49 Leigham Court Road

Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: Unknown

One of the most striking buildings in Streatham, with its central projecting bay topped by an octagonal roof making it the closest the area gets to the Scottish Baronial style. Dating from the 1860s it was originally known as St Margaret, and from 1896 to 1924 was the home of William Raymond Axtens, partner in the then well-known Brixton department store Quin and Axtens. It has been the home of Streatham Constitutional Club since 1929, and is within the Leigham Court Road (North) Conservation Area. Leigham Court Road was laid out in 1839, and while development began in the early 1840s, it didn’t really take off until after the building of the Crystal Palace and West End Railway and the opening of Streatham Hill station in 1856. Quite a number of the original, large Victorian houses survive at either end of the road, and even though their grounds have in some cases since been built on, the remaining mature trees and general landscaping have enabled the area to retain “much of its original arcadian character.” Information from Lambeth Council (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/exeres/CE4B5CE1-0387-40ED-B5A9-273A5160C34A.htm ).

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