River Wandle In Wandsworth Traces of a rich history on the Riverbank The Wandle rises in Waddon and Carshalton and flows into the Thames at Wandsworth. The names of the river and Wandsworth are thought to have come from ‘Wendel’s Worth’, an old English word for ‘enclosure’ or ‘homestead’. All Saints Church The Spit Wandsworth has a rich industrial history, of which the Wandsworth Town Station Wandle was a vital ingredient. Its fast flow provided The modest Georgian church that stands in the High Street near the power for the mills and its plentiful clean water was ideal King Wandle bridge isn’t Wandsworth’s grandest, and it suffers from the Georges Park for dyeing and other processes such as calico printing and The Surrey Iron Railway busy main road, but it still brings to mind Wandsworth’s origins as a parchment manufacturing. Today there are very few pleasant market town round the river. The church dates from 1780, Southfields buildings left on its banks to tell the tale, which has to be The railway was opened in Community with parts of the tower constructed a century earlier. Though College Earlsfield Station 1803, and ran for 8 miles left largely to the visitor’s imagination. Wandsworth was the birthplace of largely rebuilt after wartime bomb damage, it still retains its charm. from the mouth of the Even the river itself disappears into a tunnel, created the first public railway in the when the present day shopping centre was built. Above Wandle to Merstham in Left: Engraving of the church in 1630 Wandle Haydons Road Park world. In this 19th century painting Station ground it washes peacefully through King George’s Park, Surrey. The important Colliers you can see the river and part of Wood Station then re-emerges at Wandsworth High Street where it industries along the river Merton Abbey Below: View in 1890 showing The King’s Arms Mills/Chapter Young’s Brewery in the distance. House Deen City Farm flows on down to the Creek, past Young’s Brewery needed to transport goods to Morden Road Tramlink Phipps which finally closed in 2006, having been a brewery site the Thames. Instead of Bridge Tramlink Morden Hall Park Belgrave expanding the river into a Walk from about 1580. Tramlink navigable canal it was decided Mitcham Morden Mitcham Station Tramlink Station to build a railway. This was Ravensbury Park Published by: Wandle Valley Festival Funded by: Awards For All before the before the Design : Jonathan Spearman-Oxx Text: John Hawks Pictures: Courtesy of London Borough of Wandsworth, invention of steam Wandle Industrial Museum, David Saxby locomotives, so the railway Wandle Spencer Valley Road Wetland Wetland was horse-drawn. Hackbridge Station Beddington Park Wilderness Island (Café) Nature Reserve Wandle Park Tramlink Carshalton Station Flint path Inevitably the Surrey Iron Carshalton House Water Tower Railway was killed off by Sutton Ecology Centre Westcroft Carew Manor Grove Leisure Dovecote Honeywood Park competition from steam power Museum Centre and Wetland (Carshalton Ponds) St Mary’s Church Waddon Ponds Woodcote and finally closed in 1846. Holdings Carshalton Park Grotto Waddon Station Stone blocks Rail fixed by spike The Wandle as it will never be seen again; to wooden plug Today it’s just a ghost. Very few relics survive, but you can a view from Buckhold Road early last The iron rails were attached by pegs to see three of the railway’s stone century, before the shopping centre was separate stone blocks, rather than the sleeper blocks set into the built and the river banished below ground. wooden sleepers we are used to with pavement in Garratt Lane near locomotive drawn railways, so that the the Wandle tunnel. The Wandsworth and horses could walk between the rails District Gas Company Williamson’s Dye Works Operating from the Creek where the Wandle joins the Thames, 100 years ago this was one of the A beautiful view painted in 1860 of country’s biggest gas companies. It the Dye Works which stood on Garratt Lane by Mapleton Road The Upper Mill even had its own fleet of coal vessels. The flagship of these was bridge. Its specialty was Wandsworth the ‘SS Wandle’, which distinguished scarlet dye, famous throughout This enormous mill straddled the Wandle where itself by fighting off a U-boat attack Europe and used for Cardinals’ hats the shopping centre now stands. It was destroyed in the first World War! Their in Rome because the bright red by fire in 1928. The Upper, Middle and Lower cheap gas made Wandsworth a colours were so fast they didn’t run Mills were the largest on the Wandle and were all popular centre for balloonists. in wet weather! used to grind corn. In the 1800’s the Upper and Middle Mills produced 60,000 sacks of flour a year. .