Battersea Boys

By: Paul Gardner

With early memories of Freemasonry in Battersea in the post-war period and of a meeting place and dining venue thought to be in Clapham Junction, St John’s Road, above the shops along from Woolworth’s in the 1950’s.

Later identified as Wessex Rooms, long since gone, but how many lodges might have met there in the environs of Battersea especially with the explosion of Warranted lodges in the five years since the end of the WWII. Numerically there were over a 1000 in addition to those Warranted in the between Wars period ?

Battersea was altered by the coming of railways. The London and Southampton Railway Company engineered their railway line from east to west through Battersea, in 1838, terminating at the original Nine Elms railway station at the north east tip of the area.

Over the next 22 years five other lines were built, which continue to carry all of the trains to and from London’s Waterloo and Victoria termini. An interchange station was built in 1863 towards the north west of the area, at a junction of the railway.

Taking the name of a fashionable village a mile and more away, the station was named ‘Clapham Junction‘ a campaign to rename it “Battersea Junction” lost steam in the early twentieth century.

Clapham Junction was probably popular in South London masonry as it was easily accessible by the modern railway system.

Clapham is a misnomer as that postal area (fashionable village) is some few miles away but local history tells that when the railway came and developed into a major and busy junction the name was originally to have been Falcon Junction, hence Falcon Road with its Falcon Public House predominant.

However Clapham Junction it was to be and still is !

In the period from 1880 onwards, Battersea was known for its version of radical politics in the United Kingdom. John Burns founded a branch of Britain’s first organised socialist political federation, in the borough and after the turmoil of dock strikes affecting the populace of north Battersea.

He represent the borough in the newly formed London County Council. In 1892, he expanded his role, being elected to Parliament for Battersea North as one of the first Independent Labour Party members.

Battersea Dogs Home and prior to that the Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, established from its initial home in Holloway, North London came to Battersea in 1871, being the United Kingdom’s most famous refuge for stray dogs. (And cats)

Battersea Park, a 200-acre green space laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1846 and 1864 and opened in 1858, and home to a zoo and the London Peace Pagoda.

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Northern boundary the Thames and to the West and South Wandsworth and Eastwards Lambeth Eastern boundary line SW11/SW8 formed by the Heath Brook (Now an sub-ground sewer)

Lanes Listed Lodges ‘Battersea’ search

Lanes Listed lodges ‘Clapham Junction’ search

In the above pages in Lanes can be found 65 lodges listed with ‘Clapham Junction’ or ‘Battersea’ as a search of which all but 13 are extant, those now meeting in Central London at various venues.

Several fall into the post-war and between wars new lodge category. This is where Battersea lodges met between 1800>1961:

• Wessex House 1 St John’s Hill 1930>1985
• Stanley Halls Northcote Road 1892>1980
• Crichton Restaurant St John’s Hill 1927
• St Marks’ School Battersea Rise 1892
• Municipal Buildings Lavander Hill 1894
• Masonic Hall Shaftsbury Park 1888
• Albert Palace Battersea Park 1883
• Northcote Hotel 1874
• Swan Hotel Bridge Road 1873>1876
• Craven Hotel Lavender Hill 1881
• Rock Tavern Battersea Park Road 1888
• Cornet of Horse Lavender Gardens 1957>1961
• Thomas Prep School Battersea High Street 2001
• Shaftesbury Hall Shaftesbury Park 1874
• Cross Keys Battersea Bridge Road 1800

But most popular and where the majority of lodges met was at the Arlington Rooms Clapham Jnct 1932>1958 and moreso post war years of the early 1950’s after surviving its turbulent history.

Arding and Hobbs

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Arding and Hobbs began life in 1876 as a humble draper’s shop. The business grew quickly and soon expanded to become one of the largest home furnishings shops in the capital.

Tragedy struck, however, just before Christmas 1909. An electric lamp was accidentally knocked over in one of the ground floor window displays. It sparked a fire, which quickly spread among the shop’s flammable wares. Nine people lost their lives many of whom jumped from the upper floors to escape the smoke.

The reconstructed Store had the same length of frontage along St John’s Road as before the fire, while the Lavender Hill frontage was now extended to Ilminster Gardens. In 1928, at 20–26 Ilminster Gardens, J. S. Gibson & Gordon designed extra retail space together with a restaurant and reception rooms on the two upper floors.

Public access via an arcade at 13 St John’s Road led to new grocery, meat, poultry and fish departments. Above these departments, there was a Restaurant and the Ardington Rooms, which were available for formal Banquets and Balls and which were accessed on Illminster Gardens.

The Rooms also included a Masonic Temple. The Restaurant functioned as the Store’s Café and has lighting from a domed skylight with coloured glass while the Masonic Temple has been converted for retail use.

2023 saw the total redevelopement as ‘mall’ and outlet centre but sadly without any masonic attributes from its iconic past remaining.

Dress attire of times past appx 1910 – WM and Officers of Kent Lodge (No15) London

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The ‘local’ relationship with community area becomes evident with such masonic activity prominent in Battersea. Such is now lost and the Fraternity more centralised but just look back and remember the old days when life was simpler and localised in most London Boroughs with their gentlemen residents, dignatories, business men and those welcomed home from the conflicts.

The author, a baby-boomer of the late 1940’s, being brought up in London SW8 (Technically Clapham, but bordering Battersea: See Map). The family Victorian terraced house with its backyard forming the Borough boundary aligning along the Heath Brook.
An enquiring lad, who attended the aforementioned school named after John Burns !

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