Summerstown is a district of south-west London located on the boundary between the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

and the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

. It is an area on the north eastern edge of

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, south of

Earlsfield Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England. It is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, All ...

, west of

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

and north of Collier's Wood. The district is bisected by the A217 and bordered by the

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A sh ...

History

Evidence of settlement in the area of Summerstown first appears in the late Middle Ages, when the

was bordered by mills in this area, worked by villagers from the nearby hamlet of Garratt (which gives its name to 'Garratt Lane', the local stretch of the A217). By 1631, ‘Dutchmen’ are recorded as manufacturing kettles and frying pans here, while other Huguenot refugees are thought to have engaged in silk weaving and wig making here. By the mid-nineteenth century, this area was becoming increasingly populated, with many of the present day properties being built in the area at this time, notably the St Clement Danes almshouses in 1848–9, which have now become council housing. The nineteenth century also saw the construction of Summerstown's parish church, with a chapel being built in 1836, and extended in 1861 and 1870. By 1903, it was apparent that a yet larger church was needed, so the present day St Mary's Church was constructed just off Garratt Lane, where it remains little altered to this day. The early twentieth century was a turbulent time for the parish, with the Great War costing the lives of 182 men in the parish, who were memorialised by Summerstown's war memorial, which is located just inside St Mary's Church. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Summerstown was also affected by bombing, particularly in 1944, when a V2 rocket struck Hazelhurst Road, killing 35 and injuring over a hundred. After the war, this presented the council with the opportunity to construct the Hazelhurst estate in 1969–73. Between 1961 and 1968,

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

(then known as Marc Feld) and family lived in Summerstown. He attended Hillcroft School (now

Ernest Bevin College Ernest Bevin College is a secondary school for boys and a mixed sixth form located in Tooting, London, England. The school is all-boys for ages 11 through 18, and has a co-educational sixth form. It has about 1,173 pupils. The school was judg ...

) and worked part time as a dish washer at the local Wimpy burger bar in Tooting. His time in Summerstown was difficult but formative, with Feld often busking outside the former Prince of Wales pub (now

Tesco Express Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

). In 2021, plans to erect a commemorative plaque to mark Bolan's time in the area were announced.

Present Day

The parish church, St Mary's Church, is still open and active in the parish, hosting a service at 10:30 each Sunday morning, and holds a range of services include singing, prayers and a talks from the Bible as well as activities for children. Community project Summerstown 182 identifies and raises awareness of local Summerstown history. Founded by Geoff Simmons, the project has been responsible for erecting plaques in honour of many former residents, including

Sidney Lewis Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * Si ...

Sadie Crawford Sadie Crawford (27 December 1885 – 18 December 1965), also known as Sadie Johnson and Sadie Mozee, was a British-American performer of the early jazz era, one of the few white female performers of her day to have enjoyed an international care ...

and Peter Barr. Summerstown 182 was named one of

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

's Community Heroes in 2015. It is home to the By The Horns Brewing Co., which stands almost exactly on the site of

's former home. The brewers named an ale, Cosmic Warrior, after the late singer. The area was also home to

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motor ...

, a dog racing track that also hosted

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

and other racing events, which closed in 2017. The New Plough Lane Stadium, home of AFC Wimbledon, was built in its place and opened in November 2020.

References

External links

*https://www.summerstown.org.uk/ *https://bythehorns.co.uk/ * {{London Districts Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Merton Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth