Long-lost Wallace House and the victorian soup kitchen
*Historical* This is Wallace House that stood off Pound Street in Carshalton. It was lived in by the sisters known locally as ‘The Misses Wallace’. The two sisters were highly regarded as in the 1880s they set up a special ‘soup kitchen’ to help the poor of the district. Carshalton experienced poverty and social disparity, characteristic […]
Rare 55-million-year-old fossil discovered in Carshalton
EXCLUSIVE This incredible find reveals the small creatures fossilised beneath our feet — water dwellers that lived here millions of years ago. Carshalton’s oldest residents, if you like. The area on the corner of Butter Hill and Mill Lane was once an oyster bed, at a time when, incredibly, parts of Carshalton were submerged beneath […]
How things have changed – Carshalton High Street in 2008
*Historical* It was 17 years ago that the traditional high street was beginning to change, and these photos show a turning point. The independent shoe shop had recently closed, but the greengrocers and butchers were still hanging on. Do you wish it was like it again, or do you remember any of these places? It’s […]
A close look at the Carshalton Coat of Arms
This is Carshalton’s very own coat of arms. It used to take pride of place in the offices of the Carshalton Urban District Council. At this time they were located at The Grove. But what do all these symbols mean? Secret Carshalton has compiled a quick and handy interactive guide so you can be in […]
Carshalton Motor Cycle Club used to meet at the old Fox and Hounds
Start your engines, it’s time for some local history! Carshalton Motor Cycle Club began in 1924, riding the wave of interest in a new sport connected to these two-wheeled wonders. The badge above is dated 1950, and the club still uses the same logo to this day. There are now many motorcycle clubs across the […]
A big iron ring! The little-known history of Carshalton’s Mill Lane
In the 17th Century, Carshalton had a location with the grand name of Pall Mall – still the name of an upmarket area in Central London. You may perhaps think it was the name for a grand drive, but no – it’s much more down to earth than that. The site of Mill Lane was […]
Did Tom Humphrys eat himself to death? The mysterious 1742 memorial
*Historical* This is just one of the theories surrounding an unusual headstone in the ancient graveyard at All Saints, Carshalton. We’ll never know for sure how he died, but the inscription gives a fascinating insight… According to the report in an old book, Tom was a barber, most likely in Carshalton village. By all accounts, […]
Carshalton’s Beer-themed 1930s Ghost Sign
This ghost sign is promoting something to do with one of Carshalton’s favourite pastimes – drinking beer of course. It once clearly read “Free Off Licence Hammerton Oatmeal Stout” It’s dated circa 1935 and is probably original to when the parade of shops on Stanley Park Road was built. A very brief bit of history, […]
“The vogue for jazz bands gave a new lease of life to my business”
That was according to John Boughton who once occupied the old snuff mill by the bridge at Butter Hill on the border of Wallington and Carshalton. He was speaking to Robert Thurston Hopkins, a ghost hunter and writer who visited Carshalton in 1930. R Thurston Hopkins (1884–1958) had written a book called “Old English Mills […]