Category Archives: Local history

The Greatest Attraction in London: Battersea’s fleeting & forgotten People’s Palace

The 1880s were quite a big moment for Battersea. The railway had arrived, bringing with them an explosion of development – with houses, streets, entire neighbourhoods being built. There was a lot of money around, and everything and anything seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Curiosities, Local history, Street by street | Leave a comment

Like a cat: Clapham Common’s most historic house escapes demolition yet again!

A few months ago we wrote about a rather unique house, hidden away between the big Victorian houses along the north side of Clapham Common. 64 Clapham Common Northside is much smaller and simpler building than its neighbours. It also … Continue reading →

Posted in Clapham Common, Housing, Local history, Planning | 2 Comments

A rather unique historic house on Clapham Common is for sale (and maybe demolition)

Hidden away between the big Victorian houses along the north side of Clapham Common is something a bit different. 64 Clapham Common Northside is much smaller, much plainer. It’s tucked back between two large neighbours, to the extent you barely … Continue reading →

Posted in Clapham Common, Curiosities, Housing, Local history, Planning | 4 Comments

Factory developers, social reformers, fearless pilots, celebrated artists, tenacious campaigners and ‘dangerous subversives’: the pioneering women of Battersea’s early days.

London’s blue plaques link people of the past with the still-standing buildings they lived or worked in. It was started back in 1866 when a plaque was put up on the former house of Lord Byron – and it’s led … Continue reading →

Posted in Local history | 10 Comments

In pictures: Partridges stationers & art suppliers closes after 60 years

Partridges’ art and stationery supplies shop is one of Lavender Hill’s longest standing shops – if not the longest standing. They have been here for sixty years – with the current owner trading for 25 years. Generations of every kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Local history, Retail | 4 Comments

All change, as the old Tearoom des Artistes on Wandsworth Road is reduced to rubble.

We’ve written before in some detail about the abandoned cluster of buildings at the junction of Wandsworth Road and North Street in Clapham. Once home to the Artesian Well & Lost Society, and before that to the Cafe des Artistes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Food & drink, Housing, Local history, Planning | 2 Comments

The surprising history of a smelly alley behind some bins near Battersea Park

It’s not the most obvious spot for a landmark in the history of flight! Hidden behind a load of bins next to a Battersea petrol station, along an alleyway whose smell reveals its other role as a surreptitious urinal, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Curiosities, Local history | 3 Comments

After decades of service, Hill Launderette fades in to history

Hill Launderette is one of the longest established businesses on Lavender Hill – we don’t know when it started but it has spanned many decades. It stayed surprisigly well used, even as washing machines & tumble dryers became more widespread … Continue reading →

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Battersea’s Rush Hill Road: History of a south London street

Rush Hill Road is a small street leading off Lavender Hill. We’ve dug in to its past, in the latest of our local history posts. No-one knows who first named the area Rush Hill: at some point a field on … Continue reading →

Posted in Curiosities, Local history, Planning, Street by street | 9 Comments

Take a moment to appreciate the architecture of Battersea’s Reference Library

It’s a bit hidden away on a side street, and now that the main access is through an unglamorous corridor from the main lending library few people even notice it. But if you venture down Altenburg Gardens to the old … Continue reading →

Posted in Curiosities, Local history, Street by street | 2 Comments