IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0347 D161
Held at: Wandsworth Heritage Service
Title: Harry Cusden Ltd
Date(s): c1890-1994
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 4 boxes
Name of creator(s): Please contact the Archive for further information.
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Harry Frederick Cusden was born in Balham on 30 June 1870. His father Jonathan Cusden was a builder and later opened an off-licence at High Street, Tooting, near Longley Road. Jonathan Cusden was also a member of the old Tooting Vestry and was one of the first members of the Wandsworth Borough Council. Harry left school to work his father's business which had expanded to also sell groceries. Harry married Gertrude Mountier in September 1896 in Tooting Church. They first lived above the shop but later moved in to her family home in Devonshire Road, Colliers Wood. In 1893 Harry opened his own grocery shop in Longley Road, Tooting. He added an off-licence to the shop and as the area around Longley Road expanded so did the business. He added a butcher's department and greengrocery and soon had a row of shops in Longley Road. His business expanded and he opened 8 branches, including ones in St John's Hill, Clapham Junction; Garratt Lane, Earlsfield; Oldridge Road, Balham; Mitcham and Wimbledon. He was assisted by his two sons Harry and Fred. He also owned other properties in the borough. Harry was a founding member of the Balham and Tooting Traders' Association and was its chairman in 1904 and 1914. He also founded the Balham and Tooting Grocers' Association and during World War I initiated a system of group buying by local grocers. He was also a member of the Off-Licences Association and served as chairman for a time. He was elected to the Council of the National Federation of Off-Licence Holders' Associations in 1927 and served as chairman in 1929, 1939 and from 1943-1945. Harry was a close associate of A.J. Hurley. Hurley convinced him to stand as Councillor and they ran for election together. Harry's brother Albert also served on the Council for a while. Cusden and Hurley founded the Balham and Tooting branch of the National Federation of Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers after World War One, which afterwards became the local branch of the British Legion. Harry also served on the Mitcham Urban District Council following his move there. He was seriously injured in a car crash on Balham High Road in 1921. Harry remained in business through out the war. He was taken ill in December 1946 and took a step back from the business although remained interested. Many of his employees had been with him since they left school. He had two sons and a daughter who took over the running of the business on his death. Harry Cusden died aged 76 on 29 March 1947. He is buried at London Road cemetery, Figges Marsh.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
A collection of material relating to Harry Cusden Ltd. The collection includes business diaries kept by Harry Cusden, 1919-1943, papers relating to the running of the business including numerous documents relating to war damage repairs, the purchase of the properties, leases, etc. The series also contains personal papers, share certificates and customer correspondence. There is a large collection of photographs including photographs of the exterior of the shops, window displays, staff and staff outings, as well as a large collection of miscellaneous photographs showing family, friends, holidays, events etc. Many of these photographs are unidentified and undated. There is also a series of various price lists and advertisements for the business, trade cards, ephemera relating to Harry Cusden's role as Councillor, newspaper cuttings and other pieces of ephemera.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Conditions governing access:
This material is only available in the Wandsworth Heritage Service search room at Battersea Library. Please contact Heritage Service staff for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Finding aids:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note:
Finding aid created by export from CALM v8.0.2.40 Archives Hub EAD2002. Entry amended by Barbara Ball
Date(s) of descriptions: April 2011