Historic Sign in Southfields Restored to Original Glory
United Service Transport mosaic is nearly 100 years old
Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of the Heritage of London Trust at the sign's unveiling. Picture: Heritage of London Trust
July 12, 2024
An historic, century-old sign in Southfields from the earliest days of commercial coach travel has been restored to its original glory. Built around 1929, the former United Service Transport Company (UST) building’s frontage on Merton Road was adorned with a 13 metre long, green and gold mosaic bearing the company’s name. Very few of these historic mosaic signs now survive, this being the only remaining UST one.
The UST was established as a bicycle business in 1883 and evolved into one of the first passenger transport companies in Britain. Coach trips from London went daily to newly popular leisure destinations like Margate, Ramsgate and Brighton on their familiar ‘United Green’ coaches, and to race meetings at Windsor, Goodwood and Newbury.
The Southfields Grid Residents’ Association (SGRA) became concerned about the poor state of the sign recently. It worked with the Heritage of London Trust, who funded and managed its repair with donations from local firms and two residents.
Specialist repair company London Stone Conservation had to repair the wall behind the mosaic, piece back individual yellow and green glass mosaic pieces, even having to source replacement tile pieces from Italy.
The official rededication of the sign took place on Tuesday 2 July, with many who’d been involved in the project in attendance. SGRA member and local transport enthusiast Clive Williams, who had supplied the project with rare archive about the UST, rang a bell to declare the sign officially restored.
“We’re thrilled to see this fantastic piece of transport and social history restored, all the more important as its two sister signs have already been destroyed” said Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of the Heritage of London Trust. “It represents the pride and excitement of early coach travel, and it’s been wonderful to have had so much local support from Southfields.”
Chair of the Southfields Grid Residents’ Association, Charles Runcie added, “History is not just big buildings and famous statues. It’s about those public objects, signs and landmarks that are a delight to see, helping jog residents’ memories of times past. We’re delighted one such example was identified by Clive, restored to its original condition, and will delight future generations in Southfields.”
Local primary school groups visited the site to see the experts at work, learning about mosaic craftwork, all part of the ‘Proud Places’ programme. This is a London-wide youth engagement project enabling young people to explore their local heritage sites and learn new skills.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |