What are the Clapham Common tarmac bumps?
What is this? Clapham Common has four of these blighters and they’re clearly a part of a conspiracy. Someone on our forum suggested Victorian rubbish, another said more air raid shelters, a friend thought old basketball courts. Any clues?
9 Responses to “What are the Clapham Common tarmac bumps?”
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I think: Old playground.
There’s a few of them dotted around the common. As a kid, I heard old bomb-shell bunkers…dunno how true thou
Apparently during the war, they were anti-aircraft placements…
Curiouser and curiouser…
according to Wikipedia they are Victorian roller skating rinks… no, I didn’t believe that likely either… I have been tryinbg to find out myself & I have heard barracks for the Canadians who were stationed there, air raid shelters or placem,ents for anti-aircraft placements… I think the most frequent thing I have heard both locally & online, is the bomb shell bunkers. I would love some kind of visual, written or photographic, evidence though!
I’ve been looking into this, visiting the local history section of the Battersea Library, & talking to people from the local area, it seems that I was on the right track with Anti-aircraft gun placements. I have spoken with someone who remembers them being there in the north west section near Battersea Rise. I just want to confirm the others, along the West side of the common were also placements, too!
Wow, brilliant – thanks Magdalena!
I think the may be water reservois?
as a child growing up in lavender gardens oppersite clapham common 1n the 1970′s we spent many hours on the ‘bumps’ my old man who was battersea born and raised since the 1920′s always told me they were AA gun emplacements during WW2-my brother who grew up in the same area from the late 1950′s said before the heavy tarmacing sealed them off there was a way down into the covered pits underneath them–one for time team maybe???