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The de Selincourt Family
of Wandsworth Lodge
Research notes

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For about ten years, from around 1875 to 1885, Wandsworth Lodge on Trinity Road was the home of the de Selincourts: Charles Alexandre de Selincourt, a Paris-born manufacturer of mantles and cloaks, his wife and their many children, several of whom were born there.

One of them was Dorothy, known as Daphne, who married A. A. Milne. So Christopher Robin was a grandson of Wandsworth Lodge. When the family left in 1885 the house was cleared, and its grounds were soon built over as Crockerton, Dalebury and Hendham Roads.

The family page in /people/deselincourts/ is still almost empty. This page gathers what we have. Before them, the house belonged to the McKellars: see the McKellar family.

Contents

• The family in outline
• Charles Alexandre de Selincourt
• Wandsworth Lodge in 1875
• The clearance sale of 1885
• Daphne and A. A. Milne
• Open questions
• Research log
• Sources

The family in outline

Charles Alexandre de Selincourt

Charles Alexandre was born in Paris to Adriana Arundell, an English dressmaker, and Amedée de Selincourt, “purportedly an aristocrat who could not marry a commoner”. The couple seem never to have married, but Charles took his father’s surname. (Chronicles, May 2022) to check

In the 1881 census he called himself “Mantle and Cloak manufacturer”; the enumerator crossed out “manufacturer” and wrote “Dressmaker”. confirmed The business was large, and had a connection with Swan & Edgar. to check

The family came to Wandsworth from Leigham Court Road, Streatham; the date is still to be found. to check

Wandsworth Lodge in 1875

An advertisement in The Field for 12 June 1875 describes the property that attracted the family: “a comfortable Family Residence, with stabling, farmery” and grounds, about eight minutes’ walk from Wandsworth Common station. It ends: “where a series of photographs may be seen”. Finding those photographs would be a prize. (Chronicles, May 2022) confirmed

The clearance sale of 1885

On Wednesday 13 May 1885 Messrs J. McLachlan & Sons sold, on the instructions of “C. De Selincourt, Esq.”, the contents of the garden and stables: bedding-out plants, the lawn mower, “handsome brougham”, a waggonette “by Perry of Bristol”, a “magnificent peacock”, poultry and more. confirmed

Within a few years the house and gardens had gone and Crockerton, Dalebury and Hendham Roads had been built on the site. Brodrick and Wandle Roads may have come first, in the late 1870s. to check The family later lived at Heath Villa, St James’s Road. to check

Daphne and A. A. Milne

Dorothy de Selincourt, known as Daphne, married A. A. Milne in 1913. Their son, Christopher Robin, was born in 1920. confirmed

The Chronicles ask, half seriously: did Eeyore graze on Wandsworth Common? The donkeys of the Common were a familiar sight; compare Cornelius Webbe’s donkey, Sir Isaac. lead

Open questions

• Exactly when did the de Selincourts move in and out: 1875 to 1885? to check
• Was Daphne herself born at Wandsworth Lodge? to check
• The children’s names and birth dates, from the 1881 census and baptism registers. to check
• When were Crockerton, Dalebury and Hendham Roads laid out? to check
• The photographs mentioned in the 1875 advertisement. lead

Research log

Sources

• Chronicles, May 2022: “Wandsworth Lodge cleared”
• De Selincourts: the original family page, still almost empty (this site)
• The McKellar Family of Wandsworth Lodge (this site)
• The McKellar family: research notes (this site)

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