When people think of lavender – specifically English lavender – whilst the lavender fields of Norfolk and even Kent may come to mind, South London once dominated the lavender scene up until the 19th century.
Being cultivated to make medicines and perfumes, the south London areas of Banstead, Carshalton, Wallington, Beddington, Battersea and Clapham – all part of Mitcham – were once abundant with lavender fields during the Victorian era.
In the 18th century, lavender began to be cultivated in these areas, first beginning with William Sprules – who cultivated lavender across Cheam, Sutton and Beddington.
His daughter – Sarah Sprules – later took over the family business, cultivating a lavender essence that was used by Queen Victoria herself, and it’s rumoured that she walked through the lavender fields of South London – possibly on the existing Mayfield Lavender field in Banstead.
Later on, prominent companies like Miller & Miller and later Potter & Moore began to cultivate lavender and distribute English lavender, helping to garner a strong reputation for the native flower.
During its peak, there were over 1,000 acres of lavender fields across the Mitcham area, often referred to as “Mitcham Lavender”, and it dominated the global production of English lavender.
In the 19th century, English lavender fetched a much higher price than its French counterpart, often selling for 16 times more, being deemed the purest in the world.
The link to lavender and South London was so prevalent that Battersea’s Lavender Hill was named that due to the lavender fields that once grew there, and Clapham was once home to a number of lavender distilleries.
However, the mid-1880s marked the decline of these prominent lavender fields when a disease called ‘Shab’ affected huge portions of the lavender fields, devastating many crops.
Alongside this, land began to be converted into residential use, and by the 1890s these once-prominent lavender fields were nearly gone, with lavender almost disappearing from the region altogether.
At the same time, parts of Norfolk like Sandringham and Heacham began to grow lavender, which became more heavily associated with English lavender over time.
Yet, not all of South London’s historic lavender was lost.
A project in the 1990s by charity Bioregional regenerated the lavender, with the charity conducting a survey with locals to track down the remaining historic lavender plants.
25 households reported having what they believed was Victorian lavender still growing on their properties, and with the help of the charity and inmates from the nearby Downview Prison, cuttings were taken of these plants and grown in a field in Carshalton to restore some of the lavender to its former glory.
Years later, a project was founded by Brendan Maye and his wife Lorna Maye, who at the time worked at Yardley and were inspired by the project.
But after the company went into administration and was bought out by Wella, Brendan proposed to the company a project to grow lavender to revitalise the heritage of the lavender fields of Banstead.
Despite initial resistance from Wella’s board, Brendan managed to form an agreement for a partnership with Wella and the charity, personally guaranteeing the lease on a historic Victorian lavender field in Banstead and funding the planting from 2001 onward.
Although the first sowing failed when birds uprooted the seedlings, replanting with protective fleece proved successful, paving the way for the farm’s future.
After being made redundant when P&G bought out Wella, the pair decided to give all their attention to the field, and Mayfield Lavender officially opened in 2006.
The pair committed to an organic, pesticide-free farm which grew in popularity over the years, with people visiting from far and wide to see the lavender fields made famous with its distinctive red telephone box.
Today, Mayfield Lavender stands as a testament to the lavender fields that would have once grown abundantly across Mitcham, that paved the way for the future of English lavender.
