Summerstown | |
---|---|
Location within Greater London | |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | SW17 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Summerstown is a district of south-west London located on the boundary between the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Merton. It is an area on the north eastern edge of Wimbledon, south of Earlsfield, west of Tooting and north of Colliers Wood. The district is bisected by the A217 and bordered by the River Wandle. [1]
Evidence of settlement in the area of Summerstown first appears in the late Middle Ages, when the River Wandle was bordered by mills in this area, worked by villagers from the nearby hamlet of Garratt (which gives its name to 'Garratt Lane', the local stretch of the A217). [2] By 1631, ‘Dutchmen’ are recorded as manufacturing kettles and frying pans here, while other Huguenot refugees are thought to have engaged in silk weaving and wig making here. [3]
By the mid-nineteenth century, this area was becoming increasingly populated, with many of the present day properties being built in the area at this time, notably the St Clement Danes almshouses in 1848–9, which have now become council housing. [4]
The nineteenth century also saw the construction of Summerstown's parish church, with a chapel being built in 1836, and extended in 1861 and 1870. [5] By 1903, it was apparent that a yet larger church was needed, so the present day St Mary's Church was constructed just off Garratt Lane, where it remains little altered to this day.
The early twentieth century was a turbulent time for the parish, with the Great War costing the lives of 182 men in the parish, who were memorialised by Summerstown's war memorial, which is located just inside St Mary's Church. In the Second World War, Summerstown was also affected by bombing, particularly in 1944, when a V2 rocket struck Hazelhurst Road, killing 35 and injuring over a hundred. After the war, this presented the council with the opportunity to construct the Hazelhurst estate in 1969–73.
Between 1961 and 1968, Marc Bolan (then known as Marc Feld) and family lived in Summerstown. He attended Hillcroft School (now Ernest Bevin Academy) and worked part time as a dish washer at the local Wimpy burger bar in Tooting. [6] His time in Summerstown was difficult but formative, with Feld often busking outside the former Prince of Wales pub (now Tesco Express). [7] In 2021, plans to erect a commemorative plaque to mark Bolan's time in the area were announced. [8]
The parish church, St Mary's Church, is still open and active in the parish, hosting a service at 10:30 each Sunday morning, and holds a range of services include singing, prayers and a talks from the Bible as well as activities for children.
Community project Summerstown 182 identifies and raises awareness of local Summerstown history. Founded by Geoff Simmons, the project has been responsible for erecting plaques in honour of many former residents, including Sidney Lewis, Sadie Crawford and Peter Barr. [9] Summerstown 182 was named one of Sadiq Khan's Community Heroes in 2015. [10]
It is home to the By The Horns Brewing Co., [11] which stands almost exactly on the site of Marc Bolan's former home. The brewers named an ale, Cosmic Warrior, after the late singer. [12]
The area was also home to Wimbledon Stadium, a dog racing track that also hosted speedway, stock car and other racing events, which closed in 2017. The New Plough Lane Stadium, home of AFC Wimbledon, was built in its place and opened in November 2020. [13]
Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located 5 miles south south-west of Charing Cross.
Wandsworth Town is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth 4.2 miles (6.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Wandsworth is a London borough in South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth Town.
The Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was a Metropolitan borough under the London County Council, from 1900 to 1965.
The A24 is a major road in England that runs for 53.2 miles (85.6 km) from Clapham in south-west London to Worthing on the English Channel in West Sussex via the suburbs of south-west London, as well as through the counties of Surrey and West Sussex.
The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about 9 miles (14 km), the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A short headwater – the Caterham Bourne – is partially in Surrey, the historic county of the river's catchment. Tributaries of the Wandle include Carshalton Ponds and Norbury Brook.
Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England. It is a typical south London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, Allfarthing Lane, and Burntwood Lane. The population of Earlsfield at the 2001 Census was 12,903, increasing to 15,448 at the 2011 Census.
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Diocese of Rochester that was served by a suffragan bishop of Southwark (1891–1905). Before 1877 most of the area was part of the Diocese of Winchester, some being part of the Diocese of London.
Tooting Broadway is a London Underground station in Tooting in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London. The station is on the Northern line, between Tooting Bec and Colliers Wood stations and is in Travelcard Zone 3.
Southside Wandsworth is a shopping centre in the district of Wandsworth in London, England. When it was built it was the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe and is currently the fifth largest indoor shopping centre in London after Westfield Stratford City, Westfield London, the Whitgift Centre and Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between the area of Battersea, near Wandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south of the river, and the areas of Sands End and Parsons Green, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side.
The A217 is a road in London and Surrey in England. It runs north–south. It runs from Kings Road in Fulham, London, crosses the Thames at Wandsworth Bridge, then passes through Wandsworth, Earlsfield, Summerstown, Tooting, Mitcham, Rosehill and Sutton Common in Sutton, then Cheam. Then, widened as a dual carriageway, comes Belmont, a suburban district built on a slope rising southward. On the North Downs in Surrey the road then skirts past Banstead and through its late 19th century offspring villages particularly Burgh Heath and Kingswood, Surrey. It then crosses the M25 motorway at Junction 8, then, returning to single carriageways, passes through the castle town of Reigate. It then cuts through the green buffer farmland of two rural villages and terminates at the road network at Gatwick Airport's northern perimeter.
Merton is an ancient parish historically in Surrey, but which has since 1965 been part of Greater London. It is bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden, Cheam and Cuddington to the south and (New) Malden to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as 1,764.7 acres (7.1 km2).
The inner London borough of Wandsworth contains some 670 hectares of green space in the form of parks, commons, allotments and cemeteries, which is the largest amount for an Inner London borough. Central London borders some of the borough's boundary with the Thames the closest park to which is Battersea Park.
Brixton Hundred or the Hundred of Brixton was for many centuries a group of parishes (hundred) used for meetings and taxation of their respective great estates in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Brixton district. Its area corresponds to London Boroughs: Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth and parts of Lewisham, Merton and Richmond upon Thames.
Garratt Lane is a long street in the London Borough of Wandsworth, part of the A217 road. It connects Wandsworth High Street to Tooting Broadway and is approximately 4 kilometres long, arguably making it the longest street in the UK. It passes through the Earlsfield and Summerstown neighbourhoods which were fields of Wandsworth before their development in the late 19th century.
St Mary's Church, Summerstown, is the parish church of Summerstown, South London. It is also a Grade II listed building, having been designed by Godfrey Pinkerton and constructed in 1903–4.
St Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Roehampton in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1869 and designed by Frederick Walters. It is situated on the corner of Roehampton Lane and Medfield Street.
John Hendry Anderson, was a rector in the Church of England, a schoolmaster, and Mayor of Wandsworth. He was instrumental in creating Tooting Bathing-Lake in London.