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More Hampstead – 1990

More Hampstead: More from my walk in Hampstead on Sunday 9th April 1990. The previous post was Hampstead Alleys, Hospital, Baths, House, Heath – 1990.

Hampstead wasn’t (and isn’t) an area of London I feel particularly sympathetic or comfortable in and I prefer the less affluent areas of the capital and those with more industry and that are less arty.

I worked hard at taking pictures but somehow find many of them less interesting and looking back at them over 30 years later have digitised a rather smaller proportion. The eight in this post come from around 60 that I took on this section of the walk, almost all carefully composed and correctly exposed. Probably I should go back and digitise more, but I think Hampstead is a part of London that many others have photographed and so my pictures are perhaps less important.

*Houses, Cannon Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-31*

I walked down from Hampstead Heath and turned into Cannon Place, where Sir Gerakd Du Maurier lived in Cannon Hall from 1916 until his death in 1935, and the childhood home of Daphne du Maurier and her siblings. The last Secretary of the East India Company had bought Rous Hall around 1838 and put a few old naval cannons in its grounds, renaming the house Cannon Hall. I haven’t digitised my picture of the Hall but found these two dogs mguarding the steps of one of the substantial Victorian houses in the neighbourhood.

*Lion House, 19, Well Rd, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-22*

Back on Well Road I took this picture of part of the Grade II listed Italianate Gothic Lion House, part of the large detached villa The Logs, built for civil engineer Edward Gotto (1822-1897) who was for several years in charge of North London’s sewers and went on to build sewers around the world. For him muck was obviously brass and this large house was designed by J.S. Nightingale and built by Charles Till in 1861. This section was named Lion House when the property was divided in 1951. Boy George lived in the Logs from the mid 1980s, and he sold his part of the house for £22million in 2022.

*House, Heath St, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-12*

This is the doorway of the Grade II listed Friends Meeting House at 120 Heath Street designed by Frederick Rowntree in the Arts and Crafts style, very much under the influence of Voysey and built in 1907. Among its famous visitors was Mahatma Gandhi who spoke here in 1909.

*Elm Row, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-16*

I think this is the alley with steps which leads from Elm Row to New End.

*Heath St, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4f-62*

The leaping sculptures here have long gone, and there are fences on top of the wall to give greater privacy to the residents of the property on the east side of the street just north of Elm Row. I think it was here that D H Lawrence and Frieda lived rather miserably after their return from New Mexico in 1923, along with Catherine and Donald Carswell, who was the lawyer who checked his work for possible libel claims.

But I can find nothing more about these sculptures.

*Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4f-51*

“The Hampstead Scientific Society observatory is one of the few places left in London that provides regular public viewings of the Moon, planets and other objects of interest in the night sky.” Though skies in London have so much light pollution that the view must be rather dim though being on the edge of the heath must help. It would still be interesting to book a free ticket if I lived closer.

The site is on the top of a Victorian covered reservoir, the Kidderpore Reservoir built in 1867 by the West Middlesex Water Company which still stores around 2.5 million gallons pumped here from water works at Hampton to supply 11,000 homes in the area. Still in use it was re-roofed in 2015 but still has its impressive Victorian architectural brickwork hidden away in the water.

*The Mount, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4f-23*

1 The Mount, on the corner of Hollybush Steps, has lost almost all of its interest since I made this picture in 1990. There is a new brick wall and tall hedging hides the front garden, though I think everything in it has gone, along with the vases on the steps, the lions and even the little roof over the door. It just looks neat and plain now.

*The Mount, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4f-24*

Most of this had changed by the time there appears to have been major building work on the site around 2019. What had been quirky and interesting is now rather dull. This large 3 bedroom end terrace house sold in 2017 for £2.64million.

Still more from Hampstead to come.

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Islington in Colour – January 1993

Islington in Colour: The first of several posts of colour pictures I made in January 1993 in the London Borough of Islington, mostly in Islington itself. All these pictures are in my Flickr album 1993 London Colour and clicking on any image will take you to a larger version there.

I think the first walk on which I took these pictures began at Kings Cross and I walked into Pentonville. I will post them in the order I made them, but I can’t remember the exact location of some of these. Please comment if you recognise where they were.

*Mural, Magnus Irvin, 1982, London, 1993, 93c01-01-73*

Magnus Irvin, born in 1955, is a prolific public artist and his work includes many murals, but this one is not included in the murals page on his web site. He designed and painted this one in 1982. Perhaps it refers to Joseph Grimaldi who basically invented the clown as we know it and is buried in the area.

*Hurst House, Weston Rise, Pentonville, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-61*

This striking post-war brutalist estate was designed Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis for the Greater London Council and built in 1964-7. As well as photographing it in black and white I made this colour image.

*Hairdresser, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-63*

A sign reflected in the window points to Chapel Market and this HIGH CLASS GENTS TOILET SALOON was at No. 114. Few streets in the area have numbers this high.

Demos Modes Ltd, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-65

This closed shop up for sale was definitely at No.5, but again I cannot remember which road it was on or find any information on Demos Modes Ltd.

*Shop Window, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-66*

A dramatic figure in a window display, I think selling crash helmets for motorcyclists. Wearing them had become compulsory in the UK twenty years earlier in 1973.

*Crash Repairs, Mural, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-53*

A mural which leaves you in no doubt about what the business it is advertising offers, but I suspect most of its clients had rather less sporty models.

*Mural, School Playground, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-55*

I think this and the picture below are from the same school playground.

*Mural, School Playground, Islington, 1993, 93c01-01-42*

A mural of rural scenes in a school playground, perhaps reflecting the rural past of the area. There were once watermills on the River Fleet which ran in places along the borough’s western boundary, and certainly farms with sheep and geese, but I think all will have disappeared by the age of the tractor cutting corn.

More colour from Islington to come.

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Hampstead Alley, Hospital, Baths, House, Heath – 1990

Hampstead Alley, Hospital, Baths, House, Heath: My walk on Sunday 9th April 1990 continues. The walk began at my post A Hampstead Walk -1990.

Streatley Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-26

Another picture of Streatley Place. The narrow width of this alley makes it difficult to photograph, and it still retains some of the character of the rural path through fields which had still still been at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the 1860s OS Map it was completely surrounded by buildings – and was then known as Brewhouse Lane.

For reasons unknown to me its name changed around 1890 to Streatley Place. Some of the 19th century buildings of what began as Hampstead Workhouse, later New End Hospital, which backed onto Streatley Place were converted to flats around 1990.

As you can see the path slopes fairly steeply up here.

*Mansfield Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-15*

As Camden Council’s Conservation Appraisal states, Mansfield Place, built in 1860-61, is a “secluded quadrangle of low, two storey cottages approached down a narrow path between long front garden plots” making “a dramatic contrast between the cottage type gardens and the former hospital buildings looming up behind them” which you can see in this picture. Mansfield Place is Grade II listed.

*Streatley Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-65*

More steps on Streatley Place, I think looking down to the row of houses in a previous picture, part of the development around the alley around 1860.

*New Hospital, New End, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-51*

There is an extensive description of the history of New End Hospital which began life in 1800 as Hampstead Workhouse on the Lost Hospitals of London web site.

At left of picture is the 1878 building for the vestry then responsible for the hospital. Its architect Henry Edward Kendall was also responsible for the Vestry Hall built in the same year which later became Hampstead Town Hall. It was named Kendall Hall. The ‘New Hospital’, a slightly plainer block, was added in 1896. The hospital closed in 1986, and most of it was converted to flats.

*The Wells and Campden Baths, Wash House, 71, Flask Walk, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-55*

The Grade II listed Wells and Campden Baths were built in 1888 by architect Henry Simpson Legg for the Wells and Campden Charity, close to the site of the original Hampstead spring in Flask Walk though I think they relied on the local water supply then provided by a private water company, but later by the Metropolitan Water Board.

At the time it opened few of the homes where the working-class lived had bathrooms, often just a single cold tap, sometimes shared with other households, and public baths such as as this provided a much needed facility with many coming here and to other public baths for a weekly bath – soap and towels provided as well as hot water.

The Wells and Campden charity built baths in Kilburn and here. As well as the nine private baths in the building there was also a laundry and drying room. The baths was leased and run by the council (who had also opened their own baths) in 1906 as the charity found them too expensive to continue running. Perhaps surprisingly the baths continued in use until around 1978. The were converted to private flats in the 1980s.

*House, Well Walk, East Heath Rd, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-56*

Architect Ewan Christian designed this house at 50 Well Walk on the corner with East Heath Road in 1881 for his family and called it Thwaitehead, but later it became known as Klippan House. It was built by Norfolk builders Cornish and Gaymer. Christian (1814-95) was a well-known and extremely prolific church architect who became President and Gold Medallist of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and was the architect of the National Portrait Gallery.

You can read more about it and see a rather better picture of this house and of its interiors from Belsize Architects who refurbished the house in 2010, converting the Grade II listed building back into a single residence for Daniel and Gaynor Harris and their daughters who had bought it for £11 million. They restored many of its original features, but could not restore the view it had when built of Hampstead Heath.

*Hampstead Heath, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4e-43*

But a short walk from that house took me to Hampstead Heath, where you can see a church spire and some rooftops over a small hillock.

My walk continued – more posts later.

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More Thamesmead Panoramas – 1994

More Thamesmead Panoramas: This final set of panoramic images came from my final visit to Thamesmead in November 1994.

*Lesnes Abbey, Ruins, Abbey Wood, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-42*

I began and ended the day at Abbey Wood station and I no longer remember the route of the walk that I tookm but I think I began by going to the Lesnes Abbey Ruins. After the Norman conquest in 1066 land here was given to Bishop Odo, the half-brother of William the Conqueror and Bishop of Bayeux (and pictured on that tapestry he probably commissioned as a gift to his brother.)

Odo was the man who ran the country for his brother – until he was tried for fraud and disgraced. Odo was forgiven on William’s deathbed. But Lesnes Abbey was only founded in 1178 by the man then in charge of England for Henry II, Richard de Luci. He retired here then, possibly as a penance for his role earlier inspiring the 1170 murder of Thomas Beckett, and died three months after retiring.

The Abbey was always small and was closed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 as it had fewer than seven men living there. Much of the stones were taken away as building material with the abbot’s house becoming a part of a farmhouse. The London County Council bought the site and grounds in 1930 and opened it as a public park.

*Abbey Way, Footpath, Footbridge, Abbey Rd, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-21*

From the ruins I walked to the elevated footpath which leads into Thamesmead South.

*Abbey Way, Footpath, Footbridge, Abbey Rd, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-12*

The footbridge goes across Abbey Road and to the north gives a view of the tower blocks of Thamesmead across the horizon.

*Clocktower, Deptford Dockyard, Joyce Dawson Way, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1003-32*

I don’t think I made many other panoramas as I walked towards the river, and this is one I made on an earlier visit. It isn’t a good picture of the clock tower as it doesn’t show the clock!

When Convoys took over the old Royal Naval Dockyard in 1960 to bring newsprint into London they had no interest in its history and despite many objections they demolished the large Great Storehouse and many other old buildings on the site. The clock tower which had been a later addition on the top of this ancient wooden building was saved by urgent pleas and left by the riverside at Convoys Wharf when the building was demolished in 1981.

But it was still just a nuisance to Convoys and they still were threatening to demolish it. The tower was saved by the GLC and taken by boat to Thamesmead and erected here in the middle of a commercial centre.

*Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-22*

At some point in my visit I made another visit to the Tavy Btidge Centre and made a few more panoramas.

Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-11

Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-12

*Riverside Path, River Thames, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1103-22*

The River Thames is around a mile and a half away. On a previous visit I had taken another panorama from an almost identical position, but I think this is a rather better composition with the rail lined up carefully with the opposite shore.

These two lines are in the vertical centre of the image and so remain straight. Standing up a little to the right of centre above them is the Barking Creek Barrier.

*Goldfish Are Wankers, Graffiti, Riverside Path, River Thames, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1103-23*

I couldn’t decide which was the more interesting work of art, the strange yellow sculpture or the graffiti on the wall behind. The wall is the flood barrier to protect Thamesmead, much of which is low-lying.

*Crossness Nature Reserve, Thamesmead East, Bexley, 1994, 94-1101-61*

The Crossness Nature Reserve is to the east of Thamesmead, just past the large Crossness Sewage Treatment Works. When opened in 1865 the the sewage from London south of the Thames was simply pumped into the Thames when the tide was going out, but a large area of land was taken over to treat it before release around 1890.

*Crossness Nature Reserve, Thamesmead East, Bexley, 1994, 94-1103-41*

This is the end of my posts of colour pictures from around Thamesmead in 1994 though there are still a few more in my Flickr colour album for that year – as well as others in the 1994 black and white album.

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Cut the Carbon March – 2007

Cut the Carbon March: Tuesday 2nd October 2007 saw the final stage of Christian Aid’s Cut the Carbon March of a thousand miles by marchers from around the world as well as the UK which had begun 80 days earlier in Northern Ireland. The march aimed to increase awareness of the growing danger of global heating with world temperatures increasing as we continue to put greenhouse gases into the air by burning fossil fuels, and to prompt the New Labour government led by George Brown into decisive action to end fossil fuel use. Among those who took part in 2007 were groups from countries already suffering from the effects of climate change.

Unfortunately although it did something to increase awareness it led to little real action and now when we in the UK are beginning to feel the heat we have a Labour government which is likely to approve the production of natural gas from the Jackdaw North Sea field and oil from Rosebank north-west of the Shetlands.

Here from My London Diary is my 2007 account of the Final Mile of the Christian Aid march with a few of the pictures – you can see more at christian aid cut the carbon march – final mile.

Christian Aid – Cut the Carbon March – The Final Mile

City Hall to St Paul’s Cathedral

Around a thousand supporters turned up on a dull damp Tuesday morning to accompany the Christian Aid ‘Cut The Carbon’ marchers on the final mile of a walk that had started in Bangor, Northern Ireland, then took them a thousand miles via Edinburgh, Newcastle On Tyne, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bournemouth (for a meeting with George Brown at the Labour Party conference) and on to London (including a picnic at Battersea the previous Sunday.)

AA few of the international marchers had to go home before the end, but most, together with those from the UK, made it to the end, and spoke at the rally in the City Hall Scoop before the march set off.

The route led over London Bridge and then up past the Stock Exchange to St Paul’s Churchyard, where there were more speeches, particularly from a Muslim marcher, before a service in the cathedral.

As photography isn’t allowed at events inside St Paul’s (its one of the few places I’ve actually been thrown out of for trying to take pictures) I came home as people streamed inside. The marchers were due to meet with Hilary Benn afterwards to press the case for climate justice. [Benn was Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 until earlier in 2007 and was in October 2007 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.]

Several speakers from this country and abroad had made the point that Britain lead the world in creating the problem when we began the industrial revolution and so should feel a great obligation to get things going to save the world from the disaster into which it is currently fast heading.

*Protesters at St Paul’s Cathedral send a clear message to Hilary Benn and the government to Cut the Carbon*

Other demonstrators at St Paul’s made the point that raising animals was an important factor in the high carbon footprint; growing and eating crops can be far less wasteful and polluting. [They pointed out that] Christian Aid’s development policies would be better directed to encouraging vegetarian and vegan production rather than the current reliance in some projects on raising animals for food.

Many more pictures at Christian aid cut the carbon march – final mile.

I was pleased that my exhibition of pictures of environmental protests at London as a part of Foto Arte in Brasilia in December 2007 was able to include the top picture in this post, showing the Brazilians from the Movimento Dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Workers’ Movement) leading the march with Tower Bridge in the background, and I think some from this group may have come to the talk on car culture I gave at the festival.

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Heathrow flashmob against airport expansion – 2016

Heathrow flashmob against airport expansion: On Saturday 1st October 2016 I made my way from Hatton Cross Station with protesters to Terminal 2 after we were informed that this was where the planned ‘#StayGrounded‘ flashmob protest organised by Reclaim The Power was to start shortly.

Although the location had been kept secret before the event, and most of the several hundred protesters told to gather at the underground station, Heathrow security seem to be expecting us when we arrived and the Departures lounge and had obviously decided to treat the event with a minimum of intervention so as not to give it greater publicity.

Security watched the protest standing around the area where it was taking place and only stopping protesters when they tried to go in further to the check-in area, but otherwise making no attempt to stop the protest or prevent me and the other press photographing it.

I sat somewhat uneasily in the departures lounge, discretely photographing the protesters, many of whom had come with suitcases and bags to blend in with the passengers until red handkerchiefs have the signal for the protest to begin.

When it did come the protesters quickly moved into the open space and staged a die-in, some opening their jackets to reveal ‘No Third Runway’ t-shirts.

Others took out aprons from their luggage and stood with the message ‘Climate Change Has A Death Toll’.

People began to loudly read out information about the effects on climate of air travel.

Some taking part in the die-in had brought posters and held them on their chests and others wore medical face masks to point out the pollution caused by air traffic and road traffic bringing fliers to the airport.

The readings continued and a group of protesters dressed as ‘frequent fliers’ in business suits apparently waiting to catch a plane became increasingly restive at being held up by the protests.

Some of the ‘frequent flyers’ began to move forward stepping over the protesters to reach the ‘High Polluters Club Frequent Flyer VIP Check-in’ which had been set up for them.

There they sipped champagne (from empty glasses to comply with airport restrictions), chatted idly and held up large cartoon ‘speech bubbles’ with messages including “When People have to fight to breathe clean air, the government is not fit for purpose“, “‘I got £100K bonus this year“, “I’m one of the 15% who make 70% of flights” and “I‘m flying to my 2nd home in France“.

Next came some songs specially written for the occasion which unfortunately I didn’t record and then some dances, with an an aviation version of ‘Ring a-Ring of Roses’ which of course ends with everyone falling down.

At the end of the protest came a special version of ‘Auld Lang Syne‘ against airport expansion and a little more dancing before we all left the terminal.

I took a few pictures on the way out, then went to the bus station to catch a local bus to Terminal 5 from where I could get a bus home.

But as well as the protest inside the airport I had photographed, there had also been a protest by cyclists which had been met with a huge reaction from the police, disrupting traffic for miles around and leading to wide diversions. My bus was diverted by the M4 and M25 taking over twice as long as normal.

Many more pictures on My London Diary: Heathrow flashmob against airport expansion.

Heathrow expansion is now back on the table, although only if it can be shown to be consistent with our climate change obligations. Of course there is no real chance that it ever can be, but often things like this have been fudged to allow things to happen – Heathrow itself only came about on the basis of lies that it was needed for military use. And a very significant part of this fudging is the recent Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement published in June 2026 and the proposal to prioritise hub airport capacity and national economic growth as ‘Critical National Growth Infrastructure’.

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A Hampstead Walk -1990

A Hampstead Walk: On Sunday 9th April 1990 I took the North London Line to Hampstead Heath Station and began wandering around the streets near there. Of course I’d been to Hampstead before, walked on the Heath and visited some of the better known attractions, but I’d rather put off taking many photographs there. I’ve always felt more comfortable on the streets of the more plebeian areas of London.

*Gate, 29, Hampstead Hill Gardens, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4c-11*

On Hampstead Hill Gardens the morning light was just right for the gateway and porte-cochère at number 29, a simple but satisfying iron and glass structure on very solid gate posts. The house is of course still there, but it lost this distinctive feature some time around 2010.

Hampstead Hill Gardens was developed around 1870 with stucco houses like this and completed with a number of red-brick Queen Anne Revival houses designed by Thomas Batterbury and W.F. Huxley further around the street around the end of the decade. A number of those are Grade II listed but they failed to interest me enough to photograph them.

St John's, Church, Downshire Hill, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-65 — *St John’s, Church, Downshire Hill, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-65*

St John’s Church, technically a proprietary chapel of the Church of England, was built in 1823 and in 1832 became the subject of an ecclesiastical dispute between the Calvinist evangelical John Wilcox and the perpetual curate of the parish Samuel White who refused permission for Wilcox to preach there. Wilcox lost the case and the church was closed until 1835 when Wilcox died and was replaced by another more mainstream minister, while the “church’s name remained infamous in ecclesiastical circles for some years following“.

Something about the building reminded me of the wooden building blocks I played with as a child – before the advent of Lego. In a neo-Classical style and Grade II listed I was not surprised to read in the listing “Possibly by CR Cockerell or designed by its builder, William Woods” and it looks like a builder’s idea of a church in that style.

Figurehead, House, 8, Pilgrims Way, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-51 — *Figurehead, House, 8, Pilgrims Lane, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-51*

I was amused by the figurehead on the house apparently looking down at the white-stockinged legs of a child standing on the pavement. On the house is a Hampstead Plaque Fund Plaque stating:

William Johnson Cory
Ionicus
Teacher, scholar and poet. Lived in this house. An assistant master at Eton College 1845 – 1872, he composed the Eton Boating Song.

In 1872 a letter Cory wrote to one of his pupils was found by his parents and shown to the Headmaster of Eton; Cory was forced to resign. Widely regarded as one of Eton’s best masters, he was well-known “for encouraging a culture of intimacy, possibly non-sexual, between teachers and pupils“.

Cory (1823-92) wrote the words for the Eton Boating Song during the Christmas break in 1862 and it was first performed in the following year to the setting of his former pupil Captain Algernon Drummond. In later years it has been much parodied, notably in the obscene song “The Sexual Life of the Camel“, a popular song in the after-match bath and changing rooms when I played rugby many years ago.

After a few years abroad following his resignation Cory came to live in this Queen Anne style house on Pilgrims Lane until his death. For some years the front of the house has been hidden behind a tall wooden fence, probably with extensive building work being carried out. Some of the houses in Pilgrim’s Lane were not well built and it may be one. According to Camden Council, “No.8 is an interesting Arts and Crafts influenced house. It has a gable with decorative brickwork and distinct chimneys.”

Pilgrims Lane gets its name from a former Hampstead resident James Pilgrim who bought land here in 1787 and died in 1813 (or possibly his son Charles Pilgrim who held on to a small part of his estate.) Too many famous people have lived on the street to list here.

*Albany House, Flask Walk, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-31*

Albany House was one of first purpose-built blocks of flats in the area when it was built around 1873. It is still flats.

*Boades Mews, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-22*

Boades Mews is a short pedestrian street with some granite steps and setts, some name signs, a high brick school wall and a couple of residential properties. It links Flask Walk to New End. Once it was an actual mews.

*New End Primary School, Streatley Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-23*

New End Primary School in Streatley Place is still in use as “a happy and diverse school situated in Hampstead Village.” The flamboyant Edwardian baroque Grade II listed school was built in 1906, architect T J Bailey. It is said to be his best building.

*Streatley Place, Hampstead, Camden, 1990, 90-4d-24*

Streatley Place begins just off the busy Heath Street as a narrow alley off Back Lane and only widens a little by the school, whose playground is over the wall at the left of this picture. The chimney was for the boiler house of New End Hospital, founded in 1869 as the infirmary for the Hampstead Union workhouse which was closed and sold for redevelopment in 1986.

Thamesmead & The Thames – 1994

Thamesmead & The Thames: More pictures from my October and November 1994 visits to Thamesmead.

*Tavy Bridge, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-61*

I hope the captions which I wrote at the time are accurate, but I found parts of Thamesmead rather confusing to walk around. There are both streets and raised walkways and various footpaths, and I don’t think the map was always too helpful.

*Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-63*

However these shops were certainly at the Tavy Bridge Centre. Thamesmead is built on the flood plain and the whole area had been badly flooded before the new estate was developed. The planners decided to build with garages at street level and the living areas of the housing at first floor and above so as not to be vulnerable to floods.

*Tavy Bridge, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-52*

Some of the areas liable to flooding have since been rebuilt with housing at ground level. I assume that the river walls are now thought to be an adequate defence, but would not myself buy a house there.

*Footbridge, Yarnton Way, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-116-41*

Sea levels are slowly rising as the earth gets hotter because of increasing levels of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels means that ice melts. The Thames Barrier still protects most of London, but will need to be replaced. Thamesmead is downstream of the barrier and so will need its own extra protection. At some point with high spring tides and an easterly gale this will be overtopped.

*River Thames, Beckton, Canary Wharf, Thamesmead, Bexley, Greenwich, 1994, 94-115-44*

I walked on to the riverside promenade, Thameside Walk. Looking towards the west both the remains of the Beckton gas works and Canary Wharf were visible though there was considerable haze due to air pollution in London.

*River Thames, Ford, Dagenham, Thamesmead, Bexley, Greenwich, 1994, 94-115-45*

Across the Thames and a little to the east was the vast Ford complex at Dagenham, its logo visible on the water tower at left.

*Promenade, River Thames, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-115-35*

The river is stretches away east towards the estuary, turning around towards the south in the distance. At the left of the picture is the Essex bank. The river is a little over 2000 feet wide here.

The panoramic images here were taken on a Russian Horizon swing-lens camera, its 28mm lens giving a horizontal angle of view of around 127 degrees (often stated as 120.) The negatives, on standard 35mm film are 58x24mm, a similar width as a ‘6×6’ medium format camera though only 2/5 the height. It was possible to use the camera handheld, but for these pictures I used a sturdy Manfrotto tripod, usually working from a normal eye height of a little over 5 foot.

More to come from Thamesmead.

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Soldier F, HS2 & Bees – 2019

Soldier F, HS2 & Bees: On Saturday 28th September 2019 people, many former soldiers, were protesting in Westminster against the prosecution of ‘Soldier F’ for the murder of unarmed civil rights protesters in Londonderry on ‘Bloody Sunday’ in 1972. From there I went to Euston for a protest against the destruction of ancient woodland to build HS2 and finally to Stoke Newington for a protest against the lack of action over climate change which threatens the future of many species including our own.

Veterans Moon for Soldier F

Parliament Square

Soldier F was one of several paratroopers who had opened fire on unarmed civilian protesters in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday’ in 1972.

Although the government had recently announced that soldiers would be granted protection against prosecution for any alleged historic offences, a special exemption allowed offences during the Irish ‘Troubles’ to be brought to court. Soldier F was the first to be brought to trial. The protesters called for this exemption to be removed and the case to be dropped.

The square was surrounded by riders and motorbikes who were to ride as a part of the protest and there were hundreds waiting to march, along with a few military vehicles. A small group on the top of one of these dropped their trousers, mooning towards Parliament and also turning and then towards the middle of the square.

Soldier F was eventually found ‘Not Guilty’ by a Belfast Court Judge in 2025.

Veterans Moon for Soldier F

HS2 threatens ancient Woodland

Euston

*Chris Packham with a man dressed as a tree hold pots of saplings from South Cubbington Wood*

Despite huge cost overruns and the abandonment of the routes past Birmingham that were needed to make the project worthwhile, HS2 was (and is) still going ahead, its route ploughing through and destroying acres of irreplaceable ancient woodland.

The Woodland Trust had come for a ‘Euston: We have a Problem’ with people carrying plants in posts and Chris Packham handed out acorns for people to take home and plant. My own fairly small garden already has far too many trees – and I have to pull up hundreds of ash saplings every year or it would really be a small forest, but I didn’t refuse them.

HS2 was justified by the need for greater capacity on the West Coast mainline by providing an alternative route north of Birmingham – but will not now do so. It will take far longer to build than envisaged and cost more than twice as much while providing little in return – a few minutes shorter ride between London and Birmingham but to stations at each end rather disconnected from the rest of our transport system, so probably meaning longer overall journey times for most passengers.

HS2 is a huge and continuing example of throwing good money after bad; it should never have got off the ground and successive governments have lacked the political courage to cancel it.

The protest came days before destruction was to start of South Cubbington Wood, one of 30 classified ancient woodlands among a total of 108 woods to be wholly or partly lost to HS2. The felling was delayed for some time but huge numbers of trees were felled there in 2020.

HS2 threatens ancient Woodland

Requiem for a Bee

Stoke Newington

Extinction Rebellion Hackney marched from Clissold Park to Stoke Newington Town Hall behind a coffin ‘OUR FUTURE’ in protest against failures to take action over global heating which is caused by increasing levels of man-made greenhouse gases. After speeches there XR Hackney marched to a final rally at the gates of Abney Park Cemetery on Stamford Hill.

The protest title, ‘Requiem For A Bee’ referred to the Red Girdled Mining Bee previously found in the cemetery becoming extinct there due to loss of habitat due to increasing development in Hackney.

They demanded that Hackney Council appoint a biodiversity officer, act on their recent declaration of climate emergency, include XR and other local groups in a citizens assembly, commit to net zero emissions by 2025 and divest 100% of pension fund from fossil fuels.

Fortunately for me the protest was late in starting as I had arrived late after rushing from Euston. I was able to photograph it leaving the park and then continue all the way to the end. I found the final rally with an odd period of reflection rather strange.

Requiem for a Bee

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CETA, Iraq, Highwalks & HP – 2014

CETA, Iraq, Highwalks & HP: On Friday 26th September 2014 I photographed a protest against the finalising of CETA, a trade agreement between Canada and the EU negotiated in secret which would allow large companies to challenge democratic decisions taken by governments. After this I went to College Green, until recently listed as a public park but now often closed by police to stop protesters appearing in TV interviews there of politicians, where people were attempting to protest against the bombing of Iraq.

From Westminster I went into the City of London and had time for a walk taking panoramic pictures mainly of the highwalks which are under threat of demolition to allow a higher density of commercial development before photographing a picket at Hewlett-Packard’s offices against their major role in IT support of the Israeli war machine.

CETA Trade Deal Threat to Democracy

Dept Business, Innovation & Skills

CETA, Iraq, Highwalks & HP - 2014 — *Protesters pose in front of Big Ben on their way from the BIS to Europe House*

War on Want, the World Development Movement, Occupy London and others came to protest when it became known that the EU and Canada were today to initial the CETA Treaty which would hand over unchallengeable powers to big business to override governments and democracy, and put company profits above all other interests. This was a small emergency protest called at very short notice in advance of a #noTTIP day of action to take place in London on 11th October 2014.

Negotiations over the treaty, the Canada and European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) and its wider equivalent TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) had been carried out in strict secrecy, with the documents on them to be locked away for thirty years.

The treaties include the process known as ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) which greatly affects the ability of governments to make legislation, with legal action bypassing UK and other national courts to be decided by international arbitration tribunals where the loss of potential profits come above any consideration of public interest.

In 2014 there were already around 500 documented cases of big companies attempting to use ISDS powers to challenge democratic decisions around the world, including A Swedish company suing Germany for phasing out nuclear power and a French company suing Egypt because they have increased the minimum wage and introduced other measures to improve the conditions of workers. The UK had dropped proposals for plain packaging for cigarettes as the companies had threatened they would sue as it would cut cigarette sales and so their profits.

ISDS allows big business to challenge food safety regulation, green legislation and other vital measures, and curb protests against fracking and dirty energy, GMO, the arms trade and any other profitable corporate activities. It would also stop efforts to prevent the privatisation of the NHS.

The protest began outside the Dept of Business, Industry and Skills and went on to the London base of the European Parliament, stopping briefly outside the Houses of Parliament and handing out leaflets against the corporate power grab.

CETA was provisionally introduced in 2017 and has eliminated almost all existing tariffs and increased transatlantic trade but has not been ratified by ten EU states. The French Senate voted against it in 2024. Talks are now taking place on a replacement. Since Brexit is no longer applies in the UK and a new trade agreement with Canada came into force on 1 April 2021. ISDS continues under various other trade agreements.

CETA Trade Deal Threat to Democracy

Don’t bomb Iraq

Westminster

TV news often interview politicians on College Green, long always open to the public and housing a well-known Henry Moore statue, an small groups of protesters have often gone their to be seen and heard in the background of these interviews. And a few had come today when Parliament was debating the bombing of ISIS in Iraq

*A large banner along the edge of College Green*

Until recently it had been listed as a public park by Westminster Council but in 2014 new notices were put up stating it was a part of the Parliamentary estate, and they reserve the right to close the area to the public at any time. The area is now often completely closed to the public and police stop protesters entering it while TV crews are working there.

There was also a small group against the bombing protesting on the pavement in Parliament Square.

Don’t bomb Iraq

City Walk, High Walk

City of London

*Basinghall St and the fenced off Bassetlaw Highwalk*

Planners for the rebuilding of the City of London after the devastation of the Second World War had created an ambitious plan for the separation of pedestrians and traffic in much of the city with a series of ‘highwalks’.

But it was only ever implemented in limited areas of the City in particular around London Wall and the Barbican and where a new road, Upper and Lower Thames Street cut through the old City close to the River Thames. Despite the extensive bomb damage, much of the old London remained firmly at Street level.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s I had photographed extensively from these highwalks and in the 90s made a number of panoramic images which were exhibited and published.

In 2014 much of the highwalks south of London Wall and a large area directly to the north were being demolished to allow a higher density of commercial development in the area and I took a short walk to photograph some of what remained. In the 1990s I had worked with specialised swing-lens panoramic film cameras, but now I was able to work much more easily with a digital camera and software.

*Shakespeare bust in St Mary Aldermanbury Garden, Love Lane*

As well as on the highwalks I also made images at street level, particularly in the area around the Guildhall. The digital panoramas have a much wider vertical angle of view than my earlier film images and are here shown in full in a normal 3:2 aspect ratio, though usually I have cropped them top and bottom to a more panoramic format such as 16:9.

More at City Wall, High Walk.

Hewlett Packard Stop Supporting Israeli Military

Wood St, City

*Protesters with banners opposite HP’s offices on Wood St*

I had previously photographed protests by the Inminds human rights group Palestinian Prisoners Campaign outside the offices of security firm G4S, where 2 years of pickets perhaps played a part in their decision to pull out of Israeli prisons.

They had decided now to picket at Hewlett-Packard which boasts of ‘a massive presence’ in Israel and are the IT backbone for the Israeli war machine.

More pictures: HP told Stop Supporting Israeli Military.

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