Home › People › The Du Buisson family
Last modified: 30 October 2026 · Build 1
The Du Buissons were one of the old Huguenot families of Wandsworth. In the mid-nineteenth century James Du Buisson JP owned a large house and fields between today’s West Side and St Anne’s Church. He was a magistrate, a pillar of St Anne’s, a Conservator of the Common, and one of the men who fought to save it.
His death in November 1879, and the sale of his estate, set off the building of much of the area west of the Common. So far the material on him is scattered across the Chronicles; the family page in /people/dubuisson/ is still an empty template. This page gathers what we have.
These are working notes. The newest findings are in the research log at the foot of the page.
How sure each point is: confirmed in a reliable source; to check stated somewhere but not yet verified; lead an inference, not yet sourced.
The Du Buisson family, Huguenot, long established in Wandsworth confirmed
James Du Buisson JP (died 20 November 1879), of West Side; magistrate and Conservator of Wandsworth Common confirmed
Wife, children and heirs: not yet identified to check
The spelling varies in the sources: Du Buisson, DuBuisson and Dubuisson all occur, sometimes in the same newspaper.
“For many years an active Wandsworth Common campaigner and benefactor, James Du Buisson came from a well-established local Huguenot family.” (Chronicles, November 2021) confirmed
He was a Justice of the Peace and, after the Wandsworth Common Act of 1871, one of the elected Conservators who managed the Common. confirmed His dates of birth and his place in the wider Wandsworth Huguenot community (the Huguenot burial ground is on East Hill) are still to be found. to check
He “owned a large house and fields between today’s West Side and St Anne’s Church.” confirmed The name of the house is not yet known; it should show on the Ordnance Survey of 1869–74 and in the census returns for 1861 and 1871. to check
St Anne’s, St Ann’s Hill, was consecrated in 1824. “In the nineteenth century, some of its most prominent members, such as James DuBuisson and its sometime curate, Revd John Conder (later Head of Halbrake School), were stalwarts of the fight to save Wandsworth Common.” (Chronicles, September 2024) confirmed
His exact part in the campaigns of the 1860s (the vestry committees, the 1870 subscription and the 1871 Act) still needs to be traced. to check
Twice in the 1870s he lent a field beside his house for the athletic sports of Halbrake School, Park Road (now Elsynge Road), whose head was the Revd John Conder. confirmed
James Du Buisson died on Thursday 20 November 1879. “His death, and the sale of his estate, will trigger a transformation of the local area.” (Chronicles, November 2021) confirmed
Which roads were laid out on the Du Buisson land, by whom and when, is the main question for this page. to check
30 October 2026 — Page started, drawing together the Du Buisson references in the Chronicles. The earlier pages stay where they are and are listed under Sources.