South Harrow
South Harrow maps (2 available)
Map of Middlesex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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South Harrow books (6 available)
South Harrow memories
Read and share memories of South Harrow and Middlesex inspired by Frith photos
Earlsmead School
I wonder if anyone else can remember Earlsmead School, which was housed in the reception rooms of Mrs Bates's home at 13 Corfe Avenue. I lived across the road at No 14, where I was born in 1942, and I was allowed to begin my education there at the age of three. Every morning the thirty or so pupils, aged from three to fourteen, had assembly at which we said prayers and sang hymns and the school song:
Scientia potestas est,
'Tis Earlsmead that calls for the best,
Our best in work,
our best in play,
With joyful hearts we start each day.
How different it must have been for me when we moved to Hayes in 1948 and I ...read more here
Contributed by Wendy Rhodes
South Harrow as a child
Growing up in South Harrow was much different than today; I do go back from time to time. Welldon Park was on the Wyenhoe site, although there was always talk of the infant school being built on the allotments.
I actually lived in that road, which then was devoid of cars until Sainsburys was built next to the library. Until then going to Sainsburys was a wonderful experience. They still patted the butter in front of you and the aroma of the different cheeses were mouth watering - delis in supermarkets today are not a patch on that. On the corner of Eastcote Lane was 'Co-op' corner. This comprised of the laundry, mini supermarket and butchers the funiture ...read more here
Contributed by Doreen Stockton
Those were the days!
We lived above a shop in Northolt Road, South Harrow close to the station for two years. We had no hot water, no bathroom, and very limited space. It was our first married home. Traffic outside was constant. Despite all this it was a new experience and a lot of happy days. On one of our visits there from North America we travelled down Northolt Road (about 1990) and were surprised to see that the building was still standing, all boarded up. The general area looked much the same. As for us, well....... Great memories. Peter G. Lay
Contributed by Peter Lay
Rocking in the 60s
On the left of the photo is Woolworths, above which were flats - including one where the rock star/ wannabe MP Screaming Lord Sutch lived for a while. Another Rocker lived in South Harrow - Johnny Kidd (and the Pirates). I used to live just off Corbins Lane. St Pauls Church built a church hall in a lane that went off Park Lane. This was a venue for local bands (called "The Void"), including a group of young men who played quite loud and called themselves "The High Numbers", people would say "The Who?" and so they changed their name. As they became more famous they moved to a more regular venue a few miles up the Road, The Station pub ...read more here
Contributed by Eric Medcalf
Stanley Road
I lived at number 90 Stanley Road from 1964 until 1985. My dad worked at the Gas Board at the top of the road where the gas holder always seemed to dominate the skyline. Although it was an ugly building it was part of South Harrow and I think a few people were sad to see it taken down. Not many people knew that it was a nesting site for a pair of kestrels and they nested there since I was a kid until they pulled it down.
I can remember when they built Brember Road and knocked three houses down to make the new road and built industrial units round the back. The market was always an exciting place to ...read more here
Contributed by paul cook
Northolt Road
I lived at 99 Northolt Road from my birth in 1954 until approx. 1961. My grandfather, Walter Taylor had a cafe there although it was closed when I lived there with my parents & grandparents. My grandmother was Florence taylor and she ran the cafe in the market for many years. I remember well some of the other stall holders, Henry at the fish stall, Brummy at the handbags etc. Grandad used to go to The Three Horseshoes which was opposite the house and I remember going to the rec to watch the steam trains. I and my Mum before me went to Miss Parnell's school in Corbins Lane. Only 2 classes - upstairs & downstairs . Sadly, when I last ...read more here
Contributed by Linda Wilson
455 Northolt Road South Harrow
I was born at 455 Northolt Road during the 2nd World War where I lived with mum, grandad, granma and young uncle. My father was killed in Normandy Landings on June 6 1944 and was called Arthur Blerkom. My mum was Lil Blerkom and worked in munitions factory and later as usherette at the Odeon in South Harrow. After the war we had to move to Hayes as the house was only rented to us for the duration of the war, having been moved there during the Blitz from the East End. If there is anybody out there who remember my family of Arthur and Florence Hubbard, Les Hubbard and Arthur and Lillian Blerkom I should ...read more here
Contributed by doreen walton
Born here in 1947
I was born around the corner from the photo, at 15 Eastcote Lane, just off the Northolt Road, in 1947 (born at home, too, not in a hospital!) Remember going to school on Northolt Road, maybe a quarter mile west of the intersection of Eastcote Lane. A school still appears to be there, when I look at the images on Google Earth. Still remember buying a Beano comic book at the corner of Northolt and Eastcote. I also dimly remember seeing the last of the killer smogs in 1954. My family emigrated to Canada in 1954, when I was seven, and I have only been back to South Harrow once since then.
Contributed by Ray Perkins
Stanley Road, south harrow
I lived with my foster family in Stanley Road South Harrow, during the war. Our house backed on to the gas works and I always wanted to climb the gasometer which I did eventually with a friend from across the road.
At the top of Stanley Road were all the usual local shops. Peacheys the grocer where we collected our rations and where I would take back empty jam jars and collect a farthing for a small one and a ha'penny for a big one. The fish and chip shop near by would sell a haporth of chips and give away batter bits to any hungry child that asked for them. I would get my hair cut in the barbers at ...read more here
Contributed by paul howard
Extracts From South Harrow & Middlesex books
The Earl of Cornwall built stew (fish)
ponds on the western boundary of his
estate, and fish was an important part of
the medieval diet. Fish weirs were used to
trap fish in rivers, and were an important
and often hotly disputed resource up to
the 18th century. They were supposed to
be licensed, but illegal weirs flourished and
were a hazard to river traffic. There was at
least one weir in the river by Isleworth with
stakes at its upper end, and this gave its
name to the modern Railshead Road where
the Crane joins the Thames.
In the Middle Ages the settlement at
Twickenham was a cluster of houses in
streets around St Mary’s Church and in
narrow alleys nearby leading down to the
river. Church Street was the principal way
through Twickenham for travellers until the
end of the 19th century when the present
York Street was built. The name of Burgate
was used for the area near the church in
1486. Although the nave of the present
St Mary’s dates from 1713, when it was
rebuilt after it collapsed, the ragstone church
tower is medieval and may have formed part
of an earlier fortification on the site.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".
The local population in the Middle Ages
made a living from agriculture, fishing,
boat-building, and ferrying traffic up and
down the river. There was even a local
vineyard, which produced ‘two tuns and
one pipe’ in 1297. This seems to have been
planted with cherry-trees later. There is little
detailed evidence on the number of people
living at Twickenham during the Middle
Ages but the manor of Isleworth, including
Twickenham, seems to have expanded slowly
during this period. In the 14th century
there are accounts of crops of oats, wheat,
and barley being grown locally, and local
livestock included cows and sheep. The rolls
also list a ploughman, a shepherd, a cowman,
and a dairymaid in this period. By 1547 the
people of Isleworth were said to number
400, and the figure relating to Twickenham
apart from the rest of Isleworth Manor is
estimated at 210.
The River Thames has been an important
means of transport since before the Romans
arrived in England. As there was no bridge
across the Thames from Twickenham on
the Middlesex bank over to the Surrey bank
until the 18th century, residents who wanted
to cross to the opposite bank of the river did
so by ferry. The first evidence of a ferry at
Twickenham occurs in 1443.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".
The Earl of Cornwall built stew (fish)
ponds on the western boundary of his
estate, and fish was an important part of
the medieval diet. Fish weirs were used to
trap fish in rivers, and were an important
and often hotly disputed resource up to
the 18th century. They were supposed to
be licensed, but illegal weirs flourished and
were a hazard to river traffic. There was at
least one weir in the river by Isleworth with
stakes at its upper end, and this gave its
name to the modern Railshead Road where
the Crane joins the Thames.
In the Middle Ages the settlement at
Twickenham was a cluster of houses in
streets around St Mary’s Church and in
narrow alleys nearby leading down to the
river. Church Street was the principal way
through Twickenham for travellers until the
end of the 19th century when the present
York Street was built. The name of Burgate
was used for the area near the church in
1486. Although the nave of the present
St Mary’s dates from 1713, when it was
rebuilt after it collapsed, the ragstone church
tower is medieval and may have formed part
of an earlier fortification on the site.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, which was invented during the first half of the 14th century, is a mixture of potassium
nitrate (saltpetre), charcoal, and sulphur in a ratio of 75:15:10. It was used in guns, time-fuses, and
fireworks. Until the reign of Henry VIII, the lack of saltpetre in England meant most gunpowder
was imported. However, as British naval power expanded beyond Europe during the reign of
Elizabeth I it became possible to manufacture gunpowder at home, and by the middle of the 16th
century gunpowder mills had been established at Hounslow Heath on the River Crane. One of the
constituents of gunpowder is charcoal. This was produced from willow and alder, which was readily
available from the river banks. The river also provided water-power for the mills and transport for
barges. The open land, relatively distant from settlements, was an added advantage as gunpowder
manufacture is highly dangerous.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".
Mills continued to flourish along the
banks of the River Crane on the outskirts
of the town, using water-power to
create products like oil and gunpowder.
Gunpowder manufacture was big business
in the 17th century and James I (1602-25)
granted a Royal Charter to the gunpowder
manufacturers on the Heath. Crane Park
Powder Mills were established between 1766
and 1768. The first mill started life as a corn
mill. The gunpowder mill east of Hanworth
Bridge was notorious for explosions that
broke windows for miles around. In 1772
three mills blew up, shattering glass and
buildings in the neighbourhood. Horace
Walpole wrote complaining to his friend and
relative Seymour Conway, then Lieutenant
General of the Ordnance, that all the
decorative painted glass had been blown out
of his windows at Strawberry Hill.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".