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June 2014
For the latest information, go to www.wimbledonsociety.org.uk, wimbledonmuseum.org.uk or the Facebook page.
NEWSLETTER
INSIDE:News 3 Local History Group 4 World War One Centenary 5 Oral History 7 Exhibitions 8Environment 9 Planning Committee 10 Incorporation 11 Around and About 12
The LondonForum of
Amenity andCivic Societies
One of the most ambitiousexhibitions yet staged at thenewly renamedNormanPlastowGallery will display the storyof Merton Priory from itsfounding in 1114 until thepresent day for eight weeksfromThursday 10 July.The event will be launched
with a private view for invitedguests at 6.30pm. It will thenbe open to the public everyweekend until the end of Augustduring Museum hours 2.30-5pm and every Wednesdayfrom 11.30-2.30pm.One might say that Merton
Priory lasted only 424 yearssince King Henry VIII knockedit down in 1538 and used themasonry to build NonsuchPalace. But that would not beentirely true. We still have allthe foundations and most arecovered and protected.At the Chapter House Museum
under Merantun Way you cansee where the Chapter Houseitself and parts of the cloisterand the south transept stood.
‘Return ofMertonPriory’
Try visiting Merton Abbey Mills one day and looking acrossMerantun Way at the giant Sainsbury’s. Can you really imaginewhat Merton Priory would have looked like in its medievalheyday? This shows the scale of what once graced this site.
Continued on Page 8
AGM sets ball rolling for incorporationFormal incorporation ofthe Society as a limitedliability company wasproposed on 17 Mayat this year’s AnnualGeneral Meeting.Advising the Society
as an independentauthority on the issue,Keith Lawrey of theFoundation for Scienceand Technology (shownhere with Chairman Asif Malik) answered members’ questionsand explained why the move would be wise.The meeting gave approval for the Executive Committee to
investigate the implications, with a final decision planned in2015. For further details, see Page 11 of this Newsletter.
Editor:TonyMatthews,11ChesterRoad,[email protected] 1344/ 07749924612Editorial team: Asif Malik, Iain SimpsonPrinting: The Wimbledon Print Company,257 Haydons Road, SW19 8TY [email protected]
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President Norman PlastowFar House, Hillside, SW19 4NL 8947 [email protected]
Chairman/Website Asif Malik15 Edge Hill, SW19 4LR 8946 [email protected]
Hon Secretary Sue Lang192 Queens Road, 07757 778995SW19 [email protected]
Hon Treasurer Corinna Edge 07976 4028422 Kingswood Road, SW19 [email protected]
Planning Chairman 8946 2198John Mays14 Hill View, SW20 [email protected]
Museum Chairman 8946 1544Cassandra Taylor96 Dora Road, SW19 [email protected]
Local History ChairmanCharles Toase6 Watery Lane, SW20 9AA 8540 [email protected]
Membership/Planning SecretaryJennifer Newman 8715 199935 Wool Road, SW20 [email protected]
Activities/Newsletter DistributionLinda Defriez 8944 69146 Ridgway Gardens, SW19 [email protected]
Museum Head of OperationsBill Hakes 8947 399827 Ernle Road, SW20 [email protected]
Wimbledon Society contactsEDITOR’S NOTE
Wimbledon Society Newsletter
AGM Report 2014The Society held its 110th AnnualGeneral Meeting at Christ Church,West Wimbledon on 17 May.President Norman Plastow openedthe proceedings, attended by some50 members, with MP Stephen Hammond, MayorKrystal Miller and formerMayors among the guests.Introducing his report for the year, Chairman
Asif Malik launched a new book (see Page 3),mentioned coming promotional events andthanked all volunteers, particularly those steppingdown, including onetime Society Chairman MartynHarman and retiring Museum Committee Chair-man Charles Toase (staying with Local History Group).Treasurer Corinna Edge introduced the
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts. Thanksto Gift Aid, dividends and interest they showeda healthy surplus. A reserve fund had also beenestablished for future Museum refurbishment.Norman Plastow was re-elected President
and Pat Keith, Charles Toase and Tony Michaelall Vice-Presidents. The Chairman and Treasurerwere also re-elected while Sue Lang becameSociety Secretary. Elected to the ExecutiveCommittee were Marsha Beresford, David Butler,Linda Defriez, Monica Ellison, Bill Hakes, JanetKoss, John Mays, Jennifer Newman, AndrewSimon, Iain Simpson, and Cassandra Taylor.Members commented on the Society’s work
before the address by guest speaker LordAhmad of Wimbledon, a former Wimbledonward councillor, who compared the Societyand the House of Lords as two centres of expertiseand tradition, working for the community.This is my last report. I have greatly enjoyed
my eight years as Secretary so I am delightedto be voted on to the Executive Committee. Ilook forward to contributing to the Society’swork in future. DAVID BUTLER
From the left: Lord Ahmad, Councillor KrystalMiller, Mayor of Merton, Society ChairmanAsif Malik and President Norman Plastow.
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NEWS
A crowd gathered on 7 March tocelebrate the launch of NormanPlastow’s Wimbledon, openingshow at the newly renamedGallery. The event, which ranfor ten days, was organisedjointly by the Society and theWimbledon Village Hall Trust.After the tribute speeches,
Norman welcomed invitedguests to the exhibition. Thisincluded photos, texts andmemorabilia covering our ownMuseum and the WindmillMuseum, both owing so muchto him, as well as his manycampaigns to protect Wimbledon’sheritage. Aspects of his own lifealso showed him receiving anMBE award from the Queen atBuckinghamPalace (see right).He could be seen and heard
too, discussingWimbledon’s richhistory in selected scenesfrom the DVD Inside Wimbledonin the adjacent Museum.
Curator of PhotographsSimon Joseph was inspiredby the Museum’s rich archiveof historic photographs toconceive a special exhibitionjuxtaposing key historicalviews with their contemporaryequivalents. He duly took thenecessary photos himself andthe outcome was last winter’sNow & Then exhibition inwhat has since become theNorman Plastow Gallery.It seemed natural to seek
an enduring memento of thisunique show. Not only wouldthis be of interest to peoplefamiliar with Wimbledon, itwould also form a valuablerecord for the benefit of futuregenerations.So it was decided to produce
a book on the same theme.The result is Now & Then, anew hardback book publishedby the Wimbledon SocietyMuseum Press (RRP £15)and launched at the AGM.Containing a much widerrange of images than the ex-hibition itself, the book hasbeen designed and publishedentirely by Society members.The project was supported
by generous sponsorship fromlocal businesses and individuals.The book is now available forsale in the Museum, online atthe Museum website, and atseveral local bookshops.
‘Now and Then’hitsthe bookshops
Norman Plastow Gallery openswith dedicated exhibition
After winning their campaignagainstMertonCouncil’s unwantedcar park extension, Friends ofWimbledon Park have turnedto other longer term issues.One is regeneration of the
lake with a footpath andboardwalk right around it. Ahuge and costly undertaking,this will only be possible withagreement of all of the threeowners - Merton Council, theAll England Lawn Tennis Cluband the Wimbledon Club.The athletics stadium also
badly needs an upgrade. TheFriends have been workingwith the Wimbledon Club, localschools and the HerculesClub to provide better facilities,a new clubhouse and a new
hockey pitch in the centre ofthe running track. An architecthas drawn up plans and aformal planning application isexpected to be made soon.The park’s Revelstoke
Road entrance is in need ofimprovement with a 20mphspeed limit, some pavementchanges, and also redesignedpathways. Tree PreservationOrders are needed too for thepark’s entire 26 hectares.For more information, go to
www.friendsofwimbledonpark.org.uk, visit the Facebookpage at www.facebook.com/FriendsofWimbledonPark andfollow FOWP on twitter at@fowpsw19
IAIN SIMPSON
Bigger ideas for Wimbledon Park
LOCAL HISTORY GROUP
Quite a few local residents weretaught to ride a horse byMajor E. Walker (above) whoran the Wimbledon School ofEquitation at the Swan stablesin the Ridgway from 1938.But who was he, where did helive, andwhatwashis first name?When he died in 1960 in
his seventies, the WimbledonBoro’ News just called him‘Major E. Walker’, and thatwas how he signed himself.He may have been calledEvelyn but does anybody know?
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Richard Milward compiled achronology of Wimbledon’shistory and a copy surfacedrecently among our papers.It stops short in 1977, so
we have been discussingwhat to add to update it. Mostpeople will probably think ofchanges to the town centre,with Centre Court opening in1992. After all, that causedthe move of the fire station,the Baptist church and themagistrates court, as well asthe loss of the Civic Hall.But what about the arrival
of the Piazza in 2002 or theone-way road system in1992? Then there were the‘fridge on the bridge’ in 1983,the start of Tramlink in 2000,and AFC Wimbledon in 2002.The swimming baths re-
opened as a recreation centrein 1989. In 1977, the freeWimbledon Guardian news-
We missed last November’scentenary of Merton Bus Garage,shown above left in 1914 andabove right 100 years later.Despite the name, it is actually
in Wimbledon, whose MedicalOfficer of Health at the timewelcomed it as bringing ‘abetter class of person’ toSouth Wimbledon and raisingthe standard of housing.Bus drivers, conductors,
engineers, cleaners and others,together with their families,moved into the area, a total of
took the opportunity to look atthe history of Methodism inWimbledon since the 1830s.A Methodist church was
built in Worple Road, oppositeSpencer Hill, in 1887 but wasdemolished in 1971. Anotherone followed in Griffiths Road,opening in 1904 and rebuiltover a century later in 2007.So the church dating from
1914 at the far end of WorpleRoad near Raynes Park wasthe town’s third known placeof worship for Methodists.
Centenaries of two significant landmarksnearly 1000 people.The garage is much larger
than it looks from the entrance,going back a long way. It canhouse 200 buses, although itnormally has only about halfthat number. The King’s Headpub next door, which closedin 2004, has been taken overfor the bus company offices.Look for buses with ‘AL’ on
the side -- that is the code forMerton.Cottenham Park Methodist
Church was built in 1914, so we
Historic dates in Wimbledonpaper was launched, eventu-ally leading to demise of theoldWimbledon News in 2006.The Crown Post Office in
Compton Road closed in1995 and the annual VillageFair started in 1986. WimbledonHospital in Copse Hill closedin 1983. Cannizaro Housebecame a hotel in 1987.What about local museums?
Apart from our own Museumof Wimbledon, already over60 years old in 1977, we nowhave the Windmill Museumwhich opened the previousyear in 1976, the Lawn TennisMuseum which opened thatsame year in 1977, and theWandle Industrial Museum, in1983.Can you think of any more?
How about the Wombles in1968? Richard apparentlyforgot them!
CHARLES TOASE
Major Who?
WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY
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As we commemorate thecentenary of the First WorldWar from summer 1914, it iscurious to recall the warm dayyears earlier when the youngKaiser Wilhelm II of Germanyhad a splendid time reviewingand admiring British troops onWimbledon Common.During his first state visit
abroad after dumping Bismarckas his Chancellor, he arrivedat Wimbledon Station by trainon 11 July 1891. Then, flankedby his cousins, the Prince ofWales (future King Edward VII)and the Duke of Connaught,the army Commander-in-Chief, Wilhelm rode up the hillon horseback and prepared toinspect 22,000 British troopson the Common.Huge crowds gathered to
watch the procession andthen the review itself, withpeers, MPs and diplomats to-gether on a dedicated standoff Parkside. The troops in-cluded 6000 Regulars whohad marched from Aldershot
When the Kaiser came to Wimbledon
and 16,000 Volunteers, thenational home defence force,who had gathered at a specialstation below St George’sRoad before assembling on theCommon.This was still the era of
British redcoats, years beforethe switch to khaki. The BoerWar still lay in the future andthe trenches of the Westernfront were unimaginable. Britainhad not fought in Europesince the Crimean War in the1850s. The Kaiser was enjoying
an uncharacteristically goodpress, and proud infantrymenwere posit ioned near theWindmill while gunners andcavalry were closer to Rushmere.Kaiser Wilhelm certainly
enjoyed inspecting the linesof men and later wrote: ‘It wasthe greatest treat you couldhave imagined for me andsplendidly done.’Just over 23 years later he
led the German war effortwhich killed more British andother troops than any in history.
WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY
6
Cannizaro is the musicalname of an estate atWimbledon,near London. It has beentaken over to become anAmerican Red Cross Hospital.The estate is the home of
Mr and Mrs Percy Chubb ofNew York. It has been a hos-pital for British officers sincethe early days of the war buthas now, at the suggestion ofMr Chubb, been brought intothe American Red Cross or-ganization in Great Britain.It will continue to care for a
certain proportion of officers,as well as many Americans.The plan is to extend thisbreaking of distinctions byalso bringing in convalescentofficers of other nationalities.The new hospital is within
about half an hour of centralLondon. The big two-storeyconcrete building is pictur-esquely situated on the crestof a hill in the midst of lawnsand gardens edged by ancientwoods of birch and locust.Beyond the estate is WimbledonCommon with its hundreds ofacres of country walks.There is a bracing tonic
qual i ty to the air on thewooded height, and an at-mosphere of rural remotenessthat makes London seemmuch farther away than itreally is. This is probably theonly American hospital inEurope that can boast its owngolf course. The course, as amatter of fact, is a part of the
original estate but has forsome years been leased tothe [Royal] Wimbledon GolfClub. The club has gener-ously made the entire coursefree for the convalescents,who have not been slow totake advantage of the oppor-tunity this offered.The hospital is reached after
a stiff climb from Wimbledonrailway station, across thesouth west corner of the famousCommon and past the littlelake sparkling in its center.Passing through the gate, thevisitor enters a broad path,bordered by curving massesof rhododendron, punctuatedhere and there by slendertowering beeches or fragrantlocust.The path leads past the
tennis courts where, if theweather is fine, a crowd ofconvalescents is always to befound. The crowd on the tenniscourts is something of a sur-prise to the visitor who hasperhaps come prepared tosee patients in hospital uniform.These are officers in theircustomary uniform, and there
is almost nothing of the familiarair of a hospital about thescene. To be sure, some ofthe men move a bit stiffly withthe restraint compelled by anarm in a sling or the rigidity ofleg which follows wounds andoperations. But in the main,the scene on the tenniscourts, or for that matter any-where about the estate, ismore expressive of the goodspirits of care-free childrenthan the anxious hush of ahospital.There are white-frocked nurses,
of course, to remind the officersthat they must not harm them-selves by over-exertion, butmost of the ordinary atmos-phere of the traditional hospitalis carefully avoided, and theeffort is to make the wholeplace, on the psychological noless than the physical, ahome-like place where spiritsmay recuperate and regainold-time health and vigour.For the American visitor,
there is another surprise whenhe is met at the door by atypical English butler – theconventional, smart, capable,
How Cannizaro cared for convalescentsOn 2 Oct 1918, the AmericanRed Cross Bulletin in Londonreported that a new hospitalfor convalescent officers ofall the Allied nations hadopened in Wimbledon. Hereis a section of the report bywartime writer PAUL TYNER.
Allied officers recover on the terrace, served by a butler and footman.
ORAL HISTORY
7
middle-aged, vigilant butler ofthe stage, with the air of fittingperfectly into the picture. Hetakes the visitor’s card andcourteously invites him to enterand await the Commandant’sreturn from the tennis court.The visitor will be particularly
lucky if he arrives about tea-time, for this is a great eventat Cannizaro. Tennis players,golfers and patients whoseonly diversion is a walk or agame of cards in a sunny cornerof the porch – all come troopinginto the great central hall attea-time. Mrs Price, the chiefnurse, finds places for all,most of them around an ampletable before the big fireplace.Then there is the tea,
poured by Mrs Price with theeasy graciousness which makeseverybody feel at home. Withthe tea there is much talkabout everything except warand wounds and pains andsymptoms. These subjects arebarred at Cannizaro.The crowd of patients is
always interesting. There is themiddle-aged major recoveringfrom his second seriouswound and looking forwardeagerly to rejoining his unit atthe front. There is the Australianflying man, who must makehimself comfortable as besthe can at full length on a sofa,and whose favourite jokesdeal with the subject of Scotchoatmeal cakes.The great house contains
some 30 bedrooms of variousdimensions, some transformedinto wards for four to six men,and all cheery and bright, airyand comfortable. Some areon the ground floor, convenientfor patients whose conditionmakes travelling up and downstairs difficult. There are amplelounging, reading and writingrooms. The dining-rooms aresmall with the air, not of aninstitution but a family party.
Cyril Maidmentschool and I was very happyalthough the school was con-trolled by the prefects and thesub-prefects. The teachers wereable to cane people occasionallyor pour a bottle of milk overthem. But most discipline wasrun by the prefects and sub-prefects who could slap yourface and pull your hair outand do whatever they thoughtwas necessary.I had one famous school
friend, Raymond Briggs, whobecame the famous children’sauthor. He also wrote a lovelybook about his parents calledEthel and Ernest. Because helived in Ashen Grove, it is amarvellous local history book.It was very easy to move
around then. We had a lovelytram system. The numbers 2 and4 would go from Wimbledonterminus outside the old townhall up to Elephant and Castleand then on to Westminster orBlackfriars.They were rickety old things
and I remember getting a shockon the handrail upstairs whenit was raining heavily but Idon’t think many people gotelectrocuted. There are picturesof trams at the corner ofSouth Wimbledon picking upelectricity from overhead wires.
CyrilMaidmenthas lived mostof his life in the Wimbledonarea. A former chairman ofthe Museum Committee, heremains Curator of the MapCollection, has produced manymaps depicting Wimbledonover the centuries, andleads several guided walks.He is also organiser of theforthcoming exhibition onMerton Priory at the NormanPlastow Gallery from July.Here are a few highlights
from his full oral history atwww.wimbledonmuseum.org.uk.
I was born 18 October 1933at Kingston Hospital and lived inNelson Road, Wimbledon. Myparents met when bothworked in a butcher’s shop inTooting Market. My fatherserved in both world wars. Hewas called up in the first warand in the second his cateringskills meant he spent thewhole five years in Catterickarmy camp in Yorkshire. Iwas never evacuated but hada marvellous war collectingshrapnel. In those days childrencould wander anywhere, geton a tram to London and ex-plore all of the local commons.I first went to Singlegate
School in Colliers Wood. Ihad to wait until I was 70years old before finding outwhy it was called that. ColliersWood had a single gate onthe toll road while the doublegates were at Wimbledon. Mymiddle school was FortescueRoad School. The building isstill there. I spent most of myschooling in air raid sheltersso I wasn’t particularly brilliantbut I was fortunate to have asecond go at the scholarship.My mother wanted me to goon to Rutlish because she hadhad some nice boyfriends there.It was an excellent grammar
EXHIBITIONS
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Formerly Wimbledon-based, David Wynne has more works onpublic display in London than any other sculptor. He used to liveon Southside at Rushmere, now part of King’s College School. In1980 the Society organised a show of his work at CannizaroHouse and this spring, Norman Plastow sponsored another atthe Museum. Wynne’s best known work is probably Boy with aDolphin in Chelsea. At 87, his work continues.
David Wynne show at the Museum
Shown clockwise: The Risen Christ, 90feet up at Wells Cathedral (1985);Nicola (1970); Yehudi Menuhin playingtwo Vivaldi concertos (1963); DavidWynne himself at work on an elephantafter a recent visit to Africa (1989); Boywith a Dolphin, his most familiar publicwork (1974).
Four sections of the perimeterwall are still to be seen, one200 metres long. Then thereis the beautiful Norman archway,now at Merton Parish Church.The exhibition will tell of
many important events thattook place in the Priory, whereAdrian IV, the only EnglishPope, and St Thomas Becketwere both educated.In 1236, 20 years after Magna
Carta, Parliament met thereto prepare the written law inthe form of the 11 chapters ofthe Statute of Merton whichremained on the Statute Bookfor over 700 years.King John often stayed there
Merton Priory exhibitionContinued from Page 1
but the most frequent royal visitorwas his son Henry III, who keptlodgings there. Throughout hisreign many charters wereattested at Merton Priory.The son of Edward I died
there in 1274, Henry IV held aprivy council there in 1412,and Henry VI was crownedthere on his 16th birthday in 1437.Even Henry VIII’s daughterMary visited the Priory in 1533.The exhibition will illustrate
the huge scale of Merton’sinfluence, with exhibits includingan indenture from 1355 and amap from 1723, both treasuresfrom our own Museum.
But the Museum of Londonwill also display its extensivearchaeological digs and bothMerton Historical Society andformer Councillor RichardChellew, who has done somuch work on the Statute ofMerton and other documents,will contribute to the exhibition.The Merton Priory Trust will
display plans of the wonderfulextensions to the ChapterHouse Museum funded by theNational Lottery. Featured toowill be some of the finechurches of Augustinian priorieswhich escaped Henry VIII.
CYRIL MAIDMENT
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ENVIRONMENT
We are ‘loving theCommon to death’
Wimbledon Common andPutney Heath suffered firstthe coldest and then thewettest winters for manyyears in 2013 and 2014,
with inevitable effects onwildlife. But another factoralso threatens their future,as DAVE WILLS explains.
It is disappointing to have toreport that 2013 proved to beanother barren year forground-nesting birds. Mucheffort was once again aimedat attracting the Skylark backto the Meadow during therelevant months but to noavail, unfortunately.One probability is that this
bird’s basic requirements in-volve a much greater area ofadequate ground cover in whichto nest than that presentedthis year. Elsewhere muchendeavour continues to beexpended on the clearing ofbirch scrub on the plateau,particularly in the Ladies Milearea, where, it has to be said,the heathland is looking aslush and inviting as ever, andyet still remains noticeablysterile in attracting bird life.It is difficult these days to
believe that during the 1980ssix of the Common’s sevenground-nesting birds bred inthis area. Certainly one of theproblems in this respect com-pared with then is the numberof visitors who forsake thepathways to walk throughthese sensitive areas.With no controls such as
signage in place to alleviatethis particular problem, it seemsunlikely that we will everagain be able to experiencethe comparatively low levelsof disturbance that existed afew decades ago.Creating suitable habitat is
one thing, protecting it is quite
another – each being futilewithout the other. While nationaldeclines are accepted, itsurely cannot be entirely coinci-dental that the majority ofthose birds nesting in ourtrees or in dense scrub arethriving, while those usingground cover have disappeared.Furthermore, if there is no
balance, then the ongoingstruggle between the freedomof visitors to enjoy recreationalpursuits on the Common andthat of its ground-nestingbirds can only result in thecontinued depletion of the latter–a scenario that is slowly butsurely already being playedout at several of our ponds, inwhich there are often as manydogs as waterfowl these days.As so often happens at our
plateau ponds, the heat wavein July last year saw waterlevels become dangerouslyshallow, leaving many juvenilebirds exposed to predationby dogs. Low water levels
make it far easier for certainbreeds of dogs to chase downflightless young birds.Dogs in deeper water are
relatively harmless and indeedbecome more vulnerable them-selves at the hands of our largerwater birds such as the MuteSwan. Dare we hope that thedredging of our plateau pondsbe given some long-awaitedpriority in the near future, withspecial priority being givento Bluegate Gravel Pit,which has now failed to main-tain adequate water levelsthroughout the summermonths since 2001?One cannot help but recall
the words of environmentalistDavid Bellamy who back in2000 warned that the greatestdanger facing the Common isthat it becomes ‘loved to death’.The inference is of course
that its increasing magnetismeventually becomes the in-strument of its decreasingflora and fauna. While oneappreciates and indeed laudsthe conservation measuresand hard work of both staffand Conservators in this respect,disturbance on the Commonin the future is likely to remainunrelenting.So too are the challenges,
not least of which being theavoidance of becoming tooeasily resigned to the sadconsequences of its popularity.
This text is based onthe introduction to the latestannual report, The Birds ofWimbledon Common andPutney Heath 2013.
These Skylark chicks werephotographed on the Meadow
back in 1977. Regulardisturbance by visitors anddogs means this is no
longer possible.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE
Committee member TONY MICHAEL presented the above at the recent Research Conference onUrbanTrees held inBirmingham.Merton has declined to adopt the Tree Years policy in its local plan.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE
You might wonder what hassuddenly caused this idea tosurface after so many years ofoperating happily as an unin-corporated association. Thereare several factors but it is fairto say the central issue is oneof liability.The Wimbledon Society
currently has charitable statusbut is not incorporated. Thispresents certain risks. Thetrustees (the officers andmembers of the ExecutiveCommittee) are jointly andseverally liable for the totalityof any debts of the Society.In fact, the unlimited liability
actually extends to all members,whether trustees or not, soalthough it is usually a trustee
who would be required to paya claimant, that trustee couldthen claim contribution fromall members.Anyone who thought they
had a financial claim on theSociety could require any in-dividual trustee or member tocover the whole of the debt.There would be no need forthem to seek recovery fromother members. And therewould be no limit to theamount of recovery that couldbe sought.Most Executive Committee
members were not entirelyaware of all this. However, Irecently had a conversationwith two learned friends - one ofthem a barrister - about runningcharitable organisations andthe facts came to light.Many organisations and partner
-ships over the last few yearshave sought the protection ofincorporation. Solicitors and
accountants especially havewisely decided that unlimitedliability is no longer sensible.The Lloyds debacle of lossesin the late 1980s and early90s created financial havocamong its members who thencarried unlimited liability.But surely, isn’t the likely
risk exposure of a trustee ormember of the WimbledonSociety minimal and just howoften has a problem of thiskind occurred anyway?Well, there have been actual
cases and the fact is that theliability exists. So why wouldanyone, knowing that, chooseto ignore the reassurance ofhaving limited liability throughincorporation?There will undoubtedly be
organisational problems inmaking any change. It will beour immediate task to identifythose hurdles and plan howbest to move forward.
Why incorporation is necessaryMembers voted at the AGM toinvestigate the implicationsof formally incorporatingthe Wimbledon Society. Itfollowed lengthy considerationof the move by the ExecutiveCommittee. IAIN SIMPSONexplains the thinking.
The Planning Committeemonitors have been ever busierthis year, checking many ofthe local planning applicationssubmitted to Merton Council.This resulted in a total of
79 letters of objection beingprepared and sent to theCouncil in 2013. The resultswere encouraging, with 17applications being refused, sixwithdrawn and 37 granted.19 cases were still out-standing in April this year.Seven appeals were made,
five of which were refusedand two were outstanding.The monitors’ annual work-
load has been increasing year
Steadily growing workload as numbersof letters of continue to rise
on year. In 2012, a total of 73letters of objection were pre-pared and sent to Merton onbehalf of the Committee. Thatwas up from 61 letters in2011 and 44 in 2010.To put these figures in context,
in 2013 over 4500 planningapplications were submittedto Merton, including thosecovering listed buildings, treeworks, changes of use and soon. Of these, more than 1000related to sites falling withinthe Society’s area of interest -Wimbledon, Raynes Park andWimbledon Park.Our monitors careful ly
examine the applications. In
2013, some 250 cases wereselected for further considerationby the full Planning Committeeto decide whether objectionswere justified.Some of our comments are
for changes and improve-ments to - rather than outrightrejection of - the application.Following objections received,
applicants will sometimeswithdraw proposals or amendthem before re-submission.When Merton grants permis-sion to an application, this isinvariably accompanied byconditions, some of whichmeet the points we haveraised.
AROUND AND ABOUT
12
The Society’s first illustrated talkat Chester House, WestsideCommon, in more than 20years will take place at 4pm,Saturday, 27 September. Advancebooking is essential as visitornumbers are restricted. See the2014-15 Lectures Sheet. The bestknown resident of Wimbledon’sthird oldest building was the18th century radical politicianJohn Horne Tooke who diedthere in 1812 but there is a lotmore to the story than that.
Dr Pamela Greenwood (right) isnow Curator of Archaeology atthe Museum. She previouslyworked with David Woodcock,former Head of Collections, andwas a curator in the Archaeologyand Local History section ofthe Passmore Edwards Museumin Newham for nearly 20 years.A longstanding member of the
Wandsworth Historical Society,she curates its archaeologicalcollections, the result of field-work from 1962 onwards, andorganizes its archaeologicalactivities, fieldwork and fore-shore surveys in the Boroughof Wandsworth.Sue Lang (far right) is our new
Welcomenewcomers
Book early forChester House
In March, Society membersvisited the onetime lodgingsof Benjamin Franklin, one ofAmerica’s founding fathers, ina Grade 1 18th century housein Craven Street, near TrafalgarSquare. A sound and lightpresentation with commentaryby a costumed actress recre-ated the period atmosphere.The group above heard about
Franklin’s interests which includedinventing a musical instrumentcalled an Armonica. This con-sisted of rotating glass dishes
which produced an eerietone. They saw a reproduc-tion version and heard what itsounded like.
MICHAEL NORMAN-SMITH
Where Benjamin Franklin lived
Honorary Secretary. Residentin Wimbledon since 1979, until2008 she was the AcademicRegistrar and Clerk to theGovernors at Wimbledon School(now College) of Art charitabletrust. This involved a widerange of administrative re-sponsibilities, supporting staff
and students, and academicdevelopment. Since 2009 she hasbeen part of the admissionsteam at the University of theArts London.Sue has experience of
working as a volunteer re-searcher, and is a trustee ofthe Wimbledon College of Art.
Photographic assistant needed for the MuseumPhotographs curator Simon Joseph seeks help with the Museum’sextensive collection of images. Applicants need to assist with re-migrating the digitised collection on to the website, digitisingnew analogue photographs, and cataloguing both digital andanalogue images. Training will be given so that the assistantcan work alone. Please email [email protected] orcall 07768 388 488 with details of your interest and experience.
