Winsford House, Penge

[FergussonFamily]

Firstly, I know it isn't Sydenham, but I also have found very knowledgeable and helpful people here before.

Does anyone know any history of the (Winsford) House which used to lie in Winsford Gardens, off Garden Road/Croydon Road SE20 7RN? Who built it/ owned it?

There is now a BTCV Green Gym in Winsford Gardens (open to all, 11-2 on Wednesdays) and the local volunteers that turned out were curious about the history of the house. You can clearly see where it once stood, and the area being improved were once the tended gardens of the house along with an ornamental fountain and pools.

I've had no luck with Google searches, and I can't seem to find a house on the census or on old OS maps. I'm still trying with the census, as the house is either more modern than I thought, or else it then had a different name.

Is there some connection with Winsford Road in Sydenham? Winsford is a town in Cheshire.

No idea why the house is no longer there. The number of flats replacing old houses along the right hand side of Croydon Road tends towards extensive Second World War bombing. All I could find at TNA is that Bromley Libraries hold some "Civil Defence operational messages re incidents at Garden Road 671/2/18 16 Aug 1940". However, I cannot find that this was the site of a V1 flying bomb.

Any information would be appreciated.

[Chris Doran]

Short answer for now: The park is named after the house "Winsford" on the right of the Garden Road entrance, whose garden it once formed. It was built around 1936 by a Mr Stephen Gee, said to be a millionaire. Before that, the area was part of a large estate owned by "Chesham Park", 71 Croydon Rd, on the corner of what is now Garden Road, then just an access road. The big houses on Croydon Road survived WW2 but were steadily replaced by flats beginning in the mid-60s.

I've been to have a look, but couldn't work out what area you mean. Maps of 1912 and 1933 show some outbuildings (a stable block?) and greenhouses parallel to Garden Road at the point where extensions of the drive off Garden Road and the path off Croydon Road would meet.

Maybe a longer answer later.

[FergussonFamily]

Thank you, I was looking at maps from the 1800's. That corner area is still undeveloped then and if the house was not built until 1936 that explains why I wasn't having any luck. Do you know how Stephen Gee made his money?

[FergussonFamily]

It has been five years, but I finally wrote this up. Answered all my own questions. Winsford is named for the village in Exmoor (not Cheshire.) Stephen Gee was a property developer. The ARP had a warden post somewhere near Garden Road, possibly even in the Cottage itself. William Mathews, previous owner of 71, Croydon Road was from Chesham.

http://www.pengegreengym.org.uk/informa ... d-gardens/