Southfields

It took me two visits to complete a tour of the Southfields area, not because of its size but because the weather was against me. My first visit was in October when the trees were still green so you might notice a difference with the photos from my second visit which I did in mid December.

The station opened in 1889 on an extension from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon. This section of the District Line was the last part of the line to be converted from steam to electric. Electric trains started running in 1905. The station didn't transfer to London Underground until 1994 prior to that it was managed by British Rail. It has an island platform with steps up to the exit but was upgraded with a lift, making it step free, in 2012 in time for the London Olympics.

The station exits onto crossroads where Wimbledon Park Road crosses Augustus Road and Replingham Road. I turned left out of the station onto Wimbledon Park Road.

This tall building is the Everyday church. Interesting that I could see no cross on the building despite it being a Christian church.

I turned down one of the residential roads. The area is very much a residential suburb of London. Until the late 19th century Southfields was still fields situated between the more developed villages of Wimbledon and Putney. It was when the station opened in 1889 that development in the area took off. The main residential area is known as 'The Grid', named because of the layout of parallel streets, crossed at right angles by a series of parallel roads. The Grid consists mainly of Victorian and Edwardian terrace houses. Some of the houses were converted into flats before the council stepped in to stop the practice in the eighties. You won't find many pubs in this area because landowner Augusta Beaumont was a member of the temperance movement and drew up a restrictive covenant when she sold the land for development.

It was a very neat tree lined road that I was on and then I noticed that at the base of the trees someone had planted flowers. I wonder if this is a regular feature or one started during lockdown. I feel that any addition to a street's greenery is always an asset. 

On the side of this house was a metal heart entwined with fairy lights.

I continued along the road crossing over into Gressehall Road and found the Fazi mosque, also known as the London mosque. It was the first purpose built mosque in London and was commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community originally from the Punjab region of India. It cost over £6000  with the majority of the money raised by Ahmadi women in India who donated their jewellery and belongings.

I returned back towards the station calling into the cafe of St Michael's church on the way, but unfortunately it had just  closed, however the toilets were still open! Walking back along Wimbledon Park Road I saw Standen Road. I remembered reading something about this road so I turned down it. It looked very ordinary until I came across this gem.

This was the Frame Foods baby food company which opened in 1904.  Built in an art nouveau style with very distinctive green ceramic tiles. 

The blue and white of the slogan 'Nourish & Flourish' stands out against the green of the tiles.

The tops of the towers are apparently called Tiffany twiddles. The building has now been converted into flats and is known as Tiffany Heights. 

The canopy above the doorway had the names of both the artist and the architect inscribed onto it which I have never seen displayed on a building. I don't know whether white would have been the original colour as you can hardly see the names.

I found this old advert for Frame  Baby Foods on the internet. I thought baby food, other than milk, was a more recent product than the turn of the 20th century. I don't recall seeing it around when I was young. Babies were weaned onto mashed veggies etc so this factory struck me as unusual for that period. Interesting example of an advertising message - 'Frame-Food for building up the frame'!

Walking back towards the station, this corner house drew my attention with its row of chimney tops.

is rare to see so many in a line on what appears to be a residential property. I could find no information on the internet for this address.

Back at the crossroads and the station I decided to go home. It had started raining so time to put the camera away.

It was a few weeks before I was able to return and by now we had changed from Autumn into Winter. This time I turned right out of the station onto Wimbledon Park Road passed Southwark library. Libraries are currently remaining open and offer many services other than book loan, including the use of free wi-fi which can be a lifeline for many people

A little further up the road is AELTA ground (All England Lawn Tennis Association) . Southfields is the closest tube station to the Wimbledon tennis club. The All England club had been founded solely for the purpose of croquet in 1869 on four acres of meadowland at Worple Road, Wimbledon, but croquet was soon overtaken by the new pastime of tennis. In 1877 the 'All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' proposed a new lawn tennis competition open to all amateurs. 22 men entered with a total attendance of two hundred at the final. This was the first of the Wimbledon Championships and is the oldest tennis tournament worldwide.

In 1924 a new No. 1 court was opened, with a capacity for 3,250 spectators. Over the years this was increased to 7,500. Then in 1996 it was replaced with a new Court No.1 with space for 11,500 spectators.  Other than the four main championship grass courts here, there are a further 18 championship grass courts: 22 practice grass courts; 8 American clay courts; 5 indoor courts and two acrylic courts. Both the Centre Court and No. 1 Court now have retractable roofs. The Wimbledon Championships last for 13 days each year and attracts around 500,000 visitors. Southfields station is always prepared for the onslaught of visitors and usually decorates the station in the Wimbledon colours. 

You can book a tour of Wimbledon and its Museum which I did a few years ago. It was great to see Centre Court with no spectators.

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In the Museum the Championship trophies are on display.

Across the road from the Tennis Club is Wimbledon Park Golf Club. The course has recently been sold to AELTC for £65m and the last rounds of golf will be played here in Dec 2021 before being handed over to the Tennis Club for redevelopment.

I walked round the outside of the AELTC site and at the back, further building work is currently taking place. The Somerset Road development is due for completion in April 2022 and will provide AELTC with six external clay courts and six internal acrylic courts, a basement car park and new club house facilities.

Wandering down a side street trying to find my way to Wimbledon Common I came across this Buddhist Temple. 

It looked very ornate from the glimpse I got between the trees. This is the Buddhapadipa temple. The first Buddhist temple to be built in the UK. The name is a compound word in Buddhist ceremonial language meaning lamp or light of the Buddha.

I could not get a clear photo of the temple from the road so I have downloaded this one from the internet. The temple would usually be open for visitors but has had to close during the pandemic. The building was created in 1976 by the London Buddhist Temple Foundation to spread Buddhist teachings in Europe. Built according to Thai tradition it has since become one of Europe's most important Buddhist training centres. The grounds cover an area of approximately four acres with trees and an ornamental lake.

At the end of the road I only had to turn right and cross a main road and there was Wimbledon Common. Open ground, shrub land and home to the Wombles.  The Common consists of 1140 acres of open space made up of

four different areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, Putney Lower Common and the Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields. Being an unfenced Common, the whole area is open to the public 24 hours a day throughout the year.

In the distance I could see a windmill so I made my way there. It was closed but I'm not that sure there would be much to see inside. However, the cafe next door was open. Even though I had to sit outside I was very grateful for the hot drink and sausage roll.

Feeling refreshed I had a closer look at the windmill which was built around 1817 by a local carpenter for the benefit of local residents. It closed in 1864 because the lord of the manor, the fifth Earl Spencer wanted to enclose Wimbledon Common, sell Putney Heath for building land and build himself a new manor house. Objections to the Plans by local residents resulted in the Commons being protected by the  Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act of 1871. After its closure the windmill was turned into living accommodation for six families.  Interestingly the windmill was used as a vantage point for watching the many duels that took place on the Common in the 19th century. Eventually it became empty and left to rot. Money was raised to renovate the building which took many years but in 1976 it opened to the public as a museum.

Although it was only mid afternoon it was beginning to get dark and I could feel the rain drops so time to return to the station and home.  

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