Time Walk
A Lodge, a Line, and a Blank on the Map
A grand house once stood opposite this street, and now a council's rebuilding plan stands in its place. Walking it today means walking a street whose own name the records never explain.
Beneath that uncertainty are glimpses of ordinary lives: a family counted in the 1881 census, a father's death in 1920, a housing co-op evicted more recently from a block nearby. The name itself is where the story has to start, because it is the one thing the sources cannot settle.
Name Origin
An Unexplained Name
No source consulted here gives the origin of the name Somerleyton Road. It is recorded in use by 1881, when a family was found living there in that year's census, but why it carries this particular name is not explained in the material available.
History
A Lodge Opposite, a Family Within
A house called Halnaker Lodge once stood on Coldharbour Lane, directly opposite Somerleyton Road. It was demolished around 1933, removing a landmark that had faced the street for years.
The street's residents appear only in scattered fragments. In 1881, Herbert Charles Poupard was recorded by the census living at Somerleyton Road. In 1920, Jack Lorimer, father of the comedian Max Wall, died there.
People
The Comedian's Father, and the Poupards
The street's best-known link is a sad one. Jack Lorimer, father of the comedian Max Wall, died at Somerleyton Road in 1920. Max Wall himself — born Maxwell George Lorimer at Glenshaw Mansions, Brixton Road, in 1908 — began his stage career at fourteen and was performing in a royal variety show by 1930. He went on to appear in Waiting for Godot in 1980, by which time he was almost a cult figure, and died in 1990 after a fall fractured his skull.
Recent Times
A Masterplan and an Eviction
In 2015, Lambeth council submitted a planning application for a "master plan" covering the land between Somerleyton Road and the railway line, from Coldharbour Lane to Somerleyton Passage. The scheme envisaged clearing the site for a residential-led, mixed-use development.
As part of the push toward comprehensive redevelopment of that land, a short-life housing co-operative was evicted from nearby Carlton Mansions. The move marked a turning point in the long-running debate over what should replace the older buildings beside the street.
On the Map
Somerleyton Road Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Somerleyton Road?
The sources consulted here do not explain the origin of the name. It is simply recorded in use by 1881, when a resident was listed there in that year's census.
What is Somerleyton Road known for?
It is known locally as the street where comedian Max Wall's father died in 1920, as the site opposite the demolished Halnaker Lodge, and as the subject of a contested 2015 council masterplan for redevelopment.
What stood opposite Somerleyton Road?
Halnaker Lodge stood on the north side of Coldharbour Lane directly opposite the street until it was demolished around 1933.
What happened to Carlton Mansions nearby?
A short-life housing co-operative was evicted from Carlton Mansions as part of plans for the comprehensive redevelopment of the land between Somerleyton Road and the railway line.