Mysterious House Numbering on Melborne Grove

[ed_pete]

Has anyone ever noticed the apparent anomaly in the house numbering on Melborne Grove ? The houses on the right as you head south go 80, 82, 82A, 84A, 84... I could understand this if 82A and 84A looked as if they were built at some later date but they look exactly the same as the houses either side and of a similar age. I can only conclude that they must have been built at a later date on some piece of land that was previously occupied by something else. Any local historians care to shed some light ?

[edhistory]

Without going outside I don't exactly where numbers 80-84 are located.

Dyos has Melbourne Grove (South) built over two estates:

Vicarage Grove

Bailey's

Running North to South:

Vicarage Grove

Bailey's

Vicarage Grove

The tongue of Bailey's land that juts over Melbourne Grove probably follows an old field boundary, but I've not checked this right now.

So that suggests a handful of reasons:

Different estates built over at different times.

A pause in building because of the Great Depression.

And, if on Bailey's, a Glebe Rent problem having to be resolved.

John K

[sequinstars]

The same thing happens on Oakhurst Grove... there are buildings numbered 1a, 1b 1 and then 2 Oakhurst Grove. It's a nightmare with the post!

[Tanza]

The numbering seems to have changed at some point in Melbourne Grove's history. Because my house number (I live at an end) doesn't feature at all in the census records.

Also in a local history book about East Dulwich, there is a picture of a chap on a motorbike outside my house with the house number written in the text, a number that doesn't correspond to the current numbers. Would love to know why and when the numbers changed.

[edhistory]

And the relevant part of the map.

John K

[mikeb]

Field boundaries clearly visible in this map

http://www.mappalondon.com/london/south-east/peckham-rye.jpg

[Lisa End]

Hi there,

I think I can help! 82a/84a were built in 1896, the surrounding houses in 1894. There was a road that ran between 82 and 84 which was a continuation of what is today Chesterfield grove. This was closed with the building of Glengary road and the neighboring Trossacs & Tarbert Rd behind Melbourne Grove...the space was filled in with two new houses. They are very similar to the houses either side with the exception of neither having had a cellar built which is unusual for 4 bedroom Victorian houses of this type.

[sillywoman]

But I thought Trossachs, Tarbert etc etc were built in 1879? Was sure I'd read that somewhere.

[Lisa End]

Don't know about the age of those roads but was informed that a road did run between what are today 82 & 84. The two houses are 2 years younger than there neighbors...I've seen the original deeds.

[mikeb]

Sort of visible here in this map here, though I think Booth has got things slightly out of alignment eg Chesterfield Grove lines up with the back gardens of Glengarry Road on his map, but not on Google

http://booth.lse.ac.uk/cgi-bin/do.pl?sub=view_booth_and_barth&args=533700,174900,1,large,0

[ed_pete]

Ahh I see. I wonder if the numbers in Glengarry are similarly affected. I do wish that road was still in existance - it would half my journey time to LL and back.

[tarafitness]

You should try visiting Worlingham Road ;-)

half the street starts at number 30 and runs up sequentially (no side for odds, side for evens)... the other side runs back the other way and there is no house number 24!!

very odd

[pennyw]

The chap on the Motor bike is my Great Uncle Wolley Smith who lived at that address (not sure when it changed but had to be after 1968) with his 12 brothers & sisters, my Great Gran Smith lived their from the about 1885 untill 1974 when she moved to my Gran,s at 20 Colwell Road the Christie,s live there from the just before the Great War untill my mum died in 1980