St Peter’s Review – Post-Easter 2007 – Page 8
Could this be
Streatham’s most
historic house?
By John W. Brown
the National Gallery, fireplaces and doors went
to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle,
some of the amoral stained glass from the
conservatory was incorporated into the windows
at Windsor - and part of the frieze was reclaimed
by John Mallcott for his residence in Streatham.
Number 54 Streatham Hill, one of
Streatham's most fascinating buildings
later called ‘The Stone House’ and then
‘Carlton Villa’ was demolished some 80
years ago. Sadly, no photographs of the
residence have survived, we have only
the briefest description and our
imaginations to conjure up an image of
what this enchanting house might have
looked like.
John Mallcott a builder and mason, born
in the 1780s, built the house in 1838 and
lived there with his family until 1850.
He also built the National Gallery on the
site of the old Royal Mews between
1832 and 1838.
Mallcott was
responsible for the demolition of many London
buildings and it is thought that his Streatham
home was built from stones and masonry
reclaimed from many of them including the
Royal Mews, which is reputed to date back to
King James I.
The white-stone wall at the front of Mallcott’s
house in Streatham and several large stone balls
in the forecourt were thought to have come from
the old London Bridge when it was demolished
before the new bridge, designed by John Rennie
was erected in 1823-31. However an old print of
the Royal Mews dated 1764 shows four
stone balls, which means their origin is
uncertain.
Mallcott's house was called Streatham
House, Bridge House, Old Bridge House
and then, according to the 1841 Census,
Carlton Villa. But, it was possibly because
of the "London Bridge Wall" and stones
taken from the Royal Mews that during the
time of William Dent and William Stanley
Dent's residence (1851-1907) the building
was called, The Stone House.
The Stone House was demolished in 1927 to
make way for the building of Telford Court
Carlton House in Pall Mall before demolition - the frieze was used for
in 1932. Mr E. White, the foreman in
John Mallcott’s house in Streatham.
charge of the demolition works said it was
Around the top of Mallcott's house was a frieze
the most extraordinary house he had ever
that had previously adorned Carlton House in
worked on and that it contained many "quaint
Pall Mall - the former residence of the Prince
things". A workman assessed the building at
Regent, King George IV. Columns from Carlton
400 years old and said, “the stone work was
House were recycled and used in the portico of
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St Peter’s Review – Post Easter 2007 – Page 9
perfect… and was equal to many important
public buildings in London and elsewhere." A
shrewd judgement by a labourer who was
unaware of the buildings origin!
When the building was being demolished the
press reported hidden treasure in the two-and-ahalf feet thick walls. According to local legend,
the house was haunted by a ghost who stood
guard over a secret catch of gold. The only
treasure found was a gold sovereign, discovered
beneath the floorboards.
Local residents
reported seeing a ghostly figure by the trees and
a number of labourers were terrified by a
haunting noise, which turned out to be a stray
cat!
Some relics of Mallcott's house survived. Three
Adams mantelpieces, estimated to be worth
£1,500 (in 1927) were taken to the estate of Sir
Edward Stewart in Scotland and a part of the
London Bridge wall was used by Edward Wates
to make a garden seat for his home at number 4
West Drive, Streatham. The house is now a
council retirement home called Yew Tree Lodge.
Much of the house’s stonework ended up as the
foundations of shops, or as hard-core on
Streatham Hill, but one stone was sent to
America and has become part of the Rotary Club
of Greenville, South Carolina. The Lodge was
constructed with stones from all over the world
and each was inscribed with the name of its
place of origin. The "Greenville" stone was
secured by Mr T. D. Weston of the Streatham
Rotary Club. One side of the stone was round
and reported to be part of the old London
Bridge, the other side was flat. From this
description, it is more likely that the stone taken
to America originally formed part of the Royal
Mews and not London Bridge. It is also possible
that parts of the building were retrieved by local
residents. So, if you have a large ball of stone at
the bottom of your garden, it could be one that
John Mallcott rescued from the Royal Mews and it might once have decorated the forecourt
of one of Streatham’s most historic houses!
Our thanks to John W. Brown for allowing us to
use this article and to Madalyn Treaddell for
editing it.
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St Peter’s Web Site:
To contact Fr Peter by e/mail: FrPeter@stpeters-streatham.org
by phone: 020 8769 2922
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