In 1914 the Wheatley family moved into Clinton House. Their son, Dennis, was 17 at the time. Dennis went on to write more than 70 books (selling over 50 million copies) before his death in 1977. Most of these were thrillers and occult novels. In the 1960s, two of his most popular titles, ‘The Devil Rides Out’ and ‘Uncharted Seas’ (renamed ‘The Lost Continent’) were filmed by Hammer.
Before the Wheatleys moved to Clinton House, it had been the home of Benjamin Pierce Lucas, Managing Director of the Camden Town Palace of Varieties. He appears to have moved to the property around 1898. The house was probably built in 1884, when it first appears in local directories.
The building lay derelict for many years leaving it with an uncertain future uncertain. Grade II listed status was turned down by English Heritage, because of the damage it had suffered through vandalism and decay though planning applications for demolition and redevelopment were refused. The property was not very well secured and in 2013 a fire destroyed the roof and its days look numbered now. The place was often squatted at night by drinkers but nobody appeared to be around when the fire brigade arrived on a Tuesday afternoon causing closure of the A205 South Circular during rush hour causing chaos around Tulse Hill, Brixton and Streatham.
