37 Cathcart Road, Little Chelsea, London SW10 9G
1881- 1886 Mrs Helfrich
1887 - 1912 Capt. Alexander McNeile
1913 & 1914 Number 37 missing (it goes from number 35 then 39)
1914 - 1924 William James Fisher J.P., editor "The London Daily Chronicle" (he was also registered at 29 Woburn
Square, Holborn) (born 15 October 1850)
by 1918 he is joined by Mrs Adrienne
Marie Marthe Legreay Fisher, nee Dairolles (born France 1863, married 22 March
1897). They had four children.
28 February 1924 William James English Fisher, JP died at 37
Cathcart Road
1925 - 1929 Mrs Adrienne Marie Marthe Legreay Fisher (37 - lower)
1925 - 1929 (37 Upper) Eric Dickens Bouchier Hawksley and Enid Hawksley and
Ernest Bouchier Hawksley
1927 - 1929 Mrs Fisher, Mrs Hawkesley (both persons at number. 37, no number 39 - is this
a mistake?)
In 1929 Catherine Grattan was also
living in 37 lower
1930 - 1935 Mrs Fisher, A (Arthur?) Tilney-Bassett (both persons at number. 37, no number
39 - is this a mistake?)
1936 Mrs Fisher, M. Frank (both persons at number. 37, no number 39 - is this
a mistake?)
1937 - 1938 Mrs Fisher, Frank Eric (both persons at number. 37, no number 39 - is this a
mistake?)
1939 London Post Office Street Directories - Mrs Adrienne Fisher
Adrienne Marie Marthe Josephine Legeay Fisher (widow of William James English Fisher) made
her will in 1938, with two codicils, the last being dated 9 August 1940, and her address
in all three was given as 37 Cathcart Road.
Adrienne died at 171 St Ann's Hill, Wandsworth on 11 December 1940. Her death certificate stated she was "of 37 Cathcart Road,
South Kensington SW10".
1939 Mr & Mrs Clough lived in upper part of the house.
Miss Lehman lived in lower part of the
house.
Mr & Mrs Thomas Shearer were not
resident in the house.
1940 - 44 World War II: no electoral records.
1940 London Post Office Street Directories go from odd numbers 35 to 51 (numbers 37-49
missing)
1941 London Post Office Street Directories go from odd numbers 35 to 53 (numbers 37-51
missing)
1942 London Post Office Street Directories - Only numbers 3, 35 & 42 mentioned
1943 - 1945 London Post Office Street Directories go - Only numbers 35 & 42 mentioned
1945 - 49 Mr & Mrs Thomas Shearer were resident in the house (with others).
1950 - 57 No search done.
1958 Mr Shearer no longer resident. Mrs Shearer &
others resident.
Oct 69 Mr & Mrs Cunningham-Lindahl (and Mrs Shearer and Miss Pauline
Kearney) resident.
1973-90 inclusive. Rates descriptions show
Flats
basement, ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd (code 1050 - Section 1, page no 500)
Oct 1975 Paul & Josephine Cross [will be leaving]
-77 incl Gerald E de Sousa
Mr Mersey & Miss Lister
Mrs Shearer
Oct 78 Dorothy G A Black [arrival]
-79 incl Gerald E de Sousa
Mr Mersey & Miss Lister [will be leaving]
Mrs Shearer
Oct 80 Dorothy G A Black
-81 incl Gerald E de Sousa
Clive H Moore [arrival]
Mrs Shearer
Oct 82 This is the first year when the house is described
in the electoral register as
37(2) Joanna Currie [arrival, will be leaving]
37(3) Dorothy G A Black
37(4) Gerald E de Sousa
37 Clive H Moore [will be leaving]
37a Mrs Shearer
Oct 83 37(2) James Clark - 351 1355 [arrival, will be
leaving]
-85 incl 37(3)
Dorothy G A Black - 351 0549
37(4) Gerald E de Sousa - no separate telephone until Oct 1989
37a Mrs Shearer - 352 4942
Oct 86 37(2) Dorothy G A Black - 351 0549
-88 incl NB: She has changed flat no, but
same telephone.
37(4) Gerald E de Sousa - no separate telephone
37a Mrs Shearer - 352 4942
Oct 89 37(2) Dorothy G A Black - 351
0549
-90 incl Tel directory shows "37 Cathcart
Road"
37(4) Gerald E de Sousa - installs telephone 352 8359
Tel directory shows "37 Cathcart Road"
37a Mrs Shearer - 352 4942
Oct 91 In October 1991 4
additional electricity meters were installed. Prior to that there had been only one.
37(1st) Major - We have not found relevant tel directory
37(2nd) Kaye - no telephone in 1990 directory
37(top) Gerald E de Sousa - By June 92 he had moved to 72 Ifield Road, taking his
telephone number with him.
Tel directory shows "37 Cathcart Road"
37a Mrs Shearer - 352 4942
Oct 92-94 37 No names shown
37a Mrs Shearer
1942 or so.. Mr & Mrs Shearer moved into
the basement flat. They became divorced. She remained in the flat where she brought up two
children. During the war a bomb fell on the three houses opposite which improved the
view. They were rebuilt with three lower houses which are very different in their
appearance. The same bomb caused a crack at the front of the house. Mrs Shearer was
certainly living there at some stage during the war.
Mr and Mrs Shearer took occupation of the basement flat (Flat 1, otherwise called 37a)
before the end of the war. The electoral records show them to have been living there in
1945. Mr Shearer died sometime before 1958 but Mrs Shearer continued to occupy the flat
until she died in the front room in the basement 7 May 2002. By 1969 Mr & Mrs
Cunningham-Lindahl had bought the house and lived there with their maid, Miss Pauline
Kearney, while Mrs Shearer continued to live in Flat 1.
The Rating Records show, 1973-90 inclusive that the house consisted of flats basement, ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd (code 1050 - section 1, page no 500). That is factually wrong although there seems to have been little incentive on those living in the house to correct the records. In fact there was a self-contained flat on the top floor (flat 4) and another in the basement (flat 1) while the remainder of the house was a maisonette (wrongly called flats 2 & 3).
Flat 1 (the basement flat) is a self-contained flat occupied from 1945 to 7 May 2002 by Mrs Anne Shearer.
From October 1975 until after October 1991, Mr Gerald E de Sousa lived in Flat 4. His name appears consistently on each of the electoral registers. By June 1992 he had moved to 72 Ifield Road. In October 1989 he had a telephone installed, having the telephone number 352 8359. He took that telephone number with him to Ifield Road.
From October 1975 until October 1977 Mr & Mrs Paul Cross occupied "Flat 3" being the 2nd floor flat. They then transferred occupation of it to Miss Dorothy Black.
From October 1975 until October 1979, Mr Mersey and Miss Lister occupied Flat 2, being the ground and 1st floor maisonette. They then passed ownership of the freehold and occupation of the maisonette to Mr Clive Moore who lived there until October 1982; in approx November 1981, Miss Joanna Currie came to live with him in the maisonette. In approx November 1982, Mr Moore transferred occupation of the maisonette to Mr James Clark.
Until October 1982, 37 Cathcart Road is decribed in the electoral register as being one house. In that month the house is described for the first time as 37 Mr Moore, 37(2) Joanna Currie, 37(3) Miss Black, 37(4) Mr de Sousa and 37a Mrs Shearer.
James Clark occupied the maisonette (called flat 2) from November 1982 to November 1985. During that period he and Miss Black (flat 3) shared their flats and their properties as if they were one. Their relationship did not work out, for he left the property and she formally merged it with hers.
By October 1985 Mr Clark had a telephone installed in the maisonette called flat 2. By October 1985 Miss Black had a telephone installed in flat 3 (number 351 0549). The electoral register of October 1986 shows that Miss Black was now living in Flat 2 (the maisonette). At all times the telephone directories say no more than "37 Cathcart Road" without distinguishing the flat concerned. It is however clear that from October 1978 to October 1990 Miss Black lived in the house and that she described herself (in the electoral register) as living in Flat 3 from 1978 to 1985 and in maisonette 2 from 1986 to 1990 (during which period nobody else was living in flat 3 according to the electoral register). Telephoning her at her number (351 0549) would have reached her in flat 3 and in flat 2. We are therefore quite sure that maisonette no 2 and flat no 3 were in fact and were treated as being one property.
The electoral register confirms that from October 1986 to October 1990 inclusive there were only three people living in the house. Mrs Shearer was in flat 1 (the basement), Mr de Sousa was in flat 4 (top floor) and the rest of the house was occupied by Miss Black.
Until October 1991 only one meter serviced the electricity supply. In that month, four additional meters were installed. At no time in the history of the house has the house been used as one flat per floor.
In late 1991, Central London Accomodation for
Students Ltd (CLASS Ltd) bought the property and installed additional internal
doors, boilers, kitchenette, baths, showers, basins and lavatories with a view to turning
the maisonette into a maisonette in multiple occupancy during the period 1992-1994
inclusive. The maisonette took on this guise for four years during which time the house
was lived in by foreign english language students. In 1995 the property was wholly vacated
and CLASS removed many of the facilities (including all but one of the lavatories and all
kitchenettes except the one in flat 4 and the one on the ground floor) reconverting these
floors of the property back into a maisonette. During the period 1995 - 2000 inclusive the
property was unoccupied (except for the basement flat).
In October 1996 CLASS Ltd sold the freehold to Kittybrewster
Ltd
In October 1996 CLASS Ltd sold a 15 year lease of Ground & Upper floors to Sir William
Arbuthnot Bt
He had work done to the house, incl replacing the roof with a flat partially-fenced roof
garden with jacuzzi and a new back extension.
In the course of these works he found that the back of the house had been substantially
damaged by fire since 1940.
Oct 2000 to date Ground and upper floors only occupied by Sir William
Arbuthnot Bt
7 May 2002 Mrs Anne Shearer died.
Inhabitants per electoral records
Oct 75 - 7 May 92 Mrs Shearer [Basement]
Oct 75 - Oct 91 Mr de Sousa [Flat 4, top = 3rd floor]. He moved to
a flat in Ifield Road.
Oct 75 - Oct 77 Mr & Mrs Cross [Flat 3]
Oct 75 - Oct 79 Mr Mersey [Flat 2]
Oct 78 - Oct 85 Miss D Black [Flat 3]
Oct 80 - Oct 81 Mr Moore [Flat 2]
Oct 82 - Oct 83 Miss Joanna Currie [Flat 2]
The telephone number under D Black is 351 0549
The electoral reguster has her listed as both 37(3) 1978-85 and 37(2) 1986-88
1982 is the first year when the house is described in the electoral register as 37(2),
37(3) and 37(4)
Oct 84 - Oct 85 Mr Clark [Flat 2]
Oct 1989
Mr
Kaye [Flat 3]
Oct 89 - Oct 91 Miss Major [Flat 2]
1992 there is evidence that the house (excl Flat 1) was temporarily a house in
multiple occupation
In 1995 and 96 the house was owned by Central London Accomodation for Students Ltd - CLASS
Ltd and was unoccupied.
14 October 1996 CLASS Ltd sold the freehold to Kittybrewster Ltd (Title LN200283)
14 October 1996 CLASS Ltd sold for £115,000 a 15 year lease (from 1 August 1996) of
Ground & Upper floors to Sir William Arbuthnot Bt. It was a condition of the
lease that the
premises be used as a single family dwelling house.
He had work done to the house, incl replacing the roof with a flat partially-fenced roof
garden with jacuzzi and a new back extension.
In the course of these works he found that the back of the house had been substantially
damaged by fire since 1937.
Oct 2000 to date Ground and upper floors only occupied by Sir William
Arbuthnot Bt
7 May 2002 Mrs Anne Shearer
died in front room, basement flat (37a)
At the moment it is thought the accommodation is as follows: ground floor: kitchen &
dining room, 1st landing: 2nd study/ storage, first floor: drawing room & 1st study,
2nd landing: loo & small balcony room, second floor: principal bedroom, dressing room
& principal bathroom, 3rd landing: kitchenette, third floor: 3 bedrooms, one with
ensuite shower room, also a bathroom, above: a roof garden.
The basement flat is thought to be unoccupied and the last time it was seen it consisted
of drawing room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen area and garden.
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Last amended
16:27
04 October 2005