Around the Highwalks – Wood Street: London’s ambitious series of ‘highwalks’, aimed at separating movement on foot from traffic began after World War 2 when the City began to rebuild after extensive war damage – a process that really sprung into action on a large scale in the 1950s.
Highwalk, Wood St, City, 1994, 94-708-21
As Wikipedia states, “In 1947 architect Charles Holden and planner William Holford” had put forward a blueprint for “a network of first-floor walkways that would connect buildings across the City.”
Wood St, Escalator, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-709-31
The City of London Pedway Scheme was later adopted by the City of London Corporation and to get planning permission by the 1960s all new developments were required to include first floor access to walkways. It worked where there had large areas destroyed by bombing – such as the Barbican, but elsewhere these walkways were often dead ends leading nowhere.
Wood St, Escalator, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-709-12
Although London had suffered greatly from the bombing, much survived – and many damaged buildings had been restored in the immediate aftermath of the war. Although some of the city’s older buildings were demolished there was an increasing recognition of the value of many of them. The 1944 Town and Country Planning Act had given the government power to create a statutory list of buildings of special architectural interest – and those powers were increased in the 1947 Act.
Green Cuisine, Highwalk, Wood St, London Wall Citry, 1994, 94-709-21
Listing of buildings began seriously after this, and many buildings in the City gained some protection from demolition – and a resurvey in 1968 began to add more to the lists. It became increasingly clear that the Pedway scheme would never be able to produce a really coherent scheme over most of the City and by the mid-1980s it was effectively discontinued.
Highwalk, St Alphage Highwalk, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-710-22
Since then some parts of the walkway system have been lost, while some areas still remain. Around London Wall while some parts of it were closed. The part of the St Alphage Highwalk in these pictures had been demolished but it was partly replaced by a new section during redevelopment around 2017.
Highwalk, St Alphage Highwalk, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-710-12
Another problems with the Pedway is that London’s transport systems – buses and Underground largely leave passengers at street level. Getting to the highwalks generally requires going up steps and most people would prefer to simply continue to their destination at street level.
Highwalk, St Alphage Highwalk, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-710-11
For those with disabilities which make steps difficult or impossible this is a real barrier. There were very few places where escalators were provided to ease the problems as these were expensive.
More panoramic images from the City Highwalks in a later post.
St Pauls and around Guildhall: More panoramas from my days wandering the City of London in July 1994. Most of these pictures are in my Flickr album 1994 London Colour.
Cathedral Steps, St Paul’s Churchyard, City, 1994, 94-706-12
I took relatively few pictures of St Paul’s Cathedral, and here it is only visible in deep shadow at right. In the centre are the rather bland blocks of Juxon House, built in 1963 rather a long time after much of the area was destroyed by German bombs and subject to a long campaign (with Royal support) for demolition along with others when Paternoster Square was redeveloped.
Unfortunately its replacement – and Juxon House was worse. Icannot better the description by Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian when the new block was completed in 2003 who called it “A mockery of the language of classical architecture, this Paternoster office block is kitsch writ gross, a kind of two fingers up to Wren and Hawksmoor, who worked so hard to create the peerless dome and west towers of St Paul’s.” In his article he also gives some of the reasons that led to this new carbuncle.
Aldermanbury, City, 1994, 94-707-42
The area around the Guildhall was fascinating in many ways in the 1990s, in part for its contrasting architectural styles which you can see here. At left is One Love Lane, a 1989 building refurbished in 2015-6. In the centre is the back of One Aldermanbury Square, built for Standard Chartered Bank in 1990, but significantly remodelled after they left in 2013. The Insurance Hall, 20 Aldermanbury, has the inscription by its door ‘THIS BUILDING WAS OPENED BY HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V ACCOMPANIED BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN MANY ON THE TWENTY EIGHT DAY OF JUNE MCMXXXIV THE TWENTY FIFTH YEAR OF HIS MAJESTY’S REIGN’. It was home to the Chartered Insurance Institute until 2018.
Guildhall Piazza, City, 1994, 94-707-32
Looking towards the The North Wing (formerly known as the North Block) of the Guildhall, constructed in 1955-58 to a 1930s design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. At right is the back of the Insurance Hall. At left the 1972 sculpture ‘Beyond Tomorrow‘ by Karin Jonzen (1914-1998); her parents were Swedish but she was born in London and studied at the Slade.
The piazza was a pleasant place to sit on sunny days and I sometimes ate my sandwiches there. The back of the North Wing and that end of the piazza were modified around 2006 to improve access and create more office space.
Beyond Tomorrow, Karin Jonzen, Guildhall Piazza, City, 1994, 94-707-31
A closer view of Karin Jonzen’s sculpture and beyond it one of my favourite modern London buildings, the Grade II listed former exhibition hall, magistrates court and offices at 65 and 65a Basinghall Street designed by Richard Gilbert Scott (1923-2017) of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Son and Partner and built in 1966-69. He was the “fourth generation of Britain’s best-known architectural dynasty” according to the listing text, which for once is very informative about the architect and the building.
As the listing says, his “stylish use of pre-cast concrete shell vaulting at the Guildhall was a response to the existing Gothic architecture of the site” – where he had been involved with his father Sir Giles in rebuilding the bomb-damaged Gothic Guildhall.
Bassishaw Highwalk, Basinghall St, City, 1994, 94-707-11
Just to the north, seen from the Highwalk just as it emerges from under Richard Gilbert Scott’s building is one of my favourite views in the City, again showing different architectural styles.
At left is 55 Basinghall St, City Place House, a substantial post-modern building from 1988-1992 by Swanke Hayden Connell. Work began on its demolition in 2021 for the building of a 13-storey office block by Allies & Morrison, which also involved the “partial demolition, reconfiguration and refurbishment of the basement, lower ground, ground and mezzanine floors of 40 Basinghall Street” – City Tower in my picture.
Basinghall St, Bassishaw Highwalk, City, 1994, 94-707-22
A second view from another section of Highwalk shows the same corner looking along Basinghall Street.
More City Panoramas: I spent several days wandering around the City of London – the “Square Mile” in July and August 1994, I think in prepaation for a group show in which I had decided this would be my contribution.
Bubbs, Restaurant Francais, Farringdon Rd, West Smithfield, City, 1994, 94-702-43
Bubb’s Le Restaurant Francais with the address Central Market, Farringdon Street is long closed, but a listing states that they served “a variety of traditional French dishes at their restaurant and can cater for private parties of up to 30 guests upon request.” There are still several French restaurants in the area.
A little further down West Smithfield was the London Central Market with on the corner a wholesale Cash and Carry and Harry’s Drinks and in the distance a covered way across the road between market buildings.
I photographed this corner on several occasions, making a similar panorama here in 1992, perhaps why I have not put this on Flickr.
River Thames, Thames Path, Vintners Hall, Paul’s Walk, City, 1994, 94-703-52
Looking west along the river to Bull Wharf, Queenhithe and beyond. Bull Wharf proudly states it was REBUILT 1980 and it looks to me exceedingly ugly, probably why I didn’t upload this picture to Flickr. My picture perhaps makes the red brickwork event more virulent – the building looks much better to me in a black and white non-panoramic image I made at the same time from more or less the same spot.
Car Park, Smithfield St, City, 1994, 94-704-51
Slightly out of focus in the distance I can just make out Lady Justice on the roof of the Old Bailey and to her right more clearly the tower of Holy Sepulchre Church at the east end of Holborn Viaduct.
I think this car park probably extended to Hosier Lane and is now filled with the shops and offices of 12 Smithfield Street, built in 2004 and now described on Buildington as “an outdated office block that has suffered from poor environmental performance, limited architectural merit, and inefficient servicing. Its ground floor lacks engagement with the surrounding public realm, and its dated façade no longer reflects the character of the conservation area” and being refurbished and extended.
St Mary Somerset Church, Upper Thames St, City , 1994, 94-704-13
A rather dark rendering of this high contrast scene with deep shadow the block of St Paul’s Vista (or 1 High Timber St, now One Millennium Bridge) straddles Upper Thames Street with the bright sky above. My picture was made from the footbridge of Fye Foot Lane carrying a section of the CIty’s Highwalk across Upper Thames Street and Castle Baynard Street and on to Queen Victoria Street.
St Mary Somerset Church was one of those destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and like 50 others rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The tower remains between Lambeth Hill and Castle Baynard Street but the rest of the church was demolished in 1871 when like other redundant churches the land was sold to build churches in the rapidly expanding suburbs of London. The tower was a Ladies toilet before the Second World War, Damaged by bombing, it was restored by the city in 1956 and has now been converted into a private residence.
Highwalk, Footbridge, Huggin Hill, Upper Thames St, City, 1994, 94-705-41
A fruit and vegetable stall on the pavement in Front of St Mary Aldermary (another rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire) on busy Queen Victoria Street which you can see at extreme left. I think the extremely low stone wall on the pavement and the railings mark the former edge of its churchyard.
I liked the range of architectural age and style across the upper half of this image, and particularly admired the ornate Victorian block in the centre of the picture. As well as a bus and a coach there are 5 London taxis in the picture, an aspect of London’s traffic congestion long overdue for reform.
Highwalk, Footbridge, Huggin Hill, Upper Thames St, City, 1994, 94-705-31
This was taken from a now-closed section of Highwalk across Upper Thames Street and the church at left is St Mary Somerset. The alley at right is Huggin Hill with a view of the distinctive building on the block between Queen Victoria St, Bread Lane and Cannon Street, 30 Cannon St built for Crédit Lyonnais between 1974 and 1977.
Highwalk, London Wall, City, 1994, 94-706-51
So many buildings have changed around here since 1994. The building right of centre is Standard Chartered on the corner of Aldermanbury and Aldermanbury Square and was remodelled around 2010 and the building left of centre is Brewer’s Hall, now with a roof extension. I think this section of the highwalk led up at Brewers Hall Gardens
Limehouse and the City – Panoramas 1994: I made one panorama at the end of my trip to Limehouse in June which is on a film processed in July which I overlooked when posting pictures to Flickr.
This was taken from the top floor of John Scurr House on Ratcliffe Lane where there are open balconies leading to the flats it shows both the National Rail and DLR Limehouse stations with the DLR viaduct leading east, with the white tower of St Anne’s Limehouse just visible at extreme right before the top of the brickwork of the stairs.
You can also just see the north side of Limehouse Basin on the other side of Branch Road, and lower right of centre is a small but packed garden centre. A bus goes along Commercial Road and you can see the houses and flats of Limehouse and Bow beyond. Like all the other pictures in this post it was taken with a swing-lens panoramic camera with a horizontal angle of view of over 120 degrees.
Blackfriars Rail Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, River Thames, Southwark, 1994, 94-701-42
Early in July I took a train to Waterloo and walked into the City from there, pausing before I crossed Blackfriars Bridge to make this panorama. This is the only place where the City comes ‘South of the River’ and where I was standing in Rennie Garden I was already in the City of London, though the wall at right and half the rail bridge past it is in Southwark.
While the City boundary for the other bridges is in the centre of the river, for some reason the Blackfriars and Southwark Bridges Act 1867 put the full length and its southern end within the city’s borders, in the parish of St Anne Blackfriars.
The garden here Rennie Garden is named after John Rennie (1761 – 1821) the engineer who built several of London’s bridges but not this one, which was by by Joseph Cubitt, also responsible for the dismantled railway bridge whose red piers remain.
This was the site of the Albion Flour Mills designed by Samuel Wyatt on this site in 1786 to house the machinery of Matthew Boulton and steam engine of James Watt – and it was this steam-powered corn mill, the first major factory in London, which is thought to be the inspiration for William Blake’s ‘dark satanic mills’.
The Albion Mill died by its own hand, burnt down in 1791 by a fire probably caused by poor maintenance when a bearing overheated, but four years earlier Robert Barker had sent his son Henry Aston Barker to sit on the roof of the building to make the sketches for his ‘London from the roof of the Albion Mills‘ which he then added detail, “greatly enlarged and painted in distemper on canvas.” He coined the name ‘panorama’ and in 1787 patented the idea. His panorama, first shown at the Albion Mill shortly before it was burnt down and then shown in various galleries in London.
Sets of aquatints were made by Frederick Birnie which toured Europe and went to the United States and while these survive in various collections the original panorama is lost.
Puddle Dock, Queen Victoria St, City, 1994, 94-701-33
Puddle Dock was a dock and also a sewer outfall and was filled in during the comprehensive reclamation and redevelopment of the area between 1962 and 1972 which created Upper Thames Street as a major road and Puddle Dock linking this to Queen Victoria Street underneath part of Baynard House, a Brutalist office block built for BT and completed in 1979.
As a part of plans to separate vehicle and pedestrian movement in the City it included a walkway leading to Blackfriars Station from which I made this panorama. The dome of St Paul’s can be seen just to the left of the tower of St Andrew by the Wardrobe.
Sculpture, Farringdon Rd, Holborn Viaduct, City, 1994, 94-702-51
Holborn Viaduct was London’s first flyover, connecting the City with Holborn over the deep valley of the River Fleet, which had be culverted here in the 18th century, in part for the building of New Bridge Street. Built in 1863-69 it links Holborn Circus with Newgate Street and was a major redevelopment ‘”the most ambitious and costly improvement scheme of the [nineteenth] century” (White 47), and it involved some outstanding feats of Victorian engineering.‘
Over the years I’ve made quite a few panoramas on and of the viaduct and written about it at some length – here are a few from 1994. You can read a detailed account on the Victorian Web site.
Sculpture, Farringdon Rd, Holborn Viaduct, City, 1994, 94-702-52
Sculpture, Farringdon Rd, Holborn Viaduct, City, 1994, 94-703-11
Limehouse and East India: I spent most of Saturday 11th June 1994 wandering in the area between Limehouse, Blackwall and the former East India Docks, concentrating on making panoramas, some of which were the post Limehouse, Poplar, Blackwall and East India Panoramas – 1994 but I also took a number of black and white and colour images. You can find more of both in two Flickr albums – links at the bottom of this post – but here is some of the colour work. These pictures will have been made using an Olympus OM$ camera on Fuji film. I carried a range of lenses from 21mm to 200mm, though probably most all were taken with 28mm or 50mm lenses.
Limehouse Link Tunnel, Aspen Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-55
The eastern entrance to the Limehouse Link Tunnel which was officially opened in 1993. Both portals have decorative sculptures, this one an untitled abstract by Nigel Hall which I find it hard to find any point in. The 1.1 mile tunnel took 4 years to build and cost £293,000,000 making it the most expensive road scheme in Britain per mile.
Limehouse Link Tunnel, Three Colts St, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-44
This is the Limehouse Link Eastern Service Building. With a huge volume of traffic passing through the tunnel presumably the main service needed is ventilation and those chimneys presumably are on top of huge fans for the purpose, sharing the pollution with the community.
The story of Dunbar Wharf is told on the Isle of Dogs Life web site in the article Dunbar Wharf and the Remarkable Story of Duncan Dunbar, and I’ve written more about it in previous posts. Duncan Dunbar made a fortune as a brewer and wine merchant and on his death in 1825 his son, also Duncan Dunbar used this to set up a large shipping fleet, becoming one of the richest men in Britain.
As well as goods to and from the world Dunbar’s shipping line made 37 trips carrying convicts to Australia and were troopships for the Crimean War. He never married and had no children and on his death in 1862 the ships were all sold and the business closed.
The buildings here date from the mid 19th century and are Grade II listed.
London Art Fashions, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-34
I think this was the window of a tailor’s shop in Limehouse, but cannot recall its exact location. The caption I gave it came from the black and white poster at the back which I suspect is from the 1920s or 30s, though I’m certainly no fashion expert, while the blue framed image at lower left looks to me a little older and has an interesting lady golfer.
Chinese Restaurant, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-23
Limehouse and Poplar used to be London’s Chinatown before that moved to Soho, and some traces remain, rather more back in 1994 than now. On the wall is a calendar for the ‘Year of the Dog’ and a notice informing us that:
‘*WE NOW SELL ‘CHICKEN’ BALLS’ IN BATTER PLEASE ASK STAFF £2 A PORTION THANK YOU’
The two green hexagons floating in the centre close to the top of the picture (with some more very faint and above them to their right) are photographic artifacts, lens flare, images of the lens iris reflected from some interior lens surface from a light source just outside the frame. But I rather like the effect here.
Looking through a window into a hairdressers with a red-edged counter and mirrors, red chairs and red towels hanging on hooks seen in the mirror. It wasn’t possible for me to get enough depth of field to make everything in the picture pin sharp, but this perhaps makes the mirrored image stand out a little more.
East India Dock Tunnel, Aspen Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-51
The lane closer to the centre of the image dives here into the East India Dock Tunnel with the red brickwork of the tunnel mouth at the right of the picture. The tunnel was opened in 1993. At the left is Canary Wharf Tower, then in isolation, in front of it the bridge and red tower of East India DLR station. The rather depressing 1990 ten-storey granite clad post-modern office blocks on the site of the main East India Dock have now been comprehensively redeveloped mainly for residential use and rebranded as ‘Republic’.
Canary Wharf, DLR, Power Station, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-61-53
Further east also looking back to Canary Wharf from underneath the DLR viaduct with the former switchgear house of Brunswick Wharf Power Station at right. Planned in 1939 but not built until after the war this was a coal fired power station on the site of the East India Export Dock. In 1948 the dock was filled in but post-war financial constraints meant the power station was only became operational in 1952, and finally completed in 1956.
In 1970 it was converted to burn oil, probably to reduce air pollution in London. Increases in oil prices later made this one of the more expensive generating stations and it was closed in 1984 and sold for redevelopment in 1987.
Most of the power station was demolished in 1989 but this building remained, I think until around 2005 when it was demolished for a large residential development, Virginia Quays, which has on the riverbank the 1951 Grade II listed Virginia Quay Settlers Monument.
Limehouse, Poplar, Blackwall and East India Panoramas: In June 1994 I took a walk east from Limehouse, making a new series of panoramic images as well as taking some more normal photographs. I think these images were taken on a couple of different walks, but here I’ll present them in a roughly geographical order, going east from Limehouse Basin to East India Dock Basin station and largely following the Docklands Light Railway.
Limehouse Dock in 1994 was not surrounded by flats and there was a clear view from the the council flats – John Scurr House – on the corner of Ratcliffe Lane and Branch Road – which you can see at the right.
And in 1994, as in many such blocks, there was little or no entrance security so I could simply walk in and up the stairs to take pictures such as this. The DLR viaduct runs from the left side to St Anne’s Church and the marina is almost empty, while Canary Wharf Tower in the distance is twice the height of the buildings around it, but now is surrounded by other tall towers.
The bridge that leads across Aspen Way from the West India Docks to Poplar DLR station at the extreme right of the picture. At left you can see the DLR line from West India Quay which crosses the road in a blue bridge to join the line from Limehouse.
This picture made a rather nice album cover for the 1998 album The Limehouse Link by Mucho Macho, particularly impressive on the 12″ vinyl where it is carried across both front and back – reproduced at 24 by 12 inches, considerably larger than the CD version.
As Darryl Sterdan’s 1999 review stated “No vocals are no problem for the British DJs on their auspicious debut release” and despite its cover it made little impact.
I’d taken photographs in earlier years around the building of the Beckton extension of the DLR and the Limehouse Link tunnel and both had caused major changes in the area. Among which was this rather convoluted footpath leading under the road and DLR south from Blackwall Station.
Parts of the Grade II listed inscription on the Northern portal of the Blackwall tunnel, built in 1897 are hard to read in my picture, so here it is in full: ‘THIS TUNNEL CONSTRUCTED BY THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL WAS OPENED BY/ HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES K.C. ON BEHALF OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA ON 22nd MAY 1897 IN THE 60th YEAR OF HER REIGN/ SIR ALEX R. BINNIE ENGINEER’
I had to wait some time back in 1994 for a train to pass across on the DLR. Services now are usually more frequent.
Dock, DLR Station, East India, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-63-52
I wandered rather a long time around East India Dock station, using the bridge across Aspen Way to photograph on both sides of the road. Here I photographed the station across an area of water which has been created in a part of the area formerly occupied by the East India Dock (Import), though I think nothing original remains. So probably I should caption this ‘water feature’ rather than ‘dock’.
East India DLR Station, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1994, 94-64-52
Framed at the centre of this image are two towers, Canary Wharf and the much closer tower in Naval Row of the mid 19th century Italianate East India Dock Pumping Station, Grade II listed and one of the few relics of that dock, along with some listed walls and steps and the areas of water. The two towers are a similar shape but actually very different in size and detail.
East Finchley & Mill Hill: Pictures I took in May 1994 on walks around these areas of North London. I made relatively few colour pictures but you can find many more black and white images in my Flickr album 1994 London Photos.
Café, East Finchley, 1994, 94-54-53
I was amused by the contrast between the large image on the wall and the view out of the window. Then the ashtray on every table was the norm. There is a second picture on Flickr with a foreground table and ashtray
Mural, Mill Hill, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-41
The mural on the shed in what I think was a school reflects the multi-ethnic nature of much of London, but not really of Mill Hill. According to the 1991 census only 18% of the population of the London Borough of Barnet belonged to non-white ethnic groups, with 12% Asian and only 6% black; and 2021, 57.7% of Barnet’s population still identified as White. The borough does have a large Chinese origin population and is home to London’s largest Jewish community.
Shop Window, Travel Agent, Mill Hill, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-43
What attracted me to this window was undoubtedly the three very different women it portrays (though the SALLY in large print was only a ferry firm operating out of Ramsgate.)
Perhaps deliberately, though I doubt it, the closest image of a woman is out of focus. I find her rather disturbing , partly because of her blue tint (cyan fades much slower than yellow or magenta inks) but also because of the rigid symmetry of her face and the ridiculous thing at the neck of her top.
Mag-it, Fishing Bait Machine, Mill Hill, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-45
Not only a machine selling maggots, but one which offers you a choice of Red, White and Bronze maggots, mixed maggots, giant maggots, red worms and casters. All apparently frozen and needing to be left in a normal bait box for 60 minutes to recover.
I don’t think there is anywhere in Mill Hill where it is worth fishing.
University of London Observatory, Watford Way, Mill Hill, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-46
Since 2015 this had been called the UCL Observatory as although built for the whole of London University UCL have managed it since 1951, using it as a hands-on teaching observatory. On their web site it states:
“The Observatory building was designed by Mr L. Rome Guthrie and constructed by Messrs Leslie and Co.; construction commenced in July 1928 and was completed in 1929. The Observatory was opened by the then Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank Dyson, on 1929 October 8.”
I’d often looked out of a train window going north from King’s Cross and been surprised as we flashed past this building in an Intercity 125, and wasn’t quite convinced it was real amd not a folly or some figment of my imagination. Who I thought would build an observatory here given London’s weather?
Bunns Lane Car Cleaning Services, Bunns Lane, Mill Hill, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-35
Rather to my surprise you can still get your car washed and valeted on Bunns Lane, though I suspect its days are numbered, along with the adjoining Mill Hill Industrial Estate. The bridge carries the M1 over Bunns Lane and beyond that is a bridge for the main East Coast rail line.
A Puzzle and More North London: My post today from my colour work in May 1994 begins with a plea for help. I’ve spent ages trying to find the location of this first picture and hope someone will recognise it and let me know.
As you can see it shows a street with some impressive houses beside a pond. Unfortunately the only information I recorded back in 1994 was on the back of the contact sheet containing this and a dozen other images:
Bounds Green / New Southgate Hendon Barnet Vauxhall : 28 May 1994
On the film this frame comes between one which I think is from Barnet and some which are clearly at Vauxhall suggesting that this may also be in or around Barnet. But I don’t know Barnet at all well and other pictures taken there at the same time do not include a duck pond like this or any of the houses here.
Although my black and white work was fairly well organised at the time – and I was selling some and putting work into libraries, colour was then simply personal projects. At the time I was also working in south London, and this picture could possibly have been taken there. I’d like to know.
Hobart Corner, New Southgate, Enfield, 1994, 94-53-62
Henlys were a major car dealer in the UK mainly for British Leyland, but here they were selling Vauxhall. The New Southgate Gas Works were first built in 1859 and closed in 1972 and this gasholder was a landmark on the North Circular Road until it was demolished in 2014. It was the largest of three on the site and had been built in 1912. It was still in use in 1994 and was only decommissioned in 2001.
Planning permission was given in 2021 for tower blocks with 182 homes on the site but the developer has now dropped these and it is expected to remain empty for several more years.
Chinese Restaurant, Edgware, 1994, 94-54-62
Chinese Restaurant, Station Road, Edgware, 1994, 94-54-64
I made several pictures of this Chinese Restaurant in the centre of Edgware. The reflection in the window shows the building on the corner of Manor Park Road and Station Road.
Northway House, High Road, Whetstone, Barnet, 1994, 94-54-66
Northway House was built in 1968-70 and was a landmark office tower development on the High Road in suburban Whetstone. Back in 1994 it still appeared well-used and in good condition but by 2015 much of it had become empty and dilapidated.
Planning permission was granted to a developer working closely with Barnet Council on a “mixed use residential led mixed use development” which retained and renovated the original building and was completed in August 2025.
Goldies, pub, 58, Regents Park Road, Finchley, 1994, 94-54-51
Formerly known as the Golden Eagle, this pub was demolished in 2002. In its place, just north of the North Circular Road is now Holiday Inn Express London – Golders Green.
There was a pub on this site in the 1930s, built by Charringtons but I think this building dated from the 1950s or 1960s. Possibly it was rebuilt following war damage or because of the conversion of the road to a much wider double carriageway
North and South – London: In May 1994 I was mainly photographing around Enfield, the most northerly of London Boroughs, but in the middle of one film there are a few pictures from Morden, the southern end of the Northern Line. I can’t remember why I made the trip there, possibly on a visit to a friends or perhaps on a family outing to Morden Park on the River Wandle.
This pub or club seems to have had an unusually large number of changes over the years and was also at various times Club X Zone’, Bar FM’, ‘Bell’, ‘Hotshots’, ‘Texas Cantina’, and more. Now a restaurant.
Shop Window, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, 1994, 94-52-61
A strange assortment of clothing on some rather odd two dimensional figures of women with holds in their heads and a line of children’s toys at the bottom of the window.
The Flower Box, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, 1994, 94-52-62
A colourful building though I was sad that parts of the mural below the windows was was obscured by almost empty display stands, one made from milk crates.
The Flower Box, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, 1994, 94-52-65
A small section of the mural from the previous picture shows a wedding couple striding across the fields.
Shops, London Rd, Morden, Merton, 1994, 94-52-44
A fairly typical suburban shopping street with a Boots, Abbey National, Holland & Barrett and at right ‘A NEW FORCE ON THE HIGH STREET’ which I’ve never heard of. The sun is clearly shining but there are ominous clouds above.
Merton Civic Centre, London Rd, Morden, Merton, 1994, 94-52-46
These buildings are still there on the corner of London Road and Crown Lane close to Morden Underground Station and are still Merton’s Civic Centre.
The Civic centre is in a triangle of land surrounded by busy roads. This view seems now largely unchanged except for the names of the shops.
Morden Court Parade, London Rd, Morden, Merton, 1994, 94-52-34
Morden Court Parade is still there a little to the south on London Road from the Civic Centre and looks in rather better condition now. But sadly those 1930s windows have been replaced by fatter plastic double glazing which although greatly more comfortable for the residents both for keeping warm and reducing traffic noise from busy A24 dual carriageway rather spoil the appearance of the building. There are also some new balconies which fit in fairly well with the building and although it has lost than ‘MORDEN COURT PARADE’ from the frontage it has been replaced rather larger on the roof.
More Colour from 1994 in Enfield: In More Ponders End, Enfield Wash, Palmers Green & Brimsdown 1994 I posted a set of pictures made in the first three months of the year. This post includes some more taken in March 1994 mainly along by the Lea Navigation in the London Borough of Enfield and ends with a couple taken in April or May.
My archives from back then are a little disorganised but I’ll try hard not to post any that I’ve previously posted, although a one here is from a site where I’ve previously posted a panoramic images.
The Lea Valley was an important industrial area of London well into the 20th century and had been the source of some key inventions, including the start of the electronics industry. Some of the factories were along the river, perhaps originally on sites that had made use of its wharves, but now all reliant on road transport, with all of Brimsdown between the railway and the canal being huge industrial estates off Mollinson Avenue.
Here the separation of industry from the canal was emphasized with a concrete fence, now rather decaying at the edge of the bank and tell fence topped with barbed wire at an angle to keep intruders from the canal out of the site.
I don’t remember exactly where at Brimsdown this factory was, but like the rest of the industry here it will since have been demolished, replaced by large distribution sheds, some set well back from the water and almost hidden by trees and bushes growing unfettered along the water’s edge.
There are houses and a few shops at Brimsdown on the other side of the railway line in what is perhaps part of Enfield Wash, which then included this hairdressers. The Sun’s March 1994 topless ‘Page 3 girl‘ in the calendar (also part reflected in the mirror at right) confirms the date of the picture.
Columbia Wharf, Ponders End, Enfield, 1994, 94-03-2-24
In a previous article I posted a panoramic view of Columbia Wharf looking down from the Lee Valley Road. Here from a little further East on that road with the navigation in the foreground you see the wharf and background the Ponders End Flour Mills, the gas holder and four tower blocks in Ponders End.
Much redevelopment has gone on in Ponders End and only one to those towers remains and there is no gas holder. But the shed at the wharf is still there and in use although Abbey Stainless Components Ltd are no longer there, nor is that large crane and the van boasting ‘NORTH LONDON’S CARRIER PIGEONS IN TRANSIT has long flown the coop.
Ponders End, Enfield, 1994, 94-05-1-53
A more pastoral panorama of Ponders End with Wright’s Flour Mills and the four towers in the background.
Lady Jayne remains a well known brand in the Ladies hair trade. I think this shop was probably in the High Street, much of which has now been redeveloped.
Tyre & Exhaust Centre, Ponders End, Enfield
Tyre Services Tyre & Exhaust Centre at 151 High Street on the corner with Stonehorse Road, a short ‘No Through Road’ off the High Street. This building was still there in 2022 but had became HiQ and then National Tyres and Autocare – a Halfords company and was by then permanently closed. I expect its days were numbered. Much of the area of the High Street around it was redeveloped around ten years ago.
More colour pictures from 1994 to follow in later posts.
