The Norris Mystery
The county of Surrey is in south-east England. It borders Kent to the east, Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west, Berkshire to the north-west and Greater London to the north-east. The London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth were in Surrey until 1889. The district of Battersea, historically part of the borough of Wandsworth in Surrey, is located on the south bank of the River Thames.
Surrey was an early centre of English textile manufacturing. Surrey’s cloth industry declined in the 16th century with competition from more effective producers in other parts of England. After 1550, the iron industry expanded from its base in Sussex and Kent into Surrey. However, the manufacture of paper and gunpowder proved to be more enduring. |
Until the modern era, Surrey was quite sparsely populated in comparison with many parts of southern England. The development of turnpike roads and a stagecoach system in the 18th century, followed by the arrival of the railways in the early 19th century, allowed prosperous London workers to settle all across Surrey. Clapham Junction railway station is a major rail and transport hub in Battersea, part of the London borough of Wandsworth.
In the 18th century, the historic county of Middlesex included all of London north of the River Thames and surrounding areas to the north and west. In 1888 much of the area became part of the new County of London. During the early 20th century, suburban London expanded to cover most of Middlesex, including the inner London boroughs of Islington, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. |
Marylebone is an area that grew around a church dedicated to Mary on the banks of a boundary stream called the Tybourne in Middlesex. The area became known as St Mary la Bourne. As time passed the name was contracted to Marylebone.
At the start of the 18th century, Marylebone was still a quiet country village with a small number of houses dotted along the high street, beyond which lie open fields. In 1738 a local landlord created a 'pleasure garden' and Marylebone Gardens became a popular place for London's wealthy to promenade. Gradually Marylebone became home to the city's wealthy elite, unfortunately it was also scarred by pockets of extreme poverty. Between 1899 and 1965 Marylebone was a metropolitan borough of the County of London. In 1965 Marylebone was merged into the City of Westminster. |