Alex Lambert
Photographer and Director
SW17 is a series of photographs and videos that documents the changes to an area in South West London.
SAVE TOOTING MARKET CAMPAIGN
In 2016 Transport For London announced that around 65% of the market was required through compulsory purchase to make way for a ventilation shaft needed for Cross Rail 2. The following project was created for the Save Tooting Market Campaign. The photographs were exhibited in the market in 2017.
WIMBLEDON GREYHOUND STADIUM
Situated in Tooting, on Plough Lane, Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium was the last dog track in London. The stadium was not just home to the dog races, but also a three weekly boot fair, speedway and banger racing. Open for 89 years, the stadium was a central part of the south London community, with regulars attending for generations. The stadium closed in March 2017 and was demolished by owners, Galliard Homes, to make way for 600 apartments and Wimbledon Football stadium. These photographs chart the final days of the stadium, the demolition and building of the new apartments.
From the last days of the Dog Track Banger and Speedway racing
The Dog Track Boot Fair, people would come from all over south London and Surrey to sell their wares every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Many had known and traded with one another for years, at markets and boot fairs across the region. Wimbledon Boot Fair was one of the last of its kind in the Greater London area.
Noorie Pavrez - Trader
“The Sellers has to queue for hours to get in for the Wednesday 10am Start. So we’d park up, then head over to the cafe for a big hearty fry-up! So much community spirit, from people just like me, addicted to eclectic things, bohemian sorts, artists, wheeler-dealers earning a crust. (The local City workers rich enough to buy homes around here, weren’t usually part of the community spirit. Maybe they used local gyms and supermarkets, but I rarely saw them at the car boots or cafes...
.... after we returned to sit queuing in our cars, Trade Buyers would peer into our windows and selectively purchase prime bits they could see. Much trading took place prior to the actual opening! If you were a Buyer, there were professional Clearance companies; whose vans were loaded with someone’s lifetime collections and house contents. I loved English china, and always bought well there.”
