In search of the Georgian Grotto in Carshalton Park
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- I have returned to Carshalton in the South London Borough of Sutton. I am seeking a Georgian Grotto. My helpers are again, Marq English, Emilie Champion and Maya.
The Grotto, situated in the south-east corner of Carshalton park,was built in about 1724 as an ambitious design for landscaping in the park. The structure is now in a state of disrepair and access into its interior is prevented by locked gates. It originally had an ornamental iron gate, a marble pavement and roof covered with shells. A branch of the River Wandle used to rise in a subterranean chalk chamber beneath the Grotto, and flowed through the centre of the park past the mansion house. In early 2014, following months of heavy rain, the river again flowed from the grotto for a time.
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The dome was indeed a glass top ,as a small boy we used to crawl into the tunnels long before they put steel bars in ,we crawled all the way in to the area of the dome it was a big space and because it was glass it let in a lot of light as the tunnels were dark ,other tunnels ran off from the one on our way to the dome room ,as kids we were adventurous and I guess brave and excited to crawl through those tunnels LOL .I was born in Carshalton in the 40s much has changed there were still farm smallholdings with pigs ,goats ,chickens ,horses around different parts ,back end of strawberry lane was farms and other site of the butter hill bridge there was also a smallholding and a large wood ,where Carshalton College is that was a forest called peters forest we played in there as kids opposite which was top of nightingale road was a smallholding I believe it was called Red house farm ,they cleared it and built a garage now ,well I could go on and on but its all changed now it was a beautiful and wonderful place in those days ,lots of great adventures .:)
Such a shame it has all changed. All that local colour and people - sad to see it all gone.
@@RichardVobes Yep we will never see the like of it again
Hi Richard, at the bottom of the grotto there are three arches, when I was young I used to break into the middle one and go up it, at the end is a large room with an entrance from the top via a manhole cover, that has now been welded shut, also the main areas were open, I spent a lot of time with my mate playing around this area
Hi Nick, it sounds like a kids adventure playground - more so because you broke in! :)
Me too!!
My childhood was spent in Carshalton Library (when my Mum was in FineFare shopping!!) with my sisters and we (as 5, 7 & 9yr olds) spent all of our spare time researching local history!! Do you recall BP Vinyl Products down Butter Hill discharging chemicals into the Wandle?? They did so regularly until the late 1970s. I was born in a house facing the Wandle. The very first shop that was ever open on a Sunday (that I recall!) was a newsagent/sweet shop not far from this, the 'Hog Pit'. It must have been in about 1975. We used to walk there (to give our Mum some 'Peace and Quiet'!!) and buy 'Bird's Toffee'!!
I guess you may know that The Wandle was, in its heyday, "The Most Worked river in the World"... with more mills per mile than any ever river before or since on Planet Earth!! There are some old photos in the local archives of the Coleman (of mustard fame!) family. When my dad dug an 8ft x 4ft soakaway for an extension, in about 1976, we found 8 coins. I still have them and the earliest is from the 1730s. I went to school in Hackbridge, (walking a mile each way, often on my own, from aged 6...They were the days!!!!)... Then Wallington Grammar.
The history around there is amazing!
Me and my sister used to play in the grotto in the ‘70s before the gates went on. We were told of the tunnel with the room at the end but too chicken to go up it.
Now In my 70s. Our post WW 2 family home overlooked Carshalton Park and I spent my childhood with this and the other 5 local parks and large green spaces as my adventure playground. On my bicycle; the smallholdings, mentioned by Mike Mikie, Nick and others with their lovely memories and details (I wonder if we ever met as children) were within easy reach.
The grotto; which was not gated, was dank and mysterious; perfect for dare and scare games.
But nothing in comparison to crawling along the damp, smelly rubble covered centre tunnel at the lowest point, to the 2 tiered cistern at the end. We thought we knew that if it rained we would definitely be in peril, not just from the water which would drown us but parental chastisement for being in there.
This was all regarded as the London green belt; for many years I didn't recognise how privileged I was to be brought up there.
As a post script; every May there was a street carnival parade with local decorated floats and bands Etc, Etc. which ended up in Carshalton Park, with a fun fair and festivities. I wont go into how much of an influence this had on my later life.
Very interesting thankyou.
Definitely Surrey 😁 Great video 👍
Thanks very much.
The canal flooded in 2014,it crosses the main Carshalton road into the grove park where it overflow's into the River wandle at papermill close,The canal was built at the same time as the grotto,i believe there are spring's under the grotto which fill up when there is heavy rain,the canal very nearly flooded the high street in 2014.There is still what used to be a sniff mill at Butter hill on the wandle.There are still a few old water wheels on the wandle one at butter hill,one in grove park Carshalton,one at Morden hall park along with more old mill building's,and one at merton abbey mills,you could do a series of these just on the river wandle it's self.The wandle has two start point's one at waddon ponds and the other at Carshalton ponds it become's one river just past Hackbridge,the river was used to power industry along the route like sniff mills,watercress farms,dyeing of cloth,copper making,back before the mills it was one of the best trout streams in the uk and Nelson himself used to fish there,if you go to Mordon hall park you will see trout in the river there now.
Thanks so much for the extra info- very interesting. Cheers.
The tunnels underground the grotto lead to a large underground room. There are some other tunnels further down the dry riverbed that originally lead off in one direction to Crew manor in Beddington Park and Woodcote Hall Wallington but were bricked up decades ago.
don't forget about the tunnels by The Plough pub in Beddington I have been down them its all l connected. And blocked up But way what for .was it to run and hide🤔 and behind the back of that grotto the room we were in was also a blocked up doorway. I need a hammer and chisel to find the treasures with init😁
@@mickeyfubar69 I also used to remember stories about there being a tunnel running from the cellars of the Greyhound hotel and connecting Honeywood Lodge, could just be an urban myth.
@@stuartsmith3320 I remember somone saying that long ago in the Greyhound pub. Thank you Stuart . i going to ask to see if I can see them.
Looks like a grate place to go the river is really fascinating
Turns out it was a canal. :)
Remember we had gas lighting in the streets and in our homes yeah can you believe that ,those were the days when a man on his bike came to turn on the street lights ,and yes we were naughty some evenings we climb up the lamp post and turned them off lol of course we did not do that often in fear of getting caught ,those days rag & bone man paid your mother for any rags she had ,man on bike would come around he was the knife sharpener ,baker came around he was a horse drawn covered cart and also a man came around in a truck to collect food waste that folk kept for him ,he took it to the farm to feed the pigs ,so you see in such a short time Carshalton changed quickly in first comment it was called peters woods not forest :)any ways enough now or it will become a book LOL
Thanks for the memories - fascinating!
used to swim in that hog pit when I was a kid and it was filled with water fed by a spring , shame the grotto has been left to go to wrack and ruin
did you know there is miles of tunnelling underneath that Park and I have found a secret entrance leading to the back of that grotto.if you would like to know we're just ask me. I live there 😮😁👍👀
Wow you all do on hear.... only local people 👍
lots of water at the moment!
Have they dealt with the canker yet please
No idea. Sorry.
@@RichardVobes ok