Fountain of information (part two)
First published Jan '18
by Robin Gill
The area around the Norbiton Park Hotel in 1878 was very different to when it was built ten years earlier, and mostly unrecognisable to the area today. The first houses in Burlington Road (Wakefield Terrace) were not built till that year, the sign can still be seen on the wall of the picture framers. Vernham House (now Fountain House: the home of Pearson Hards solicitors) was still to be built, as was the Congregational Church (now URC). The opening of the police station was 13 years away.
It was into this environment that John Radford took over the Hotel. Originally from Devon, he had gained experience working as a waiter in the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, and then The Crown Hotel Aylesbury. His first wife died in 1876, and he had subsequently remarried, bringing his new wife Emma with him. They were only a small family (no children), but they still needed help in running the hotel, advertising for staff in the Evening Standard, who arrived in the form of William Parsons from Surbiton.
Pig shoots
Initially, Radford went down the same route as his predecessor (Lock) by arranging shooting matches on the ground adjacent to the hotel. Arranged by members of the Wimbledon Gun Club the prize was again “a handsome fat pig”, and the contest took place the day before New Years Eve 1878. Pigeons were supplied from an outside source, and Radford provided refreshments. This became an annual event, and the following December things were more organised, with a marquee being provided, together with coke fires to protect those “trigger fingers”.
Building plots in Kingston, Montem, Raby, Penrith, Westbury, Sandal, and Rodney Roads together with the Mount Pleasant estate, continued to be auctioned at the Hotel as Malden became less country, and more residential.
The Hotel was used as the headquarters for the Liberal Party during the General Election of 1880. The constituency of Mid Surrey of which New Malden was part, stretched from Battersea in the north to Epsom in the south. A grand meeting held at the hotel in March 1880 went into uproar, when it was suggested by a Tory invader that the sitting Conservative MPs were going a good job and should be re-elected. In the election the following month… they were.
The pigeon shooting matches became a permanent feature after the Wimbledon Gun Club secured the use of the large meadow adjoining the hotel in May 1880. Subsequently, this became today’s pub garden and carpark. Mr Radford supplied lunch to the shooters, and an “excellent dinner” in the evening. Paid admission by the general public would allow them to watch the matches which took place every Thursday afternoon. Other taverns in the area including the Railway (now The Glasshouse) also held shooting matches for either gold or silver trophies. Charging the public 5 shillings to watch, (around £25 today), not surprisingly, threats and intimidation were used to try to gain entry, and on occasions the police were called. The cup shot for at the Norbiton Park Hotel, would have been worth about £8,000 and to gain possession members had to win the weekly competition three times. Membership cost 2 guineas (circa £200 today). These shoots became so popular that a Friday contest had to be added, and come rain or wind, the competitors were there. The cup was finally won on Easter Monday by Mr J Robbins from Wimbledon for the third time, entitling him to keep it. One of the subsequent contests was for a pig weighing 75 stone (476 kilos!). I wonder how the winner, a Mr Prince, transported the animal home.
Bargain hunt
The hotel was even the venue for the sale of house contents from nearby properties being built in Malden Road (now High Street), where the new owners had either died, or fallen on hard times. Sales took place at the hotel, because at that time auctions for house contents could not be held on the premises. This was in addition to the properties themselves in Kingston, and Raby Roads, Lime Grove, and the newly built houses in Burlington Road, and land in Penrith Road.
Also being sold was land in Elm Grove and Northcote Road. This formerly was pasture land, and had many fruit bearing trees as part of the plots. All used to be part of Norbiton Common Farm, which stretched both sides of the railway line towards Kingston.
Oddfellows
The Loyal Duke Of Cambridge Lodge of Oddfellows, which had been founded in 1870, held their meetings at the Hotel. In fact, John Radford acted as vice chairman on a number of occasions, as well as hosting the meetings. By 1881 they had 78 members (all men of course) and prided themselves that in their first ten years they had only had one death.! Strangely enough, at the 1882 anniversary dinner, the toast to “The Trade Of New Malden” was responded to by Edward Lock the former landlord of the hotel, who after his bankruptcy, had become a successful fishmonger in the Market Place. The numbers of members gradually increased, and by 1885 they had over 100 (still all men).
The Hotel still had some disreputable characters as customers. One such was Benjamin Nash who lived with his widowed mother in Waterloo Place a rundown part of Malden close to the railway station. He was prosecuted for being drunk, quarrelsome, and disorderly, turning up at the Norbiton Park Hotel already intoxicated and ordering beer. When Mr Radford declined to serve him, he was subject to a torrent of abuse, and Nash refused to leave when asked. He was ejected, and continued to use bad language from the street. He was fined £1 12s 6d (£1.62½p or one month’s hard labour as he was a repeat offender. A similar culprit was Frederick Tucker of Wandsworth who was fined 5 shillings (25 pence). Henry Brooks of Worcester Park who broke the shutter on the front door trying to gain entry, was pursued by Radford and a policeman in a fly. He was prosecuted and fined 24 shillings (£1.20 pence) or 14 days imprisonment.
Cricket and cross country
The hostelry also became the home of Malden’s cricket team. Founded around 1880 as New Malden Victoria, the club changed its name to the New Malden Cricket Club at the end of the 1882 season “to the satisfaction of local inhabitants”. Arthur Woodroffe, whose family lived at Charnwood, a large house which stood on land now occupied by shops in the High Street topped both the batting and bowling averages. The club only survived until 1885 thanks to the generosity of its vice president Edwin Farley who helped provide a tent for changing and catering facilities. There was a lack of players, and sometimes a team was fielded with just six or seven men. There was also the problem of a permanent home ground, which meant fixtures could not easily be arranged. This team became Malden Wanderers in 1886, and continued to hold their annual dinners at the hotel.
It was also the headquarters of the Malden Harriers in their first incarnation. When founded in 1884, they were originally based at the Royal Oak, as their races ran through the Coombe neighbourhood. They transferred their allegiance to the Norbiton Park Hotel, when their runs took them out into the Old Malden area, and they enjoyed High Teas with smoking concerts in the evening. The races were very popular, with many hundreds of spectators assembling at the hotel to witness the start and finish.
Keeping up appearances
The hotel took steps to improve its appearance. The old wooden trough which had stood against the front wall of the property for the use of cattle and horses to drink was replaced with a new stone one. There was a pub sign erected showing its name, and the fence surrounding the building was removed where it jutted out into the highway. The guide post which had stood at the junction was removed, and a new gas lamp fitted on its own island with raised kerbs in the road directly outside. This new lamp would also act as the guide post, with direction plates showing where the various roads led. The old lamp was removed, and placed opposite the Trinity Church (now part of Waitrose). But above all, what do you need in premises where the prime product was liquid? Previously, passers by had been subject to the sight of drinkers relieving themselves in the nearest hedge etc, so the council asked Mr Radford to provide a proper convenience.
It was not all beer auctions, and shooting. In August 1883 Mr Radford took it upon himself to provide tea for 200 children and their friends who were on a day’s outing from Colliers Rents Sunday School in Southwark. They had all come down on the train, and walked to the grounds of Malden College (now Welbeck and St James’s Closes), where they played games and took part in races, returning home to London in the evening tired but happy.
First published Jan '18
by Robin Gill
The area around the Norbiton Park Hotel in 1878 was very different to when it was built ten years earlier, and mostly unrecognisable to the area today. The first houses in Burlington Road (Wakefield Terrace) were not built till that year, the sign can still be seen on the wall of the picture framers. Vernham House (now Fountain House: the home of Pearson Hards solicitors) was still to be built, as was the Congregational Church (now URC). The opening of the police station was 13 years away.
It was into this environment that John Radford took over the Hotel. Originally from Devon, he had gained experience working as a waiter in the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, and then The Crown Hotel Aylesbury. His first wife died in 1876, and he had subsequently remarried, bringing his new wife Emma with him. They were only a small family (no children), but they still needed help in running the hotel, advertising for staff in the Evening Standard, who arrived in the form of William Parsons from Surbiton.
Pig shoots
Initially, Radford went down the same route as his predecessor (Lock) by arranging shooting matches on the ground adjacent to the hotel. Arranged by members of the Wimbledon Gun Club the prize was again “a handsome fat pig”, and the contest took place the day before New Years Eve 1878. Pigeons were supplied from an outside source, and Radford provided refreshments. This became an annual event, and the following December things were more organised, with a marquee being provided, together with coke fires to protect those “trigger fingers”.
Building plots in Kingston, Montem, Raby, Penrith, Westbury, Sandal, and Rodney Roads together with the Mount Pleasant estate, continued to be auctioned at the Hotel as Malden became less country, and more residential.
The Hotel was used as the headquarters for the Liberal Party during the General Election of 1880. The constituency of Mid Surrey of which New Malden was part, stretched from Battersea in the north to Epsom in the south. A grand meeting held at the hotel in March 1880 went into uproar, when it was suggested by a Tory invader that the sitting Conservative MPs were going a good job and should be re-elected. In the election the following month… they were.
The pigeon shooting matches became a permanent feature after the Wimbledon Gun Club secured the use of the large meadow adjoining the hotel in May 1880. Subsequently, this became today’s pub garden and carpark. Mr Radford supplied lunch to the shooters, and an “excellent dinner” in the evening. Paid admission by the general public would allow them to watch the matches which took place every Thursday afternoon. Other taverns in the area including the Railway (now The Glasshouse) also held shooting matches for either gold or silver trophies. Charging the public 5 shillings to watch, (around £25 today), not surprisingly, threats and intimidation were used to try to gain entry, and on occasions the police were called. The cup shot for at the Norbiton Park Hotel, would have been worth about £8,000 and to gain possession members had to win the weekly competition three times. Membership cost 2 guineas (circa £200 today). These shoots became so popular that a Friday contest had to be added, and come rain or wind, the competitors were there. The cup was finally won on Easter Monday by Mr J Robbins from Wimbledon for the third time, entitling him to keep it. One of the subsequent contests was for a pig weighing 75 stone (476 kilos!). I wonder how the winner, a Mr Prince, transported the animal home.
Bargain hunt
The hotel was even the venue for the sale of house contents from nearby properties being built in Malden Road (now High Street), where the new owners had either died, or fallen on hard times. Sales took place at the hotel, because at that time auctions for house contents could not be held on the premises. This was in addition to the properties themselves in Kingston, and Raby Roads, Lime Grove, and the newly built houses in Burlington Road, and land in Penrith Road.
Also being sold was land in Elm Grove and Northcote Road. This formerly was pasture land, and had many fruit bearing trees as part of the plots. All used to be part of Norbiton Common Farm, which stretched both sides of the railway line towards Kingston.
Oddfellows
The Loyal Duke Of Cambridge Lodge of Oddfellows, which had been founded in 1870, held their meetings at the Hotel. In fact, John Radford acted as vice chairman on a number of occasions, as well as hosting the meetings. By 1881 they had 78 members (all men of course) and prided themselves that in their first ten years they had only had one death.! Strangely enough, at the 1882 anniversary dinner, the toast to “The Trade Of New Malden” was responded to by Edward Lock the former landlord of the hotel, who after his bankruptcy, had become a successful fishmonger in the Market Place. The numbers of members gradually increased, and by 1885 they had over 100 (still all men).
The Hotel still had some disreputable characters as customers. One such was Benjamin Nash who lived with his widowed mother in Waterloo Place a rundown part of Malden close to the railway station. He was prosecuted for being drunk, quarrelsome, and disorderly, turning up at the Norbiton Park Hotel already intoxicated and ordering beer. When Mr Radford declined to serve him, he was subject to a torrent of abuse, and Nash refused to leave when asked. He was ejected, and continued to use bad language from the street. He was fined £1 12s 6d (£1.62½p or one month’s hard labour as he was a repeat offender. A similar culprit was Frederick Tucker of Wandsworth who was fined 5 shillings (25 pence). Henry Brooks of Worcester Park who broke the shutter on the front door trying to gain entry, was pursued by Radford and a policeman in a fly. He was prosecuted and fined 24 shillings (£1.20 pence) or 14 days imprisonment.
Cricket and cross country
The hostelry also became the home of Malden’s cricket team. Founded around 1880 as New Malden Victoria, the club changed its name to the New Malden Cricket Club at the end of the 1882 season “to the satisfaction of local inhabitants”. Arthur Woodroffe, whose family lived at Charnwood, a large house which stood on land now occupied by shops in the High Street topped both the batting and bowling averages. The club only survived until 1885 thanks to the generosity of its vice president Edwin Farley who helped provide a tent for changing and catering facilities. There was a lack of players, and sometimes a team was fielded with just six or seven men. There was also the problem of a permanent home ground, which meant fixtures could not easily be arranged. This team became Malden Wanderers in 1886, and continued to hold their annual dinners at the hotel.
It was also the headquarters of the Malden Harriers in their first incarnation. When founded in 1884, they were originally based at the Royal Oak, as their races ran through the Coombe neighbourhood. They transferred their allegiance to the Norbiton Park Hotel, when their runs took them out into the Old Malden area, and they enjoyed High Teas with smoking concerts in the evening. The races were very popular, with many hundreds of spectators assembling at the hotel to witness the start and finish.
Keeping up appearances
The hotel took steps to improve its appearance. The old wooden trough which had stood against the front wall of the property for the use of cattle and horses to drink was replaced with a new stone one. There was a pub sign erected showing its name, and the fence surrounding the building was removed where it jutted out into the highway. The guide post which had stood at the junction was removed, and a new gas lamp fitted on its own island with raised kerbs in the road directly outside. This new lamp would also act as the guide post, with direction plates showing where the various roads led. The old lamp was removed, and placed opposite the Trinity Church (now part of Waitrose). But above all, what do you need in premises where the prime product was liquid? Previously, passers by had been subject to the sight of drinkers relieving themselves in the nearest hedge etc, so the council asked Mr Radford to provide a proper convenience.
It was not all beer auctions, and shooting. In August 1883 Mr Radford took it upon himself to provide tea for 200 children and their friends who were on a day’s outing from Colliers Rents Sunday School in Southwark. They had all come down on the train, and walked to the grounds of Malden College (now Welbeck and St James’s Closes), where they played games and took part in races, returning home to London in the evening tired but happy.