A HISTORY OF
WANDSWORTH COMMON

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Abercrombie and Forshaw's "County of London Plan", 1943



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Wandsworth Common's new post-war motorway: notice that a major dual carriageway was planned to run from Streatham and Balham Hill across the Wandsworth Common near the railway station, straight through "Bellevue Village" to a roundabout where Bellevue Road and Burntwood Lane cross Trinity Road. It would turn right along Trinity a new arterial road [black] running through the eastern edge of of Tooting Bec Common slightly to the west of Streatham High Road [A?]. It woud cut across [ via Clapham South to the Surrey Tavern — just to the south of Nightingale Lane — then turn through Wandsworth Common the crossing with Earlsfield Road and Windmill Drive. Then cut across towards Putney etc etc. No major road was expected or planned between the Ealsfield Road roundabout and the Wandsworth Bridge. Or indeed across Tooting Common.

[Check exact source and status. Presumably the dots represent roundabouts?

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The bigger picture



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Abercrombie's new roads

The County of London Plan and the Greater London Plan called for five concentric ring roads identified by letters:

The "A" Ring (Sub-Arterial), roughly where the Inner Ring Road and Congestion Charge boundary is today, forming "the boundary of the Empire, cultural and commercial core of London".

The "B" Ring (Arterial), running a little further out and built for fast traffic. It was intended to be the main ring road and fully grade-separated like a motorway.

The "C" Ring (Sub-Arterial), effectively the North and South Circular Roads. A bridge or tunnel would replace the Woolwich Ferry.

The "D" Ring (Express Arterial) which would "girdle the general limits of the built-up area in London" as they then were.

The "E" Ring (Sub Arterial), a revised version of Bressey's North and South Orbital Roads. It would have lay-bys and picnic areas, and would not join up across the Thames.

Main radial roads would be Express Arterial and interchange with the "B" Ring, and all radials were identified by numbers.

Two further roads would then cross the central area within the "B" Ring:

Route "X", the old north-south avenue proposed by the Royal Commission, now an Arterial Road.

Route "Y", the Royal Commission's east-west route, again as an Arterial Road.

When the War ended, Abercrombie's optimistic vision was held back by a crippling lack of funds. Responsibility for rebuilding London was split between various Ministries with little effective cooperation. And of course, thousands of people were homeless, or living in cramped and squalid conditions. The creation of vast new highways and rezoning projects couldn't be justified against the more pressing need to rebuild homes and commercial premises as quickly as possible.

By the 1950s, despite half a century of meticulous planning, post-war redevelopment had failed to provide any solution to the universally recognised traffic problem. Solving it would involve demolition, sometimes of buildings that had only recently been rebuilt. It was a whole new planning challenge.

[Roads.org: Early plans.]

  • Wikipedia: County of London Plan (1943)

  • Roads.org: Ringways: Early plans

  • Roads.org: Ringways: Post-war planning

  • Roads.org: Ringways: South Cross Route

  • Roads.org: Ringways: Clapham-Wandsworth link

  • Roads.org: Ringways: Balham Loop

  • Antique Maps and Prints: Link