Raynes Park is another of those areas that really came of age when the railway arrived. Although there was no doubt a hamlet here beforehand, the older buildings all seem to date from around 1900 and although neither large nor spectacular, there were a couple of interesting things to see.
Amity Grove This building really stops you in your tracks! It consists of three entrances, of which this is the middle one and all are equally ornate and seem to be a fan's homage to William Shakespeare. The tiles read "A.L. 1885 Shakespeare Villas". Although I'm concentrating on some of the details, the overall effect is really eye catching and obviously built by a true fan.
I don't recall seeing such an attractive cluster of chimney pots in one place so far on my travels...
...and to cap it all, in the porch there's another bust of the man himself!
Coombe Lane & Worple Street A fine weather vane on top of a quite ornate spire. Has to be the local pub, doesn't it?
Kingston Road Now above a Church of England regional administrative office this clock is starting to look a bit worse for wear. I wonder if it was fitted into an existing window frame?
Kingston Road & Dorien Road This is a bit of a mystery. A fairly bog standard shop in a Victorian terrace but with ornate (if more than a little tatty) windows and frames to the front and side. Does anyone have any idea what it used to be? The only thing that crosses my mind is that it was possibly a small public house that couldn't compete with the Junction Tavern over the road but I suppose it could have been a picture house or some sort of temple or place of worship. It certainly sticks out from the crowd.
Kingston Road I liked the interesting blend of colours on theses porch tiles that seemed to be repeated along the terrace
Worple Road Now a chemist shop, the original owners name is still proudly picked out in mosaic
5 comments:
The one that's a chemist used to be an off-licence. And it was an off-licence ever since it was opened, 100 yrs ago or so, because when Worple Rd was built there were strict rules about how it would be a public house free area. I'm sad the chemist has taken over, it was nice to think it sold booze there for hundreds of years, gave the place a bit of history. Like your site! From a Raynes Park resident.
Have to correct anonymous on this one. Strangely emough, the shop was a chemist when it opened - the name of the chemist is the name in the mosaic! I forget where I got this from, Raynes Park & West Barnes Residents Association website, possibly, or a book of Wimbledon photos.
Does anyone remember the names of the terraces along Kingston Roasd - including the fascinating one you've pictured above? My grandfather was born in York Terrace in Kingston Road, but I can't work out which one that was
Hi, if you are interested in the history of Raynes Park I hope you may drop in at my blog of my uncle's 69-year-old WWII and post-war diary. We've had approaching 140,000 views so far! It's at http://myunclefred.blogspot.co.uk/ - Cheers, and thanks. -Tony
They were collectively known as the Apostles I believe as there were 12 of them. My Sister has a a house in Gore Rd. The only other one I remember is Dorian Rd.
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