Category: Local News

Ron Elam collection of Local Yesterdays.

Many will remember the stall on Bellevue Parade where Ron Elam used to be on a Saturday selling items from his mass of historic postcards of South London views. This unique and irreplaceable collection was recently auctioned. We were concerned that if the collection was broken up the loss to our knowledge of the heritage of the area would be lost. Therefore, in collaboration with the Friends of Wandsworth Common, we have jointly acquired 897 postcards.

There’s a fair amount of work involved in just sifting through the 8 albums. Details of how to view them, for anyone who wants to see them now, and what to do with them all need to be resolved in the near future. The proposal is to ensure that these are held for public access.

St Anne’s Church, Wandsworth, Bi-Centenary

To celebrate this event the Society held a joint meeting with the Vicar and congregation of the church looking at both the history of this distinctive Waterloo Church and a review of the architectural issues of making church buildings relevant to today’s worshippers and communities.

To view a recording of the meeting see https://youtu.be/aTgR44Pnl14

Wimbledon All England Club Expansion

The All England Club’s controversial plans to build 39 new tennis courts, including an 8,000 seat stadium, on protected open land has been approved.

Merton Council approved the plans, but the proposal was referred to the GLA after Wandsworth Council rejected the scheme last November. However the GLA officers recommended approval and Jules Pipe, the deputy mayor of London, approved the plan. The Society made representations against the proposal along with the Wimbledon Society and many others. The objectors are considering what steps, if any, remain available to continue the case.