Historically, the Thames has been known as the thumping heart of London, but in 1805, it was the River Wandle — slaloming 12 miles between Croydon and Wandsworth — which was described as the 'hardest working river in the world'.
60-odd mills were operating at that time, churning out flour, textiles, paper, gunpowder, stained glass, snuff, lavender oil and beer — the coming together of nature and man to create a thundering production line feeding much of London and the country — and which would eventually cause a devastating amount of toxicity in the chalky waters.
Industry has thrived on the Wandle for many centuries. In 1086, 13 mills were already listed in the Domesday, and by the 19th century, manufacturing along the Wandle was really into its stride, with many household names operating out of this sylvan stretch of south London.
These days, a walk along the Wandle's banks reveals only occasional fragments of once-booming industries. The best-known is Merton Abbey Mills — an artistic enclave in Colliers Wood — now the only place you'll find a fully-functioning water wheel on the river. But for a deeper dive into the river's industrial heritage, a trip to the Wandle Industrial Museum in Mitcham is called for. Manned by a dedicated team of volunteers who are headed up by Mick Taylor, the museum is tucked away inside a diminutive annex building opposite Mitcham Cricket Green. Its pint-sized stature, however, belies a torrent of fascinating paraphernalia within.
There's a display on the area's chapter as a great producer of lavender oils (Mitcham Lavender Water was once much sought after, beating off the French competition to win a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1885); a collection of snuff tins (an old snuff mill can still be found in Morden Hall Park); a leather skin manufactured on the Wandle which first went on show during 1851's Great Exhibition. These may look like a hodgepodge of unrelated knick-knacks, but together they tell the story of a river that reflected the increasing pace of manufacturing.
Owing to its narrow girth and winding shape, the Wandle has never been a navigable river, meaning its fast-flowing water — and its ability to drive wheels — was always its most vital attribute. Historically, this led to disputes over who got dibs on the liquid power supply; even back in the 1500s, Member of Parliament John Smith built a mill at Colliers Wood, and was promptly ordered to take it down, because it affected the other mills where his tenants were.
Come the dawn of the 19th century, plans to build a canal between Croydon and Wandsworth were vetoed, due to concerns from the mill owners that the canal would drain away their precious water. Instead, the Surrey Iron Railway — a horse-drawn freight railway, which was technically the first public railway in the world — was built. The Wandle Industrial Museum has a wheel from one of the wagons, alongside a fragment of the 'plate' rail. (While in Mitcham, also seek out the nearby building, which we've previously fingered as perhaps the world's oldest railway station.)
Industries along the Wandle became part of the fabric of the country — quite literally. Green and red leather seats in the House of Commons and Lords were made by the Connolly brothers. Cannons used on the HMS Victory at Trafalgar were forged in Wandle-side ironworks. Watneys — which started as a flour milling company on the banks of the Wandle — spawned a brand that, come the 1970s, would be quaffed by the majority of the country's beer-drinking folk. While the Thames is never short on plaudits, the 12-mile-long-but-mighty Wandle played a big role in shaping things — not just industrially but culturally, too.
The Wandle's most famous resident was William Morris, who established his Merton Abbey Works in 1880 on the site of what is now a giant Sainsbury's at Colliers Wood. Alongside a model of the Pre-Raphaelites' rustic looking manufactory (which was sadly destroyed by bombs shortly after it closed in 1940) is a selection of his nature-inspired prints. "The Strawberry Thief was a result of him sitting in his garden in Kelmscott, and seeing strawberries being pinched by thrushes," Mick tells me. As for the Wandle, its flora inspired — you guessed it — Morris' design entitled 'Wandle'. Though Morris is best-known for his fabrics, he was also producing beautiful stained glass; All Saints Church in Putney is bejewelled with some 40 windows, all executed by Morris & Co.
Morris was joined by a well-known neighbour, Liberty. In the early 1900s, eschewing its Eastern printers in favour of one who was closer to home, Liberty began printing on the banks of the Wandle, at Colliers Wood (today's Merton Abbey Mills). Liberty became the last textile mill to close down on the Wandle (that didn't happen until Christmas Eve 1982), but the bond between Liberty and William Morris remains strong to this day; well-heeled Londoners can still be found perusing his fabrics at the sybaritic West End department store.
Morris might be the hero of the Wandle's story, but you can also learn about less-trumpeted figures at the museum, such as the enterprising printer Henry Gardiner ("He was actually selling things printed with pictures of George Washington on them to the American market while the American revolution was going on," Mick tells me), and the Irish copperplater Francis Nixon. Indeed, despite forging many quintessentially British products in its time, the Wandle's industry relied on immigrants almost as much as it did on water.
Industrial pollution had become a serious blight by the time Morris was here (though Morris was personally an environmentalist of his day) — at one point, the river was considered ecologically dead. Since then, it's been much revived, and replenished with brown trout. What was, for so long, a stretch of thrumming, humming machinery, has now largely been returned to nature and the pursuit of pleasure. But anytime you want to be returned to its frantic former heyday — you know which museum to visit.
Wandle Industrial Museum is open Wednesdays 1pm-4pm and Sundays 2pm-5pm. It's closed on bank holiday weekends. Entry is free.
