EAW004314 ENGLAND (1947). The Wandle Valley Isolation Hospital and the surrounding residential area, St Helier, 1947

Peterborough Road.

All this land now forms the Willow Lane Trading Estate.

Poulters Park.

Just visible is the course of the railway that was used to convey building materials during the construction of the St Helier Estate before the 1939/45 war.

My Dad's chicken shed.

Artificial waterfall. I spent many hours playing here as a young lad.

Recreation ground (sometimes erroneously referred to as Poulters Park which it adjoins). Four bombs fell in this playing field during the Blitz but the craters had been filled in by the time this photograph was taken. The schools on the St Helier Housing Estate had a joint sports day here - it appears that a running track had been prepared for this event near where I have placed the pin. For a number of years the Playing Fields were used for organised football and cricket. Nowadays it is given over entirely to Rugby Union in winter.

River Wandle.

River Wandle.

Water cress beds (later allotments).

Wandle Valley Isolation Hospital

Watermead Lane.

According to an old map this was the site of a parchment factory. A number of rectangular pits which contained a foul spelling, thick chalky liquid (presumably waste from the manufacturing process) can be seen in the photograph. I understood from my late father, who worked for the Council on the St Helier Housing Estate that it would never be possible to build houses on that particular site because of residual contamination. I believe it remains the case that the land immediately adjoining the Watermead Lane/Middleton Road junction remains undeveloped to this day.

Goat Bridge (single track, humped bridge until replaced sometime in the 1960s(?))

Oak tree cut in half by lightening strike during a very violent storm one Sunday(?)afternoon c1950. I lived in one of the houses backing on to the Playing Field about 50 meters from the tree. I don't know when the tree was finally removed.

Middleton Road

Peterborough Road