions onfive-day notices.
Advice from the RoyalBotanical Gardens at Kewwould be sought on particularlysignificant trees. The impli-cations from Highbury Roadare worrying for Wimbledon’sother cedars - many of them
ancient landmarks like the onelost. Unless the Council’s treeexperts are given enough timefor full assessments, thereappears little to protect thetrees from owners who seethem as a problem.
The great cedars are themost majestic of all ourtrees, planted by landscapegardeners long beforeWimbledon town existed.
But they face increasingdanger in several new housingdevelopments. Some havealready gone to make spacefor big houses.
Editor: Tony Matthews8286 1344/ [email protected]
Editorial team: Iain Simpson, Janet Koss
Printing: Rushmere Printers Ltd,257 Haydons Road, SW19 8TY [email protected]
2
President Norman PlastowFar House, Hillside, SW19 4NL 8947 2825
Chairman Iain Simpson56 Home Park Road, SW19 7HN 8947 [email protected]
Hon Secretary David Butler101 Cottenham Park Road, 8947 7302SW20 [email protected]
Hon Treasurer Corinna Edge2 Kingswood Road, SW19 3NE
07976 [email protected]
Membership Secretary/ ActivitiesLinda Defriez6 Ridgway Gardens, SW19 4SZ 8944 [email protected]
Planning John Rowcliffe6 Thackeray Close, SW19 4JL 8947 [email protected]
Museum Alan Elliot4 Denmark Avenue, SW19 4HF 8296 [email protected]
Local History Charles Toase6 Watery Lane, SW20 9AA 8540 [email protected]
Website Asif Malik15 Edge Hill, SW19 4LR 8946 [email protected]
Chairman’s ReportWimbledon Society contacts
EDITOR’S NOTE
Wimbledon Society Newsletter
The sad end of that majestic cedar tree inHighbury Road throws into stark relief thedifficulties in holding on to some of ourwonderful heritage, especially if it stands inthe path of new development.
We have expressed our views to theCouncil and hope it will listen. From a smallseedling planted with vision over 150 yearsago, the tree grew into a magnificent speci-men that was enjoyed by many generations.These are treasures not to be lost on a whim.We will be keeping a sharp lookout.
On Page 11, Tony Michael writes aboutthe Wimbledon Way. This is an excellentinitiative by the Chamber of Commerce, bothto celebrate Wimbledon as tennis venue forthe 2012 Olympics and provide a lastinglegacy. It will be an important link betweenthe town and the Village with potential for fu-ture improvement and extension. We are de-lighted to be involved in the project andhappy to support it in whatever way we can.
Merton Council has to make some difficultand, no doubt, unpopular budgetary decisionson where to reduce expenditure and by howmuch. Final details will emerge in duecourse. At a recent meeting with all Friends ofParks groups, chaired by Cllr Andrew Judge,Cabinet Member for Environment andRegeneration, the implications of budget cutsfor parks and open spaces in the boroughwere discussed.
The cuts contemplated are in the region of40%. It looks as if as many as 80 openspaces will be un-maintained altogether infuture or simply to minimal standards ratherthan to the levels of quality seen historically.Crucially, this means that most will no longerbe locked overnight. The implications will befar reaching and need proper discussion.
The next quarterly Newsletter will appearin June but before then we will try to keepyou updated online via our new Facebookfacility. This can be accessed directly atwww.facebook.com (search for The WimbledonSociety) or via our own web site. I urge youto use this for your own comments.
Please note the time and place of the2011 Annual General Meeting on Page 12.After the formalities, our guest speaker,Cécile Bridgens from Wimbledon Park, willbe talking about the Wandle Regional Valleyproject. We look forward to seeing you then.
3
NEWS
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
‘Wimbledonizationmeans becoming aninstitution dominatedby foreigners, whilecontinuing to bring
Strange new word enters other languagesSociety memberMIKAEL GRUT wasintrigued to readthe following in arecently publishedbook.
some prestige andprofit to its sourcecountry.’
It says the termwas used in financialcircles to characterisethe effect of the ‘BigBang’ liberalisationof 27 October 1986.As at the tennis cham-pionships, ‘the City ofLondon seemed to
attract all the bestplayers and profitedfrom their presencealthough little or noownership remainedEnglish.
‘The term seems tohaveoriginated inJapanas “winburudon-ka”and is also widelyused in Chinese as“wénbùěrdéng-huà”. ‘
Equivalents are saidto be less familiar inEuropean languagesexcept for Germanand Spanish.
*The Last LinguaFranca - English Untilthe Return of Babelby Dr Nicholas Ostler(Allen Lane; ISBN978-1-846-14215-4)
P a r k s i d e wa snamed the country’smost expensiveresidential street,according to researchby Lloyds TSB, pub-lished in January.
Its large houses
We have Britain’s costliest streetParkside’s particularvalue down to demandfrom celebrities andoverseas buyers.
The survey alsoplaced Cedar ParkGardens at seventhplace nationally.
were worth an averageof £5.1 million, morethan 10 times theaverage price of ahouse in Merton at£479,000, accordingto the Land Registry.
Lloyds TSB put
MARTYN HARMANexplains where tofind an Archbishop’sPalace, one ofsouthern England’sbest medieval halls,a set of ecclesiasticalbuildings, and a fineVictorian church.
In October, Societymembers enjoyed aguided tour by theFriends of CroydonPalace. We learnedthat no other Arch-bishop’s home - evenLambeth - still hasthe original GreatHall intact, togetherwith many originalmedieval and Tudorrooms, now usedfull time as a girls’school.
The Palace site was
first acquired followingthe establishment ofLambeth Palace in1197. A day’s journeyaway, Croydon wasamong several manorsformed as stagingposts between Londonand Canterbury.
For centuries, itprovided accommo-dation as a retreat,for meetings or forentertaining, with itsextensive recreationalfacilities of wood-land and forests.
By the 18th centuryCroydon had changedfrom a quiet countrytown to an industrialcentre. But althoughmuch reduced insize, the Palacecomplex survived.
An unexpected view of CroydonA succession of
diverse ownershipsand uses followed,including calico printingand bleaching, judges’lodgings, and aPickfords removalbusiness.
In 1887 it wasgiven to the Sistersof the Church forestablishment of asmall school. Thisis now one of threeschools in Croydonowned by The WhitgiftFoundation, originallyestablished by Arch-bishop John Whitgift.
The Friends cameinto being in the1960s to raise fundsfor vital restorationworks and organisefund-raising tours.
Olympicoption
droppedWe were on thewaiting list for acoach visit of theOlympic site butthey are no longeravailable for groups.However, you canbook individually ona free coach trip.You are picked upand dropped off atStratford Station.Weekends. Phone0300 2012 001.
Our private tourof Strawberry Hillon 23 March is fullbut you can visit onSat-Wed afternoonsfrom 2 April.
The Society is fundinga Heritage Leaflet,depicting many ofWimbledon’s historicaland cultural attractions.
Designed by Merton’sconservation team,the leaflet will beavailable free inlibraries and otherpublic locations.
Heritage leaflet
LOCAL HISTORY GROUP NOTES
4
Our streets wererecently dug up forthe laying of newgas mains. It inspiredus to look at the localhistory of gas.
The WimbledonGas, Light & CokeCo started in 1852with a gas works inHaydons Road. In1864 it merged withthe Mitcham companyand closed locally.
There were manycomplaints aboutthe prices chargedbut the directorswere determined tomaintain the share-holders’ dividend at10%.W imb ledonCouncil refused topay thepricedemandedfor street lighting,and stuck with oillamps until electricityarrived in 1900.
However, in 1894Joseph Ely managedto reduce the bill athis ‘Emporium’ - ashe called his draper’sshop - by using in-candescent mantles,cutting the annualcost from £220 to £70.
The Mitcham andWimbledon companywent through severalmore mergers, endingas the WandsworthDistrict Gas Co beforenationalisation in 1949.
Some may recallthe showroom (nowHealth Zone) with itsdemonstration cookery‘theatre’.
The blue plaqueabove remains intactbut two others inWimbledon havesuffered indignities.
The one on LordDowding’s home inS t Mary ’ s Roadwent when the housewas demol ishedtwo years ago, andthe one recallingViscount Melville at
Ha-ha’s like the one above were ditchescreated with one high side to prevent cattlestraying on to country estates, while alsodesigned to avoid obstructing the view.Three of Wimbledon’s historic houses had them.
One was between Tudor Tower andWressil Lodge on Parkside; another was atWestside, between Chester House andwhat later became Cannizaro House. An 18th
century judge, a Mr Grose, surprised every-one by jumping over it to the house next doorto talk to Prime Minister William Pitt andothers meeting in Viscount Melville’s garden.
Capability Brown introduced a ha-ha atthe Wimbledon Park estate when he land-scaped it for the Spencers in the 1760s. It isnow believed to lie beneath houses andgardens from Arthur Road across LeopoldRoad and Vineyard Hill Road.
It’s a shame these blueplaques keep disappearing
Dissenters from theChurch of Englandmay have had theirfirst meeting placein Wimbledon inWorkhouse Lane(now Camp Road)in 1796 but it’s notcertain. A few yearslater a chapel wasbuilt off the HighStreet in what isnow Lancaster Place.
A Roman Catholicchapel was later builtat the Keir, Westside,and the WesleyanMethodists had arrivedby the 1830s. Fromthen, Nonconformistswere established here.One of their earlybuildings survives,the Zoar Baptists’ inChurch Road, nowpart of the Ski Club.
Research is stillunder way to findthe original site.
Where didDissentersworship?
Lightingyourhomewithgas
Nothing funny aboutthose historic ditches
Cannizaro Househas still not beenrestored after beingpainted over.
A third interestsus. A plaque at No173 Merton Roadidentifies the houseas the first home ofthe Nelson Hospital.We don’t know whoput it up or when.C a n a n y o n eenlighten us?
Charles Toase
Above: Part of theoriginal Wimbledon
gas showroomopposite the libraryin the town before aseries of alterations.
It had previouslybeen a bakehouse.
5
LOCAL HISTORY
In the 16th century all able-bodied men aged 16-60 hadto practise archery weeklyto defend their country.
But in Wimbledon after1554, there were regularcomplaints about the stateof the butts. In 1595 theparish was fined 3s.4d. fornot maintaining them.
In the late 19th centuryarchery was revived, but asa sport. The WimbledonArchers competed at CrystalPalace in 1877. Their starseems to have been FlorenceBardswell whose name appearsregularly until 1900.
The Museum has apainting of the archery fieldat Mount Ararat (nowPepys Road) by her sister,Emily. They lived at 7 CrescentRoad in the 1890s.
In 1900 the Wimbledonprize meeting was held inMr Laundy-Walters’ groundsat Woodhayes. Competitorsincluded a Miss Preece -Mary, daughter of Sir WilliamPreece the electrical engineerof Gothic Lodge, still inWoodhayes Road today.
At a meet ing of theRoyal Toxophilite Society in1894 ‘Miss Preece made
When taking a bow
three golds at one end, andwas the happy recipient of ashilling from each archer onthe ground’. She scored 274while Florence Bardswellscored 277.
Florence also travellednationwide with other ladiesfrom Wimbledon, scoringhighly. In 1883 a newspaperreported: ‘Miss Bardswell(Wimbledon Archers) securedfirst place with a “pinhole” at60 yards at the Crystal Palacemeeting’. By 1900 her famewas such that she was beingasked to present the prizesat major events, and when
she died in 1909, an obituaryprinted a list of her scores atno less than 104 champion-ship meetings. It was said thatnine out of ten archers, ongoing to a meeting, would ask‘Is Florence Bardswell here?’.
Sister Emily had anotherstring to her bow. Hernephew Gerald was a leadingamateur batsman in cricket.She followed him around,taking a bat to each gameand getting the players’signatures. She built up acollection of signed bats atCrescent Road, includingone given by W.G. Grace.
She also wrote a 60-page novel, Played On,published in 1898. Recentlyreprinted in a limited editionof 50 copies, it was offeredfor sale at £150. But one ofher autographed cricketbats came up for auction in2006, fetching no less than£9,600!
Charles Toase
Above: Wimbledon ArcheryClub in the 1870s.Left: Contest with FlorenceBardswell in action.
LOCAL HISTORY
6
Whatever happened to the lostlake of Wimbledon House?
Most of the housesnear WimbledonCommon escapeddamage from enemyaction during theSecond World War.However threegrand houses onthe WimbledonHouse estate sufferedgreatly during thisperiod: Windyridgeand Margin Houseon Marryat Roadand Deepdale onCalonne Road.
All three weresubstantial houseswith beautiful grounds;Windyridge was setin 1 ½ acres with atennis lawn; Deep-dale was set in 6acres; and MarginHouse had nearly8 acres, includingan ornamental lakecovering 4 acres.
Constructed inthe 1770s in theparkland of WimbledonHouse, the lake wasfed by Rushmereand two spr ingsand its clear waterscascaded down toa smaller pond below.Used for boating,bathing, fishing andoccasionally by thevillagers for skatingin severe winters, achapel was built on
an island in the upperlake for the DowagerPrincess of Monacoand a grotto withclassical columnsadorned the banksof the pond.
When the estatewas divided up fordevelopment in1899 the lake wasincluded in the ploton which MarginHouse was laterbuilt. At the time itwas confidently feltthat ‘the picturesquelake had been securedfor the perpetualadornment of theestate.’
Vacated by theirowners at the out-break of war in 1939,
the empty mansionswere requisitionedfor the war effort.Used variously bythe army for offices,for temporary housingand as a hospital,the grand interiorssoon fell into disre-pair. Sadly, they werewrecked by thetemporary occupants.
The propertieswere eventually re-leased in the early1950s and the ownerswere faced withsubstantial repair bills.In that austerepost-war era, thethree houses andtheir gardens weresimply too large andexpensive to run.
By 1953 all threehouses were emptyand in decline. Localbuilder M. HowardLtd of Mitcham sawan opportunity andpurchased all three.With their abuttingboundaries, theyformed one large16-acre plot.
Howard’s objec-tive was to providenew housing tomeet the increasedpost-war demandby dividing themansions verticallyinto smaller dwellingsand building morethan 40 low-risehouses. The historiclake would bedrained.
HELEN ELLIStells a sad tale
of post-wardevelopment
Margin Lake as it appeared in 1908, painted by Evelina Druce.Created in the 1770s, it was a smaller version of the WimbledonPark lake and one of the main attractions of Sir Henry Peek’sWimbledon House Parkside estate. It has now vanished forever.
7
LOCAL HISTORY
However, Howardfaced three majorobstacles: covenantsdating from 1899which restricteddevelopment, localopposition, and theengineering to drainthe lake.
The firm appliedto the Lands Tribunalfor the covenants tobe varied and 87objectors were rep-resented at the 1954hearing. After severaldays, agreementswere reached in allbut three cases.
The judge gaveweight to the factthat the three mansionswere un-saleable andun-lettable in theirdeteriorating condition.He found the lake tobe in a dangerousstate through erosionand seepage andlikely to be perma-nently emptied forsafety reasons.
He modified thecovenants to permitthe development,imposing stringentconditions particu-larly with regard todesign, retention oftrees and construc-tion works.
Work began butthe task of drainingthe lake nearlybankrupted thefirm. Bricks being inshort supply, modesthouses with generousgardens were builton plots laid out onthe extended ParksideAvenue and newroads named MarginDrive, Windy RidgeClose and Deepdale.
The lake was goneby 1956. This quietcorner of SW19 thenremained largely un-changed until thelate 1990s when manyoriginal owners movedon. Then a new waveof development began
as post-war houseswere replaced bylarge executive homeswith smaller gardens.
The lake haslargely been forgottenbut a legacy remains.Great cedars whichonce graced the shore
are still standing.On wintry eveningsa gentle mist settlesabove the site of theromantic ornamentallake that was enjoyedby several generationsfrom the 1770s untilthe 1950s.
Above: 1953 OrdnanceSurvey showing thelake up to 800 feetwide. Left: MarginHouse and the lakebeing used forboating. Bottom:Schoolgirls’ picnicearly in the lastcentury. Little signthen that the lake’sdays would benumbered.
ACTIVITIES
8
LINDA DEFRIEZ lists theyear’s coming activitiesand outings. The programmeincludes a good selectionof free lectures and localwalks, two full-day excur-sions by coach, and someshorter outings. All datesand times can be found onyour blue Society member-ship card.
Details of all excursionsare given here. Both walksand lectures are listed on thecard and a flyer describingthe walks is enclosed withthis mailing. Details of theautumn and winter lectureswill be enclosed with theSeptember Newsletter.
Saturday, 2 April, 10.15am:BuckinghamPalaceGardens
Meet at the Palace by 10 amto clear security. Cost is£21 per person, excludingtransport. Described as ‘awalled oasis in the middle ofLondon’, the 39-acre gardenis the largest private gardenin the capital and boastsmore than 350 types of wildflower, over 150 maturetrees and a 3-acre lake.
The tour will take visitorsalong the 1500-metre patharound the garden and willinclude the famous Herba-ceous Border, the wisteria-clad summer house and theRose Garden. Visitors willenjoy views of the enormousWaterloo Vase, made forGeorge IV in Italy, and ofthe Palace tennis court,where King George VI andFred Perry played in the1930s.
Wednesday, 8June, 8.45 am:Audley End by coach
Meet at the corner of South-side and The Grange at8.45 for 9am departure.Cost £30 includes tours andtransport (EH members £20).
Audley End takes itsname from Sir ThomasAudley, Henry VIII's LordChancellor. After 1538, headapted the extensive buildingsof the suppressed WaldenAbbey as his mansion. Hisgrandson Thomas Howard,first Earl of Suffolk, rebuiltthe house on a massivescale between 1603 and 1614.
Known as 'the Palace ofAudley End', this Jacobean'prodigy house' was threetimes its present size, andone of the largest mansionsin England. But in 1618Suffolk fell from favour andinto massive debt. His greathouse went into decline.
Charles II bought AudleyEnd in 1668 as a base forattending Newmarket races.His consort, Catherine ofBraganza, held court herethat autumn. Repairs werecarried out by Sir ChristopherWren but their cost provedruinous, and in 1701 WilliamIII returned Audley End tothe Suffolk family. Whentheir line died out in 1745, itwas bought by the Countess ofPortsmouth for her nephewand heir, Sir John Griffin,later the first Baron Braybrooke.
Today the interior largelyrepresents the taste of thethird Baron Braybrooke,who redecorated many of itsrooms in the 1820s.
Tuesday, 17 May, 11.30 am:Eltham Palace
Meet at the Palace. Cost£17 (EH members £7.50)excluding transport. Built bythe wealthy Courtauld familynext to the remains ofEltham Palace, childhoodhome of Henry VIII, thishouse is among the finestexamples of Art Deco archi-tecture in England.
The stunning entrancehall, marvellous panelleddining room, luxurious bath-room, and the magnificentmedieval Great Hall, arejust some of the highlights.
Our guided tour of thehouse will last 1.5 hours,after which we can visit thetearoom for lunch before thehead gardener takes us ona tour of the gardens.
Thursday, 26 May, 10.50 am:Apothecaries’ HallCost £5, excluding transport.Entrance Blackfriars’ Lane.
The Apothecaries acquiredtheir Hall at Blackfriars in1632. Re-built on the samesite immediately after its de-struction in the Great Fire of1666, it is the oldest extantlivery company Hall in theCity. Our visit will last about75 minutes.
ACTIVITIES
9
Wednesday, 24 August, 5 pm:Carlyle’s House, Cheyne Walk
Meet at the venue for ourafter hours tour at 5pm.Cost £10 (including NTmembers) excludes trans-port. Form available with theJune Newsletter.
Preserved since 1895,this writer's house in theheart of one of London'smost famous creative quarterstells the story of Thomasand Jane Carlyle. Theymoved here from their nativeScotland in 1834 and be-came an unusual but muchloved celebrity couple of the19th century literary world.
We have a private tourfrom 5 to 7pm when thehouse is closed to the public.Be warned: the house is onfive floors so lots of stairs.
Wednesday, 7 September,10.30am: National TheatreMeet at the NT for our“behind the scenes” tour.Cost £7. Form availablewith the June Newsletter.
Led by experiencedguides, visit the unseenparts of the three auditoria,backstage areas and theatreworkshops, where sets andprops are created. The tourlasts about 75 minutes.
Tuesday,11 October,11.30am:Keats House and2 Willow Road, Hampstead
Meet at Keats House. Cost£12 for both tours, excludingtransport. Form with theSeptember Newsletter.
John Keats’ home 1818-20,this is the setting that in-spired some of his mostmemorable poetry. Here, hewrote 'Ode to a Nightingale',and fell in love with FannyBrawne, the girl next door.From here he travelled toRome where he died age 25of tuberculosis.
Our private visit will lastabout 45 minutes afterwhich we will have time forlunch in Hampstead Villagebefore we re-assemble at 2Willow Road, designed bythe Modernist architect ErnoGoldfinger as his familyhome. The guided tour isentitled ‘Life at 2 Willow Rd’and our visit should end by 4 pm.
Tuesday, 20 March, 2012:Government Art CollectionMeet 5.30pm at the venueoff Tottenham Court Road.Free but you must book onthe form with the DecemberNewsletter.
Some two-thirds of theGovernment’s works aredisplayed in buildings hereand overseas. The rest areheld at their central Londonpremises, awaiting reselectionby Ministers and Ambassadors.
On this visit you will havethe chance to see selectedworks from the Art Collec-tion, hear about its historyand role, and get a behind-the-scenes look at works asthey are prepared for dis-play. The visit lasts an hour.
Thursday, 7July, 8.45 am:Ightham Mote and QuebecHouse by coach
Meet at the corner of South-side and The Grange at8.45 for a 9am departure.Cost £33 includes transportand tea (NT members £20).
Ightham Mote has beendescribed by David Starkeyas 'one of the most beautifuland interesting of Englishcountry houses'. Built nearly700 years ago, it has seenmany changes and beenowned by medieval knights,courtiers to Henry VIII andhigh society Victorians.
The house is surroundedby peaceful gardens with anorchard, water features,lakes and woodland walks.
Our guided tour isbooked for 10.30am. Afterthat we will be free to join agarden tour, listen to a talkon the history of the houseor just explore the beautifulgrounds. Restaurant forlunch and refreshments.
We move on to QuebecHouse, childhood home ofGeneral James Wolfe. Anexhibition at this architecturallyand historically interestinghouse tells the story of theBattle of Quebec. We willhave time for a visit and tea.
PLANNING
10
Large scale applicationsare rare In Wimbledon butget intense scrutiny fromthe Society’s PlanningCommittee when they doarise. JOHN ROWCLIFFElooks at a case in point aswell as smaller but noless important cases.
The former Atkinson MorleyHospital site has finallyprompted a formal planningapplication and althoughBerkeley Homes has carriedout a very welcome publicconsultation, some issuesstill have to be resolved.
Among these are thearrangements for futuremanagement of the Metro-politan Open Land and aseparate application for re-locating the No 200 busturning area. The Society isexamining the latter plansfor possible impact on somemature sweet chestnut trees.
Another significant appli-cation was made by the All-England Club, involving re-building of covered tenniscourts. This brought concernboth about the scheme itselfand the threat of more in-tensive use of the site. Wewrote to the Club about thelack of any consultation andit withdrew the application,promising full consultationbefore any fresh application.
Indeed, the question oflocal consultation before anapplication has concernedus for a long time. AsBerkeley Homes has shown,a developer can do this veryeffectively if it wishes, sowhy doesn’t it always happen?
To some extent, provi-sion in the Localism Bill ofa consultation requirement
of developers may be seenas a welcome step forward.But it is likely to be limited tovery large applications. Ourconcern has been over theincreasing trend for pre-application discussionsbetween developers andlocal planning officers whichare then regarded as confi-dential by the Council.
Damage and flooding
We recently sent theLeader of the Council a de-tailed proposal for how theprinciple of community in-volvement in pre-applicationdiscussions might operatein Merton. He had earliersupported the idea beforelast year’s elections.
We have also raised theissue of increasing use ofbasements. This is causingconcern because of poten-tial harm to listed or othersignificant older buildings.
It relates both to new housingschemes with major excavationsand the creation of basementsunder existing houses.
Merton approved two recentapplications for basements -at 3A Ridgway and 3 LindenCottages, off Oldfield Road.Pictured left, these are olderbuildings, and deep exca-vations could put bothoriginal structures and ad-joining buildings at risk. Wewill monitor the outcome.
Merton is often criticisedover enforcement of devel-opment control but it is goodto report cases where firmaction has been taken.
We scrutinise developments - both large and small
At 14 Thackeray Close, theCouncil required demolitionof part of the structure ex-tending beyond the buildingline. It later concluded thatthe extent of departuresfrom the agreed planscalled for submission of afresh application for thewhole scheme as now pro-posed. Any work carried outmeanwhile would be at thedeveloper's own risk.
At 14 Cambridge Road avery large dormer wasillustrated in the June issue.This was built withoutspecific permission, followingwidening of the definition ofpermitted development. Afterpressure from local residentsthe Council decided thework should have beensubject to a planningapplication, and issued anenforcement notice accordingly.
The final outcome will beimportant for the interpretationof what ‘permitted development’amounts to in future cases.
New application needed
11
PLANNING
In 1998 the Society produceda plan for environmentalstreet works in the Village.
Our main aims were toslow down through traffic,provide parking for shoppers,widen pavements and planttrees. This coincided withthe Council’s introduction ofa controlled parking scheme.
Due to high concentrationof underground servicesbeneath the pavements,opportunities for street treeplanting are often very limited,but the widening of pave-ments in our scheme gaveus additional opportunitiesto find sites.
In 2001, working with EdTurner, Phil Ryder and otherCouncil officers, and with
The pedestrian route fromWimbledon Station via theVillage to the All EnglandLawn Tennis grounds isheavily used by visitors tothe championships each year.The same will apply duringnext year’s Olympic tennisevents. But enhancing thisroute would benefit localpeople too.
That is the purpose ofthe Wimbledon Way project,now gathering speed. TheChamber of Commerce isleading on it as part of its‘Going for Gold’ campaignto raise Wimbledon’s year-round profile.
The idea is to create athemed walkway along the
Five zones up the hill,through the Village
and beyond
Next year’s summerOlympics will see evenmore visitors to Wimbledonin search of grass courtentertainment. The Society’sTONY MICHAEL reportson the campaign to showthem the way.
route which will becomepart of the legacy from the2012 London Olympics. Anumber of organisations havecome together to see howthe concept can be realised.
They inc lude MertonCouncil, the Chamber ofCommerce, the All-England
Lawn Tennis Club, theWimbledon VillageBusiness Association,the Olympic DeliveryAuthority, the LondonOrganising Committeeof the Olympic andParalympic Games,and the WimbledonSociety.
Current ideas thatare being consideredinclude electronicinformation via bar-codes, environmental
works and planting, betterpaving, street clutter removal,information panels, and betterstreet furniture.
Further information willbe available in the JuneNewsletter.
Society to fund more treessponsorship by the WimbledonVillage Business Associationand local people, seven sub-stantial trees were plantedin the High Street, on eachside of the horse path leadingfrom the Common towardsEagle House. Three of themare pictured right.
They were Sorbus Ariaand Hornbeam, of heavynursery standard, planted inspecially dug pits. All havesurvived well over the pastdecade and all costs werecovered independently ofMerton.
In 2004, a further twotrees funded by the WVBAwere planted in the pave-ment near Eagle House,and another two (Pin Oaks)
at the top of Wimbledon HillRoad. One was funded bythe whole Society, the otherby an anonymous Societymember. All are growing well.
The Society has nowagreed to fund planting oftwo more trees in St Mary’sRoad. Depending on avail-ability, they were due to goin either as this Newsletterwent to press or next year.
Tony Michael
12
AROUND AND ABOUT
The Wimbledon Society was founded in 1903 and has had its present name since 1982. (Originally the John Evelyn Club, it was known as theJohn Evelyn Society 1949-82.) A Registered Charity (No 269478), its main objectives are to preserve Wimbledon’s amenities and naturalbeauty, study its history, and ascertain that urban development is sympathetic and orderly. Annual subscriptions are at the followingrates: Individuals £10.00; Families £15.00; Organisations: Non-commercial £25, commercial £50. Please send membership applications tothe Membership Secretary.
The future of EagleHouse (right), thesecond oldest buildingin Wimbledon, datingback to 1617, remainsopen after severalmonths on the market.
Representatives ofthe Society touredthe Grade II* listedbuilding in Decemberwith the vendor’sestate agent andassessed the conditionof its roof timbersand other structuralfeatures, includingsome remarkable fire-places, several withoriginal Delft or DeMorgan tiles.
It was formerlyused by She ikhYamani’s Al-FurqanIslamic Heri tage
leading into others, itmight work as amuseum or galleryand create a uniquefacility for the Village.The large forecourtcould be used bothfor parking and fortemporary displays.
Once a school, itmight also be suitableagain for that role.
Foundation as ateaching and researchcentre, 1988-2009.
We were concernedto see the building’sintegrity maintainedbut we also learnedthat its internal lay-out posed potentialproblems, whateverits future use may be.
With many rooms
Cécile Bridgens ofWimbledon Park’sWandle ConnectGroup will be guestspeaker at this year’s107th Annual GeneralMeeting. It will takeplace on Saturday,14 May, starting 5pmat the Village Hall.
Curators have nowbeen appointed forall the outstandingposts at the Museum.
John Lawrence
Two English Oaksstill growing on theRoyal WimbledonGolf Course behindWool Road havebeen confirmed asWimbledon’s oldesttrees.
Although they wereknown about forsome time, a recentinspection by DaveDawson, the Society’scurator of naturalhistory, and expertcolleagues, showedthey were probablyseedlings well over400 years ago inElizabethan times.
More details inthe June Newsletter.
A Secretary for thePlanning Committeeis needed to assistthe new Chairman.
A real interest inlocal planning issueswould be an assetbut no specialist ex-pertise is requiredother than minute-taking and the abilityto email information toCommittee members.
Call Iain Simpsonon020 8947 1301 or [email protected].
Two trueveterans
AGM speaker
Eagle still to land a settled future
SECRETARYWANTED
New curators now in postis responsible forprints & water-colours,Rhys Torrington forportraits, and MaryToase for books.
Unlockedparks crisis
Quicker newsvia Facebook
The Society is to useFacebook for morefrequent news andupdatesbetween issuesof the Newsletter.Just click on theDiscussions sectionof The WimbledonSociety profile atwww.facebook.com
Merton’s revival ofits 1995 plan toleave all parksunlocked in an effortto save money hasbeen criticised by theSociety as extremelyshort-sighted.
We have writtento the Council Leaderreminding him thatexperience showsgreater costs arelikely to be incurredthrough vandalismand the loss ofrecent repairs andimprovements.