'Ethel & Ernest's Circuit of Southfields' Guided Walk

At the tail end of the District Line, wrapped around Wimbledon Park, sleepy suburban Southfields has a rich history which makes it so much more than the gateway to the tennis. His parents having moved into Ashen Grove in 1930, the author Raymond Briggs, charmingly immortalised the area in his 1996 homage 'Ethel and Ernest'. This was brought to life even more vividly in a beautiful 2016 animated film which inspired one of a series of self-guided Walks to help people through lockdown. Its now time to do this lovely route in person and take in many locations that they would have been very familiar with. Featuring Wimbledon Park, the famous Southfields Grid, Coronation Gardens, Fazl Mosque, a pet cemetery, the Frame Food Factory and Pete Hampton's 'Darktown Villa' the Walk is a great way to see the effect of population growth and expanding suburbanisation. No better way to view this than through the lens of Ethel and Ernest, moving across King George's Park and into their roomy villa almost one hundred years ago. This last reference is a nod to Roomy Villas another fanastic book (also online), Neil Robson's perfect warm-up read for this Walk.

A Wandsworth resident for over 30 years, Geoff Simmons runs a community history project in south west London called Summerstown182 alongside his job as a graphic designer. This involves Guided Walks and Talks, working with schools and putting up plaques. Over the last ten years a trail of these have emerged along the Wandle Valley, shining a light on some of the lesser-known history in this area. They range from the youngest soldier to serve this country in the First World War to a ground-breaking plaque acknowledging Romany Gypsy and Traveller heritage in Wandsworth. 'Planet Tooting' is an ongoing initiative championing the outstanding migrant contribution to our neighbourhood which resulted in a blue plaque on Tooting Market. Have a look on Geoff's blog for more details or follow @summerstown182 on social media.

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Host or Publisher Geoff Simmons, Summerstown182