The Holy Land
At the southern boundary of St Mary’s parish, Fountain Road is almost like a grand avenue, connecting Garratt Lane to Blackshaw Road. I’ve been told that in the mid-nineteenth century it was...
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Stories
Exploring the lives and heritage of Summerstown, from the trenches of the Great War to the vibrant streets of today.
Absent Voters
I had never heard of an absent voters list until Marion produced one for Keble Street. Initiated because of the 1918 UK general election, it provides the name and address of all serving soldiers at...
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The Matchams
‘There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didn’t know what to do’. The Summerstown equivalent of the shoe was 14 Worslade Road. This was home in 1911 to Edward...
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The Sharpshooter
On Sunday there was a lovely little ceremony in a corner of Streatham Cemetery. Broadwater Gate, spectacularly garlanded in wildflowers for the occasion, was officially opened again for business...
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The Horseman’s Son
There are three Bakers on the war memorial and while two of them were identified easily enough early on, a ‘W I Baker’ remained a mystery. Then Christine came across a William James Baker and we now...
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Bob Sadler’s Cottage
There is a lot of talk at the moment about redevelopment and it is likely that in the next few years the site of Wimbledon Dog Track and the area bounding it will be altered beyond all recognition....
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Common People
The longest day of the year and the weekend before the start of another Wimbledon. After the night of the twilight walk, this was undoubtedly the second most gorgeous evening of the summer. It found...
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Bricks and Mortar
If Fred Barnes was looking out of his window at No7 Keble Street right now, he would surely be shaking his head in disbelief at the madness happening just across the road. A little end-of-terrace...
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The Anarchist
When the late John Sullivan was developing the character of Wolfie Smith, leader of the Tooting Popular Front, for his TV comedy show, Citizen Smith in the 1970s, I wonder if he was aware of a local...
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Sweet Sixteen
The youngest boy soldier around here in the First World War, indeed in the whole of Great Britain, was the famous Sidney Lewis from 53 Defoe Road. He was only twelve when he joined the East...
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The Shepherd of Fairlight
It is odd that none of the Summerstown182 have so far been found to have lived on Fairlight Road, especially as so many nearby roads suffered extensive casualties. Perhaps it is the Summerstown...
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HMS Barham
When I saw that one of the Summerstown182 sailors had been killed on HMS Barham, the name of the ship rang a distant bell and I recalled a television programme about it a few years ago. It relates to...
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