main content William Willett (1856-1915)

The Cedars, Camden Park Road, Chislehurst

William Willett's passion was `daylight saving` - an idea which apparently came to him whilst riding on Chislehurst Common one summer morning in 1905. `The Cedars`, on Camden Park Road, Chislehurst, was designed for him by the architect Ernest Newton, and Willett lived there between 1894 and 1915. Whilst he lived there he campaigned strongly for daylight saving measures to be introduced, and wrote his pamphlet. "The Waste of Daylight". The idea of moving time caused a great deal of controversy at the time and only became law one year after Willett's death in the Summertime Act of 1916.