WOODLANDS ESTATE RESIDENT FREEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION
A HISTORY OF THE FIRST 50 YEARS
1930 - 1980
FIRST PUBLISHED 1st SEPTEMBER 1980
RECORDED WERFA SECTIONS 1930-1980
Tennis Section
Horticultural Section
The Woodlanders Dramatic Section
Pavilion Entertainments Committee
WERFA Chess Club
Table Tennis Section
Swimming Club
The Ladies Committee
Mermaids Committee
Junior Tennis Club
The Pavilion Club
Old Time Dancing Section
60+ Club
Ladies Section
Ladies Afternoon Whist
Partner Whist
Solo Whist
Bridge Club
Ladies Keep Fit Section
Youth Club
9-13 Club
Bingo
15
PREFACE
This booklet has been prepared for the interest of members
and well-wishers. It provides a brief outline of the achievements
of W.E.R.F.A. up to 1980 and the hopes and aspirations for the
future.
The publication is dedicated to the founder members of the
association whose endeavours and foresight won the material
needs and the social atmosphere to create ‘a village in the suburbs
of London’.
For a monument to their labours, take a walk through
WERFA Park.
In the Beginning
The history of Isleworth – of forest land in Saxon times to
the founding of Syon monastery in the middle ages and thence to
the connections with the Percy family and the Dukes of
Northumberland has been well documented by local historians and
makes fascinating reading. From about 1850 our particular part of
Isleworth was a market garden and orchard until, in 1928, the first
foundations were laid for houses in Woodland Gardens.
The purchase price of the houses at around £700 was
above average for a three up and two down semi-detached
dwelling. The good quality of the building accounted for some of
the cost but the locality and the layout of the estate also had an
influence on this price.
The Woodlands was described in the builder’s brochure as
a ‘show estate’ a cliché which befitted a development so well
planned.
In the first few months of occupation everyone was
obviously pre-occupied with the settling-in process but
nevertheless the residents became aware of the unkempt
appearance and the uncertain future of the plot of land in the
centre of the estate. It was not long before this central area was
commonly referred to as the centre BLOT.
As we look at the prospects for the 1980s and beyond,
there are encouraging signs. The claims of television on our
leisure time is receding. The other thorn in the flesh – the motor
car could also become less attractive as the world economists say
that we must motor less and it will cost us more. These factors
could make the facilities of the Association even more attractive
to members – remember the support in the 1930s.
With the value of past experience and resources in such a
healthy state there is every reason to believe that future
committees will steer the Association to still further successes and
prosperity.
The most essential ingredient for past successes has been
the enthusiasm by members and the only assurance for future
success will again rest on similar enthusiasm – to enjoy the
entertainment and join in activities but most of all to organise
programmes and administer the affairs of the Association.
May good fortune smile on the Woodlands Estate Resident
Freeholders Association during its second fifty years.
Why the Association was formed
The central area was covered with high thistles concealing
potholes and builders’ rubbish. The only habitat was a small
builders hut and two hard tennis courts provided by the builder.
14
Rules for conduct of members and junior members in
WERFA park were also observed by custom and tradition and
these too were formalised and adopted at an AGM in 1977.
It was clear that the residents would have to watch
developments carefully in order to safeguard their interests.
Looking to the Future
With this intention in mind the Association was founded
on the 1st September 1930.
Achievements by WERFA in the first fifty years are
almost unbelievable. The Association is admired by other clubs
and has been pointed out by the Local Authority as a model for
others to follow.
In the early months of the formation of the Association,
rules were drawn up and the management of WERFA was vested
in an Executive Committee with authority to deal with all matters
appertaining to the welfare of the Estate.
The Association has enrolled associate members and
combined with other clubs in various activities to the benefit of
everyone. On the other hand an autonomy has been maintained
which has preserved particular privileges for Woodlanders.
The need for good communication with members was seen
as a high priority and the first issue of the WERFA Journal was
published in March 1931 to inform members of the activities of
the Association; particularly the negotiations relating to the centre
plot.
The advancement in terms of capital assets is indeed
impressive but it is because of the support that members have
given to the social activities that many well-wishers envy
WERFA.
Journals and Newsletters in varying forms have been
published ever since.
The location of the amenity in the centre of the estate has
helped but the records show that successive committees have been
energetic in launching new activities to keep the interest of
members fresh. It is probably true that the proportion of active
members in the 1970s was lower than in the 1930s, but it is
equally true that compared with other Community Associations
the support for WERFA is second to none.
The builder was desirous of putting the centre plot to
profitable use but had no firm plans. He floated several
speculative ideas none of which was attractive to the residents.
One idea was to lay tennis courts over the whole area and let them
out to local clubs. Another to let plots out as allotments. The
residents on the other hand favoured the area being grassed; an
idea not commercially viable from the builder’s view point. The
site was then offered for rent or purchase by the Association, but
the terms for both schemes were beyond the financial resources.
13
2
In the Autumn of 1931 the builder offered to sell the land
and the tennis courts to the Council for £1000. The Council
expressed an interest but deferred a final decision until the
beginning of the next financial year in the Spring of 1932.
The probability of the Council owning the centre plot was
no more attractive to members than the builder’s earlier proposals.
The residents would likely have little influence over what the
Council might do with the plot. Even if the land was let to
WERFA the possibilities of outside influence on development and
activities would always hang over the heads of the owners of the
property in Woodland Gardens particularly, with a clearly
detrimental effect on the value of their houses.
The considerable efforts of those pioneer committee
members to find a universally acceptable solution was intensified
as time appeared to be running out.
The breakthrough came on 4th December 1931 after much
hard work and hard bargaining provisional agreement was reached
that the Association would purchase the freehold of the land for
the sum of £750. The purchase price would be paid to the builder
by instalments over a period of 12½ years at an agreed rate of
interest. This deal was endorsed by the membership and sealed in
May 1932.
At a General Meeting in 1932, the rules of the Association
were extended to allow the appointment of Trustees to be
responsible for the property of the Association.
3
In June 1967 the WERFA social club was formed as a
constituent body within the parent association to provide bar
facilities, dances and other adult functions.
This added dimension to WERFA activities was regarded
with considerable reservations by many members. Care had to be
taken to ensure that the traditional activities suitable to all the
family were not lost as the price of an asset to cater for a different
clientele.
A mixture of responsible membership and good
management served to achieve that most difficult of attainments
‘the best of both worlds’.
During this period of consolidation the rules compiled by
our founder members in 1930 were replaced by revised rules
which were consistent with the original rules but included some
items which had grown to become unwritten customs over the
years.
These rules were backed by the adoption by the
Association of a constitution in a form approved by the National
Federation of Community Associations.
The adoption of these new rules and constitution enabled
WERFA in 1976 to be registered by the Charities Commission as
a charity which entitled the Association to a number of financial
benefits.
12
During this period also the tennis courts again fell into a
degree of disrepair which required major reconstruction. A
Tennis court rebuilding fund was set up and an arrangement of
loans from members, commissions from the collection of football
pool coupons and the sale of waste paper combined to raise the
cost of new all weather courts.
Development of the Centre Plot
With the first hurdle cleared the enthusiasm of members
was directed into turning this derelict area into an amenity for
which the association could be proud.
The project was launched in 1967. The construction cost
of £1200 was raised and the contract placed early in 1970 and by
June of that year this very important facility was again in use.
To cut down the weeds and clear the rubbish was the
obvious starter. A fence was erected around the plot and members
were invited to donate trees to be planted on the perimeter at a
price of three shillings (15p) each.
During the early 1960s the park itself was programmed to
cast off its war time role of allotments and be returned to grass, so
approximately half of the land adjacent to the tennis courts was
regrassed in the Autumn of 1963 at a cost of £580.
The whole area was grassed and a 9 hole putting green was
laid adjacent to the tennis courts, with assistance from labour
under a Government scheme for the unemployed. Special turfs
were purchased for the putting green at 10d (4.2p) per square yard.
With the need to allow access for the building of the new
pavilion, reclaiming from allotments of the other half of the park
was delayed until 1976 when this area was regrassed and a
through path laid.
The planning, toil and no doubt heart-aches too that went
into the activity described here in a few lines was completed in the
remarkably short time of 15 months and it was a very proud day
for WERFA members when on the 23rd September 1933 the
Chairman of the Parks and Open Spaces Committee of the
Borough of Heston and Isleworth presided over a grand opening
celebration and the name CENTRE BLOT was dismissed for the
appropriate title – WERFA PARK.
On the social side too, drive and imagination kept the
pleasure aspects of the association very much alive through the
60s and 70s. Space does not allow a detailed review except to say
that the time honoured activities continued to florish and new
sections among which were, The Ladies section, Bingo, Youth
Club, 9-13 Club and the Ladies Keep Fit section all subscribed to
a busy and varied programme.
11
Such was the enthusiasm and indeed the demand on
WERFA PARK that a further 9 holes were added to the putting
green and ornamental gardens, garden seats and paths all
contributed to what in retrospect was a fairy tale achievement.
4
The Pavilion
At the outset all the social functions and formal meetings
of the Association were held in St John’s old church hall. It is not
surprising therefore that ways and means of providing our own
pavilion were being considered in parallel with the development in
the park.
The first positive step was taken immediately following
the opening of the park in the Autumn of 1933 when a pavilion
sub-committee was formed.
Financing the project was obviously the big problem. The
cost of the park development plus the repayments of the mortgage
to purchase the land had drained resources.
Once again ingenuity by the committee of the day was
shown when they discussed with the mortgagee of the land the
benefits in terms of consolidation and stability of the Association
that their own meeting place would bring.
The well being of the association was of course also in the
interest of the mortgagee and he agreed to a moratorium on the
mortgage so that capital for a pavilion could be acrued more
quickly.
The Association launched a pavilion development fund in
which members were invited to purchase shares at an agreed rate
of interest as a further means of raising funds quickly.
5
The necessary finances having been raised, the contract was
placed in 1963 for the pavilion to be increased in length by 10 feet
at a cost of £600.
This extension could only be regarded as a stop gap as the
major part of the structure had been built of timber and asbestos in
1935 and was beginning to show signs of its age. The
management committee could forsee that consideration would
have to be given eventually to providing a replacement building
hopefully of more durable construction. The timing of the
replacement was all the more worrying because of the rate of
inflation. So it was that in January 1966 a ‘New Pavilion’ subcommittee was set up and a New Pavilion Building Fund
launched. H.A.V.A.G.O. and many other money raising activities
were employed to raise the necessary WERFA capital, to combine
with government and local authority grants for the total cost.
The pavilion is the undisputed nerve centre and hub of the
Association and the 6th April 1973 must therefore take its place in
the annals of WERFA being the date on which the new pavilion,
costing close on £15,000, was opened by the President of WERFA
in the presence of 80 founder members and representatives of the
Youth and Community Service of the London Borough of
Hounslow.
The establishment of a pavilion constructed of pre-cast
concrete had consolidated the existence of a headquarters for the
Association comparable with the life span of the dwellings in the
Woodlands which it serves.
10
The first major capital development was in 1950 when for
£300 the pavilion was extended to include indoor sanitation and
enlarged kitchen and storage space.
By October 1934 the available finances were considered to
be sufficient to provide a pavilion adequate for the needs of the
Association.
Social activities were well back into their stride and the
added attraction of the improved kitchen and toilets etc meant that
the hall itself was frequently approaching bursting point.
A building of size 30ft x 20ft was projected but without the
‘luxuries’ of heating, sewage etc and at an extraordinary general
meeting on the 27th March 1935 a resolution was passed to place a
contract for a pavilion for the sum of £164.10s.0d
Many of the old pastimes still attracted members, whist
drives, flower shows, sports day etc, whilst old time dancing, and
the 60+ Club were among the new successful ventures.
WERFA was adapting well to a changed world, a
membership that had also changed to some extent and a
population which was becoming mobile and attracted by the age
of television.
The tennis club which had been the backbone of the
Association before the war was also attracting renewed support.
The war years had taken toll of the courts and major refurbishing
work was necessary.
Funds having already been stretched by the pavilion
improvements, the resources of the Association could not finance
this work so a loan was successfully negotiated from the Lawn
Tennis Association so that this popular pastime could get
underway.
Consolidation in the 60s and 70s
To cope with the ever increasing demand on the pavilion it
was decided early in 1960 that the building should be extended.
Saturday the 25th May 1935 at 3pm was the time of
another proud and important landmark in WERFA history when
the Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Heston and Isleworth opened
the WERFA Pavilion.
WERFA Social Activities
All work and no play…………. whilst the great
achievements of the park and pavilion were unfolding, parallel
enthusiasm and equal success was being achieved by those
branches of the Association charged with organising
entertainments.
The tennis club figured prominently both in outside and
inside functions. The Whit Monday Sports days were grand
affairs to which everybody came. The Woodlands Entertainers,
Dramatic Society, the Pavilion Club, Horticultural Shows, The
Ladies Committee, The Mermaids Committee and many others
combined to make the social life of members both active and
varied.
6
Among many special occasions the King George V Jubilee
Day celebrations in 1935 and the Coronation Fete in 1937 are
worthy of particular mention.
The Woodlands was a new estate. The vast majority of
members were young with mortgages and young families. The
motor car was an asset that very few could afford and so the
WERFA facilities on their doorstep were a godsend which is
borne out by the tremendous support and breadth of activities that
were enjoyed in those early days.
It is a fact that arrangement of rotas and advanced
bookings to use the facilities were necessary to cope with the
demand. The sale of ice cream, sweets, teas, etc from the pavilion
hatch completes the picture of a thriving community.
Came the War
The hopes in 1938 that there would be ‘Peace in our time’
were shattered when on September 3rd 1939 war was a reality.
Blackouts, the inevitable restrictions on social activities and
resources compelled the Association to curtail its programmes
drastically and to review its financial situation. There was still
£600 of the park mortgage outstanding and an appreciable amount
of shares in the Development Fund to be repaid.
Yet again the committee applied commendable business
ability by negotiating with the land mortgagee to close the
mortgage on a lump sum payment of £150; representing a total of
£300 capital paid of the original £750 sale price.
The majority of members showed their generosity by
tearing up the share certificates thus leaving the Association in a
solvent position for the indefinite dormant period.
The needs of the hour warranted that the park which had
but a few years earlier, been created with such pride should be
surrendered to the national campaign to ‘Dig for Victory’ and thus
the grassland was wholly given over to allotments.
Whilst some members went to war those that were left
used the community framework of WERFA to man the air raid
warden requirements of the Woodlands.
There are little or no recorded facts of the Woodlands
A.R.P. service save for a few modest but proud reminenscences by
those involved. It is nevertheless reasonable to believe that the
resourcefulness that members showed in peace were equally
applied during the dark days of war for the safety and well being
of their neighbours.
1945 and Starting Again
After 5 years of war it is surprising to recall how quickly
WERFA recaptured the old interest – and some new ones.
8
7