If you live in London, you’ve probably driven through Wandsworth, cursing its one-way systems, staring at its dull architecture and nasty shop-fronts as you wait for the traffic to move, without ever seeing the signs of the Huguenots.
Even on a walk through its streets, you’d still need a guide to point them out.
I did Tim Kidd’s guided Huguenot walk through Wandsworth a couple of years ago, and it was riveting: a surprising insight into London’s industrial development.
Expert cloth workers and dyers who had fled France were drawn to the banks of the River Wandle, which flowed at a good pace for water mills. Having found a place to work, they settled in.
The beautiful old town crest of Wandsworth, still displayed on the grey municipal buildings, shows blue teardrops on a chequerboard. Those are the tears of the Huguenots, torn from their homes in France by religious persecution.
Wandsworth town crest, showing the tears of the Huguenots © Huguenot Jo
Tim Kidd’s virtual tour will show you the crest; and Mount Nod, the cemetery where Huguenots were buried. Many Huguenots imagined that the move to England was temporary, and that they would be able to return to France if the regime became more tolerant. They waited in vain, making Mount Nod even more poignant.
Mount Nod Cemetery, Wandsworth © Huguenot Jo
The charity Huguenots of Spitalfields is now offering this marvellous tour virtually, so that anyone can join it worldwide. Don’t miss the opportunity. It’s just £5 in aid of the charity, and you won’t regret or forget it.
Book your place here
Thank you so much, Jo, for your post and the link to the tour. It was very well done and very informative. I loved the photos and all the detail. I really miss London, being kept away by the pandemic, so it’s lovely to have a virtual wander down the Wandle and learn so much. Even just staring at yellow London bricks makes me feel nostalgic.
My aunt and her family lived in Morden, and we used to walk in Wandle Park when I was a child and a teenager. My mum used to take me into London to the British Museum – my favouite was the Egyptian mummies, hers was the Sutton Hoo treasure. Also, I was a rather nesh young teenager and she got me permission to wear tights at school in the winter – when only bare legs were allowed. The only place you could get tights in those days (early 1960s, just before mini-skirts) was in London shops where ballet dancers went. Lovely!
I am very fond of the River Wandle . Now a clean, nature lovers river. Once in my lifetime a stinking relic of past industries. Wandsworth has been part of my London experiences since I can remember but this blog is a revelation. Thank you
Yes, it is a beautiful river now. You would love the birdlife there – it’s possible to catch sight of kingfishers if you’re alert.
Fascinating about the tear drops on the crest, I tend to forget that these symbols were actually used for reason not just an attractive look. Thank you
It looks just like a pattern until you know they are tears. I wonder who designed the crest? I could probably find out from Battersea Library.
Yes, Heraldry is a language in symbols. See http://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/Wandsworth (scroll down to the second image)
Your image is the official blazon of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, 1901, and is a history lesson in miniature. Blue and gold chequers – the Warrenes, Earles of Surrey. Blue drops, tears of the Huguenots as you say, how poignant. Stars – five parishes. Red crosses – city of London. Nebuly party line – wonderful word! – the winding Wandle and Thames. Dragon ship crest for the 9th century Danes.
PS You can make enquiries at the College of Arms – contact the Officer in Waiting at https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/contact-us