WELCOME TO THE CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER What a year we've had with changeable weather, changing Committee members and major changes planned for Teddington. However now we're coming to the end of 2014 and it's time to think about Christmas. Not everyone looks forward to Christmas, particularly if alone, with no family and not in good health. This year again we will be giving Society Christmas food parcels to some 40 local residents through the Health & Social Care department based at Teddington Hospital. We hope to get charitable support for this. We hope to see lots of you at our New Year party, details of which are enclosed. This is a chance for us all to get to know each other a little better. Your Committee are all volunteers. No-one is paid and the rewards we reap are seeing good things come to pass in our town which we all love. Whenever we can we donate to local charities and good causes, so if you'd like to suggest suitable recipients do let us know. Even Santa has got into his Pram to race to the centre pages to see who benefited from the revived Pram Race. 2014 has been the Year Of The Poppy as we remembered the centenary of the outbreak of World War One in 1914 memorably with the sea of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London. So Elizabeth Foster’s photo of a humble sparrow on one of those poppies tops our cover and Peter Denton’s lovely photo of a red deer stag in the snow in Bushy Park, now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, ends it. May we wish all our members and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy 2015. Sheena The Teddington Society EDITORIAL 1 Avenue Road, Teddington TW11 0BT After a long Summer and surprisingly mild Autumn, Teddington is getting Reg. Charity No. 802026 ready to celebrate Christmas and New Year. In this edition of Tidings we www.teddingtonsociety.org.uk look at some of the issues facing the town and some past and future events. President - Jenny Hilton Last winter the main worry was flooding, though other towns suffered a lot more than we did. This year, as well as flooding, we are concerned about the Vice Presidents - Roger Avins, John huge increase in aircraft noise that ruined many a summer evening. The Demont, Joan Freeman Heathrow Noise Experiment finished on 12 November, but there will be another one in 2015. Chairman (Vacant) Is your street as busy as mine is with builders' lorries, skip deliveries and Vice Chairman the sounds of cement mixers, loud radios and circular saws? Everybody, it Sheena Harold 020 8977 2700 seems, is rushing to finish their project before the cold weather sets in. The [email protected] Teddington Society Planning Group has been working hard to scrutinize proposals big and small, especially those that might change the nature of the Secretary High Street and river bank. Josette Nikiforou 020 8977 9037 [email protected] As we go to press, preparations are in hand for "Teddington Lights Up" on 27 November. It is not possible to turn both High Street and Broad Street Treasurer into pedestrian precincts for the evening (where would the buses go?) but Sally Howland 020 8977 9404 many of the shops will be open late and maybe you can visit one of them that [email protected] you have not been in before, especially if you go on a treasure hunt for the 23 Christmas Doors. Publicity, Promotions, Gardens Sheena Harold It is not always possible to acknowledge the photographer of every picture in Tidings, but I would like to express my thanks (in alphabetical order) to Membership Secretary & Website Alan Benns, Peter Denton, Elizabeth Foster, Brian Holder, Ken Howe and Jenny Michell 020 8977 0772 David Lawton for their excellent photos. [email protected] Don't forget to study the "Events" section on the back page. Many of them Newsletter Editor are on weekdays, but if you would prefer more Saturday outings, then please Donald Bell let Sheena know. [email protected] I hope you have a Happy Christmas and a Good New Year. Minutes Secretary Donald Bell Judy Asher CONTENTS Planning Group 1 – Welcome 10 – Corporate Members Brian Lane 020 8943 0811 2 – Teddington Society 10 – Stevens Tyres [email protected] 2 – Editorial 10 – Energy Efficiency at Lensbury 3 – Squires Garden Centre – part 2 11 – Mugs, Tea Towels and Books Roads & Transport Group 4 – Roads and Transport 11 – Membership Column Brian Holder 020 8977 1579 4 – League of Friends of TMH 12 – Seed and Bean [email protected] 5 – Teddington and Ham Hydro 12 – Teddington Theatre Club 5 – Locks on the Thames 12 – Hales Court Environment Group 6 – Rivers and Open Spaces 13 – Spitfires and Hurricanes Geoff Howland 020 8977 9404 6 _ Planning Group Plaques 13 – Christmas Doors [email protected] 6 – Puzzle Answers 14 - Aircraft Noise 7 _ History Group Report 15 – James Archie Matson History Group 8 _ Environment Group Report 15 - parkrun's Tenth Anniversary Ken Howe 020 8943 1513 9 – Pram Race 16 – Events in Teddington [email protected] No room in this edition for a proper "Puzzle Page". The puzzles are just in Riverside & Open Spaces pale green boxes on various pages with the answers on page 6. Ann Sayer 020 8977 9495 Here is one to get you started: [email protected] MRS STARR - Mary's mother, Mrs Starr, had four children. The first was Corporate Liaison called John, the second was called Paul, the third was called George. What Elizabeth Foster 07711 094965 was the name of the fourth one? [email protected] Page 2 Tidings 168, Winter 2014 SQUIRES GARDEN CENTRE - 2 Paddy Ching, with Colin and Sarah Squire In 2014 Squire’s celebrated their 50th anniversary. In our last issue we looked at their earliest years. In 1903 William Poupart Snr. bought out the dairy business at Slades Farm to the south of Blackmore Farm and in 1906 this became the Fulwell Golf Course. One of the old farm buildings became the canteen where the first seats were old trolley bus seats no longer needed at Fulwell bus station. By the early 1990s the old buildings were really beyond their best and in 1993 the company built the new garden centre shop, restaurant and plant area you see today. In 1912 his son William acquired Blackmore Farm. The family were renowned for their jam factory and grew most of the fruit needed for their jam. It is not certain whether the farm they acquired stretched all the way along Sixth Cross Road nor whether it became their dairy farm or fruit farm or possibly both. The offices moved into the old Victorian farmhouse William Poupart and his wife Jennie moved to the which is still the registered office of the company. A farm. William died there in 1939 and Jennie lived further refit of the garden centre was carried out in there until her death in 1961. A photograph of the 2013. entrance to the property and the house taken in the 1930s shows that the entrance was in Wellington Over the years the centre has won a number of Road. awards including Garden Centre of the year and most recently in 2013 the plant department was awarded Best Plant Area in the UK as a result of the annual inspections carried out by the Garden Centre Association. Plants and gardening products remain the core business of this family owned company which now operates 15 garden centres in the south east. When Squire’s acquired part of the farm, largely comprising the farmhouse, old farm buildings and some surrounding land, the establishment was in need of some TLC. The old buildings were put to new use for retailing and the stables were the offices for many years. A new and very modern (in the 1960s) angular building constructed for the houseplant department and this became quite a feature of Sixth Cross Road. Tidings 168, Winter 2014 Page 3 ROADS AND TRANSPORT LEAGUE OF FRIENDS OF TMH Brian Holder Impending Controlled Parking Zone Review Residents will have noticed that there have been a lot of people in Hi Viz jackets and clipboards counting cars and taking down number plate details. Apparently this has been requested by one or two Councillors, not sure who, or which Wards, but the last Administration back in 2007, proposed that the whole of Central Teddington, and a bit more, should become a CPZ and held an exhibition in Teddington Library. The subsequent consultation found that about 15% of residents, mainly around the station, supported the idea of a CPZ, and the station areas have The League of Friends is a registered charity whose since had 2 hour CPZs introduced. That has successfully members and volunteers have worked tirelessly for reduced the commuter parking problem. more than 30 years to raise funds to improve the facilities and equipment at this much valued A review carried out by the R&T Group in late 2008 found community hospital. Of the money raised to date, that there were 735 on-road car park spaces around the some £8 million has already been dedicated to the station, including 35 Pay and Display and free turnover benefit of the hospital and its patients. spaces (we would like more of these). We found that 392 permits were purchased leaving 308 spare permit spaces, The League provides regular support complementing and between 0830am and 1030am, typically only around the services within the Hospital to help improve the 250 cars were parked leaving 450 empty spaces every patient experience.