Durham Buildings York Road Battersea

I remember Durham Buildings, used to deliver papers there for Finnians newsagent in York Road 55/56 until I left school. Smelly place due to Cartons, very dark at 6oc in the morning. Played on the bomb sites in York Road, the adventure playground of its day. Also went to St Johns in Usk Road (where I lived opposite the school) left in in 51 to go to Eltringham Street until 56 (March) Moved away in December 62. Have many memories of the times and places when I lived there. Good memories of St Johns teachers, head Harrison, Waldren ,Farah, Baker (Potter) Jewell small bottles ofmilk followed by spoonful of malt! Memories so strong I coulddrawer

A plan of the school,next to the bombed out church

I lived at 13 durham buildings, and went to usk road primary school, I remember the lovely big black fireplaces in each classroom where the milk was put on the hearth to warm up, and also round to the caretakers room with our penny for a big spoon of malt, I also remember my father got some hamsters from the american embassy where he worked and gave the school a pair , and somehow they escaped and started to breed under the school, the one thing I hated was as it was a church school we had to walk for miles for church services on special days like easter, when I left primary school I went to tennyson.

I have vague memories of Durham Builidngs but immediately recognised it when I saw photo. I do remember playing in air raid shelters but I had not yet started primary school (dob 1954). So maybe only lived there very briefly but I have fond memories and I know Father Christmas riding down the street, what I now know is York Street.

I lived in Durham Buildings for about 6 months when I was 10 in 1963, hated the communal toilet the four flats had to share. Remember a lot of debris falling down off the industrial building out the back on to the play/clothes drying area, luckily no one was killed or injured. I used to play on the bomb site/demolition area in Plough road. Went to Falconbrook juniors in Wye Street. Boys and girls were separated, the girls playground was on the roof.

I was born in 11 Durham buildings York Road in 08/08/1965 my parents were both Scottish my dad came to England with work and my pregnant mum and 2 sister's used to come down from Glasgow once a month for the weekend or during school holidays to visit my dad my mother went in to labour 7 weeks early and I was born was then taken to the weir maternity hospital till I was discharged and then left with my mum,dad and 2 sister's and travelled back to Scotland and grew up in Glasgow I was only a few weeks old in later years I tried to research my birth place but sadly both the house and hospital were gone as I would have loved to see where my story started so I could share it with my 2 grown up sons if anyone has any old pictures of my old address or the hospital I would love to see them ( tia) jeanette gardner x

Wow, I remember living at Durham buildings with my parents and 2 siblings in the '60s. I went to Falconbrook primary school. I remember we had no bathroom and my mum bathe us in a tin bath in the living room. we moved up the road to Vicarage Crescent when I was about 9yrs old. "What a smelly place," my mum used to say. My parents were over the moon when we moved.

I remember Durham buildings to we lived there when we were little I didn’t know till I grew up it was what they ( the council ) called a half way house none of you seem to mention that we were lucky any earlier and we would have lived in the work house seem if you had any more than 2 children and you were stuck there there were 5 kids in my family we were travellers before that my biggest memory was the prices candels xmaxs party I always got a nurse doll it was for all the poor kids in the area I loved the pictures and the smell from the sugar factor grew on you you didn’t notice , walking to St. John’s corner and going in John jax and spending our pocket money, getting our school clothes from the big shop on the corner with the vouchers from school combined with the provident vouchers from the tally man .we had three rooms mum and dad had a Mattress on the floor in the front room but there were rats 🐀 so my mum wouldn't let us sleep on the floor so five of us slept in the big double bed in the second room the third room was really a cupboard but mum like to say she had 3 rooms, we loved the pictures on a Saturday morning , we were washed in a tin bath , we played downstairs swinging on the washing lines and landed on a mattress and a little girl who lived upstairs called Yvonne who had a false tooth and would take it out and chase us .

We lived at 5 Durham Buildings from about 1954 unit 1960 when we moved to Streatham(Mountearl Gardens,Leigham Court Road.I was born in August 1951.I still remember the smell from Gartons glucose factory. I went to Joseph Tritton primary school.Distincly remember the rag and bone yard across York Road.My sister Debbie was actually born at home at number 5.Shillings the butchers selling faggots,savaloys and pease pudding,pie and mash at ol mother Browns in Battersea High St
,home made ice cream from Notarannis in Battersea High St, many hours of fun at Battersea Park.What memories !