THE JACKSON ESTATE
In 1804 Robert Slade, proctor-at-law, and
Randle Jackson, barrister-at-law and an expert on
Indian affairs, (ref. 127) were admitted tenants to 23
acres of copyhold land near the Washway on the
west side of Brixton Road. (ref. 128) They partitioned
the estate in 1806, Jackson taking the northern
half (fig. 37) and Slade the southern. (ref. 129)
Nos. 186–192; 194, 196, 198–204; 206, 208–220 (even) Brixton Road
Formerly Nos. 1–4 (consec.) Grove Place; Grove House,
Elm House, Nos. 4–1 (consec.) Fir Grove Place; Fir Grove
House, Nos. 7–13 (consec.) Grove Place
Although Jackson immediately obtained licence
to demise his land for building purposes, only a
few houses were erected before his death in 1837;
these are illustrated in a water-colour, dated 1820,
reproduced on Plate 47a. This shows the layout
of the Brixton Road frontage as originally intended, with two terraces of six houses each,
flanked by two pairs of houses at the north and
south ends, all three storeys high with attiics. The
northerly terrace was not built until a few years
after 1837, (ref. 130) when Nos. 194–204 were erected;
their design differs considerably from that shown
in the water-colour. Two piers incised “Grove
House” and “Elm House” respectively, still stand
in front of these houses, the latter retaining its
anthemion finial (not shown on Plate 47a). The
two pairs of houses flanking the southerly terrace
were pulled down about 1928 to make room for
a three-storey row of shops. (ref. 131) The rest of the
houses illustrated still stand. Nos. 186–192 are
linked by their coach-houses and each has a
segmental bay projection at the rear. Their
attractive verandahs have long since been removed, but they retain delicate lattice guards to
the first-floor windows. The southerly terrace
comprises Nos. 208–218 (Plate 47b), but two
houses were added, one at each end, i.e. No. 206
and No. 220. Together they form a plain undistinguished terrace with unhappily designed Greek
Doric porches to the entrances and light bowed
cast-iron window guards of lozenge pattern on the
first floor. A shop has been built across the front
garden of No. 220. No. 206, erected by Randle
Jackson for his own occupation, (ref. 132) is built on the
same line as the rest of the terrace but on the
north side there is a projecting wing with rounded
corners. The entrance is on the north side of the
wing and is relieved above and on its flanking
pilasters by key ornament. The house has been
divided and is now numbered 206 and 206A.
The pier illustrated on the extreme right of the
water-colour marked the boundary between the
Jackson and Lambeth Wick estates; it is still
standing. Nos. 186, 188 and Nos. 208–214 were
let on lease to various tenants between 1810 and
1831. (ref. 132) Robert Pledge and Skinner Chart were
connected with the erection of Nos. 208 and 210,
so the whole terrace may have been built by the
firm of Pledge, Chart and Mason which had the
contract for building St. Mark's school, Harleyford Road (see page 26).
Figure 37.:
Jackson estate and neighbourhood, lay-out plan
Nos. 2–8, 12–34 (even); 15, 17–29 (odd), 31, 33, 37, 39 Lorn Road
Formerly Nos. 1–4 (consec.) Swiss Cottages, 32–43 (consec.) Lorn Road; Nos. 19–15 (consec.), 11A, 10, 9A, 8
Lorn Road
The land at the back of the houses in Brixton
Road was used as pleasure ground and garden to
the house called Fir Grove. In 1835 Jackson was
granted licence to demise this land on building
leases for 99 years, but in 1837 when James P.
Macdougall was admitted as trustee of the property on Jackson's death it was still undeveloped. (ref. 133)
Macdougall was granted licence to make roads,
i.e. Lorn Road and Groveway, to pull down the
greenhouse, stables, and out-buildings which stood
on the land, and to cut down trees. Groveway and
Lorn Road were laid out about 1840, (ref. 134) Lorn
Road forming an approach road to St. Michael's
Church from Brixton Road. Most of the houses
in Lorn Road are of the cottages ornés type
(Plate 56).
Nos. 15, 25, 27 and 29 are the survivors of
four pairs of houses (Nos. 17–23 were destroyed
in the war of 1939–45) which were built by
William Ball Docter of Cowley Road about
1843. (ref. 135) They are two-storeyed stock brick villas,
with rendered semi-basements, and attics in the
slated roofs. The main windows are architraved
but surmounted by Gothic cresting on the ground
floor, which also appears, inverted, below the
main cornice and in the frieze of the linked
Classical entrances. The angular-headed attic
windows are set in hipped and barge-boarded
gables. Nos. 31, 33, 37 and 39 are two pairs not
unlike the last but with no Classical features. The
gables are very steeply pitched, with finials, the
central parapet is battlemented and the windows
have either label mouldings or arched heads. The
porches are buttressed and pinnacled and have
sharply pointed arches. Nos. 2–8 are two pairs
similar to Nos. 25–29 but with no basements or
attics and with shallow pitched gables, those to
Nos. 2 and 4 being hipped. Nos. 6 and 8 have a
very high central parapet and the linked entrances
are topped with small obelisks. All four houses
have been altered.
Nos. 12–34 are well designed pairs of stock
brick houses, three storeys high on semi-basements
and with two-storeyed wings containing the
entrances. The latter are ornamented with incised
fret patterns and with wreaths in the frieze. The
detail generally is Greek and very restrained.
All these houses were erected shortly after the
street was formed.
Groveway
Formerly Grove Road
The houses in Groveway vary considerably
but with some exceptions they are built of stock
brick, two or three storeys high above a semibasement and either singly or in pairs. They all
have architraved windows, many have rendered
and coursed ground floors, and parapets and eaves
appear in equal numbers. Several houses have the
flank walls brought forward to form antae, an
idea which, like the treatment of Nos. 40 and 42
with open pediments containing lunette windows,
can be seen in Stockwell Park Road and Crescent.
No. 16 is exceptional in having a pilastered front
and Ionic portico. Other entrances have incised
frets or wreaths in the frieze while several larger
houses have free-standing Roman Doric porticos.
Nos. 33–41 (odd) Stockwell Park Road
Formerly Nos. 25–33 (odd) Stockwell Park Road
In 1832 Randle Jackson added a piece of freehold land, part of Stockwell Manor, to his copyhold estate; (ref. 135) it is now covered by these houses.
No. 33 is a rather dull two-storey villa with a
semi-basement. It is fronted with grey brick and
has a recessed porch flanked by pilasters with
wreaths in the frieze above. Nos. 35–39 form
a symmetrical yellow brick terrace with an extra
storey. The porches are like that of No. 33 except
that the pilasters are coupled at the end houses.
No. 41 is of the same height as No. 33. It is
stuccoed on two sides and has a Greek Doric recessed porch wedged against a semi-circular bay at
the south-west corner. The house is pedimented
on the Groveway elevation and the composition is
unified by a scroll-ornamented band at first-floor
level.
THE SLADE ESTATE
Robert Slade's part of the 23 acres which he
divided with Randle Jackson is now covered by
Ingleton, Halstead, and Thornton Streets and
Ingleborough Road, named after places in Yorkshire where the family also owned property.
Slade let part if not all of this piece of copyhold
in 1808 to Simon Vowell, who erected a row of
houses fronting Brixton Road called Loughborough Place. (ref. 136) In 1805 Slade purchased
another copyhold estate consisting of seven acres
on the east side of Brixton Road between the
present Burton and Loughborough Roads, from
William Brown Angell. (ref. 137) This land had previously been part of John Scaldwell's estate (see
page 127). The White Horse public house on the
corner of Loughborough Road and Brixton Road
stands on the site of an older building of the same
name first mentioned in 1786. (ref. 138) Robert Slade's
youngest son Felix inherited the property after
his brother William's death in 1858. Although
both his father and brother were distinguished
for their public service in Lambeth, Felix Slade
is better known for the professorial chairs which
he endowed at Oxford and Cambridge, and for
the School of Art which he founded at University
College, London. (ref. 32)
St. Michael's C.E. Primary School, Halstead Street
This school was probably founded shortly after
the completion of St. Michael's Church in
1841. (ref. 139) The one-storey building, which is of
brick with a low-pitched slate roof, was considerably altered in 1892, when Elphicke and Howell
were the architects. (ref. 140)
ST. Helen's Roman Catholic Church, Robsart Street
This church was probably designed by F. W.
Tasker and was opened in 1905. (ref. 141) It was extended in 1938 by the building of a Lady Chapel
on the west side of the nave. The architect for
this extension was J. O’Hanlon Hughes. (ref. 142) The
congregation moved to the disused Independent
Church in Brixton Road (see page 130) in 1953
and St. Helen's is now (1955) being converted
for use as an annexe to Corpus Christi Primary
School. It is a plain stock brick gabled building
with slated roofs, and lean-to entrance lobbies
across the whole street frontage. There is a large
circular window above the lobbies, and the gable
is surmounted by a cross.
MASTICKS AND THE
FOURTEEN ACRES
These lands comprised the northernmost part of
John Scaldwell's copyhold estate (see below).
Masticks was bounded by the northern parcel of
Lambeth Wick Manor on the north and west,
the Manor of Milkwell on the east and the fourteen acres on the south. Together with the half
of the fourteen acres on which Mostyn Road now
stands Masticks was inherited by Scaldwell's
grandson Thomas Fox, (ref. 143) who sold the property
in 1735 to James Wall. (ref. 144) At the beginning of the
19th century all these lands comprised the Washway Farm, in the occupation of Robert Martin;
they were then part of the Thurlow estate.
Mostyn Road Methodist Church
The foundation stones of this building (plate
27a) were laid on June 23, 1868. The architect
was John Tarring, and the builders George
Myers and Sons. (ref. 145) The church is designed in the
Decorated Gothic style and faced with Kentish
ragstone. At the north-west corner there is a
tower surmounted by an octagonal spire. The
church was heavily damaged in the war of
1939–45, and was restored in 1954–5.