History
Memories of early days of the parade
The parade of shops in Motspur Park dates from the 1920s, long before large supermarkets such as New Malden’s 24-hour Tesco store enticed many customers to go further afield.
There were two banks in Motspur Park, a Lloyd's situated near Motspur Park Food and Wine and a Midlands in the building to the left of the old library.
Merton & Morden West Barnes Branch Library was at 359 West Barnes Lane, on the corner of Station Road, in the property that is now Kami’s hairdresser’s and was previously occupied by Silverain building and landscaping services.
It had been converted from a shop into the library in 1947 and remained as such until 1976, when the library moved to the purpose-built property round the corner in Station Road where it remains today.
Petrol station
Next to the level crossing, where Parkgate House now stands, was a petrol station, Jackson's Garage. “It was a low building but it was very useful,” remembers Vera Acott, who moved to Marina Avenue with her husband Alf and their children in 1968.
“If something needed mending or soldering, for instance, you could pop in there and they’d help you out. Very cheeky of me, I know. One day a wheel came off a shopping basket or something of mine and they helped me out in that garage.”
Next to the garage, at 354 West Barnes Lane, which is now kitchen planning shop Adaptations, was the Post Office. “It was a Post Office in its own right, not shared with a shop,” recalls Vera. “I remember going in there with my daughter Beverley when she was aged about seven to open a savings account for her.
“And next to the Post Office it was a Co-op, where Peggy Moody, who lived at the end of Marina Avenue, used to serve.”
Wig
The shoe shop, D. Jones, was in the Sixties run by a Mrs Lillie. “She wore a wig, and when she went to bed at night she used to put it on a hat stand in her bedroom window – my daughter would spot it and say, ‘Oh, Mrs Lillie’s gone to bed now,’ “ laughs Vera.
“And we had a dog, a mongrel called Tanya. She was a Heinz 57 but looked a bit like an Irish wolfhound. She always tried to jump over the fence. We put her lead through the washing line and she’s go up and down the garden; made a terrible mess of it. And another time we tied an old lawnmower wheel to her lead. She still jumped as high as the fence but didn’t go over it then.
“One day I was walking past the shoe shop with Tanya when Mrs Lillie’s cat was asleep in the window, next to the shoes. Well, Tanya jumped up, the cat made a dash for it and the shoes went all over the place. The window display was ruined. I had to go in and apologise.”
Marina Avenue
Marina Avenue, which leads to the Sir Joseph Hood Recreation Ground, was at first named Recreation Road. But the name was changed to Marina Avenue in September 1934. The reason, it is believed, was to mark the imminent marriage of the third son of George V to Princess Marina of Greece.
The houses in Marina Avenue were build by Sidney Edward Parkes of Modern Homes & Estates.
During the Second World War a German bomber aimed a stick of bombs at Motspur Park station. But the bombs missed their target and destroyed several houses in Marina Avenue (including the six odd-numbered houses from 63 to 73) and in Claremont Avenue.
What do you know or remember about your road? Tell us at mail@motspurpark.info
External links:
Wikipedia: Motspur Park
Trolleybus in West Barnes Lane
The National Archives
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Motspur Park’s original library, pictured circa 1956
Today, West Barnes Library is situated in Station Road
Marina Avenue (originally called Recreation Road) in about 1935
Parkgate House is where Jackson’s Garage once stood
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Now the former library is a modern hairdresser’s called Kami’s
Claremont Avenue in a postcard dated 2 August, 1945
YOUR MEMORIES
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