Wandsworth Heritage Festival 2019

WANDSWORTH HERITAGE FESTIVAL 2019

Programme of Events 25th May – 9th June

In partnership with WANDSWORTH HERITAGE FESTIVAL 2019 ENTERTAINING WANDSWORTH Many of the events of this year’s festival celebrate entertainment in Wandsworth past and present.

Bingo Machines in former Granada Cinema, Tooting, c.1990

This programme of events has been brought together by Heritage Wandsworth: the local history and historic environment partnership for the Borough of Wandsworth. If you have any access requirements, due to the nature of some of the events and/or restrictions of the venues, please inform the relevant organisation before booking a place. For access requirements relating to events which do not require advance booking, please contact [email protected] or 020 7223 2334 WANDSWORTH HERITAGE SERVICE

The archives and local history library for the Borough of Wandsworth are located on the first floor of Battersea Library. For more information including opening times please visit our website: www.better.org.uk/wandsworth-heritage-service Follow us on Twitter: @Better_WHS Browse our historic images collection: www.boroughphotos.org/wandsworth

Images in this programme are copyright protected and full details can be supplied on request. Most images are from the collection of Wandsworth Heritage Service. Front cover: The Junction Cinema, Lavender Hill, c1912 Back cover: Postcard advertising Wandsworth as a tourist destination, undated 2 ADVENTURE TRAILS ROUND OLD BATTERSEA TOWN HALL Produced by BAC in collaboration with Cracked Light Theatre, Coney and Greg Wohead Explore the values of important people in Battersea’s history through three brand-new adventure trails. Created by theatre makers, the three trails encompass one for children and families, one for groups aged 11+, and one for adults. • Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN • FREE • Various dates throughout the festival – visit www.bac.org.uk for further details MUSEUM TOUR: THE ANTIQUE BREADBOARD MUSEUM Organised by the Antique Breadboard Museum Learn about political boards, famous owners and carvers in this hands-on collection, personally curated by the collector’s daughter. Take photos, ask questions, share reminiscences and enjoy a generous cream tea. Gather friends and family, and make a day of it! • 17 Lifford Street, Putney SW15 1NY • Various dates • £60 admits 4 visitors and includes a cream tea • Booking required – contact: [email protected] EXHIBITION: THE HISTORY OF BATTERSEA POWER STATION Organised by Battersea Power Station Learn about how the power station worked, how it was designed, and the transformation taking place at the recently opened Heritage and Learning Hub at Battersea Power Station. • Located under Grosvenor Bridge at the entrance to Circus West Village SW11 8AH • 9am–7pm throughout the festival • FREE • No booking required

Easter Monday on Putney Common, 1923 3 SELF-GUIDED WALK: THE BALHAM TO TOOTING BEC TRAIL Organised by Neighbourhood Network SW12 and SW17

A podcast and map take you on this fascinating historical walk along Balham High Road, where people who lived and worked here tell you their stories. Walk the trail any time with anyone!

• Access from www.neighbourhoodnetworksw17.org.uk • Maps and MP3 players also available from Balham and Tooting libraries. SATURDAY 25TH MAY – 2–5PM BOWLS MATCH: BOLINGBROKE V MERTON PARK Organised by the Bolingbroke Bowls Club

Come to the bowling green on Wandsworth Common and watch and enjoy this competitive match featuring Bolingbroke Bowls Club who are celebrating their centenary this year.

• Wandsworth Common Tennis and Bowls Centre, Dorlcote Road SW18 3RT • FREE • No booking required • Light refreshments available SATURDAY 25TH MAY – 2PM BOOK LAUNCH: THE COMMON STORY Organised by the Tooting Common Heritage Project and Tooting History Group

You are invited to the launch of The Common Story: A History of Tooting Common, published as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund supported project. Come along to hear the fascinating story of this much-loved open space.

• Tooting Bec Lido Pavilion, Tooting Bec Road SW16 1RU • FREE • No booking required SUNDAY 26TH MAY – 2PM & 3PM TOUR: HENRY TATE GARDENS, STREATHAM Organised by the Streatham Society

View Tate’s Grade II* listed mansion Park Hill (exterior only) and explore the historic garden with its Grade II listed features, including the Pulhamite grotto, Victorian folly, lake and temple.

• Meet at the lodge gates, Henry Tate Mews, Streatham Common North SW16 3HA • FREE (donations welcome) • No booking required • No parking or toilets onsite

4 SUNDAY 26TH MAY – 12PM GUIDED WALK: WOMEN OF LAVENDER HILL Organised by the Battersea Society

Led by Jeanne Rathbone. Featuring Jeanie Nassau, first woman civil servant; Charlotte Despard, socialist suffragette; Caroline Ganley MP; Marie Spartali, Pre-Raphaelite artist; Deaconess Isabelle Gilmore; Laura Barker, composer; and Pamela Hansford Johnson, author.

• Meet outside Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN • £5 • No booking required MONDAY 27TH MAY – 2.30PM GUIDED WALK: BALHAM HILL Organised by the Balham Society

John Rattray will lead this walk around the Balham Hill area, where the town of Balham began and where three historical parishes meet: Streatham, Clapham and Battersea. Includes a cinema, a music hall and a 19th-century sports ground.

• Meet outside Clapham South station, Balham Hill SW12 9DU • A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Balham Society) • No booking required

Harry Tate on horse, Tom Tweedly and Tom Tweedly Jnr., c1920s 5 THE WANDSWORTH/GLL HERITAGE AWARDS FOR SCHOOLS 2019

Win £750 for your school and a £100 Amazon voucher for yourself! Get inspired by Wandsworth's rich history and heritage. Deadline for submissions: Friday 7th June 2019. To find out more, please email [email protected]

In partnership with

Better is a registered trademark and trading name of GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited), a charitable social enterprise and registered society under the Co-operative & Community Benefit & Societies Act 2014 registration no. 27793R. Registered office: Middlegate House, The Royal Arsenal, London, SE18 6SX. Inland Revenue Charity no. XR43398 6 TUESDAY 28TH MAY – 7PM TALK: THE AMAZING IMPACT OF THE MUSIC HALL ON BATTERSEA & WANDSWORTH Organised by Wandsworth Historical Society

Discover with Neil Robson, editor of the Wandsworth Historian, how the music halls brought fun and entertainment to the area in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

• Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN • FREE • Booking required via www.bac.org.uk or 020 7223 2223 WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 11AM AND 2PM CHILDREN’S SHOW: THE MAGIC WATCHMAKER Organised by Wandsworth Libraries

Watchmaker turned stage magician John Neville Maskelyne lived in Albert Bridge Road in Battersea in the late 19th century. Join him at Battersea Library or Wandsworth Library for some magic tricks interspersed with weird and wonderful facts from the borough’s history!

• 11am at Battersea Library, Lavender Hill SW11 1JB • 2pm at Wandsworth Town Library, 11 Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ • FREE (suitable for ages 5+) • No booking required WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 2PM GUIDED WALK: PIONEERING TOOTING – THE TOTTERDOWN ESTATE Organised by the Tooting History Group

The building of the LCC’s first ‘village estate’ in the early years of the 20th century marked the start of a new era in social housing.

• Meet at Edward VII statue, Tooting Broadway tube station • £5 for non-Tooting History Group members • No booking required WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 6.30PM GUIDED WALK: HERBAL HERITAGE – WILDFLOWERS IN ST NICHOLAS CHURCHYARD Organised by South London Botanical Institute

An exploration of wild plants, and a discussion of their past uses.

• Church Lane Entrance of St Nicholas churchyard, Tooting SW17 9PP • Collection in aid of the South London Botanical Institute • No booking required 7 WEDNESDAY 29TH MAY – 7.45PM FOR 8PM MURDER MYSTERY: A WANDSWORTH LITERARY WHODUNNIT Organised by Wandsworth Libraries

Putney publisher George Newnes is aghast. Someone has murdered the most famous fictional sleuth of all time: Sherlock Holmes! Can he borrow a time machine from HG Wells to bring Putney’s literary giants back to solve the crime?

• Putney Library, 5–7 Disraeli Road, SW15 2DR • £5 (includes a literary themed cocktail) • Booking required – please contact [email protected] or 020 8780 3085 THURSDAY 30TH MAY – 7.30PM TALK: CORRUGANZA! MARY MACARTHUR AND THE BOXMAKERS Organised by Summerstown 182

In the summer of 1908, a vicious pay cut was forced on young women workers at the Corruganza box factory in Summerstown. Mary Macarthur roused them to a famous strike action. Her biographer, Dr Cathy Hunt, tells their story.

• Tara Arts Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield SW18 4ES • £5.50 • Booking required via www.tara-arts.com or 020 8333 4457 THURSDAY 30TH MAY – 2.30PM GUIDED WALK: THE ISLAND OF BATTERSEA Organised by Jon Newman

A 3-mile walk to the river at Nine Elms along the course of the vanished Heathwall, South London’s least understood waterway and originally the tidal channel of the Thames that created the island of Battersea.

• Falcon Glade Park, 119 Falcon Road, Battersea SW11 2PE • £8 – includes copy of Jon’s newly published book The Heathwall: Battersea’s Forgotten River • Booking required via eventbrite: https://island_of_battersea.eventbrite.co.uk

8 Programme for the Balham Hippodrome 9 FRIDAY 31ST MAY – 12-5PM FAMILY DROP-IN SESSION: ARCHAEOLOGY ON YOUR DOORSTEP Organised by the Wandsworth Historical Society

Discover the history of where you live with archaeologist Pamela Greenwood, who will help you identify historic maps and archaeological objects such as Roman pottery. Bring anything interesting you have found in the ground!

• Roehampton Library, 2 Danebury Avenue SW15 4HD • FREE • No booking required FRIDAY 31ST MAY – 10.30AM GUIDED WALK: MAGNIFICENT TREES OF PUTNEY Organised by the Putney Society

A walk round the venerable trees in West Hill and Parkside – many were planted in the grounds of long lost Victorian Villas.

• Meet at the junction of Castlecombe Drive and Beaumont Road, SW19 • FREE • Book via eventbrite: https://westhilltreewalk.eventbrite.co.uk SATURDAY 1ST & SUNDAY 2ND JUNE – 10AM–1PM & 2–5PM OPEN WEEKEND: WANDSWORTH PRISON MUSEUM Organised by Wandsworth Prison Museum

The prison’s history displayed in over 400 objects. Stories of staff, prisoners, escapes and hangings. Features Oscar Wilde; acid bath murderer John Haigh, traitor William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw), and great train robber Ronnie Biggs.

• Prison Museum, North Gate Car Park, HMP Wandsworth, Heathfield Road SW18 3HR • FREE • No booking required SATURDAY 1ST JUNE – 10.30AM GUIDED WALK: A SLICE OF WANDSWORTH TOWN Organised by the Wandsworth Society

David Kirk will lead a walk down East Hill to the High Street, discussing a variety of sites nearby of entertainment, ‘recreation’ of all sorts, some listed buildings, the Huguenot past and the changing character of the area.

• Meet in front of Book House, Huguenot Place, Wandsworth SW18 2EN • A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Wandsworth Society) • Booking required – please contact [email protected] or 020 8874 9167 10 SATURDAY 1ST JUNE – 11AM TOUR: HISTORICAL EMANUEL SCHOOL AND ITS GROUNDS Organised by Emanuel School Archives

The Emanuel School Archivist will take you on a 90-minute tour of the buildings, interiors and grounds, whisking you back to the days when it was a boarding school and orphanage. The School Archive will also be open with a pop-up exhibition.

• Emanuel School, Battersea Rise SW11 1HS (Entry via bridge in Spencer Park) • FREE • No booking required SUNDAY 2ND JUNE – 10AM–11.30AM TOUR: GRANADA CINEMA Organised by Tooting History Group and the Cinema Theatre Association

A chance to visit one of Tooting’s most celebrated buildings. Opened in 1931, this famous Art Deco building not only screened films but also played host to such stars as Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

• Buzz Bingo, 50 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA • £5 • Book via Eventbrite: https://granadatooting.eventbrite.co.uk

Wandsworth Cycling Club, c.1890 11 MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 1-3PM DROP-IN SESSION: BACK IN BATTERSEA Organised by The National Archives

For the last few weeks, elders at Katherine Low Settlement have been sharing their memories of life in Battersea and creating memory boxes prompted by archive material. Come along and see what they have created, take part in a creative activity, and share some memories of your own.

• Battersea Park Library, 309 Battersea Park Rd, London SW11 4NF • FREE • No booking required MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 6.30PM GUIDED WALK: DEVELOPMENT OF A VICTORIAN SUBURB Organised by the Clapham Society

Timothy Walker, author of Twixt the Commons will lead this walk looking at the development of the area between Clapham and Wandsworth Commons, from the 18th to the 21st century.

• Meet outside Clapham South tube station, Balham Hill SW12 9DU • FREE • Booking required – please contact [email protected] MONDAY 3RD JUNE – 7.30PM TALK: PUTNEY VELODROME AND THE PUTNEY ESTATE Organised by Putney Society

Join author Pat Heery for a talk on one of the earliest velodromes in the UK. The Putney Velodrome, open from 1891 to 1905, could attract up to ten thousand spectators, as the immensely popular spectator sport of track cycle racing reached its heyday.

• Community Church, Werter Road, Putney SW15 2LL • £3 for non-members • No booking required TUESDAY 4TH JUNE – 2PM TOUR, TALK & EXHIBITION: PAGEANTRY AND REVELS AT WHITELANDS COLLEGE Organised by Whitelands College, University of Roehampton

Whitelands College has been celebrating May Day for 138 years, and has a fascinating archive of dresses, May Day Crosses and photographs to show for it! The tour will take visitors through the college and end in the college archives.

• Whitelands College, Holybourne Avenue, Roehampton SW15 4JD • FREE • Booking required – please contact [email protected]

12 TUESDAY 4TH JUNE – 6.30PM TALK: THE OTHER LAVENDER HILL MOB Organised by Sue Demont and Wandsworth Libraries

Hard-working women between the wars had limited scope for leisure. Come and hear how future Labour MP Caroline Ganley and the Lavender Hill Women’s Co-operative Guild kept the women of Battersea and beyond entertained when time and money were scarce.

• Battersea Library, 265 Lavender Hill SW11 1JB • FREE • Booking required – https://whf_lavenderhill.eventbrite.com WEDNESDAY 5TH JUNE – 6.45PM TALK: THE HISTORY OF PUTNEY’S CINEMAS Organised by Wandsworth Libraries

Three purpose-built cinemas were opened in Putney in 1911, though films had been shown in adapted premises before then, and a fourth – an Art Deco gem – in 1937. All sadly now lost, but Philip Evison will tell their story.

• Putney Library 5–7 Disraeli Road SW15 2DR • FREE • Booking required – please contact [email protected] or 020 8780 3085 THURSDAY 6TH JUNE – 6.30PM FOR 7PM TALK: GROWING UP IN WARTIME BATTERSEA Organised by the Battersea Society

What was it like to be a child in Battersea during World War II? Local historian Carol Rahn shares highlights of filmed interviews with men and women recounting their childhood experiences during the war. It is a fascinating story of the terrors of bombing, disrupted schooling and youthful independence. This is a reprise of last year’s War Comes Home event.

• Royal College of Art Dyson Building, Hester Road SW11 4AN • £5 (accompanied children free) • No booking required FRIDAY 7TH JUNE – 2–4.30PM DROP-IN SESSION AND EXHIBITION: QUEEN MARY’S HOSPITAL THROUGH TIME Organised by Queen Mary’s Hospital Archive and Museum Group

Learn more about the history of Queen Mary’s Hospital, starting from 1915 when it was opened for the care and rehabilitation of the First World War amputee war wounded.

• Lower Ground Floor entrance, Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton Lane SW15 5PN • FREE • No booking required 13 FRIDAY 7TH JUNE – 5.30PM TALK: WANDSWORTH PRISON IN FACT AND FICTION Organised by Wandsworth Prison Museum

Find out more about Wandsworth Prison’s presence in film, theatre, books, and music.

• Wandsworth Prison Museum, North Gate Car Park, Heathfield Road SW18 3HR • FREE • Strict booking procedures apply due to security – please contact [email protected] for details of how to book SATURDAY 8TH JUNE – 10.30 TALK & GUIDED WALK: THE CRAIG TELESCOPE – ONE TIME WONDER OF WANDSWORTH COMMON Organised by The Friends of Wandsworth Common

In 1852, the biggest refracting telescope in the world stood on Wandsworth Common – the brainchild of the Reverend John Craig. Join Greg Smye-Rumsby of the Craig Telescope project to learn about this remarkable but long-since-disappeared structure and why it never fulfilled its promise.

• The Althorp pub (Stable room at the back) 20 Bellevue Road SW17 7EB • FREE • Booking required – contact [email protected] SATURDAY 8TH JUNE – 2PM GUIDED WALK: WALK THE LANE! Organised by Summerstown 182

Every step tells a story. Few roads in Wandsworth are as soaked in history as the 2½ mile length of Garratt Lane. Geoff Simmons leads an informative and entertaining walk from Wandsworth to Tooting, finishing near the home of Victorian nurseryman Peter Barr, ‘the Daffodil King’.

• Meet outside Wandsworth Town Library, 11 Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ • £5 (all proceeds will go towards the cost of an historic plaque commemorating Peter Barr) • Booking required – please contact [email protected]

14 SUNDAY 9TH JUNE – 2.30PM GUIDED WALK: BALHAM HIGH ROAD Organised by the Balham Society

A walk, led by John Rattray, along the southern and central parts of Balham High Road, covering its history and development. Over the years this stretch has seen its fair share of entertainment with cinemas, dancing studios, billiard/snooker halls and a casino.

• Meet on Balham High Road, opposite the junction with Ritherdon Road SW17 7AJ • A collection will be taken (proceeds to the Balham Society) • No booking required SUNDAY 9TH JUNE – 2.30PM GUIDED WALK: THE 1951 FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN Organised by the Friends of Battersea Park

A walk on the north side of the Park, looking particularly at remnants and reconstructions associated with the Festival of Britain Pleasure Gardens, with its funfair and other attractions.

• Meet at Albert Gate, Battersea Park, Albert Bridge Road SW11 4PJ • £5 (proceeds to the Friends of Battersea Park) • No booking required

Silver Jubilee celebrations Wayford Street, Battersea, 1935 15 We aim to ensure the information provided is correct at the time of going to print but there may be unavoidable last-minute changes in events. Any changes will be posted in libraries, our website: www.better.org.uk/wandsworth-heritage-service and on Twitter: @Better_WHS