The Lost Houses and Gardens of Wandsworth Common

The "Five Houses", Bolingbroke Grove

Five houses and ornamental grounds, now lost, once stood on and around Wandsworth Common — their history, occupants, and eventual demolition.

Introduction

Background and outline of the project, the land, the landscape and gardens, and the servants of Five Houses Lane.

— Introduction (old) - most recent stale version, 19 September 2026, for reference.

Draft Introduction now separated into 3 sections, with edits taken in since 19 September:

— Background

— Landscape and gardens

— Servants

Houses

1. Bolingbroke HouseBuilt 1777, demolished 1937.
   • 1A — Bolingbroke House: The House (1777–1880)Origins, architecture, estate and grounds, occupants. · Build 5
   • 1B — Bolingbroke Hospital (1876–2008)Canon Clarke, hospital founding, expansions, demolition of the house, and the Ark Bolingbroke Academy. Includes appendices. · Build 3
2. Grove HouseBuilt 1777–78, demolished 1889. · Build 6
3. Bolingbroke Grove HouseBuilt 1777, demolished 1864. · Build 6
   
   Appendix: Keith Bailey, ‘Developing Victorian Battersea: The Story of James Lord and George Todd, Junior’,. · Build 3
4. The ElmsBuilt 1777, demolished c.1874–1881. · Build 5
5. Dent’s HouseBuilt 1777–78, demolished c.1881. · Build 5

Beneath these streets / After Demolition

1. The building estates that followedTerraced streets built on the plots vacated by the Five Houses, once each was demolished. Not yet written. PB is discussing this section with Keith Bailey, doyen of Battersea building studies.

Maps

A growing collection of historical maps relevant to the Five Houses and their setting, from eighteenth-century surveys through to detailed Ordnance Survey editions. More will be added over time.

1. Rocque, 1746 — An Exact Survey of the Citys of London, Westminster, ye Borough of SouthwarkAn early large-scale survey of the London area, showing Wandsworth Common and its surroundings well before the Five Houses were built. Not yet added.
2. Harman, 1773 — estate planKeith Bailey's essay on the Bolingbroke/Harman estate; the original plan itself (London Archives, E/BOL/16–17) hasn't yet been obtained.
3. Corris, Battersea Book of ReferenceA parcel-by-parcel reference to an early Battersea estate map, with proprietors and tenants.
4. Batten, 1827 — Clapham Common with Five Houses insetAn 1827 map of Clapham Common, with a detailed inset of the Five Houses area.
5. Ordnance Survey (various editions)High-detail 25-inch OS maps across several decades, to track the changing plots over time. Not yet added.