Home › Building histories › The Metamorphosis of Battersea › Appendix 3A: Builders Master List
Build 2 — 23 September 2026
Introduction & contents · Appendix 3A: Builders Master List · Appendix 3B: Builders’ Biographies · Appendix 4: Estate Development Directory
This searchable database presents the complete Battersea Builders Master List compiled by Keith Bailey as Appendix 3A of his doctoral thesis The Metamorphosis of Battersea, 1800–1914: A Building History (submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, February 1995). It is reproduced here with the author’s permission.
The list records every builder identified by Bailey as active in Battersea during the period, derived from rate books, building applications, census returns, trade directories, and other primary sources. For each builder it records their active period, the number of years they were active in the parish, the number of houses they are recorded as building, and their address (where known).
Biographical details of 60 selected builders are given in Appendix 3B; in the table below, these builders are marked “bio →”. The building estates on which they worked are listed in Appendix 4. The full thesis, including all appendices and figures, will be published here in its entirety.
Filter by name, address, date range, or minimum output using the controls below. Click any column heading to sort. Use the “Houses” filter to focus on the larger operators. All filters work together. The “Years” column records the number of years each builder was active in Battersea; “Houses” is the number of houses attributed to them.
Note on the data: Initials only are given for first names throughout — this reflects the source records on which Bailey drew. Where a surname only appears (preceded by “–”), the first name was not ascertainable. Partnership names are given as recorded. Some addresses reflect OCR conversion from the original typescript and have been corrected where possible; a small number remain uncertain.
| No. | Name | Period active | Years | Houses | Address |
|---|
Per page:
1. This list is transcribed from Appendix 3A of K.A. Bailey, The Metamorphosis of Battersea, 1800–1914: A Building History (PhD thesis, 1995). Reproduced with the author’s permission.
2. The “Years” column records the number of calendar years in which each builder is recorded as active in Battersea, not necessarily consecutive years.
3. “Houses” means houses attributed to each builder in the primary sources: rate books, building applications to the Metropolitan Board of Works and London County Council, and related records. The total of 23,155 houses is less than the total built in Battersea over the period, as not all builders could be identified.
4. Addresses are the builder’s home or business address as recorded in the primary sources, not necessarily their place of work.
5. A handful of entries (fewer than twenty) required manual correction of OCR errors introduced in converting the original typescript to digital form. All corrections are conservative and documented.
Database compiled by Keith Alan Bailey (PhD thesis, 1995). Digitised and presented online with the author’s permission.