A new photo of the front of Honeywood

The details of the house show that this photo was taken between about 1886 and 1898. There are several similar photos from around this time, but this is very sharp and shows a lot of small details. It also provoked some thoughts about of the land between the front garden and Upper Pond.

​Looking at the picture I realised that the shrubs on the north – or right-hand side of the culvert under Honeywood looked small and relatively recently planted whereas those of the left look larger and more established. This suggests that the two parts had different histories and it led me to check back through the documentation. In the early 19th century the pond was part of the common waste belonging to the Lord of the manor of Carshalton and the two areas were presumably part of the same land. The small area to the north of culvert right in front of the house was leased by John Pattinson Kirk in 1886. He presumably then erected the railings and planted the shrubs. It seems likely that the photo was taken soon after. He bought the freehold in 1893.

Image courtesy of Chris Pocock

The other area to the south of the culvert is a bit of a mystery. It is fenced and it looks like it is part of Honeywood’s extended garden, but I have not, so far, found any evidence that it was ever part of the property either rented or freehold.
 
I guess the railings were taken down for scrap in the second world war. I don’t know when the shrubs were removed.