pepandtim posted a photo:
The Postcard
A postcard that was published by Newton & Gutteridge. The image is a glossy real photograph. The sign for the Wheatsheaf pub has gone, along with the pub itself.
The disappearances don’t stop there – the pond and its ornamental fountain are also long gone – the pond is now just a traffic island with a very heavy flow of traffic circulating round it all day long.
The card was posted in Thornton Heath on Saturday the 24th. February 1912 to:
Miss Mette,
Ormar,
Swinburne Avenue,
Broadstairs.
The message on the divided back was as follows:
"Many happy returns
of the day.
With love from
Violet".
Thornton Heath Pond
The old pond at Thornton Heath is in the middle of the London to Brighton road between Croydon and Streatham. The pond appears on all the earliest maps of Croydon, and was an important public watering place for horses and cattle moving to and from Croydon.
It is possible that the charcoal burners who operated in the area from at least the 16th. century and probably much earlier used the pond as their source of water – hence the name Colliers Water Lane nearby.
However by the late 19th. century, with increasingly heavy traffic, the pond became a potential hazard. In 1891 for example, a parcel mail coach on its way from Brighton to London in fog ended up in the pond.
In 1897 the pond was surrounded by railings, and a new fountain was erected in the middle to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It is clearly visible in the photograph.
In 1953 the pond was filled in and turned into an ornamental garden with a small pool. (I wonder what happened to the fountain???)
Spasmodic vandalism led the council to fill in even this small pool in 1975, and Thornton Heath Pond became little more than a busy traffic roundabout on the A23.
Nevertheless, there are regular calls to get the pond reinstated in some way, and it may be back one day.
One feature which will not be back is the Gallows which stood close by, and which was used in order to hang numerous convicted highwaymen.
The Wheatsheaf
The Wheatsheaf was situated at 757-759 London Road, and was one of three Thornton Heath Pond pubs, all of which are now gone. The Wheatsheaf dates back to the 1800’s, and was originally built as a coaching inn. The name reflects the area’s rural past.
The Wheatsheaf had a reputation for being haunted, including the ghost of the daughter of a former landlord. Local legend states that bodies were stored in the cellar of the pub after being hanged in public at the nearby gallows.
An Attack by Italy
So what else happened on the day that Violet posted the card?
Well, on the 24th. February 1912, in an attempt to force the Ottoman Empire to accept the annexation of Tripoli and Cyrenaica, Italy made a surprise attack on Beirut, at the time a part of the Empire.
The cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi and the gunboat Volturno sailed into the Lebanese port, and demanded the surrender of the Turkish ships Ankara and Avnillah.
Before the Ottoman provincial governor could reply, the Italian ships began bombardment, sinking both ships. The final death toll was 97 sailors and civilians.
Early Aerial Reconnaissance
Also on the 24th. February 1912, one of the first-ever photographic aerial reconnaissance missions was undertaken, with Italian Army Captain Carlo Piazza photographing Ottoman Army positions in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War.
Theodore Roosevelt
Also on that day, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt replied to the 10th. February letter from several state governors, and declared:
"I would be willing to accept the Republican
Party nomination for President if it is tendered
to me. I will adhere to this decision until the
convention has expressed its preference".
The letter was released the next day.
A Steamship Launch in New Zealand
The 24th. February 1912 also marked the launch at Kingston on Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand of the steamship Earnslaw.
