Wandsworth’s Huguenots

1 Feb

Huguenot Place, next to Mount Nod Cemetery

Any heritage walk in Spitalfields is likely to cover the indelible mark left by the Huguenot community since the late 17th century. Their development of the fledging silk weaving industry is by now the stuff of legend, but their craftsmen skills and entrepreneurial drive led them to settle far and wide across the south of England and further afield in the American colonies.

In the aftermath of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the small treacle of Huguenots arriving to these shore turned into a steady flow and by the beginning of the 18th century Huguenots made up 5% of London’s population. Some of these refugee families headed for a small village on the road to Kingston: Wandsworth.

In the early 18th century Wandsworth was of importance to the cities of London and Westminster. Its market gardens supplied Covent Garden and other markets, and its corn mills along the River Wandle had fed the Royal Household for centuries. Throughout the 17th and 18th century the Wandle would become Europe’s 'hardest working river’ peppered with mills, factories and warehouses and the Huguenots were pivotal in the flourishing of its industries.

Records show how the Huguenots were attracted to Wandsworth by an already existing small community of French and Dutch emigrees. Finding a French speaking settled community would have been of importance for the Huguenots, giving them the prospect of worshipping in their own language. It is known that the first refugees to arrive were employed by existing local industries including, frying pan making, calico printing, market gardening and the 'Wandsworth Scarlet’, a red textile dye made from rasping imported Brazilian wood.

Eventually the Wandsworth Huguenots became renowned for their hat making skills, having imported their own secret formula of felting - the process of removing furs from skin. This involved the use of mercury which could lead to Erethism, most commonly referred to as Mad Hatters Disease or the Hatters Shakes, a neurological disease which caused tremors, violent spasm, and could lead to madness or even death.

Besides the Ram Quarter, the former Ram Brewery, there is little that survives of Wandsworth’s past industries or the historical presence of the Huguenots, however there are a few clues scattered around the Town Centre reminding us of their legacy.

Opposite Wandsworth All Saints Church on the High Street is a narrow alleyway that leads to Chapel Yard. This secluded and quiet spot a few yards away from the busy A3, tucked between the back of a row of Victorian terraced houses and a modern development, is dominated by the charming Clore Building. This Victorian Romanesque extravaganza which reminds me of Milan’s most ancient basilicas from the 5th century is now the premises for the National Opera Studio (worth visiting to watch live rehearsals).

On its façade are a number of plaques, whose content must be taken with a pinch of salt. One makes a claim about a Presbyterian chapel on this spot since 1572 (this would have been illegal in the 16th century), while another mentions a Dutch congregation worshipped on this spot. Whilst these claims are overblown, Wandsworth’s industry did attract immigrants and dissenting groups in large numbers, eventually making the village a hotbed of non-conformism. The census of 1903 records that of the total population: 49% were members of the CoE, 6% were Roman Catholic, and the remaining 46% belonged to various dissenting groups including Baptists, Quakers, Congressionalists, Methodists, Unitarians and Presbyterians.

The history of non-conformists’ tolerance by the CoE and authorities is a complex one but the Wandsworth Huguenots were allowed to worship their own faith in their own language, expediently ensuring they would not attract natives to their congregation. A property deed from the 1680s records how the Huguenots leased a barn in Chapel Yard which they converted formally into the ‘French Church’ in 1713 and which operated until 1787.

Heading east along the High Street will lead to the beautiful, but overlooked Municipal Suite, a Portland stone faced Art Deco elegant building which is Wandsworth’s Town Hall. Alongside the building are 6 friezes representing the parishes of the former Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth. Each frieze shows images associated with the parishes’ history. Just above the borough’s old Coat of Arms, the frieze on the right shows a Huguenot couple in period dress, flanked by soldiers returning from the front and a conspicuous horned viking.

Heading up the ancient road towards Southwark, now East Hill, at the point were the A3 bifurcates one is met by the elegant Book House, the former HQ of the Wandsworth Board of Works. Behind this is Mount Nod Cemetery, also known as the French Cemetery, notably used for Huguenot burials. This operated from the 1680s until 1854 when many of the metropolitan burial grounds were closed by Act of Parliament.

The cemetery has been recently refurbished, the monuments repaired, the meandering paths relaid and vegetation tidied up. The gate is still locked, whilst Lockdown endures, but eventually there are plans to formally open the garden for locals to use as a communal space.

A wonder through this serene place of repose indicates a thriving well off community, with many of the tombs elegantly faced with stone. These are typically plain memorials with no Christian iconography as such, but some are adorned by memento mori, such as cross bones with skulls and hourglasses.

The importance of the Wandsworth Huguenot community was remembered long after most had left or were assimilated. Opposite Huguenot Place facing the East Hill side of the cemetery is a memorial stone erected in 1911, after the lobbying of the one George William Tarrant, the reverend of the local Unitarian Church. Throughout his stay in Wandsworth he wrote a number of sermons praising the Huguenot plight whilst fleeing from persecution in pursuit of their freedom and testament to their Protestant faith and he reminded his congregation of how much Wandsworth had gained from their enterprise and sacrifice.