Bulletin 151

PRESIDENT: J Scott McCracken BA FSA MIFA PRESIDENT: J Scott McCracken BA FSA MIFA
VICE PRESIDENTS: Viscountess Hanworth, Lionel Green and William Rudd
BULLETIN NO. 151CHAIRMAN: Peter Hopkins SEPTEMBER 2004

PROGRAMME SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER

PLEASE NOTE NEW VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.
PLEASE NOTE NEW VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.PLEASE NOTE NEW VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.PLEASE

NOTE NEW VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.PLEASE NOTE NEW VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.PLEASE NOTE NEW

VENUES FOR INDOOR MEETINGS.
THE SNUFF MILL CENTRE IS DUE
THE SNUFF MILL CENTRE IS DUETHE SNUFF MILL CENTRE IS DUETHE SNUFF MILL CENTRE IS DUETHE SNUFF

MILL CENTRE IS DUETHE SNUFF MILL CENTRE IS DUE T
TTTTTO BE REFURBISHED
O BE REFURBISHEDO BE REFURBISHEDO BE REFURBISHEDO BE REFURBISHEDO BE REFURBISHED.
…..

Thursday 23 September 2.30pm Visit to Dennis Severs. house

The late Dennis Severs was an artist who restored his house to how it might have been when

lived
in by a Huguenot silk-weaving family called Jervis early in the 18th century. It is less a

museum
than an extraordinary total experience, and one has to use all five senses plus imagination to

get
the most out of a visit.
Maximum of 30 people. Cost £8 a head, payable on the day. Meet in Folgate Street,
which is only a short walk from Liverpool Street station or can be reached by bus
along Bishopsgate.

Thursday 7 October 10.30am Visit to new Mosque at Morden

A guided tour of this striking building in London Road, belonging to the Ahmadiyya Association
UK. Please note that you will be required to remove your shoes for part
of the visit.

No charge, but donations are welcomed. Meet in the forecourt. Frequent bus services.

Saturday 23 October 2.30.4pm Committee Rooms B-D Merton Civic Centre

.The Mills and Gardens of the Upper Wandle.
John Phillips, Heritage Projects Officer, London Borough of Sutton, makes a welcome return
visit with this illustrated lecture.

The Committee Rooms are on the first floor. Use the main front entrance and follow directions

to
the lifts and staircase at the rear of the building. Maximum 54. (No refreshments or

bookstall!)

Saturday 6 November 2.30pm Morden Baptist Church
Annual General Meeting (see Agenda on page 16)
Once business is over, member Audrey Thomas will talk about .The Furzedown Estate..

Saturday 4 December 2.30pm Morden Baptist Church

‘sherlock Holmes in Streatham.
John Brown, who produces the useful Local History Reprints series, is a well-known member of
and speaker to the Streatham Society, and is also one of our own members. The subject he has
chosen certainly sounds intriguing!

Morden Baptist Church is in the town centre, on the corner of Crown Lane and Grasmere Avenue.

The Society’s events are open to the general public, unless otherwise stated.
Non-members are invited to make a small donation to help with the Society’s running costs.

THE LAND OF .JACK ASHORE’

On Saturday 12 June a party of ten MHS members (just enough to benefit from the concession rate

. and the
ticket is valid for a year) met in the sunshine outside what was once No.1 Warehouse, West

India Quay, and the
longest brick building in the world, and is now a Grade I listed structure.

The Museum in Docklands gave us a warm welcome and we were instructed to go up to the top

floor, where the
displays begin, introduced byTime Team’s Tony Robinson on video. Then followed a most absorbing

afternoon,
as we followed the story of London’s docks from AD50 to the present day.

We began with the Romans, who imported the foods from home that they must have missed . olives,

wine,
dried fruit and garum, the fermented fish sauce which they seem to have added to just about

anything. And they
exported metals, grain, hides . and slaves.

The Saxons had their river market, the .mart of many nations. (Bede), along the line of the

Strand. Their timber
bridge was replaced by a stone one c.1170. There is a splendid model to see of London Bridge as

it was c.1440.
The Tudors imported a huge range of mainly luxury goods for rich citizens of London, including

carpets,
ceramics and Venetian glass.

The docks continued to expand. Just one piece of statistics:- In the year 1794 alone 3663 ships

from foreign
ports docked in London, and more than 19,000 coasters. I learned (not before time) that a

lighter was so called
because it lightens the ship from which it is loaded. Also that a hoy was a .bluff-bowed and

beamy cargo
carrier. that plied along the Thames and the east coast.

Porters were licensed by the City Corporation, and the Fellowship of Billingsgate Porters

handled measurable
cargoes such as grain, salt, malt and fish and wore brass badges and leather tallies on which

they could record
their jobs. I recall that The Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters was the name of the squalid little

waterside tavern in
Our Mutual Friend . and now I know what the name means.

There were plenty of grim items to reflect on . for instance, drawings of the layout of slave-

ships, and a gibbet

cage, in which the tarred body of a pirate would have dangled as a warning.
There is a reconstruction of a .Legal Quay. from around
1790, complete with counting-house, crane and
beamscale. By that date there were two large enclosed
docks already built, the Greenland and the Brunswick,
but the beginning of the 19th century saw a drive towards
building massive new docks, and at the same time a
determined effort to crack down on the cheating and
corruption that was costing merchants and HM Customs
huge sums of money. By 1810 London had the best port
facilities in the world.

Other aspects of the river, such as frost fairs, ceremonial
barges and racing boats are not ignored. There is a section
about the policing of river and docks. And a re-creation
of a corner of ‘sailortown. evokes the life of .Jack
ashore. . chandlers, taverns, slop sellers and cheap
lodgings.

In the Thames Gallery is a collection of working and
pleasure boats, as well as diving equipment used by the
PLA (established in 1909) to lay buoys and locate wrecks.

After a powerful display about the docklands in the Blitz
we came up to the period of industrial action, dock
closures and redevelopment, illustrated partly with some
striking (no pun intended) locally produced posters. And
as we came to the end of our journey I think we all felt
we had had a truly stimulating afternoon. If there was
too much to take in during a single visit, we could go
back with that valid-for-a-year ticket and learn some
more. Oh, and there is a friendly café and a good shop.

Judith Goodman

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Detail of Brunswick Dock (1803) by William Daniell
(taken from Museum guide)

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 2

BESIDE THE SEASIDE

On Saturday 10 July a goodly number of our members gather to participate in our annual coach

trip. We

proceed to Sanderstead to pick up members of the WEA, then on to Portsmouth.
On arrival we board the pleasure boat Diana S for a trip round the harbour. We pass HMS

Warrior, 1860, the
first iron-clad, of 1000 tons. It was built to repel the French. Beyond the Warrior we can see

the masts of the
Victory. Other ships.names that stir the blood of all true Englishmen are here . Ark Royal, the

Iron Duke plus
Gloucester, Nottingham, Southampton. And that ship that went aground off the coast of Australia

is in for a refit
costing £25 million. So that’s why Gordon Brown looks so grim!

There are many small craft also riding at anchor. A trim-looking yacht has a large plaintive

sign along its length
. needsasponsor.dot.com.uk.

On returning to the coach we were joined by Peter Parker, an official guide, who was first

class.
Portsmouth was first mentioned in the 12th century, but didn’t become a city until 1926.

Surprisingly, it is on an
island site. It currently has a population of 190,000. In 1800 it had its own canal system.

A large building project is under way, centred on the Spinnaker Tower, standing at 260 feet,

with a viewing
platform from which you can see a distance of 26 miles. It should have been opened this year .

now it is next
year, due to financial problems. Like the yacht it needsasponsor.dot.com.uk!

We saw the George Hotel (now George Court) where Lord Nelson stayed before boarding Victory and

sailing to
his death off Trafalgar. And the .village. of Milton, where there is a Sherman tank. Then to

Southwick, where
the two generals, Montgomery and Eisenhower, went to the local pub to relax together. Monty, a

teetotaller,
sipped orange juice, and Ike sipped a half-pint of local beer. Ike never liked Monty. After the

war, each year
Monty sent Ike a Christmas card, but Ike never sent one to him. Monty mentioned this in a radio

interview
shortly before his death.

The estate village of Southwick keeps its special character in little ways. All front doors are

painted maroon. A

sad sign of the times is that the church of St James is now a computer centre. Deus ex machina.
Then to Charles Dickens. birthplace at 393 Old Commercial Road. This is now a truncated

roadway, quiet and
pleasant. The house was probably built in the late 18th century. Dickens was born on 7 February

1812. The
rooms are rather small, but cosy. The sofa that he died on is here, though he died at his home

at Gads Hill, Kent,
in 1870. For a fan of the man and his books there is a wide range of Dickensiana on sale.

On Portsdown we see the Nelson Monument, paid for
by contributions from the men who served under him.
We arrive at Fort Nelson, a large area now administered
by a team from the Royal Armouries, with a large
amount of weaponry on display . from pistols you
could slip into a handbag (don’t try to!) to naval guns,
field guns and mortars. As part of our tour we went
down a long tunnel to rooms where the ammunition
used to be stored. The fort was one of six built around
1860 to defend Portsmouth from the French, not from
the south, but from a land attack from the north. In the
event the threat vanished and the forts were known as
.Palmerston’s Follies..

On the way home we stopped at the Refectory Carvery
at Milford for dinner . it was very pleasant to dine and
relax with friends.

Our grateful thanks for arranging this trip with their
usual skill and dedication go to Ray and Pat Kilsby,
with a special .thank you. to Mick the driver, who did
a superb job.

Don Fleming

Charles Dickens. birthplace, Portsmouth
Photo: Don Fleming 2004

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 3

From Monty’s post-bag:

The sight of Mitcham’s Three Kings pub now closed, and an application in for redevelopment, has

reminded

Eric Montague of an exchange of letters of a few years ago.
In 2000, by a circuitous route, he received an enquiry from a clergyman in Harleston, Norfolk,

about the name
Three Kings Piece given to a corner of Mitcham Common. Mr Mountney wrote, .. I am doing some

research
on places in the British Isles which have some connection with the Three Kings, whose shrine is

in the Cathedral
at Cologne, where I was chaplain at the time of my chaplaincy to the British Embassy in Bonn..

In reply Monty wrote, .. In the absence of any evidence to
the contrary, I would say that the Three Kings Piece . almost
certainly takes its name from the Three Kings public house,
which abuts the road forming the north-eastern boundary of
the Common. I have seen no mention of the name being
used either in connection with this corner of the Common,
or in reference to an inn, before the late 18th century.

.The old Three Kings, in the possession . c.1789 of a Mr
Ambrose Taylor, was an attractive brick and tiled Georgian
building. . It was one of the village’s inns used by Mitcham
Vestry for meetings in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,
and was demolished in 1928. The present house . in the
.mock Tudor. style then favoured by brewers. architects .
was erected in its stead.

.. The subject of inn names is a study in itself, of course,
and many of them had . names of Biblical origin. . I can
only speculate as to the motivation behind the choice. Can
you offer an explanation other than that it signifies perhaps
a desire to mollify those who disapproved of the consumption
of strong drink?.

Mr Mountney thanked Monty for the information, and commented, .[The] connection with the public

house
nearby of the same name makes it even more interesting, as there is a Three Kings inn not very

far from here at
Fornham All Saints, Suffolk. I have also heard of one in Banffshire, at a place called Cullen.

It has been
suggested that the Three Kings panel in Aberdeen kirk comes from there, hence the name of the

inn, but another
view is that the inn is so called after three rocks off the coast there, which are called the

Three Kings: but I ask,
why should rocks be so called: so far as I know the only kings grouped together in three are

those mentioned in
scripture. So one argues in a circle.

. . I think that the desire to mollify those who disapprove of strong drink is a post-medieval

trait, probably a
legacy of the puritans: in the days of .Merrie England. it was surely all taken as part of

life!“
[Comments prompted by this correspondence would be welcomed. Sadly, the Beehive, near the Three

Kings
has also closed and is boarded up, as is the King’s Head in Merton High Street. . Ed.]

A PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY?

The above article has probably reminded many readers of David Roe’s fascinating talk last March

on pub
names and signs, and the excellent slides which David had taken to illustrate his talk. David

has recently
suggested to your Committee that the Society might like to undertake a photographic survey of

our area. Many
of our local buildings are being demolished for redevelopment, and others are undergoing major

structural and
environmental changes. If it hadn’t been for photographers such as Tom Francis, we would have

little idea of
the appearance of our area in the distant past.

David has offered to co-ordinate the project, and is investigating various options. We have

arranged a special
open meeting for all who are interested in the idea of creating a photographic record of our

area in the early 21st
century, whether members of our Society or not. This will be held at the Wandle Industrial

Museum on Friday
29 October at 7.30pm. Please come along to that, and invite other photographers to come as

well.

We are also concerned that existing photographic collections should be preserved. Several of

our members
have photographs from the 1960s onwards, which record scenes that are already lost to the

developer. We hope
to have more information on archiving these at our AGM in November.

Peter Hopkins

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The Three Kings in 1869. Photo: Tom Francis

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 4

LORNA COWELL has an account of a less well-known Nelson connection:
THE ADMIRAL’s SICILIAN PATCH

Recently I noticed this heading in an issue of Country Life, and read on. It was about Nelson’s

Bronte estate in
Sicily. Lady Hamilton apparently claimed that it was at her instigation that King Ferdinand of

Naples granted
this estate to Nelson, after he had rescued the royal family when Naples was in a revolutionary

state and taken
them to Sicily and safety. Thereafter Nelson often signed himself .Nelson and Bronte. . even to

his wife!

When Nelson and the Hamiltons set up house in Merton, he told Emma to buy good quality

furniture because
.all will probably go to Bronte one of these days.. His brother William inherited the estate.

When he died in
1835 it went to his daughter Charlotte, Viscountess Bridport, but, having been to view her new

property, she did
not like it at all and swore never to return there.

However, her descendants renovated the Castello and it became a comfortable country house, much

used by the
family in the 1920s, and it was also quite a literary centre. It was occupied by the Germans in

the second World
War. After the war, social changes in Sicily led to the estate finally being sold to the

authorities. Although there
were local difficulties, warm relationships continued between the English and the Sicilians, as

they had done in
earlier centuries through the Marsala wine trade.

The people of Bronte therefore decided to restore Castello Nelson, thus creating a memorial to

Nelson, which
can now be visited. There are few items connected with him remaining, the main one being the

decanter and
glasses said to have been used by him the night before the Battle of Trafalgar.

The great barn is now a conference centre, and there are further plans to establish a lava

museum . this would
surely have delighted Sir William Hamilton! The gardens are well maintained in a truly English

style, overlooked
by Etna in the distance.

[Note that Country Life’s punning headline misses the mark. Nelson sometimes wore an eyeshade,

but did not
wear an eye-patch! . Ed.]

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Castello di Maniace, Bronte
Estate. Photo by Tom Pocock,
published in C White The
Nelson Companion Alan
Sutton, Stroud 1997 (1995)

Curating the 20th Century

The Local History Committee of London and Middlesex Archaeological Society was approached

earlier this
year by the Museum of London for assistance with the setting up of a new Gallery to cover the

20th century in
London and its Environs. They are also planning, with the London Transport Museum, to create a

website on
the same topic.

LAMAS believes that there is an important part to be played in this exercise by their

Affiliated Societies, which
include us, and have sent a brief questionnaire. Most of our answers, unfortunately, turn out

to be .No., but we
may still be able to help, provided that there are some members prepared to offer their

services . perhaps in
indexing Bulletins, carrying out research on request or assisting at the Museum of London to

process material.

Contact if you are interested.

JG

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 5

THE FIRST WANDLE VALLEY FESTIVAL

By all accounts the first Wandle Valley Festival held on the weekend 12/13 June was a great

success . a tribute

to all those who planned and organized it.
Among the several events that took place was the walking and cycling the length of the river .

in both directions.
All the museums and centres were open. Merton Abbey Mills was graced by the presence of the

mayors of the
London Boroughs of Croydon, Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth at the formal inauguration of the new

bridge
there.

I spent my time on Sunday on hand at the Chapter House exhibition. Looking around, it was clear

that much had

gone into the planning and presentation of the displays and demonstrations.
Enclosed in a black-curtained area, with seating, was an automatic, continuous slide show

covering many
features of the Wandle. William Morris was represented by a display of photographs and

illustrations outside a
roped-off room in Victorian mode that could have been a study, with pen and ink on a table.

Next to that, to
children’s delight and curiosity, was what a 1st-century Roman shop would have looked like,

with foodstuffs
and bowls on a counter. Two shelves, one with glass jars, the other with glazed pots, both in

descending order
of size, and an amphora standing in a corner.

Archaeology was well represented, with Roman and medieval artefacts on display stands and in

the line of
cases at the west end. From Merton Priory there were two stone coffins and two surviving

sections of window
tracery set up in a frame – as well as the foundations of the Chapter House itself.

It was in the foundations that children were given a chance to be archaeologists. A large

platform had been set
up at the west end, screened off on one side. A film screen and slide projector had been set up

in opposing
corners, and two lines of chairs. Once seated, parents and children were given a short,

simplified talk by a lady
suitably dressed. She explained in a series of slides the layout of two lines of five squares

representing trenches;
what was found in the trenches; the lines of a building; what the building looked like; and how

it would have
fitted into a street scene in a Roman town. The children, fitted out with a plastic .hard. hat

and a shovel, were
invited to choose one of the two rows of large wooden boxes which contained pieces of floor

tile, pottery and
bones, covered up with sand. These were dug up and put into finds trays or buckets. The reward

was a certificate.
It is the first time ever that children, outside a museum, were given such an experience. Dave

Saxby, senior
archaeologist with the Museum of London Archaeological Service, is to be congratulated on such

a fine idea.

Visitors were more than a little interested in a set of photographs, copies of the originals

largely taken in 1963
[by Bill Rudd himself . Ed.] of the Liberty silk-printing works as it was. Mary Hart of the

Wandle Industrial
Museum was enjoying herself demonstrating block printing on pieces of cotton, which, when hung

up and
dried, were handed out. The Museum of London had set up the video of Time Team’s excavation,

much to
Heritage Officer Sarah Gould’s amusement, at her publications stand. I hardly dared to look!

Bill Rudd

THE RE-OPENING OF THE WANDLE INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM

As members may know, the Wandle Industrial Museum at the Vestry Hall Annexe, Mitcham, had to be

closed

in January, having sustained flooding caused by a burst central heating boiler.
Fortunately this was discovered by myself and a volunteer before too much damage had been done

to the
Museum displays and artefacts. However, the central heating system was found to be beyond

repair, and a
complete new system had to be installed, which took the rest of the winter months to complete.

The Museum Committee decided to take this opportunity to redesign the layout of the exhibits in

the display area,

as some of them were getting a little dated, and more space needed to be created for when we

have school parties.
A team of volunteers were enlisted under the leadership of Meg Thomas, Eric Shaw and Marguerite

Lee-
Delisle to plan the new layout and get it up and running. It was decided to aim to re-open the

Historic Wandle
exhibition for the weekend of the first-ever Wandle Valley Festival on 12/13 June.

The Festival featured Wandle-related events throughout the length of the river. These included

a walk along the
river, starting at each end and meeting up in Morden Hall Park for a picnic lunch; a Wandle

Clean-Up; lectures
at Wandsworth Museum; and many events at Merton Abbey Mills and the Chapter House. The Festival

was a
great success, and it is hoped it can be an annual event.

The re-opening of the Museum was a happy part of this Festival. The Mayor of Merton, Councillor

Margaret
Brierley, kindly agreed to attend the opening ceremony, switching on the lights behind our

newly resited stained-
glass window to formally open the new exhibition.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 6

We were pleased to welcome Siobhain McDonagh MP for Mitcham and Morden, Councillor Andrew

Judge,
Leader of the Council, and over 50 members, volunteers and friends of the Museum, who all

enjoyed seeing the
new exhibits, and consuming refreshments prepared by member Mary Hart.

The Museum is now open once more, every Wednesday 1.00-4.00pm, and the first Sunday of the

month 2.005.00pm.
We do hope to see some of you at the Museum. Private guided tours can be arranged for groups.
Volunteers to help with educational visits, manning the Museum, or helping at fêtes and fairs

are always welcome.

Please telephone the Museum on 020 8648 0127, or e-mail us at curator@wandle.org, if you are

interested.

Sheila Harris

CAN YOU HELP MOVE THE SOCIETY’s STORE?

Many have expressed concern over the current condition of The Canons in Mitcham, which has been

on the .At
Risk. register for some time. Merton Council has now obtained backing from English Heritage and

the Heritage
Lottery Fund to refurbish the building for use by Adult Education. Unfortunately this means

that we have to
vacate the upstairs room at The Canons that we have been allowed to use as a Store for the last

four years.

Fortunately the Council is offering us alternative accommodation, probably in a spare

changing-room in the
sports centre at the Triangle in Morden Park, at the corner of Lower Morden Lane and Epsom

Road. Bill Rudd
and I are hoping to visit in the next day or so, but we have been warned that the room is

smaller than the one we
have at present. It seems likely that the archaeological archive will have to be offered to

LAARC, and the
documentary archive to Surrey History Centre. But the new room should enable us to retain

locally our collection
of .rescued. items, such as the sign from the Crown Inn Morden, a roadside .fingerpost.

(signpost), equipment
from Gutteridge’s corn and seed merchant’s in Mitcham, and various items of railway

memorabilia.

Our move to The Canons was challenging, and those involved then are now four years older! We

would not
have managed without the help of some of Sarah’s muscular volunteers. If you can help in any

way, please let
me know as soon as possible. Boxes will need to be sorted, and shelves cleared and transported,

before the final
move, so we need to make a start straightaway. Anyone with access to a van will be especially

welcome! Please
don’t leave it to someone else to do. Ring me today! Thank you.

Peter Hopkins

LONDON OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND IN MERTON

London Open House Weekend this year is on 18/19 September. Buildings that will be open in the

London

Borough of Merton are as follows:
9 Parkside Avenue SW19 Modern house Sat 12.00-3pm
Buddhapadipa Temple Thai Buddhist temple Sun 10am-5pm
14 Calonne Road SW19 Regular tours
Eagle House Jacobean house with Sat/Sun 2-5pm
High Street, Wimbledon late C19 details
Far House Architect’s own house Sun 10am-5pm
Hillside SW19 Must pre-book 020 8947 2825
Morden Park House Grade II* C18 house Sat 10am-5pm
London Road, Morden
South Wimbledon District Guides HQ Award-winning building Sat 10am-5pm
Marchand Hall, Ashcombe Road SW19
St Mary’s Church C12 church, Morris glass Sat 10am-5pm
Church Path, Merton Park SW19 Sun 10am-5pm
St Mary’s Church Garden Hall Striking modern design Sat 10am-5pm
St Mary’s Road, Wimbledon SW19 Sun 10am-1pm
The Canons Late C17 house Sat 10am-4.30pm
Madeira Road, Mitcham For tours at 11am, 2pm
pre-book 020 8640 9387
Wimbledon Windmill Grade II* hollow post mill Sat 10am-5pm

Windmill Road SW19
The London Open House website is www.bbc.uk/yourlondon/open_house

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 7

DESMOND BAZLEY has become interested in the life and work of a minor but interesting artist:

JOHN WILLIAM GODWARD (1861-1922)

In the process of researching the history of my house, I discovered that, not only had the

house been rebuilt, and
the house number and road name changed since 1880, but that the old house had at one time been

the address of
a minor Victorian artist. J W Godward was a classical painter in the style of Alma-Tadema, and

devoted the
whole of his life to painting girls in classical robes, usually posing languidly on a marble

terrace. His paintings
were popular during the late Victorian and the Edwardian periods, but suffered a rapid decline

thereafter, and
he remained practically unknown except to the specialist, until a revival of interest in the

1970s.

Godward was born in Battersea on 9 August 1861 into a middle-class family of banker’s clerks

and insurance
clerks. The family moved to Fulham in 1864 and then, some time between 1872 and 1876, moved to

No.3
Dorset Road in Merton. Here they remained until 1882, when they moved a few hundred yards

across the
Kingston Road to live at No.7 Wilton Road (now No.43 Wilton Grove, SW19), Wimbledon. The

present house
is a post-war replacement for the original house which was a three-storey gabled semi-detached

house built in
September 1881, according to the plans. So they probably saw it being built and decided to move

in. They
remained here until 1898, when they moved to 18 Denmark Avenue, Wimbledon, although John

William had
already left in 1887 to occupy a studio in Chelsea. Mrs Godward in fact stayed in Denmark

Avenue until her
death in 1935 at the age of 100.

Although in the 1881 Census Godward is shown aged 19 as an insurance clerk, it is probable that

from 1879 he
was already studying architecture with W H Wontner, and his earliest known painting, a family

portrait, dates
from 1881. It is not known where he received formal art training, although it was certainly not

at any of the
leading art schools, but by 1887 he had progressed far enough to exhibit at the Royal Academy.

Although this
painting A Yellow Turban has not survived, his exhibit the following year Iantheshows his

characteristic portrayal
of a languid girl in flowing classical robes against a background of marble. By 1889 he had his

own studio in
Fulham Road which he gradually equipped internally with suitable .props. to make it appear as a

classical
Italian villa. From here on he produced a steady flow of 20 or so oil paintings each year of a

similar nature,
often with classical titles, such as Chloe or Calypso, or else Daydreams or Idleness. In 1895

he produced his
own version of Leighton’s Flaming June called A Siesta. His last exhibit at the Royal Academy

was Flabellifera
in 1905, again showing a girl in a flowing pink robe reclining on a marble terrace with the sea

in the background.
Occasionally he painted nudes, but these on the whole were less successful. His expertise lay

in the representation
of flowing diaphanous robes, and marble, and at his best he was at least as good as Alma-

Tadema.

The similarity between the girls portrayed indicates that he had a regular Italian model whom

he employed,
known as .Dolcissima. (i.e. sweetest), and, following visits to Italy starting in 1905, he

finally moved there
permanently in 1912 (complete with model), taking up a studio near the Villa Borghese in Rome.

Here he
continued to produce his classical maidens, seemingly in the only style he knew, returning them

to London for
sale. Gradually however the market for this type of picture declined, and Godward eventually

returned to
London in 1921, disillusioned. By this time he was suffering from a peptic ulcer, insomnia and

melancholia,
and finally in December 1922 he committed suicide by putting his head by a gas ring, reputedly

saying that
there was .not room in the world for him and Picasso.. He was buried in Old Brompton Cemetery.

Godward never married. His family, shocked by his unorthodox lifestyle and his attachment to

his Italian
model, and shamed by his suicide, destroyed all papers and pictures relating to him, to the

extent of cropping
him out of family photographs. Thus there are no known portraits of the artist. His work

continued to decline in
value, until in the 1940s it was possible to buy a Godward for six guineas. However in the

1970s he was
rediscovered by the London art dealer Richard Green, and gradually his value has increased,

until his Dolce
Far Niente, sold for £650 in 1972, went for $563,500 in 1995 to Andrew Lloyd Webber. This

painting featured
in last year’s Pre-Raphaelite and Other Masters exhibition at the Royal Academy. In June 2003

three of his
paintings were auctioned at Sotheby’s, and sold for between £140,000 and £196,000. Many of his

works are in
private collections or have been sold abroad. Two are however to be found in the Manchester

City Art Gallery,
and occasionally Godward paintings may be found featured on .Art Gallery. birthday cards.

John William Godward was extensively researched, and a Catalogue Raisonné produced, by Dr Vern

Swanson
of the Springville Museum of Art in Utah. Unfortunately, owing to the renaming of Wilton Road

to Wilton
Grove in 1907 (to avoid confusion with another Wilton Road, also SW19, in Tooting), there are

some misleading
references in his book . with Wilton Grove being sited in Colliers Wood, in SW20, in Morden, in

South
Wimbledon, or close to Sutton!

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 8

Sources:

Vern G Swanson John William Godward . The Eclipse of Classicism Antique Collectors. Club,

Woodbridge 1997
Christopher Wood Victorian Painting Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1999
Census records for 1881,1891
Wimbledon Council Minutes for 1906/7; minutes 228 (7 Nov 1906) and 605 (29 Jan 1907)
Archives of the John Innes Society; House Plans for Wilton Road
Kelly’s Directories for Surrey and London Suburban 1882-99
Fulham Gazette 15 and 22 December 1922
Fine Arts Auction Report June 2003

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John William Godward Dolce Far Niente (A Pompeian Fishpond) 1904
Lord Lloyd-Webber Collection
Image scanned with permission from Pre-Raphaelite and Other Masters (Royal Academy exhibition

catalogue)

IN BRIEF

©
On until 16 October at The Canons, Madeira Road, Mitcham, is an exhibition calledFair Green:

the People & Properties of Upper Mitcham. Tuesdays/Wednesdays 10am-4pm; Fridays/Saturdays

10am-4.30pm.
Admission free. Tel: 020 8640 9387. Website: www.merton.gov.uk/libraries

©
Heritage Open Days in Mole Valley (10-13 September) will be marked by a wide variety of free

walks,
talks, tours and visits. Contact the Visitor Information Centre Tel: 01306 879327 for further

information
and/or booklet.

©
An on-line index of Sun insurance policies in Surrey has been created which locates them by

place. For
more details see www’surreyarchaeology.org.uk/slhc/fire.html (from Surrey Archaeological

Society Bulletin
378, August 2004).

©
Our Society has recently been donated a set of Current Archaeology magazines for resale. The

set comprises
volumes 118.190 (Jan 1990.Feb 2004) plus Annual Directories. Also the first four volumes of

Current
World Archaeology (2003.2004). Available at 20p each, at our November and December meetings or

from
our Publications Secretary, Peter Hopkins. Discount price if you buy the whole set!!

©
We also have a few back numbers of Surrey Archaeological Society Collections and of Surrey

History,
available at £1 each, plus postage. More details from Peter.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 9

THE CENTENARY OF JOHN INNES (1829-1904) (1)

In warm and sunny weather, one hundred years to the day from John Innes’s death on 8 August

1904, a celebration
of his life was held in Merton Park, the .garden suburb. he created. It began at the church of

St Mary the Virgin
with a service of Mattins based on the 1662 Cranmer Book of Common Prayer and including the

Handel aria .I
know that my Redeemer liveth. and the hymn .O God our help in ages past., both of which had

been sung at the
funeral on 12 August 1904. The bell Innes gave to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee was

rung for a few
moments after the first lesson, which was read by Peter Innes, a great-great-nephew and trustee

of the John
Innes Foundation. The Rev. Tom Leary’s thoughtful address tackled the complexities of John

Innes’s character,
and his legacy to the district.

The celebrations were planned and organised by the John Innes Society. Special guests included

Margaret
Brierley, Mayor of Merton, Roger Casale MP, Innes family members, a representative from the

John Innes
Centre in Norwich, and Ian Henderson, the chief executive of Land Securities Plc (which in 1969

acquired the
City of London Real Property Co, founded by John Innes and his brother) and his wife. All

members of the
John Innes Society were invited.

There was a congregation of 240 at the church, and after the service all adjourned to a

reception in the church
hall, where there was a display of photographs of the new work carried out in John Innes Park.

There was also
a chance to look at the early records of the CLRPCo . ledgers, minute books and articles of

association. Ian
Henderson had kindly brought these along.

Everyone then moved on to John Innes Park, where the Mayor officially inaugurated the new

fountain . a
stylised tree, made to a design by a student from Wimbledon School of Art. New landscaping of

the rockery, a
new rose pergola and another sculpture, based on the John Innes Society holly leaf .logo., and

also student-
designed, were inspected. These improvements to the park were instigated by the John Innes

Society and the
London Borough of Merton.

John Innes would probably have been startled by all these happenings in his name . but I think

he might have
been quite gratified.

JG

THE CENTENARY OF JOHN INNES (2)

To mark the Innes centenary the John Innes Society has produced a new biography of John Innes,

written by
Neal Priestland, an experienced biographer. John Innes: His life and legacy covers Innes’s own

story in more
detail than has been done in previous publications; deals, though briefly, with the

Horticultural Institution and
its modern incarnation at Norwich; and surveys Merton Park today. There are many illustrations,

some from the
archives, but also plenty of images from the present (by David Roe), with a number in colour.

Technical and
specialised material, such as census returns, company details, genealogy and compost formulae

(!) have been
wisely dealt with in appendices. There is sensible use of maps; and a detailed Contents page

mitigates the lack
of an index. All in all this is an interesting, readable and useful book which should stand the

test of time.

ISBN 0-9547858-0-0 pp.104 £8.50 from David Roe.

JG

A JOHN INNES CENTENARY WALK AROUND MERTON PARK

On Saturday 14 August, Judith Goodman conducted a party of over 60 people around the Merton

Park Estate,
which was founded by John Innes. Starting at the gates of John Innes Park, she began by

summarising the life
of John Innes, whose death centenary had been commemorated the previous Sunday (8 August). Born

in 1829,
he had joined his brother James in business as wine merchants, but they had anticipated the

trend for the
redevelopment of city property as merchants migrated to the suburbs, and by 1864 had amassed

£1/3m in city
property and were looking for investment opportunities. By chance, Richard Garth and John Tate

had land for
sale in Merton and Morden, and noticing that there would be a railway station at Lower Merton

(now Merton
Park), in 1865 they bought the land with the intention of developing housing for Victorian

commuters, eventually
owning about 500 acres.

Initially only the northern part of the estate was developed, although the main roads (Mostyn

Road, Dorset
Road, Kenley Road, Poplar Road and Sheridan Road) were laid out. The development of the

southern part
had to await the arrival of the Northern Line at Morden 1926, long after John’s death in 1904.

His
architect was Henry Quartermain, and we would later see examples of the villas he built in

Dorset Road .

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 10

yellow brick in the 1870s, tile-hung and timbered in the 1880s, and then red brick and

terracotta in the

1890s.
John decided to live at Manor Farm, later renamed Manor House, and the present Park was formed

from the
gardens of this house as a result of a bequest in his will to the residents of Merton and

Morden (originally the
park was restricted to these, with ticketed entry). The house still survives, although much

altered over the years
by his architect Quartermain (reputedly, John had the builders in continuously for 30 years!)

This now forms
the administrative offices of Rutlish School, which was the next stopping point for the walk.

Quartermain
incorporated panelling and ceilings recovered from other properties to give an impression of

age. The original
entry to the farm was down a narrow damp lane (now Watery Lane) and hence John had a new

entrance drive
built from Mostyn Road, which is now the main Park entrance.

When he died in 1904, John (a bachelor) left most of his money to found a Horticultural

Institute, which then
took over his house and used the land adjoining as trial fields. Here the famous John Innes

composts were
developed. When the Institute moved away after World War II, the house was used, together with

extra purpose-
built buildings to rehouse Rutlish School, which was formerly on a cramped site near Merton

Park station.

Judith then showed us the improvements made in the last year to the Park by the John Innes

Society in honour
of the centenary, including a new fountain, a replacement pergola, the replanted rockery, and a

new sculpture
based on the John Innes Society’s logo of stylised holly leaves . holly was particularly

associated with the
Innes clan, and was extensively used as hedges on the estate.

We next visited St Mary’s Merton, where John was a prominent churchman, acting as churchwarden

and
overseer for many years. As part of the Jubilee celebrations in 1897, he paid for the gallery

to be removed from
the west end, and for new stained glass windows and a bell to be installed. As a memorial to

him, four pairs of
stained glass windows were installed in the south aisle, which were made by Morris and Co, one

of which, the
Virgin and Child, was based on a design by Burne-Jones. The large John Innes tomb in the

churchyard was
designed by J S Brocklesby as one of his earliest works on the estate. He was the successor to

Quartermain who
died in the same year as John Innes.

We then walked along Church Lane, noticing the tile-hung cottages for .respectable artisans.

and the National
Schools where John Innes was chairman of the Trustees, to the Church Lane Playing Fields,

formerly the
gardens of the old Church House which was demolished in the 1920s. From here we went via

Sheridan Road,
home of the so-called ‘sheridan Road Set. of the newspapers of the 1880s, to cross Dorset Road

to the tramway.
The courses of both the Wimbledon to Croydon Railway (now Tramlink) and the Tooting Loop (now

defunct)
could be seen. The old station building still exists as a private house. Having persuaded the

railway company to
rename Lower Merton station to the more salubrious Merton Park, apparently John Innes

subsequently regretted
it in view of the plethora of other Park stations, and would have preferred .Merton Manor..

Passing along Melbourne Road and Brisbane Avenue, and noticing some Brocklesby houses in the

latter and in
Bathurst Avenue, we then reached the Kingston Road, where a succession of buildings showed John

Innes’s
paternalistic concern for his tenants, or at least for the men and boys. These were the Bay

Tree Temperance
Tea Room (now recently rebuilt as an estate agents office) where John paid for food to feed the

children of outof-
work men, the Boys. Club (founded 1887, now the John Innes Youth Club and rebuilt in the

1960s), the
Manor Club built 1891, where the men could socialise and undertake improving activities under

the influence
of nothing stronger than beer or cider, and the Masonic Hall (now Merton Hall) built in 1900

for Masonic
Lodge 2790. After John’s death, the Masons were unable to raise the money to continue to own it

and it has now
become a community hall.

At the Council Offices (built 1903), Judith reminded us of John’s involvement in politics,

including representing
Merton on the Croydon RDC, and at Rutlish Road, she identified the original site of Rutlish

School (built
1895 . now replaced by sheltered housing) where John was chairman of the governors. Finally,

next to the level
crossing, we were shown the original estate office for Merton Park, where Quartermain lived

over the business,
although he later moved across the road to a larger house, the Oriels (destroyed in the War).

Judith also pointed
out the varieties of housing in the side roads (1870s villas in Kingswood Road and larger 1880s

villas in
Mayfield Road) and the villas along the Kingston Road.

At this point, the tour terminated and all were invited to a most welcome cup of tea and a cake

at the Coach
House in Melrose Road, by courtesy of the John Innes Society. Peter Hopkins proposed a vote of

thanks to
Judith for all her hard work in preparing the Walk, and this was heartily endorsed by all those

present.

Desmond Bazley

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 11

LIONEL GREEN tells the story of TOOTING BEC

Following the Norman Conquest, William granted the manor of Tooting to a relation, Richard

FitzGilbert de
Brionne (d.1090), founder of the family of Clare. He was also given 37 other manors in Surrey.

The Conqueror
probably made the grants to safeguard defences south-west of London, and the name Tooting may

refer to this
. i.e. a look-out.

The barons who acquired so much of the conquered land were connected by blood and interest with

the country
from which they came, and it was natural that they should wish to share their wealth with the

religious back
home. Richard de Brionne offered the manor of Tooting and the church of Streatham to the abbey

of Bec-
Hellouin in Normandy before 1086.1 Bec was founded by a monk, Helluin, in 1034, and its fame

began with the
school opened by Lanfranc in 1045 and continued by Anselm in 1066. It was the most important

monastic
educational centre in the late 11th century, sharing its reputation with cathedral schools such

as Laon, Orléans
and Paris. Bec was constantly called upon to send out monks to other communities, and in a few

decades the
Norman plantation from Bec produced a large number of minute dependencies scattered over the

whole of
England.2

At the Domesday survey Richard was holding 11 hides in Tooting and five hides in

Streatham.3When English
property came into the possession of Norman abbeys, the monks built cells in England to guard

their rights and
collect revenues. These became known as .alien. priories, of which Tooting was one.4 In reality

it was a priory
only in name, and at best it was only a grange. It never consisted of more than a prior with a

companion or two.
They would have been Frenchmen, as the very object of their presence tended to exclude English

subjects.
There were about 140 alien5 priories, and the loss of revenue during wars with France led the

English kings to
acts of confiscation.

In 1228 the abbot of Bec demanded a perambulation to settle Tooting’s boundaries, disputed by a

certain

William, who held land in Mitcham.6
Monastic houses in England collected manorial amercements (fines, dues etc.) and accounted for

them at the
Exchequer without formality when the relevant royal charter was produced. Henry III changed the

practice in
1234 in order to raise money. The right was made dependent upon .express mention. of such a

grant in a royal
charter. This meant obtaining new charters, with attendant costs. In 1252 Merton Priory and Bec

Abbey obtained
necessary new charters.7

In the 13th century the abbot of Bec set up gallows in his manor of Tooting.8 It was also in

the 13th century that

the fortunes of Bec began to decline.
Bec’s chief priory or cell in England was at Ogbourne St George, Wiltshire, and the prior was

known as the
abbot’s proctor. In 1291 the temporalities of .Ogbourne in Streatham. was rated at £3 8s 8d

(£3.43), which may
have been the equivalent of the knight’s fee in Tooting and Streatham. In 1322 Bec claimed the

spiritualities of
Tooting chapel and Streatham, and tithes from the demesne lands in Tooting, together with two-

thirds of the
tithes from tenants. land. It also received 20 shillings (£1) pension from Streatham.9 Also in

1322 Bec began to
give up holdings in England, leasing out as much as possible. The manor of Tooting was leased

in 1323 to
William Roce, before 1347 to Henry Ingleby, before 1359 to Sir David Wollore.10

William Roce of Tooting was the son of Richard Roce or Rouce, the bailiff of the manor of

Preston, West
Sussex, in 1308, and later bailiff or farmer of Tooting.11 In 1312-14 Richard took a lease of

ten acres of
demesne land and two acres of demesne pasture.12 As early as 1321 his son William had business

dealings with
the abbot of Bec.13 In 1323 he received the manor of Tooting on a lease for nine years, paying

20 marks
(£13.33) a year.14 In 1339 he became Knight of the Shire for Surrey.15

Tooting Bec was probably now managed from Ogbourne. In 1337, the beginning of the Hundred

Years. War led
to the seizure of many alien priories, including Ogbourne in 1394. The prior demised the

properties of Tooting
Bec to Merton Priory .who already held land in the parish., and the income was appropriated to

the cellarer of
Merton.16 Thus from 13 December 1394 until April 1422 Merton Priory leased the manor from Bec

Abbey,
managing the Bec estates and presiding over the manorial courts at the priory.17

Tooting Bec cell was dissolved in 1425, and in 1441 Henry VI declared it alien, using the

property for endowing
Eton College. In 1465 Edward IV gave .Bec priory. and the advowson of Streatham church to the

fraternity of
the chapel of St Mary at All Hallows church by the Tower of London. He also gave them a part of

the priory of
Ogbourne St George, .both priors alien..18 The holdings of both disappeared under the

Suppression of Chantries
in 1548.19

In the late 1440s a Thomas Bent lived in a moated house which may have been the site of the

cell. It became
known as Bente.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 12

1 Surrey Archaeological Collections 59 (1962) p.1

2 M Chibnall The English Lands of the Abbey of Bec (1946) pp.9-10

3 J Morris (trans. and ed.) Domesday Book: Surrey Phillimore, Chichester (1975) 19: 10,11

4 Tooting Bec occupied Upper Tooting, and the remaining part of the (lower) parish is called

Tooting Graveney, a small part of which was owned by
Merton Priory.

5 The Greek word for aliens was paroikia, used to describe the early Christians who had to

abstain from .native customs.. It is from this word that the
English parish is derived.

6 Victoria County History of Surrey vol. iv p.94

7 Close Rolls Henry III Vol.ix (1254-56) p.83; C/60/51 m9; E/368/29 m3; E/368/26 m9d ; Calendar

of Charter Rolls Vol I (1226-57), pp.381/2, 431

8 A Heales Records of Merton Priory 1898 p.135

9 M Chibnall op.cit. p.149

10 Exchequer Kings Remembrancer E106 8/16; Calendar of Patent Rolls Edw.III Vol. vii (1345-48)

p.228; Close Rolls Edw.III (1354-60) pp.625-6

11 M Chibnall op.cit. pp.55,66,116

12 Tooting Court Rolls (LCC 1909) pp.247-9

13 Close Rolls Edw.II Vol.iii (1318-23) p.484

14 M Chibnall op.cit. p.116

15 Victoria County History of Surrey vol. i p.433

16 ibid. vol. iv p.94

17 Surrey Archaeological Collections 59 (1962) p.1. Tooting Court Rolls (LCC 1909). A new

series of court rolls commenced on 13 December 1394 under
prior Robert Windsor, to April 1403; Michael Kympton from October 1403 to October 1412; John de

Romeney from May 1413 to April 1422.

18 J Stow Survey of London (1603) (Ed. Kingsford 1908) vol. i p.131

19 Under the Chantries Act 37 Henry VIII c4. The king died on 28 January 1547, and Lord

Protector Somerset expedited the suppression of chantries
in 1548 under Edward VI, in order to raise money for the crown.

Book reviews:

THE INFANTRY REGIMENTS OF SURREY
by Lieutenant Colonel I M Wilson MBE and Lieutenant P T Crowley

This excellent book, published in 2002, fully illustrated in colour and blackand-
white, covers the story of Surrey’s infantry from the raising of the
Tangier Regiment of Foot in 1661 to the beginning of the 21st century.
Each double spread is complete in itself, with text and illustrations. So the
Contents list includes, for instance, .The Glorious First of June., .The
Birkenhead Disaster., .Uniforms and Equipment 1855-1900., and so on.
The authors. prose is crisp and clear (as one would expect) and Bryan
Fosten’s meticulous paintings are a joy . with every figure coming to life,
from the 1930s captain in mess dress with (of course) a pipe in his hand to
the sinister 18th- and 19th-century recruiting sergeants plying their prey
with drink. There is a helpful regimental .tree., a section on the militia
and volunteers, and information about the regimental depots and the
memorial chapels, as well as details of weapons, medals, colours, insignia
and regimental plate.

The book is published by the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum
Trustees and the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment Territorial Trustees, and
is obtainable at the regiment museum at Clandon Park (admission free;
tel: 01483 223419). 86 pages, large format paperback, no ISBN number.
£17.50 (hardback also obtainable). It would make a particularly good gift
for anyone interested in military history . or the history of Surrey.

JG

Corporal in Shirt Sleeve Order, Foreign Service Dress, 1908

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.NOT TRAMPLED BUT WALKED OVER“
A Study of the Ledgerstones in the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Mitcham

A first for our Society . a volume in our Studies in Merton History series not written by Eric

Montague!
However, author Ray Ninnis acknowledges the debt that this book owes to Eric’s published and

unpublished
works. The ledgerstones (inscribed flagstones used to seal graves and vaults) in Mitcham parish

church have
been concealed under the carpeted floor since 1991. Fortunately Ray had photographed many of

them, and had
copied the inscriptions, shortly before they were covered, and this book reproduces this

material, together with
biographical notes. At £2.25 (£1.80 to members), this 24-page A4 book is a must for local and

family historians.
Available at indoor meetings or from our Publications Secretary.
.

PJH

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 13

LOCAL HISTORY WORKSHOP

Friday 25 June. Eight present. Cyril Maidment in the chair.
Judith Goodman cannot escape from history. Her daughter in Cumbria had asked her advice

about a metal

brooch discovered in her garden. Within hours the find had been reported to the Portable

Antiquities Scheme
and identified as a 17th-century military fastening.
Judy has recently obtained more postcards of old Merton, including old wooden houses at Merton

Rush,

pulled down in 1929 for the maternity extension to the Nelson Hospital. One building was the

East Cottage

Hand Laundry, and Judy wondered how many people risked sending their laundry to such a run-down

place!
Judy had bought a copy of Jackie Latham’s book on J P Greaves (see Bulletin 149), which

mentions a
Kirkman Gardiner, whose family were proprietors of .bleaching mills. on the Wandle .near Merton

Place..
No one present had heard of the family.

©
!!!!!Don Fleming reported that the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, is reopening. One of its

treasures is the
Grey-Fitzpayn Book of Hours, formerly in the collection of William Morris.
Don has often puzzled over the many Robin Hood lanes and roads in the London area, and was

interested to
read in History Today that in Elizabethan times the outlaw underwent a change of image from

working-class
hero to one of noble birth.

Don had seen the Harry Bush painting A Corner of Merton 16th August 1940 at the Art of the

Garden
exhibition at Tate Britain. Although impressive, Don felt it sanitised the horrors of the

event.

©
!!!!!Peter Hopkins had been pleased to see members of the Society receive recognition for their

work. Judy’s
discovery of the location of William De Morgan’s workshop had been the subject of a two-part

article in the
local Guardian, and the industrial history chapter in Surrey Archaeological Society’s new

publication, Aspects
of Archaeology & History in Surrey, includes references to books and articles by Eric Montague

and to
David Luff’s Trouble at Mill. (In a chapter of the SyAC book (p.158) Simon Thurley states that

the manors
of Morden and Ewell came to the Crown from the archbishop of Canterbury. Presumably the sources

refer
to rights in Sparrowfield Common, shared between Morden, Ewell and the archbishop’s manor in

Cheam.)

Peter reported on two donations to the Society. A neighbour had given him a booklet advertising

T Berkshire’s
Wimbledon Park Dairy, which members agreed should be deposited at Surrey History Centre, with

copies to
our archives and to the Wimbledon Society. Sheila Gallagher had kindly supplied a copy of John

Wallace’s
typescript index of textile workers in Merton and Wimbledon census returns 1841.71. Peter had

already put
this to good use in answering an enquiry on the Wagland family.

Peter also mentioned that he has at last completed the first draft of his translations of the

medieval Morden
accounts, though a great deal of work remains to be done. He will be seeking expert help.

©
!!!!!Bill Rudd has been assisting visitors to St Lawrence church to discover more about their

local ancestors.
A great-great-great-granddaughter of Richard and Eleanor Howard, who lived at Wandle Villa,

Phipps Bridge,
in the early-19th century, had recently visited from New Zealand.

©
!!!!!Lionel Green had discovered correspondence between our first President, Col. Bidder, and

our first Secretary,

Miss Jowett, relating to the earliest excavation at Merton Priory, which will be the subject of

a future article.
Lionel also showed photographs of Cahagnes in Normandy, taken by Judy on a recent visit.

Cahagnes was
an important possession of Merton Priory, but sadly no medieval buildings survived WWII.

©
!!!!!Eric Montague had discovered two interesting items in the newspaper. One was a review of a

book on
treasures of the Hermitage Museum, including Wedgwood porcelain. In the 1780s Lady Diana

Beauclerk,
who lived at Mitcham Hall, designed for Wedgwood, and he wondered if any Mitcham scenes are in

the
Hermitage. The other was an article in The Times about a Holbein portrait of Ann, wife of Sir

Francis Lovell
of East Harling, Norfolk, c.1526. Any relation to Gregory Lovell of Merton Abbey? Watch this

space!

©
!!!!!Cyril Maidment has been working on the .treasure map. of Merton Abbey by Dr Shockwell,

copying the
major features onto a modern base map (opposite).
He also reported that, after five years. hard work, he has completed the digitisation of all

2500 photographs,
500 postcards and 500 watercolours in the Wimbledon Society collections! Visitors can search

these at the
Museum. Well done!

Peter Hopkins
Dates of next workshops: Fridays 8 October and 19 November at 7.30pm at Wandle Industrial

Museum.

All are welcome.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 14

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 15

54th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MORDEN BAPTIST CHURCH, CROWN LANE, MORDEN
SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2004 at 2.30 pm

AGENDA

1 Chairman’s welcome. Apologies for absence
2 Minutes of the 53rd AGM held on 1 November 2003
3 Matters arising from the Minutes
4 Chairman’s Report
5 Membership Secretary’s Report
6 Treasurer’s Report: reception and approval of the financial statement for the year 2003-04,

copies of

which will be available at the meeting
7 Election of Officers for the coming year

a) Chairman
b) Vice Chairman
c) Hon. Secretary
d) Hon. Treasurer
Appointment of the Hon. Examiner for the coming year
8 Election of a Committee for the coming year
9 Motions of which due notice has been given
10 Any other business

At the conclusion of the business part of the Meeting there will be a talk by Audrey Thomas

about .The
Furzedown Estate..

NOMINATIONS for Officers and Committee members should reach the Hon. Secretary 14 days before

the
AGM, though additional nominations may be received at the AGM, with the consent of members.
MOTIONS for the AGM must be sent to the Hon. Secretary in writing at least 14 days before the

meeting.

Please bring this copy of the Agenda with you to the AGM.

The MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY reminds members that subscriptions are due on 1 October. The current

rates
are:
Single member £7
Additional member in same household £3
Student member £1

A renewal form is enclosed with this Bulletin. Please complete it and return it with your

subscription to the
Membership Secretary, or in person at a meeting. Members who have already arranged to pay their

subscriptions
by Banker’s Standing Order should ignore this renewal form.

Letters and contributions for the Bulletin should be sent to the Hon. Editor. The views

expressed in this
Bulletin are those of the contributors concerned and not necessarily those of the Society or

its Officers.

Printed by Peter Hopkins

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY . BULLETIN 151 . SEPTEMBER 2004 . PAGE 16