Acton, Middlesex
South Acton –
The
The early laundries
simply used the facilities available in the home, but soon extensions were made
to the rear of the houses to create a laundry room. Speculative builders
realising that there was a demand, built laundry houses with the required
facilities, and incorporated a carriage entrance to allow the laundry vans to
reach the rear yard. Typically, the ground floor was used for the washing and
boiling, with the upper floor used for mangling, ironing and finishing. Ironing
was done using irons of cast iron heated on a pagoda stove. The finishing of
delicate lace was the most skilled of the professions.
In total, over 600
laundry sites (not all at the same time) have been identified within South
Acton, and this may well be an under estimate as several sites were operated
under a common management. By 1885 there were sufficient businesses for a
Laundry Proprietors’ Association to be formed to promote the interests of the
laundry owners. The businesses, not only employed washers, launderers, and
ironers, but also Carmen and gave business to suppliers of washing materials
and baskets.
In the small laundries,
all the work was done by hand with tubs and wash-boards. Over time, the bigger
of the laundries became factories with power washing machines and steam
calendars, whilst the smaller laundries declined.
The smaller laundries
lost trade to the larger and more efficient “factory laundries”, and the decline
set in. After the Second World War social conditions changed, and more people
were doing their own washing at home using an electric washing machine or in
local launderettes. The business had become mainly for the hotel and catering
trades, rather than for domestic business.
The area became run down,
and the council began purchasing property for a redevelopment scheme. In the
1950/60’s the whole of the area west of the North London Railway was cleared,
and the small terrace houses were replaced with blocks of flats and high rise
tower bocks, to the high standards of the time. Although initially popular,
these high rise developments are now being replaced with the smaller
terrace-style housing that is more popular today. For more details of this see www.southacton.org.uk
The type of building typically used as a laundry
Whilst the wording on the label sounds a
great story, the connection of James Radcliffe with
Derwentwater
House Gates
At the west end of
They are not gates in any true sense
since they never opened on to a road or path. Outside was the Church Field. A
drawing by J.C.D. Engleheart of 1822 which shows the path to
Nicholas Selby bought Acton House in 18O3.
It was surrounded by a long wall. In the Garden to the north, he immediately
built Derwentwater House, The Manor Court Books described plots in the Church
Field on the other side of the wall by reference to "the iron gates of Mr
Selby" (1843 - 1859).
The gates would have been roughly
opposite the garden windows of Derwentwater House, probably of the principal
rooms. It is most likely, that the ornamental gates were they placed there in
the early 19th century to provide a break in the high wall to give a view of
the countryside beyond.
The school separated the boys and the
girls as was the rule of the time. Intended as a school for "bright and
promising children whose parents could afford a small fee" it was soon
full. It was just what many
There have been many changes and today
the building is known as
This
park was built in the 1920's on the site of a gravel pit, and filled with the
spoil from the construction of local sewers!
The
flats in the background were built on the site of the Co-op Jam factory.
The former grounds of Woodlands House were restored in 2006 This shows the Icehouse, and the restored pond.
The Icehouse has been cleaned out and the ice well is now clearly visible (right)
