Merrick Square

In 1853, the Corporation’s surveyor prepared plans for 32 houses in Merrick Square. These were built by Cooper and Bottomley of Old Kent Road and completed by 1856. The Holy Trinity Rectory was built in 1872 between nos 16 and 17, and sold to the Church Commissioners.

It housed the rector of Holy Trinity Church and then St Matthew’s Church until the latter was rebuilt in 1994. The rectory was then repurchased by Trinity House. Merrick Square remains made up of single houses and is very popular with families.

Cole Street

Cole Street was developed by William Chadwick and other builders between 1824 and 1830. The buildings there included smaller houses (now only 18 through to 24 remain), a warehouse, which was originally used for hops and then by Wallins tin box factory (now flats at 28 Cole Street) and a chapel (now flats at 26 Cole Street).

Between Cole Street and the north side of Trinity Church Square there were stables (now Horsemongers Mews). There are also 2 blocks of purpose built flats (2-4 Cole Street).

Swan Street

Swan Street was also originally built in the same style at the same time as Trinity Church Square and Cole Street. Both sides, north and south of Trinity Street, contained small houses or shops. There was a school between Trinity Street and Cole Street (now 21 through to 27 Swan Street). The Southwark Court of Requests was built in 1824 on the west side of the street, on the site of the present Crown Court annexe.

Apart from the Trinity Arms, which has now been converted into residential flats, none of the original buildings remain. Gloucester Court, the shop at 33 Swan Street (now a small creative studio) and 21 through to 27 Swan Street were all built in the early 1960s.

Trinity Street

Between Swan Street and Trio Place, Trinity Chapel was built in 1835 for a Baptist congregation. It was used as a cinema before World War II. The site is now occupied by NB Real Estate as the Village Management office on the ground floor, with flats at 18Trinity Street above.

At the east end of Trinity Street, between Merrick Square and Falmouth Road, Shaftesbury Hall was a Catholic Church from 1853 to 1876 and then a Primitive Methodist Chapel until 1903. The houses (now 32 through to 42 Trinity Street) were built in 1842 as Brunswick Terrace. 42 Trinity Street was created out of 1 Brunswick Terrace and 2 Falmouth Road to form a building for the Surrey Dispensary, which moved there in 1927. In the 1970s the dispensary moved, the building was converted into a house, and the freehold was sold by Trinity House.

Trinity Church Square

The development of the estate began with the formation of Great Suffolk Street East (now Trinity Street) in 1813-14 and the construction of Trinity Square (now Trinity Church Square) between 1824 and 1832. Most of the square was built by William Chadwick, who had the contract for mason’s work for the recently completed Holy Trinity Church. In 1824, he applied to the Corporation of Trinity House for a building lease intended to form the Square round the new Church.

William Chadwick was granted building leases for the square and the triangle of ground between Cole Street, Swan Street and Great Suffolk Street East and by the end of 1826, most of the west side of the square (numbers 1 through to 15) had been built.

In 1832, the square was completed when the south side (16 through to 29) was completed. William Chadwick himself occupied the largest house in the square, 29.

Although originally constructed as individual houses, much of the square has now been converted laterally into flats across two or three house widths. Numbers 48 through to 50 were destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1954 and there was a plaque erected within the common parts of Number 49 to record this. Number 29 was used as a gentlemen’s club in the 1930s to 1950s. It then fell into disrepair and was completely rebuilt in 1970, with seven flats replacing the original house, behind the original facade.

Falmouth Road

Falmouth Road was called Brunswick Street until 1868. The houses were built by various builders in the same style as Trinity Street at a similar time. The west side remains as a terrace and the property of the Trinity House. The east side was sold and is now the site of Chadwick Square, completed in 2000.

Management Office

NB Real Estate have employed an experienced residential team on site at 16 Trinity Street to deal with any queries that tenants may have over the course of their tenancies. A team of 4 multi-skilled tradesmen are deployed on site from 8am to 5pm to carry out any necessary repairs that may arise. Therefore, response times to repair issues are among the quickest in the industry.
The Historic Village

The residential part of the Village now consists of Trinity Church Square, Merrick Square, Parts of Trinity Street, Cole Street, Swan Street and Falmouth Rd. Most of the estate was made a Conservation Area in 1968.

Please see map Sources include TNRA Website, The Survey of London 1955 and BBC researchers’ notes for ´The House Detectives’ 1999.

 

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