One of the oldest pubs in the borough is (Ye Olde) Red Lion at Cheam – reputedly at least 450 years old. It has a priest hole in the fireplace, an original (c. 1550) well-shaft (35 ft deep and in use up until the 1930s) in the forecourt and low-beamed ceilings, characteristic of a classic…
Archives / Cheam / genealogy / hospital / house history / Sutton / The White House / Uncategorized
With the fourth series of the hugely popular BBC series A House Through Time now well into its stride, we thought it was time to launch the next of our own house history series, which each focus on one particular property in the borough, using it as a means of exploring local history and telling…
In today’s post, our second covering Worcester Park, Colin looks at the Huntsman’s Hall, now renamed as The Brook, at the bottom of the high street where the railway bridge crosses the road. The pub has undergone a number of transformations in the last few years, and currently sports a modern family image with a…
Benfleet Hall / hospital / house history / local history / Nursing / Sutton / Uncategorized / Volunteers
In today’s blog, an offshoot of the Benfleet Hall series, Clive picks up on a second address, Mulgrave House, the listed residence of a number of the Benfleet hospital staff. Mulgrave Hall has already featured on this blog in recent weeks, as the home of Kathleen Baisley, daughter of motor-sport pioneer Frank Baisley. Today Clive…
Our series on pubs in the borough moves west today, as volunteer Colin shifts his focus to a couple of establishments in Worcester Park, or in this case, Cheam Common, on the road from North Cheam into Worcester Park. As always the stories published in this series, indeed in any of the recent series we…
In today’s Pub Histories post, Colin takes a look at the Sun Hotel, just over the road from Carshalton Station. It is the last of our Carshalton pubs to be covered in the series, but a favourite among many locals for its cosy atmosphere, great food and friendly welcome – and its garden and roof…
In support of our local Archaeological and Historical Society, CADHAS, this weeks blog focuses on a number of events taking place as part of their centenary celebrations. Did you know Sutton had a historical society? Or that is was 100 years old? You didn’t? Well what are you waiting for? Join the hunt, visit their…
Today’s blog comes courtesy of Sutton Archives volunteer Clive, who in his research into Benfleet Hall has stumbled across the most remarkable number of fascinating incidents and stories. It just goes to show what huge value can be taken from the field of ‘one-place study’ and/or house history, and I hope it provides some inspiration…
The latest in our series of Pub Histories comes just as British Summertime finally arrives and we’re able, at last, to enjoy the outdoor spaces of our favourite local haunts without five layers and a patio heater… Today Colin focuses on Hackbridge’s Red Lion, a pub with a fascinating history which dates to the early-mid…
Today’s post from the Archives comes from regular contributor Clive, whose interest and research into Benfleet Hall in Sutton, has morphed into a mission to link as many names from our Knights-Whittome photographic collection to those listed in the Red Cross database for the hospital based there. Today, Clive focuses on another of the women…
Today’s blog is courtesy of Margaret White, and is abridged from an article she produced for The Milestone Society in December 2020. Margaret is the Chair of the Friends of Rosehill Parks, and she first contacted the archive for sources which might aid her research into the milestones back in Oct with this query… ‘I…
The London, Brighton & South Coast (LBSC) Railway opened Carshalton Station on May 10th 1847 – part of the new line from Croydon to Epsom. Its position, though, was a mile to the south-east of Carshalton, so in 1868 it was renamed Wallington. The land on which the Melbourne Hotel was built has a convoluted…
The Duke of Wellington’s government introduced the Beerhouse Act in 1830 to promote beer drinking. This was partly because water was untreated and unsafe to drink, and partly because beer was viewed as less detrimental to health and public order than sprits. Gin, in particular, had been a major problem during the previous century. The…
In 1868 Mill Lane was known as Papermill Lane, though there were a number of different types of mill along its length. The Paper Mill (half way up) and the Snuff Mills at Butter Hill dated to the 18th Century, but the Upper Mill water wheel at The Grove was more ancient. Most of the…
This year, March 21st, 2021 is census day. The census is a household survey undertaken by the Office for National Statistics, that takes place on a single day every 10 years. Its purpose is to capture the most accurate picture of all the people and households in England and Wales possible on one particular date.…
