Our next Tooting History Group meeting is a talk entitled “Home Truths: Uncovering The Secrets of Your Home” by Danielle Wilde,  house historian and Tooting resident. The meeting is next Tuesday 10th January, 7.30pm at The United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, Tooting , SW17 9NQ.

So if you have ever wondered when your house was built, who used to live there or what was there before your house, come along and hear the history of a Tooting House and how it was researched

After the First World War, the Government promised to build “Homes Fit For Heroes”. And Wandsworth Council swung into action, buying land and building houses on four sites across the borough. Where were they built in Tooting? Who designed them? And who lived in them?

Our next meeting on Tuesday 14th February at 7.30pm will answer these questions. We meet at the United Reformed Church in Rookstone road, Tooting, SW17 9NQ. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Charles Bravo murder in April 1876 continues to fascinate people 147 years after the event. Long suspected of the poisoning of Charles Bravo, Dr. James Gully was a society doctor and former lover of Charles Bravo’s wife.

Come and hear Colin Fenn  speak about the rise and fall of Dr Gully and his role in the murder at The Priory in Balham.

We are meeting on Tuesday 14th March at 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, SW179NQ.

We look forward to seeing you there.

At our next meeting we will be hearing about the history of Wandsworth Museum and the 10,000 objects that make up the collection. The doors closed in 2015 and apart from the occasional outing, the objects have languished in the former West Hill Library basement (Photo above).

Where has the collection been previously displayed? What is in the collection from Tooting?

Come and find out next Tuesday 9th May at 7.30 at The United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, Tooting, SW17 9NQ. (Tooting Broadway tube).

The London Borough of Wandsworth doesn’t have a local museum. But it does have a collection of 10,000 + items in a basement on West Hill, most of which have been there since March 2008. There have been Wandsworth Museums in the past and this walk on Friday May 26th will be passing some of those sites. Beginning at Putney Library, Disraeli Road, we will be going down to West Hill, onto the former Young’s brewery site and Wandsworth Town Hall and finishing at the old Court House building in Garratt Lane.

More information about the Wandsworth Museum Action Group here.

More information about the Wandsworth Heritage Festival here.

The most prominent statue in Tooting is that of Edward VII outside Tooting Broadway Station. It has been there since 1911 but how did it come to be there? How was it made? Where was it made?

Steve Parlanti will be telling us about the statue at our next meeting on Tuesday June 13th. Steve is descended from the family who ran the foundry where the statue was made.

You can read more about the Parlanti foundry here .

We hope to see members and guests, old and new, on Tuesday 13th June at 7.30 at the United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, SW17 9NQ.

Our monthly meeting in July will be addressed by Dr. Paul Carter from the National Archives at Kew. He will be talking about the records of 19th Century workhouse inmates, particularly from the Wandsworth and Clapham Union which covered Tooting. So what lead to complaints or petitions from Workhouse inmates? How were the complaints investigated by the Poor Law Commissioners?

The talk is on Tuesday 11th July starting at 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, Tooting SW179NQ. (Tooting Broadway tube). Everyone is very welcome.

Daisy Lawrence was born in Tooting in 1917. She left Sellincourt School aged 14 and went to work at the Tooting Co-Op. In 1942, she was called up to work at the Bletchley Park code breaking centre. Whilst she was working on breaking Japanese codes, her fiancée was held as a POW in the Far East. Daisy’s daughter, Jan Slimming, has written an account of her mother’s life and will be speaking to our September monthly meeting. You will also be able to buy copies of Jan’s book.

Come along on Tuesday 12^th September at 7.30pm to the United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, SW17 9NQ.

The Tooting History Quiz night will be open to all at our next meeting on Tuesday 10th October. 50 questions on Tooting past and present. There will be prizes and refreshments and Tooting facts to inform and entertain. Teams of up to five people welcome — if you don’t have a team, we will match you up on the night. Free entry for members — guests £2 donation. We hope to see you at The United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, SW17 9NQ at 7.30 on the 10th October.

Tooting History Group is actively involved in speaking up for historic buildings and other heritage assets in Tooting. Come and hear about this work at our next meeting with Libby Lawson, Conservation Officer, Tooting History Group.

• Which buildings or features in Tooting need more TLC? 
• Are there any we could do without? 
• What should Tooting History Group be doing to improve Tooting’s built heritage? 

We will be looking at local and national listing of buildings and other assets.

The meeting is next Tuesday, 14th November, starting at 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road, SW17 9NQ.