That unusual building on Wallington crossroads
*Historical* This distinctive purpose-built gas showroom (now the British Heart Foundation) is on a busy junction in Wallington on the corner of Woodcote Road and Stanley Park Road. Gas was big business when this showroom opened sometime between the late 1920s and early 1930s. It’s a building reminiscent of warmer climes (architectural style is most […]
Forgotten railway tracks from Sutton’s industrial past
*Historical* This is all that’s left of a small railway connected to a patchwork of waterways belonging to a long lost, but once major local industry. It was here in Hackbridge, on the edge of the borough that edible wild watercress was grown on a commercial scale – and this is the only place left […]
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, […]
Does this finally solve the mystery of that big hole in Carshalton Park?
*Historical* One of the uses for the Hog Pit in Carshalton Park was to provide water for the long-lost mill situated in Carshalton High Street. A recent view showing two of our wonderful Carshalton pubs, which almost stand next to each other. Between them is where the ‘High Street Mill’ once stood. Over many years […]
Nostalgic tickets from long-forgotten train journeys
The ticket above is dated 1915, when Carshalton was part of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. The following tickets span more than 100 years, and include a Wallington season ticket dated 1944 from during the Second World War. Nowadays we’re more likely to tap in with our mobile phone, but the colour, wording […]
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 Gunpowder, the Canon and the Bridge
*Historical* What does this ornate bridge in Beddington Park have to do with gunpowder and a canon? We’ll tell you. The bridge was commisioned by Canon Alexander Henry Bridges (that’s the Canon bit). He was rector of Beddington 1864-1891 and an honorary Canon of Winchester Cathedral. The bridge has brick terracotta tiles originally made in […]
“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 […]
Temporary Carshalton landmark still standing 120 years later
*Historical* This eye-catching iron structure in Park Lane was known as a ‘tin tabernacle’. Once commonplace, these buildings are increasingly rare to find. Infact according to Historic England, there’s believed to be only 80 buildings like this left across the UK, with just 20 listed. If we’ve peaked your interest, read on to discover more […]