Now until very recently I had no idea that a small community of 1500 families lived close to where I grew up on Well Hall Road.
But then why should I? They were erected in 1916 and had gone by 1937.
The first hints came from comments on the Well Hall facebook site but it was my friend Tricia Leslie who first alerted me to the extent of this small estate and pointed me in the direction of The Eltham Hutments by John Kennett.
Mr Kennett is a respected local historian who has written extensively about the area and contributes a regular column for SE nine. **
And with the The Eltham Hutments he has uncovered a rich part of our history.
“Between 1916 and 1937 parts of the Well Hall and Eltham Park areas of Eltham were covered by temporary dwellings.
These 1500 wooden huts were erected for Woolwich Arsenal munitions workers and their families.
To a whole generation of local people they were home yet memories of life in ‘the hutments’ are limited to a dwindling number of former residents.”***
The book covers the building of the huts, much on life in the community and their final demolition and removal.
What is all the more exciting is that Tricia has strong family links with those huts; “my grandfather is mentioned in the book as Mr W.B. (William Broadhurst) under the heading of Shooters Hill By-Pass (Rochester Way) and Re-Housing. It was a test case that went to court.”
And she is currently researching the community which will be a fascinating addition to Eltham’s story.
Picture; cover of The Eltham Hutments, 1985
* The Eltham Hutments by John Kennett, 1985, Eltham Books
**SE nine, http://www.senine.co.uk/
***ibid John Kennett, page 1
The first hints came from comments on the Well Hall facebook site but it was my friend Tricia Leslie who first alerted me to the extent of this small estate and pointed me in the direction of The Eltham Hutments by John Kennett.
Mr Kennett is a respected local historian who has written extensively about the area and contributes a regular column for SE nine. **
And with the The Eltham Hutments he has uncovered a rich part of our history.
“Between 1916 and 1937 parts of the Well Hall and Eltham Park areas of Eltham were covered by temporary dwellings.
These 1500 wooden huts were erected for Woolwich Arsenal munitions workers and their families.
To a whole generation of local people they were home yet memories of life in ‘the hutments’ are limited to a dwindling number of former residents.”***
The book covers the building of the huts, much on life in the community and their final demolition and removal.
What is all the more exciting is that Tricia has strong family links with those huts; “my grandfather is mentioned in the book as Mr W.B. (William Broadhurst) under the heading of Shooters Hill By-Pass (Rochester Way) and Re-Housing. It was a test case that went to court.”
And she is currently researching the community which will be a fascinating addition to Eltham’s story.
Picture; cover of The Eltham Hutments, 1985
* The Eltham Hutments by John Kennett, 1985, Eltham Books
**SE nine, http://www.senine.co.uk/
***ibid John Kennett, page 1
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