Wandle Wanderer

A Memory of Beddington.

This photo is looking towards the 1890 view of the snuff mills and the end of Bridges Lane. The footpath on the right connected to Beddington Lane and was our route to the park as children. The wall on the right was pock marked with scoured out dents created by twisting pennies or half pennies into the old brickwork something that could be seen all the way to the park particularly in the Tudor wall around Carew Manor and by the gate out to Queen Elizabeth's Walk. When I lived in Bridges Lane [1946 - 64] one of the snuff mills was a bakery and the smell fantastic. Now it is flats ; as is the large house behind the wall on the right ;and the mill on the North side of the river has gone. In this photo both mills are hidden behind the trees behind the horse and cart in the river. Thanks again for preserving these views which bring back memories of places and details I thought I'd long forgotten.