The land on which the property was built was in fact in two parts. The smaller section, forming the rear part of the present day back garden, was formerly part of a long narrow strip of back garden belonging to Suffolk House in the High Street (the premises of Suffolk House are now occupied by The Cavan Bakery). The main part of the land near to St James Church was "Glebe Land" i.e. owned by the Church before being built upon. According to the Census the occupiers in 1881 were Emiley Clement, a Prussian born Teacher of Chemistry and his wife Emily with one son, three daughters and two servants.
By 1891 the house was occupied by
John Tomlinson (a "Registered Practitioner" - probably a doctor) and his
wife Lousia with two sons and two servants. In 1901 Percival Turner, a Medical
Transfer Agent and his daughter and four sons are listed, with no mention of a
wife but with a governess and a niece who was domestic help. After 1901, because the Census is only released after 100 years, we have to rely on street directories to establish the occupiers. In 1911, William Sinclair Cameron is listed; in 1928 Conway Blythe Job and by 1934 Miss R F Lambert appears, and in 1945 Gwen and George Clarke bought the property. Gwen Clarke remained in the house until 2001 when she sold the property to Sharon Parker the present owner. MEMORIES OF GWEN CLARKE (owner 1945-2001) Gwen Clarke recalled various facts and incidents relating to the house in 2006. She and her husband George (an experimental engineer who died in in 1978) moved into the house in 1945. The previous owners had been two Lambert Sisters who had occupied the house together with a companion. The companion had stayed on after the sisters had died, to look after the house until it was sold. Gwen was told that she and her husband were the first people "outside of the family" to have owned the house since it was built. The "family" was originally the Isdell family. Later a daughter became an Isdell Carpenter and another married the son of a former vicar of St James Church (The Rev. C R Job) and became a Job. Apparently the Lambert sisters were related to the Isdell family and it is known that Conway Blythe Job, a son of Rev. C R Job was in occupation in 1928. When Gwen Clarke moved in there was a crater at the bottom of the back garden. This had been caused by a bomb, that fortunately had not exploded but had made an impact crater. However, in the garden adjacent to the bottom of the garden at 3 Park Road there exists some remains of a house that was bombed probably at the same time. Gwen discovered a old diary which detailed a host of social events which the Lambert sisters had been involved in. These events included several meals with Lily Langtry (the actress and mistress of King Edward VII) which had been held at the house and had been attended by the King as well. King Edward VII was reportedly a friend of the Lambert sisters. It is believed that the King originally used to come to the house to visit a Harley Street Practitioner that lived there - certainly one of the occupants was a "Registered Practitioner". Unfortunately the whereabouts of this diary are unknown. Gwen believes her husband may have destroyed the diary as it was private or possibly returned it to the family of the original owners. The house was very dilapidated in 1945 and apparently was painted brown, on the walls and woodwork, almost entirely throughout the house. There were some doors at the back of the house that had originated from Hampton Court Palace. The garden contained some "London Pride" plants that had come from the garden of Noel Coward who lived nearby in Waldegrave Road Teddington. As it was still war time most things were on ration or unavailable. Curtains could not be obtained so glued paper meant to be stuck on windows as "blast protection" from bombs was soaked for days in the bath. Eventually the glue was washed away from the paper then imitation "curtains" could be cut out and put up. Thus from such a low point, could the eventual re-decoration and subsequent restoration begin.
Email: sharon.parker@thevictorianvillabandb.co.uk Mobile: 07802 462 345
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Bed & Breakfast Limited Director / Proprietor: Sharon Parker The Victorian Villa Bed & Breakfast accommodation is within commuter distance by train and bus to London city centre and situated close to Middlesex, River Thames, Bushy Park, Richmond Park, Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium, Teddington Lock Studios, Kingston, Surrey, west London, home counties, south west, south east, Heathrow Airport and the M25. The local bus routes are the 285, 267, R70 and R68. The train to Waterloo London takes 35 minutes from the nearby Fulwell train station. The Victorian Villa B & B is also close to the following towns and villages in the UK: Twickenham, Feltham, Isleworth, Hounslow, Teddington, Surrey, Kingston, Richmond, Sunbury, East Molsey, Hanworth, Hampton, Hampton Hill, Hampton Wick, Malden, Fulwell, Hayes, Harrow, Brentford, Ashford, Enfield, Staines, New Malden, Northolt, Northwood, Pinner, Ruislip, Shepperton, Southall, Stanmore, Uxbridge, Wembley, West Drayton, Horley, Kenley, Leatherhead, Mitcham, Oxted, Purley, Redhill, Surbiton, Sutton, Thames Ditton, Tadworth, Virginia Water, Croydon, Wallington, Thornton Heath, West Byfleet, Weybridge, Woking Worcester Park, Raynes Park, Ham, Norbiton, Farnham, Esher and Epsom. All images, text and components on this website are under copy write and reproduction is prohibited without prior permission. This page was last updated on:
17 December 2009 08:25 |
