Tracing the history of my home…

This is the first home I purchased. Back in the heady days of the low property prices of the 1980s.

It was a converted flat – converted from an old Victorian school built in 1896 (so the date plaque on the right entrance states).

When it was built, Wimbledon was in Surrey – the inscription over the left entrance “S.C.C.” marking that it was a school under the governance of Surrey County Council. But without the building moving an inch, it’s now in the London Borough of Merton.

I was in my very early 20s and fell in love with the flat the minute I set my eyes on it.

I knew I had to have it.

I first saw it literally as it was being converted from a school to a block of one-bedroom flats. I wish I’d had a camera back then to record the renovation’s progress!!

When I bought the flat in 1986, it cost £41,500 – then an arm and a leg. Other nearby one-bedroom flats were all between £35,000 to £38,000. The jump to £41,500 was massive. Well, it was in those days! I had to take on a massive mortgage at stupid interest rates to pay for it.

But I was obsessed with it.

I had started genealogical research when I was just 18. But until this point, I hadn’t dipped my toes into local history. However, when I saw this building, I not only fell in love with the building, but also the local history of the area.

And the idea of living in an old Victorian school.

The converted flats kept the 2 original entrances either end of the block; one for girls and the other for boys. The developers also added a new central entrance for those of us whose front-doors were in the middle. To this day, I can still recall the noise of the buzzer and door-release.

The central large-oval window in the block was the massive window on the landing leading to the front-doors of all the central flats. The small window to its right (top floor) was my bedroom. Immediately above my bedroom’s ceiling was a massive full height loft that I always intended – but never did – investigate.

To its right – and the last huge window on the right of the building – was my living room. Not a massive room – conversions were very lacking in space in the 80s!. But it had a massive 20+ foot high ceiling.

A high living-room ceiling is an obsession that I’ve always had – dating from this wonderful flat. My current living room – many miles (in more ways then one) from my first flat – is also 20+ foot high. That’s despite my home today not being a Victorian converted property, but a house purpose-built in 2000.

My living room in my flat was part of the old school’s hall. Sometimes at night, I used to lie in bed, imagining the noise of the children in their school hall. In fact, on the night of the Great Hurricane of 1987, I thought they’d all come back to pay me a visit. Until I realised that it was Mother Nature conjuring her wrath on my road – not the ghosts of small children.

I spent three very happy years there. I never did research its history as a school. I bought every single local history book that was out at the time. There were a wide range of local history books even then, and those books are today still on my overflowing bookcases. When I’m long gone, my children (all born and bred in Essex) will wonder why I have countless books on Wimbledon and Merton (unless they read this post!).

I moved out reluctantly (but happily) in September 1989 when my eldest was on her way. No room for a baby in a 2nd floor one-bedroom flat – no lift and no storage (even if there was a massive loft!).

When I lived in there in the late 80s, there was no parking restrictions. I can see from Google’s StreetView that there is now.

The fun I had parking on that road! First come, first serve to the few parking spaces back then. But in those days, it was only one car per flat – and 9 flats. With most homes today having at least two cars, it must be mayhem now…

But I moved to Essex, and the rest, as they say is history (at least, for my family). Once I was a Surrey girl, now I’m an honorary Essex girl!

My obsession with local history started in this building and I look at it with fond memories.

I regret that I didn’t take photographs as they changed the building from being Victorian school to a modern luxurious block of flats.

And I will always regret that I never did research its history when I lived there.

Since the 1980s, plenty of Victorian red-brick schools across the country have been renovated into houses and flats.

❓Do you live in a converted school? ❓

❓Or do you live (or once lived) in a home that has been converted from another use – such as a hospital, workhouse, mill or a pub?❓

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If you are fascinated about the history of your home, then you’ll be interested in my new online course

🏡 If Walls Could Talk…
Uncover the secret history of your home🏡

Make you note in your diary… signup starts from 19 September 2019.

Course commences on Monday 30 September 2019

Keep an eye on my blog throughout rest of September for more news.

I’m also doing regular posts on my Facebook page about how to

🏡🏡 Uncover the secret history of your home🏡🏡

I hope you’ll join me and take part in this fascinating course. Learn how you can trace the history of your home.

As this is the first pilot version of my course, it’ll be offered at a very special low price that will not be repeated.

Resources for tracing the history of your home

I’ve written a short pdf listing some of the resources that you can use for  researching the history of your house.

Download 25 online resources for uncovering the secret history of your home…

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Post created: September 2019 © Kate J Cole | Essex Voices Past™ 2012-2019