Bulletin 237

Chair: Christine Pittman
BULLETIN No. 237 MarCh 2026

See p.15 – image: Carrie Lynott

CONTENTS
Programme March – June 2026 2
a letter from Scott McCracken 2
Three Mitcham Margarine Businesses – Norma Cox 3
Long and Straight – John Hawks 6
Minutes of 2025 AGM 8
Treasurer’s report year ended31 May 2025 9
Local history Workshops –
17 October – tallow makers, former NatWest sports ground, Paynell’s Pandectes 11
28 November – 1890s housing, a missing clock, stone masonry 13
Far Famed Cake Company Ltd – Christine Pittman 14
Causes for concern – Christine Pittman 16

PrOGraMME MarCh – JUNE 2026

Saturday 14 March at 2.30pm – ‘Sir Patrick Kelly, a story that starts in ireland, moves to
Mumbai and ends in Wimbledon’ – a talk by Geoff Simmons

Saturday 11 april at 2.30pm – ‘Richardson Evans, conservation pioneer, local campaigner
and benefactor’ – a talk by Michael Norman Smith

Talks are held in St James’s Church Hall in Martin Way, next to the church.
Buses 164 and 413 stop in Martin Way (in both directions) immediately outside.
Parking in adjacent streets is free.

ViSiT
Friday 12 June from 12.30pm – William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow

We are organizing an unguided tour around the current exhibition

‘Women in Print: 150 Years of Liberty Textiles’.

You are invited to meet early and purchase lunch at the Gallery’s café to eat inside,
or outside in the park.

We plan to start our tour of the exhibition, and the rest of the Museum, at 2pm. Entry is free.

The Museum is located at Lloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London E17 4FF.
It is a 10-15 minute walk from Walthamstow Central underground station (Victoria line),
or 5 minutes by bus routes 34, 97, 215, 275 and 357.
Please book your place by email to mhs@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk
or leave your name with Rosemary Turner at one of our meetings.
Full directions will be sent to you by post or email. Please book your place before 12 May.

LOCaL hiSTOrY WOrKShOPS:
Fridays 10 april, 22 May, 3 July, 14 august, 25 September, 6 November 2026 from 2.30pm

at the Wandle Industrial Museum, next door to the Vestry Hall, Mitcham.
Do join us, whether you wish to contribute, to ask questions, or just to listen!

Visitors are very welcome to attend any of our events.

a LETTEr FrOM SCOTT MCCraCKEN

Scott McCracken has commented further on our report in Bulletin 236 of his talk about the Merton Priory
archaeological excavations.

He writes: ‘Thank you very much for sending the December issue of the MHS Bulletin No 236 with the extremely
well written account of the afternoon ‘audience’ at Merton Priory chapter house. Please convey my thanks to
John Sheridan. There are three points I would like to clarify, however.

The Chairman in her Report mentions my talk “about the Society’s excavations of the Chapter House”. The
chapter house was excavated by the SW London Unit of the Surrey Archaeological Society under my direction.
The MHS was not involved.

The site of Merton Priory was scheduled by Phillip Walker, lnspector of Ancient Monuments, DoE. I simply
assisted when mapping the area to be scheduled.

There always seems to be confusion between the chapter house excavation and the later Savacentre one.

The chapter house burials were studied by the late Dr Tony Waldron, lnstitute of Archaeology, UCL. Tony was
the individual who identified DISH. I did not use the word spoof in regards to his BMJ article. The Savacentre
burials were the responsibility of the Museum of London.’

John Sheridan explains: The British Medical Journal did indeed have a tradition of publishing humorous articles
at Christmas. Dr Tony Waldron, who identified DISH (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis) in monastic
skeletons, wrote about his findings in BMJ Volume 291, 21-28 December 1985, in a serious article in which he
speculated that the condition might have been caused by a luxurious monastic lifestyle.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 2

NOrMa COx has been researching
ThrEE MiTChaM MarGariNE BUSiNESSES

There were three margarine businesses in Mitcham in the years 1903-1971. Margaric Acid, which gives its
name to margarine, was discovered in 1813 and was categorised as one of the three fatty acids which, when
combined, formed animal fats. Margarine was a manufactured food substance and was discovered in 1869 and
made from animal products. In the years around WW1 and WW2 margarine gained popularity as a butter-
substitute and later in the 1950s its composition changed to vegetable oils because of animal shortages. Used for
spreading and cooking, by the 1990s, margarine was considered the healthier food option.

introduction

Margarine was manufactured from vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, olive oil and palm oil, and these oils
were later hydrogenated to create a more solid product. However hydrogenation led to the formation of trans-
products and these trans-products caused health worries. By the late twentieth century butter was considered
the less healthy option because it could clog the arteries with fatty cholesterol. Margarines, now known as
spreads, were fortified with vitamins A and D, and vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil and olive oil, had health
benefits with their anti-inflammatory omega 3 content.1 Margarine was used for cooking and spreading and
it was claimed that sponge-cakes made with margarine were lighter than butter-baked cakes. Echo margarine
was a hard margarine, manufactured by Van Den Bergh, a company which had its origins in Germany in 1888.
Margarine of the early twentieth century was hard and produced in large blocks for supply to bakers. Van
Den Bergh merged with the Dutch company Jurgens in 1927 to form Margarine Unie in Rotterdam, which
subsequently merged with Lever Brothers to form Unilever in 1930.2

Business One : George Pellarin et Cie

The first margarine factory in Mitcham was at the Tower Works, in 1903, later known as Tower Creameries, and
situated on Commonside East, on the old workhouse site. This factory was occupied by the French company
George Pellarin et Cie margarine manufacturers, for the packaging of margarine imported in bulk. In 1905
part of the premises were used by the General Motor Company Ltd for car production. Margarine packing was
continued by Pellerin until 1910 and then the Tower Works were taken over by Mitcham Margarine Company
for the production of margarine and edible fats when demand increased because of WW1 butter-rationing.
After Armistice, margarine consumption fell because food supplies returned to pre-war levels. A new company
later known as Merton Abbey Creameries was formed in 1922.3 This new company took over the Tower Works
together with the goodwill and machinery of the Mitcham Margarine Company.4 In 1925 the site, which had
been previously called the Woodite Works, was leased to the Castle Rubber Company of Warrington. Another
industry took the whole of the former workhouse site when it was sold to Samuel Ward & Co, paint and
varnish manufacturers.5 In 1929 Unilever Ltd purchased Merton Abbey Creameries and from the 1930s the
site of Tower Works was occupied by companies involved in margarine and butter, cheeses and cooking fats
under various brand names. Margarine production continued here until 1932, when they were taken over by
Mitcham Creameries. A new company, Surrey Creameries Ltd, was formed for processed cheese production.
In 1937 Tower Creameries took over the old Tower Works for the manufacture of margarine and cooking fats.6
However in 1941 a German bomb fell on the Tower Works killing fifteen men from the 57th Surrey (Mitcham)
Home Guard including some young members aged 16 and 17.7 One person’s memory of the WW2 bombing
of the Mitcham area was recorded when land-mines were being dropped near Thornton Heath. On the night
the margarine factory in Mitcham was hit, the person didn’t know about the casualties but remembered their
garden in Thornton Heath being littered with margarine papers.8 The Tower factory was later rebuilt and the
last food manufacturers to occupy the site were Express Dairy Co Ltd and the Mitcham Maid Products Ltd.
Both food manufacturers left the site in 1965.9

Business Two : W Brandis & Co Ltd

Another Mitcham margarine company was W Brandis & Co Ltd who supplied margarine and bakers products.
This company started as bakers, margarine and sundriesmen but they were not listed in the 1930 commercial
directory.10 In 1938 W Brandis, bakers’ products were listed in the Commercial directory at 10 Commonside
East which was the same location as Tower Creameries and Mitcham Maid Margarine. W Brandis then moved
to the James Estate in Western Road and in 1954 W Brandis was listed at 132 Western Road, the address of
the disused Holborn Union Workhouse. There are images of W Brandis vehicles outside the Holborn Union
Workhouse, which today is the ASDA store in Western Road. W Brandis had large amounts of olive oil stolen in
1948. Mitcham Foods Ltd of 2/10 Commonside East produced margarine and cheese – these details were stated

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 3

in the 1963 Borough of Mitcham List of Factories. The factory site of Mitcham Foods Ltd is today named Talbot
Close and this site is on the corner of Commonside East and Windmill Road.11 The was the site where Mitcham
Workhouse had been located and was also the site of Hooper’s Telegraph and India Rubber Company.12 In
1971 W Brandis was listed in the Phone Book at Windsor Avenue SW19, on the Merton Industrial Park, South
Wimbledon.13 Mitcham History Notes showed W Brandis advertising for Representatives in 1938 and the reps,
as they were called, would visit bakeries for business and offer large discounts.14

Business Three : Benninga’s

The third margarine factory was Benninga’s British Margarine Produce Co Ltd, a firm with Dutch origins,
located in Mortimer Road Mitcham in 1932. The factory took over the west half of the street (northwards)
from the junction with Eveline Road and also included the ends of the back-gardens of all of the houses on
the west side of Mortimer Road. Mitcham History Notes includes a map depicting the margarine factory site
and photographs of the factory before its demolition.15 The Benninga factory was on the site of the gasworks
of the Holborn Union after the workhouse closed
down. The factory was in use for many years before
and after WW2. Over 100 people worked there
in model working conditions. Jacob Benninga
was believed to have been the founding chairman
of Mitcham Chamber of Commerce.16 Figure 1
(right, courtesy Merton Memories) shows a large
vessel being delivered to the Benninga factory from
Amsterdam via Hull in order to avoid import tariffs
in 1938.17 The factory produced margarine with
brand names of Sunniface, Wayside and BBM (Butter
Blended Margarine). They also made their own brand
of lard called Lardex and Vitso which was a shredded
beef suet.18 Benninga left Mitcham in 1965.

In Bulletin 133, MHS members were asked if they recalled seeing an item under the headline “Benno’s goal – a
piece of cake” in the final issue of the Merton Messenger in December 1998 – this was a request from Benno
Benninga of Sanibel, Florida, who was seeking information about his family’s former margarine factory in
Mitcham. He wanted to make contact with anyone who worked there. Benno mentioned the model working
conditions at the factory and Jacob Benninga and the (now defunct) Mitcham Chamber of Commerce. Eric
Montague gave early historical details of the factory (site) stating it was built in 1880’s as the private gasworks of
the Holborn Union. Benno requested that his letter be published so that he could make contact with someone,
including relatives and friends, who had worked there. Benno was interested in the inside management details,
politics and personalities of the firm.19

In Bulletin 162, David Roe reported on the increasing concerns about the close proximity of industry to housing
in Merton, Morden and Mitcham. In January 1947 a newspaper reader described Garth Road as the “Black
Country of Morden”. Following a public enquiry, Benninga was refused permission to extend their margarine
factory in Bond Road, Mitcham. The site had originally been used as a piggery and then as a gasworks and had
been acquired by Benninga’s in 1932.20

The following table attempts to simplify the changing companies involved:

Date Manufacturer Location Details
1903 George Pellarin et Cie Mitcham Tower Works,
Commonside East
[former Workhouse site]
Margarine packer for imported margarine
1910 Mitcham Margarine
Company
Tower Works Took over Tower Works. Made margarine and
edible fats
1922 Merton Abbey Creameries Tower Works New company formed, took over site and
machinery of Mitcham Margarine Co

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 4

1929 Unilever Tower Works Jurgens and Lever Brothers merge to form
Unilever. Bought Merton Abbey Creameries
and took over Tower Works. Site shared with
Mitcham creameries.
1932 Mitcham Creameries Tower Works Mitcham Creameries took over Unilever works
on this site.
1932 Surrey Creamery Ltd Tower Works Made processed cheese
1932 Benninga and Co Ltd Mitcham Factory
Mortimer Road
[former Holborn Union
gas works site]
Manufactured margarines called Sunniface
and Wayside
1937 Tower Creameries Tower Works Took over Tower Works to manufacture
margarine and cooking fats
1938 W Brandis Ltd Tower Works Mitcham Maid Margarine already
manufactured here
1941 Tower Creameries Tower Works Site bombed. Production ceased. Site vacant
1954 W Brandis Ltd James Estate, Western
Road
[former Holborn Union
Workhouse site]
Moved here
1963 Mitcham Foods Tower Works Margarine manufacturer
1965 Express Dairy Co Ltd and
Mitcham Maid Products Ltd
Tower Works Vacated in 1965
1965 Benninga and Co Ltd Mortimer Road Factory Vacated in 1965
1971 W Brandis Ltd Windsor Avenue, South
Wimbledon
Business site recorded in Phone Book

acknowledgements

The author thanks Sarah Gould and the London Borough of Merton for use of the image of the Benninga vessel
being transported to Mitcham.
References

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_van_den_Bergh
3. Eric Montague, Mitcham Common, Phillimore, 2001, p72-77
4. ibid
5. ibid
6. ibid
7. Irene Bain, Some Memories of Tower Creameries Mitcham, Merton Historical Society, 2010
8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/63/a4010563.shtml
9. Eric Montague, 2001, ibid
10. https://www.mitchamhistorynotes.com/2023/08/01/w-brandis-co-ltd-margarine-and-bakers-products
11. ibid
12. Norma Cox, ‘Rubber industries of Mitcham’. Bulletin 233, Merton Historical Society, March 2025, p12
13. See Note 10
14. ibid
15. https://www.mitchamhistorynotes.com/2016/01/13/benninga-margarine-factory

16. Eric Montague, Mitcham Histories 14: Upper Mitcham and Western Road, Merton Historical Society, 2013, p93
17. https://www.photoarchive.merton.gov.uk/collections/work-and-industry/51232-benninga-british-margarineproduce-
co-ltd-mortimer-road-mitcham

18. Eric Montague, 2001, ibid
19. Bulletin 133, Merton Historical Society, March 2000, p11
20. Bulletin 162, Merton Historical Society, June 2007, p11
MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 5

LONG aND STraiGhT

The vast network of roads throughout the Roman empire is a miracle of engineering and construction that
we can only admire, and to produce a new comprehensive online map of them all is a fine ambition. For their
recent publication the Danish Itiner-e Project (www.Itiner-e.org) should be given three cheers, because it’s a huge
undertaking, when what firm evidence there is after 2000 years is bound to be patchy. Archaeology has identified
a great deal, and of course many modern routes are based on the original Roman ones, especially when the
topography, whether mountainous or marshy, allows for little choice. But to be other than ‘broad brush’ is surely
always going to be impossible.

So we shouldn’t expect too much from their new map when it comes to our little corner of the network. Stane
Street’s 91km route from London to Chichester is pretty well known to us from history, from archaeology and from
geographical evidence such as visible remains of earthworks. And where we don’t have direct evidence, a century
and more of informed or inspired guesswork has produced a convincing approximation – enough, for example, to
explode the myth that Roman roads were always straight. They took the most direct route they could, of course, but
this often meant adapting to local geography, notably in the case of Stane Street finding the most convenient gaps
through the North and South Downs and avoiding the heights of Leith Hill. What’s been reasonably established,
though, is that whatever local variations there may be, the route of Stane Street never actually diverges more than
10km from a direct line drawn between London Bridge and Chichester, which is still impressive.

We know that Stane Street was virtually straight from the Roman London Bridge (about 27m East of the modern
bridge) to Ewell, round which it diverted to avoid unsuitable ground. There are some points on this 24km section
that are accurately known, others that have been established as very likely, and it’s always been encouraging that
the connection between these known points is more or less a straight line – with marginal allowances here and
there to take account of local conditions (as in Clapham, where it deviated a few hundred metres to the West to
skirt a marshy patch between Clapham Common Southside and Abbeville Road).

So we can surely be happy with the approximation of a straight line on the map – as part of it appears, for example,
in Dave Saxby and Pat Miller’s monograph on Merton Priory (facing page). It makes sense, by the way, that the
Priory was built right on the main road as it was an important destination for the great and good, and Augustinian
monasteries among their many other duties were guest houses too. Indeed it’s believed that the Priory church was
built literally on the road itself, causing a dog-leg diversion round the precinct before rejoining the route at Morden
Road.

The Itiner-e map also adopts a straight line for the entire London section –
which is fair enough, when anything more precise would be fanciful. What is
disappointing, however, is that their straight line is different from ours! After
the junction with the Brighton road at Kennington their line is consistently
further East than the generally accepted one, with the result that it ignores
all the archaeological evidence, principally the MOLA discovery in 1999 by
Dave Saxby at the point where the road fords the Wandle – the site of the

former Kiss Me Hardy pub (right).

Other discoveries are well documented in the MHS archive – Bulletin 114 (June 1995) reproduces an authoritative
article by Bill Sole discussing in detail this part of the route, and Bulletin 132 (December 1999) features his
conjectural map which includes the discovery in 1960 during building work on the site of the Crown pub in
Morden (now part of the Civic Centre). Dennis Turner’s 1958/59 excavations found convincing evidence of Stane
Street crossing Morden Park, while Bill Rudd recorded strata when observing a new Post Office Telephones service
chamber in the pavement of London Road near the vehicle entrance to the Park and Leisure Centre. Both of
these investigations are summarised in the Society’s Local History Note 3 of 1991 – freely downloadable at https://
mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/LHN-3.pdf

Peter Hopkins also points out that the straight stretch of the A24, where it crosses the Pyl Brook by the Lord Nelson
pub, formed the ancient parish boundaries of Morden, Cheam and Sutton. The crossing was historically known as
Pylford and lies on the straight line from the Crown site towards Ewell.

One would have hoped that all these solid pieces of evidence would have been taken into account in the new map. So
perhaps two-and-a-half cheers to our Danish friends after all – but good luck to them anyway for such a bold undertaking.

John hawks

(My gratitude for expert contributions from Peter Hopkins and from John Sheridan, who tells me that part of Stane
Street was discovered in the 1960s at the end of his road in Stockwell!)

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 6

Generally accepted route: , Itiner-e suggested route

Base map:Miller and Saxby The Augustunian priory of St Mary Merton, Surrey (2007) p.10
MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 7

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MINUTES OF THE 74th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 8th NOVEMBER 2025 at 2.30pm

1. Chair’s welcome
2. Apologies for absence were received from San Ward, Janet Holdsworth, Geoffrey Loft and John Sheridan.
3. Acceptance of last year’s AGM Minutes which was distributed with the December Bulletin was proposed by
Bea Oliver, seconded by Tony Scott and accepted unanimously.
4. There were no matters arising.
5. Chairperson’s Report (copy to be sent out with the December Bulletin)
6. Membership Secretary’s Report – Rosemary said that we have 129 members at present. A number of
subscription renewals have not been received. We have 24 new members, 6 resignations and as Christine
said two deaths.
7. Treasurer’s Report: Janet was unable to be there to present the accounts so Rosemary read her report. We have
£18000 in the bank. We are using money to support special projects such as the digitisation of the Merton
Manorial Court Rolls and a researcher preparing the history of the Society for our 75th anniversary. Although
the current subscription does not cover cost, the committee decided that, due to our financial situation, we
would not increase subscriptions. The bank no longer charges us £5 a month for banking with them but still
charges us 40p per cheque paid in. We received the money from the estate of Michael Nethersole and £100
prize money from LAMAS for Peter’s book Medieval Morden, Neighbourhood and Community. Publications
made a surplus of £556 as compared with a deficit of £764 the previous year. These differences balance out
over the years.
Approval of the financial statement for the year 2024/25: proposed by Irene Burroughs, seconded by Alan
Martyn and accepted unanimously.

8. Election of Officers for the coming year. Mick Taylor of the Wandle Industrial Museum took over the meeting
and asked members to show their appreciation for the committee. He said that Dave Haunton would be
greatly missed.
Chairperson: Christine Pittman – proposed by Bill Bailey and seconded by Malcolm Claridge.
Vice Chairperson: Bea Oliver – proposed by Tony Scott and seconded by Malcolm Claridge.
Hon. Secretary: Rosemary Turner – proposed by Malcolm Claridge and seconded by Fiona Bower.
Hon. Treasurer: Janet Holdsworth – proposed by Irene Burroughs and seconded by Tony Scott.
All agreed unanimously.
Appointment of the Hon. Accounts Examiner for the coming year, Robin Darbyshire: proposed by Dick

Bower and seconded by Bea Oliver, and agreed unanimously.

9. Election of Committee for the coming year:
Committee standing for re-election:
Ian Aldridge, Irene Burroughs, Peter Hopkins, David Luff, Tony Scott – proposed by Alan Martyn and
seconded by Jenny Harper.
Member willing to come on to the committee:
Bill Bailey – proposed by Peter Hopkins, seconded by Fiona Bower and accepted unanimously.

10. Motion of which 14 days’ notice have been given. There were none.
11. Any other Business.
Bea reminded members that we are always happy to received suggestions for talks and visits.
Tony asked if members were happy with our present venue. They were.
Meeting closed at 2.54pm. Attendance 31.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 8

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 9

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 10

LOCaL hiSTOrY WOrKShOPS

Convicts Research Centre. We’re hoping that Graham will write an article for us on his Figges Marsh ancestors,
Workshop 17 October 2025 – 12 attended

◆ Graham Diprose explained that he had been involved in producing
documentaries about the Thames. He mentioned Henry Tomp’s
first-ever photographic documentary. Graham has been involved in
a project to source archival paper and pigment inks that will enable
modern publications to last for centuries. He had produced a book
on his family history using these materials. He is depositing copies
of the book at record offices and offered a copy to our Society.
His grandmother’s family name was Cresswell and they were tallow
makers in Figges Marsh, Mitcham. His grandmother ran a laundry
where Lidl is now situated. His 3x great grandmother mentioned a
convict sent to Tasmania, and during lockdown he had researched
this family member, shortly after receiving a letter from the Female

to be published in a future issue of the Bulletin.

◆ alex Bradshaw reported on recent developments concerning the former NatWest Sports Ground on Turle
Road, Norbury – now the site of the proposed Norbury Village housing, care home and sports development.
The scheme has since been amended by the developer to include more housing, with five apartment blocks
now rising to six storeys (353 homes in total including 150 houses). Despite local concerns, it was approved
by Merton Council’s Planning Committee in September and will next be considered for approval by the
Greater London Authority (GLA) at Stage 2.
Covering about 22 acres, the site lies close to the London-Brighton Roman Road and may once have formed
part of the Carew family’s Manor of Norbury (1377-1859). The land later hosted the Streatham Steeplechase
course, a golf course, and sports facilities, and between 1940 and 1943 was occupied by a heavy anti-aircraft
battery operated by the 60th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade and the Home Guard. 1947 aerial
photographs clearly show the substantial concrete anti-aircraft gun emplacements that once stood on the site.
It has been largely unused for sport since 2007 although the Bowls Club remains active and is due to remain
in place.

The plans also include demolition of the former Sports Pavilion, a building of local historical interest containing

several war memorials, a bar, and one of the few remaining indoor skittle alleys in the area.
The GLAAS-recommended planning conditions have been included in the approved scheme. These require
a staged programme of archaeological investigation and a public engagement programme designed to share
results and involve the local community. This provides an opportunity for Merton Historical Society to register
its interest with Merton Council and GLAAS, and to comment on the Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI)
once it becomes available to help ensure the archaeological investigations are thorough and robust.

◆ Bill Bailey has continued his research on the Mitcham Parish Council election of March 1898, when the
main issue was the adequacy of housing for the working classes in Mitcham. Those opposing council action
to remedy the situation published a flyer urging voters not to vote for such ‘building speculation’ which
‘experts’ believed would result in a loss. A list of candidates opposing the plan to build appeared on the flyer.
In response to this, The Wimbledon News reported at length on a Vestry Hall meeting in the week before the
election, at which popular support for action was shown. The News also invited voters to cast their ballot for
their list of candidates in favour of building ‘Healthy Homes’. At the election those in favour of council action,
led by the Mizen brothers, won a clear victory.
◆ John Sheridan, a volunteer at Merton Priory Chapter House, made us aware of a book in Wimbledon
Museum’s collection that has links with the Priory. It is a small book known as Paynell’s Pandectes. Thomas
Paynell was a canon at Merton Priory at the time of its dissolution in 1538. The book, a commentary on the
Gospels, was published in 1553. Evelyn Jowett, who combined the roles of founding secretary of the Merton
and Morden Historical Society with District Librarian for the former Merton and Morden Urban District
Council, acquired the Pandectes in 1959. MMHS had considered acquiring the book to keep it in the locality
but concluded that to do so would breach its rules – it subsequently changed its rules but never acquired
the book from Miss Jowett. When she died in 1990, her executors gave the book, together with some other
objects, to the John Evelyn Society, which later became Wimbledon Museum. The book is in store and in
need of conservation before it can be displayed. There are hopes that funding can be found for conservation.
MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 11

◆ Peter hopkins had received from Geoff Potter of Compass Archaeology the following report
‘Repair works to Merton Priory Precinct Wall, London Borough of Merton SW19 – Phase 2: An archaeological
watching brief report and recording of repairs, October 2025, 8: Conclusions’. It states:
The programme of archaeological monitoring undertaken by Compass Archaeology from 27th May to 23rd
June forms the most recent of a series of watching briefs on investigation and repair works on the Precinct
Wall of Merton Priory. The works have enabled a greater understanding of the construction methods and
design of the wall in this area, which lacked the substantial foundation pads cut into natural alluvium
[and filled with packed gravel] observed at 101 Christchurch Road. Instead, a quite substantial stepped
masonry footing was exposed in all four of the trial holes at a level of c 12.20m OD, whilst in trial holes
1 and 4 a deeper bedding deposit, perhaps cut into the natural by up to 0.20 to 0.25m, was encountered.
The reasons for the difference between this and the more substantial pad foundation elsewhere are
unclear, though may relate to local ground conditions and in particular to the course of the River Pickle.
Conversely, a masonry step footing similar to that exposed during the present works was not uncovered
at 101 Christchurch Road. So it appears that a longer, continuous trench for a wide but relatively shallow
stepped foundation was preferred, with some areas of deeper crushed stone &/or gravel bedding in areas
of uneven or particularly waterlogged ground.

The watching brief also revealed evidence for substantial
repairs and rebuilding, most likely in the post-medieval
period and following the Dissolution. Of particular
significance were bricks that were discovered built into the
core of the precinct wall (right, photo Geoff Potter) and that
were broadly dated to between 1550 and 1800, postdating
even the latest estimate for the original construction. The
bricks also appeared to have been re-used so, although
their exact date remains unknown, their use here could
well be late 17th century plus. The brick inclusions were
concentrated towards the southern end of the collapsed
section, although occasional examples were noted elsewhere and with no other apparent difference in
construction. So although the rebuilding may have been localised – rather than the entire precinct wall

– it is likely that continues throughout the area of Collapse ‘A’. The stepped base may however be earlier,
with the rebuild above this level – potentially later medieval date (?15th century), which would tally
with the dates of some of the peg-tile recovered from the lower deposits in the trial holes – and also with
comparative evidence presented by MOLA (2014) for the attribution of a later 15th century date.
Unfortunately the date of the deposits or the wall itself could not be refined further, with other material in
the core of the wall comprising reused fragments of worked and moulded medieval masonry – as noted
on numerous occasions in previous work and confirmed by the present watching brief. The presence of
this material is somewhat enigmatic: it could be that it was derived from alterations and rebuilding works
during the life of the Priory, or perhaps re-used from buildings that had been demolished following the
Dissolution. Again, this could have occurred as part of the immediate clearance of the Church and adjacent
buildings in the 1530s-40s, or – as is suggested by the brick dating – at a later date, perhaps from structures
which had initially been repurposed following the Dissolution.

As noted above, some of the adjacent deposits contained medieval material, primarily peg tile. However,
the deposits to the east of the wall were generally of quite recent date: in part this probably reflects the
build-up of land after the eastward realignment of the Pickle (& away from the wall) in the early 20th
century. This area has also been quite heavily disturbed by previous groundworks and trial pitting.’

Peter had been looking through some files he’d received from Lionel Green and discovered among them
correspondence between Lionel and Clive Whichelow in 2004 about the appeal for funds to establish the
memorial garden on the site of the Priory high altar. With these papers were cuttings from The Times in 1924,
1926 and 1927, written by Lord Onslow and Canon Westlake. Lord Onslow’s letter indicates that the appeal
was to raise funds to purchase from Messrs Corfield Ltd the whole of the north side of the church to be laid
out as a public garden with the church plan suitably marked out, not just the site subsequently purchased by
Hatfeild.

rosemary Turner

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 12

Workshop 28 November 2025 – 11 present, rosemary Turner in the Chair

It was greatly encouraging to see three new members at the meeting.

◆ Bill Bailey returned to the history of Mitcham’s Parish Council in the 1890s. [Readers may wish to refresh
their memories by re-reading Bill’s article in Bulletin 236]. At the election on 4 April 1898 15 members were
elected, 11 of whom were on the ‘Slate for Happy Homes’ – set up to lobby for the provision of working class
housing by the council. Most of the 11 were from the Singlegate end of Mitcham. This group, including three
Mizens and three non-conformist ministers, had been lobbying Croydon Rural District Council for such
housing and in December 1898 there was an enquiry in Vestry Hall where both sides were heard. Those
against included a private builder, a Mr Wilson who claimed to be able to build 200 houses in a year. Dr
Dodds, a Fabian dentist, was in favour. He later went on in 1909 to write about the provision of a National
Health Service. The enquiry reported in January 1889 that, despite eloquent protests to the contrary, there
was no reason to believe that private enterprise couldn’t do the job.
◆ Madeline healey brought along a booklet (right) published in 1934 which, amongst
other items, gave the story of the “Epic of the Wandle”, the first of three ships of that
name which transported coal from Tyneside to Wandsworth and District Gas Company
whose gasworks were at the mouth of the river Wandle. In 1916 the ship was involved in
an engagement on Tyneside with a German submarine resulting in the disappearance
of the submarine, some damage to the Wandle and injury to the fireman from a piece of
shrapnel. Later in the year the ship and crew had a triumphal reception all the way up
the Thames from Gravesend to Wandsworth. For more information on the third SS
Wandle, see John Hawks’ article in Bulletin 236, ‘A forgotten part of local history’.
◆ Peter hopkins reported that Compass Archaeology has been working on a desk-based assessment of 57 High
Path – the current car wash site – opposite and immediately to the west of the High Path/Abbey Road junction.
This site is of particular interest, as an excavation on an adjacent site revealed evidence of a watercourse
which, C14 dates suggest, most likely silted up and went out of use during the 16th/17th centuries, so could
well have formed part of Merton Priory’s water management system. It is possible that it continues across
the present site. Peter circulated extracts from the 1866 OS 25” map and the 1805 Merton Abbey estate plan,
which depict various channels.
Peter also reported on an email received from Caroline Charles, a
councillor for Ravensbury ward, asking for the Society’s views on the
Nurdin and Peacock Art Deco clock, which had been mounted on a
tall white tower visible from the A3 and Bushey Road (right, courtesy
Merton Memories). After demolition of the whole site several years ago,
the clock was put into storage. Part of a subsequent approved planning
application required the restoration of the clock to its former location.
Now that work has started on the site, the developers are less keen to comply with this condition on the grounds
of the expense that would be incurred for repairs to the clock’s mechanism. The group suggested that she might
contact the British Horological Institute and the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers for advice.

◆ Tony Dayan had enjoyed a BALH online lecture by Andrew Ziminiski, a stone mason working for over 40
years in southern Britain, in particular on Salisbury Cathedral. The lecture looked at buildings and repairs,
including the bad ones of the Victorian era and the 1860s and 1870s. He had published two books, The Stone
Mason and Church Going, the latter of which would be useful for those going on a ‘church crawl’.
◆ rosemary Turner had further information on 297 Commonside East Mitcham (see Bulletin 234). The
planning consent for three buildings is still in place and includes the usual wildlife provisions. Mitcham
Common Preservation Society and The Conservators of the Common commented on lack of information
and the need for work, at the developers’ expense, to the access track to the common. Eric Montague had
mentioned that there had been a chemical works nearby from the early 1900s to 1940. In 1950 the council
discovered that the works had filled a gravel pit with chemical at the rear of Tamworth Cottages with toxic
waste. It was excavated and back filled with inert rubble and hardcore and left as an empty space. The 1910
Valuation Records noted that ‘residents notice an unpleasant smell coming from the factory’.
Janet holdsworth

Next Workshops: Fridays 10 april, 22 May, 3 July, 14 august, 25 September, 6 November 2026
from 2.30pm at the Wandle industrial Museum, next door to the Vestry hall, Mitcham.
Do join us, whether you wish to contribute, to ask questions, or just to listen!

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 13

Far FaMED CaKE COMPaNY LTD

In all the time that I’ve been researching the shops that sprang up along Colliers Wood High Street at the
beginning of the 20th century, one name has intrigued me – The Far Famed Cake Company (Depot). It
seemed to be located at the southern end of a row of shops known as The Pavement – as it turns out, one of
three ‘Pavements’ in the local area.

The Far Famed Cake Company (Depot) first appeared in the 1905-06 Trim’s Directory, at 65 High Street. It is
then recorded in Kelly’s directories of Mitcham at 38 High Street, Colliers Wood, Merton from 1911 until 1925.
It seemed to be located in a gap between buildings, sometimes with a street number and sometimes without. I
wondered about it quite often, then one day I was waiting at the bus stop, and I realised that there it was – the
gap, and the ‘depot’ building itself. (Photos 1 and 2)

James Bass, in his Recollections of an Edwardian childhood, recalled that when the fire station bell was rung,
the horses, already harnessed, were brought from the Far Famed Cake Company, ‘up near the Tooting Railway
Bridge’, to pull the local Fire Engine, which was located where the underground station now stands.

The empty space is now used as a customer car park by Burge
& Gunson, plumbers’ merchants, who have a large showroom
across the road. I was given permission to wander around
the car parking area and take photos, but warned not to go
into the buildings, as they’re deemed unsafe.

This card (Photos 3 and 4), bought on Ebay, uses the older
address of The Pavement, and names ‘Mr Thorne’ as the
recipient. It provides a place for orders to be made (if posted
before 5pm) – there was a Post Office located at no 2 The
Pavement, where collections were made at 8.20, 9.20, 10.10,
12.25, 2.35, 4.10, 7, 8, 8.45 and 11.40, and, presumably, there
were just as many deliveries.

There is also a telegraphic address ‘Biscuits London’ (strange, as the company only offered cakes on this card,
not biscuits). Use of the telegraph peaked around 1900, and after 1911 it reduced significantly.

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 14

Who was Mr Thorne? The 1911 census lists William Thorn, age 44, living at ‘8 Swains Lane, 8 Robinson Lane,
Tooting, Mitcham, Surrey’, an address that comprehensively lists both street names and both districts, just to
be sure. Swains Lane was the old name for Robinson Road, and Swains Road is now the tail end of Robinson
Road, heading towards London Road, Mitcham. He was listed as a ‘night porter, warehouse’, and lived with his
wife, a chocolate packer for Pascall, his son, 5 daughters and elderly widowed father. In 1921, William Thorne
still lived at 8 Swains Lane, Totting (sic), still a ‘night porter, wholesale warehouse’, but working for Cook Son &
Coy, in St Paul’s Church Yard. By 1939, he was widowed, and living at 24 Swain’s Road, Mitcham, with George
Gilbert, who was a baker’s roundsman, and his wife Annie. Was Mr Thorne responsible for preparing the Far
Famed Cake Company’s orders at night, ready for dispatch?

Census returns also lead us to Alexander Noall, who in 1901 was already living ‘between 77 and 61 High Street,
Colliers Wood’, age 35, manager of a cake and biscuit depot, with his wife, 3 sons and 1 daughter. Did they live
somewhere in the warehouse buildings? By 1911 Alexander Noall, age 45, ‘depot manager, Cake company’, is
living at 38 High Street, Colliers Wood, with his wife, 3 sons, a daughter and a niece. Nowadays, this address
belongs to the building on the right of the warehouse entrance. In 1921 he is still there, with his wife, 3 sons
and a daughter, as ‘depot manager for Far Famed Cake Company Ltd’.

Before being depot manager, Alexander Noall had appeared in the 1891 census as a commercial clerk, living
in Abbott Road, Poplar – only 5 minutes’ walk from the Far Famed Cake Company’s factory which opened in
1881, in Fawe Street, Poplar, east London. Perhaps he was offered a promotion within the company, in exchange
for moving to the other side of the city. He died aged 61, on 3 April 1927, at 75 Robinson Road, Colliers Wood,
and left his wife £257/4/- in his will.

The location of a cake depot so far from the factory may be explained by the fact that small-scale baking
facilities were expanded by companies such as J Lyons in the mid-1890s. Moving from small bakehouses,
they purchased larger premises and large-scale baking started. For J Lyons, the new facilities had so much
capacity that it was decided to sell bread to the local community from hand-carts operating from Cadby Hall,
in Hammersmith. This was expanded dramatically and horse-drawn cabs were introduced to take the product
further afield until the best part of London was being served. Cakes were added to their product list, as they
stayed fresh longer than bread, and then biscuits, which lasted even longer. I imagine that the Far Famed Cake
Company moved with the times, and used the Colliers Wood depot to distribute its products to south and west
London.

Advertising materials for the Far Famed Cake
Company were many and varied. Online, I
have found the 1897 Jubilee medal for the ’60th
year of Her Majesty’s Reign: Far Famed Cakes
& Biscuits are the best’, (photos 5 and 6) a
garlanded cake tin, a shop counter display jar,
a cake tin in the shape of an urn and a button
hook in the collection of the Victoria and Albert
Museum, which rates a mention in the online
article ‘The fascinating lives of buttonhooks’.

The Far Famed Cake Company was bought by Fitch Lovell in 1950, then merged with another company to
form Hales Trent Cakes in 1962, and in 1974 it was swallowed up by the huge company that was J Lyons & Co,
famous for its teashops (1884-1980) and Lyons Corner Houses in the West End of London (1909-1977). Lyons
itself was later purchased and broken up, being integrated into numerous larger multinational corporations,
remaining only as a nostalgic brand.

Christine Pittman

The next edition of the Bulletin will contain a report on our 75th anniversary meeting in
February and an invitation to all members to the launch of a book on the history of Merton
Historical Society, written by our young researcher, scheduled for summer 2026.
MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 15

CaUSES FOr CONCErN

The committee of Merton Historical Society does not have the resources to campaign on planning matters,
but we are very happy to hear members’ concerns and to direct people towards reliable sources of historical
information, either in print or in our research files. We’re often alerted to issues by email, or at our 6-weekly
local history workshops, and we do try to report on them in our Bulletin.

Recently there was concern for the replica weatherboarded cottage at 110 Christchurch Road, Colliers Wood,
threatened with demolition on land now for sale. A full article was published in MHS Bulletin 140, December
2001 p14, written by Eric Montague, at the time that it was rebuilt. This is available on our website.

70 Christchurch Rd Colliers Wood; (above left: before renovation; Roger Armstrong collection mhs-ra-002; above right CP 2025)

Other developments which have featured in online groups are the West Barnes/Worcester Park gasholders and
the surrounding greenspace, Majestic Way, Mitcham and Colliers Wood towers.

We must not forget local successes, though – these two weatherboarded cottages in London Road, Mitcham,
are Grade II listed. Seen here in Eric Montague’s photo taken in 1966 (below, left), their condition deteriorated
and they were put on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2016, but they have recently been restored, and the second
photo (below right) was taken by the writer in 2026.

Should any members have the time and experience to help with campaigns that threaten to destroy our heritage,
please do get in touch with us. You don’t have to be a committee member to join in our work. You can email
for research advice to mhs@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk, write a short article for the Bulletin and send it
to editor@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk or come along to one of our local history workshops, dates on the
website.

Christine Pittman, Chairperson

MHS is bound by the UK General Data Protection Regulation.
Please see the MHS website regarding how this concerns your personal data.

Letters and contributions for the Bulletin should be sent to the hon. Editors,
by email to editor@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk.
The views expressed in this Bulletin are those
of the contributors concerned and not necessarily those of the Society or its Officers.

website: www.mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk email: mhs@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk

Printed by Peter Hopkins

MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY – BULLETIN 237 – MARCH 2026 – PAGE 16