Story

35 Hook Hill (1950-63)

People in this story: William Harry Critchlow · Emily Critchlow · Nicholas William Critchlow · Carl Critchlow · Rex Critchlow

In the early 1900’s, Sanderstead was nearly all green fields part of large estates. The land was owned by a variety of families but by 1903, it had passed from Colonel Arkwright (for whom a local road is named) to his son, Captain Esme FW Arkwright MC who decided in 1919, post World War I, to sell of a parcel of land.

The parcel of land was sold to John Gutzmer Hossack who, 8 months later, sold it to a local builder, William George Percy Potter, for £120. William Potter then borrowed £800 from a widow, Eleanor Kate Clark, so that he could build a “cottage” which he named “Ione” (35 Hook Hill) after the area of Croydon that he lived in (his family home was #35 Benson Road; and his second home was in “Ione”, South Croydon).

1919 Map showing “35 Hook Hill” parcel of land with only a few other houses in the area.

William Potter built the house with only minor changes from the original plan (e.g. a gabled roof on the front door elevation; slightly amended window sizes).

The original proposal for Ione (35 Hook Hill) and was built nearly exactly except for a gabled roof above the front door.

In 1939, he rented the house out for £120 p.a. to a Heinz Hugo Starke of German Airways Airport in Croydon where there were rumours that the German planes would “detour” on pre-war flights to collect intelligence. However Heinz Hugo Starke was soon to be returning home to Germany at the start of the Second World War, eventually ending up as Airport Director of Nuremberg Airport (1953-66)!

German Airways at Croydon Airport in the 1930s

In 1944 towards the end of the WWII, a V1 “doodlebug” flying bomb passed through a neighbouring house and hit 35 Hook Hill destroying much of the house. The image below compares the original 1919 front elevation with the 1944 post bomb state of the house.

However William Potter still had a mortgage on the property so, with the help of the local Post War Reconstruction committee sourcing materials, in 1948 he developed plans for rebuilding with a few extensions outside of the original footprint.

1919 design with 1948 overlay. Major changes are the extension on the left and bay window

The work was completed by 1950 and sold on the 7th November 1950 to William Harry Critchlow for £6,200.

The Critchlow family of William & Emily and their three sons – Nick (16), Carl (15) & Rex (14) – lived there from November 1950 to October 1963.

Map showing the in-fill that had occurred by 1961

Credits: With many thanks to Stephen & Jennifer Hillier for kindly and generously sharing their stories and document archive for 35 Hook Hill.

Historical notes:

William George Percy Potter (15 Jul 1881-): Lived locally in Croydon, son of a Carpenter/Builder, William Potter. He lived local to Hook Hill first at 35 Benson Street, Croydon CR0 4LR (1891 & 1901); then 33 St. Augustines Ave, Ione, South Croydon CR2 6JP (1911). In 1939 he was living locally at 24 Bramley Hill, South Croydon CR2 6LT working as a Quantity Surveyor, renting out 35 Hook Hill.

Heinz Hugo Starke (1953-66 Nuremberg Airport Director) from history of Nuremberg Airport (1955-2005):

1959 “Airport Director Heinz Hugo Starke can proudly announce: Airport without an operating deficit! A generally higher seat offer is achieved by larger aircraft at Lufthansa (Convair Metropolitan) and KLM, which uses “turboprops” for the first time on the Nuremberg connections (Vickers Viscout 800).”

1966 “Change of command at the top: Director Heinz Hugo Starke is retiring after 13 years as managing director. His successor will be Dipl.-Ing. Helmut Müller-Gutermann.”