Parish Hall | >Re-PHOTO

Bedford Park – 1989: This is the third post on my walk which began at Kew Bridge Station on 10th of December 1989. The previous post was Turnham Green – 1989.

House, Priory Gardens, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, Hounslow, 1989, 89-12a-12 — *House, Priory Gardens, Bedford Park,989, 89-12a-12*

Conveniently a large plaque on the house tells me this is Prioy Gardens and gives the date of its construction, 1880. The London Borough of Hounslow street sign confirms the street name and tells me it is in Chiswick, true, but more specifically it is in Bedford Park. Yet a third street name can be seen on the wall of the house in case anyone was still in doubt.

This Grade II listed house at 1 Priory Gardens is a part of the Bedford Park Estate, “a pioneering commercial development of some 350 houses and a few public buildings built between 1875 and 1886 by inexperienced developer Jonathan Carr.”

The estate was planned “to create a community of like-minded middle class aesthetes who were defined by modest financial resources and significant artistic aspirations” and was generally regarded soon after as ‘The First Garden Suburb’ and had a great influence on later suburban housing.

The whole estate reflects the Queen Anne Revival style of the period which the listing calls ‘Picturesque‘ and is also known as Domestic Revival. Most of the houses and public buildings on the estate built before 1880 were designed by Richard Norman Shaw, the leading architect of this style, but this was one of the earliest by his protégé E J May who had taken over as Estate Architect. A planning application to demolish the house and develop the site was turned down in 1973 and it is now the headquarters of the Victorian Society.

*Flanders Rd, Bath Rd, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, Hounslow, 1989, 89-12a-14*

The Tabard Inn at the right of this row also dates from 1880 and is Grade II* listed, one of the public buildings in the area designed by Richard Norman Shaw. This building was was “a pioneering ‘improved’ pub and represented a rejection of the Gin Palace in favour of a more traditionally inspired and respectable inn” and retains much of its original interior features. The exterior of this group of properties was inspired by the well-known Staples Inn on High Holborn – which some may remember featured on tins of Old Holborn hand rolling tobacco.

To the left of the pub is the managers house, and closer to my camera at left are the Bedford Park Stores. Wikipedia has a long and interesting entry on this group of buildings. The stores later became a showroom for coachbuilder H. J. Mulliner & Co.

The buildings of Bedford Park which had become run-down and many in multi-occupation by the middle of last century were saved from ruin by an influential campaign by the Bedford Park Society and all of Carr’s buildings were listed in 1967. Ealing and Hounslow Councils created conservation areas covering the estate in 1970.

*Houses, Rupert Rd, Priory Avenue, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, Hounslow, 1989, 89-12a-16*

This is I think 15 Priory Avenue, one of 4 houses at the crossroads with Rupert Road, where I could have faced in any direction and photographed a listed house, or walked down either of the roads lined with them. I think this was the most distinctive corner, but it was a rather overwhelming ensemble.

*Wendy Wisbey Agency, Bath Rd, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, 1989, 89-12b-63*

Back on the Bath Road the Wendy Wisbey theatrical agency, address 2 Rupert Road, occupied what had previously been The Phildene Stage School. In 2010 it became part of Orchard House School, now part of Dukes Education.

This was another building designed by Richard Norman Shaw. Unfortunately because of the mass nature of the listing of buildings in this area the listing text is almost devoid of any information.

*Wendy Wisbey Agency, Bath Rd, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, 1989, 89-12b-64*

Another picture of this agency which was also a dance school which shows the fine window at the east of the Bath Road frontage.

*Houses, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, 1989, 89-12b-51*

Another picture from Bedford Park showing some rather less grand houses. I can no longer recall the exact location – perhaps someone wlll be able to recognise it.

St Michael & All Angels', Parish Hall, Woodstock Rd, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, ,1989, 89-12b-44 — *St Michael & All Angels’ Parish Hall, Woodstock Rd, Bedford Park, Turnham Green, ,1989, 89-12b-44*

The Parish Hall adjoins the church and is listed together with it. The church by Richard Norman Shaw was built in 1880 as a central element in the new Bedford Park Estate, but the parish hall was a later addition in 1887. The front of the church and the hall face The Avenue but there is a small grassed area in front and the street sign in the photograph is for Woodstock Rd.

The central pillar seems remarkably stout and the decorative ironwork includes two angels above each door.

I left the church and walked down past Turnham Green Station to Chiswick High Road to continue my walk. More later.

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Ruskin & Half Moon, Herne Hill is another in the series of posts on my walk in Kennington and Brixton on Sunday 6th May 1989. The walk began with Hanover, Belgrave, Chapel, Shops, Taxis. The previous post was A Couple, Shops, Shakespeare and a Green Man.

Parish Hall, St Saviour's Church, Ruskin Park, Herne Hill, Lambeth 1989 89-5e-51 — *Parish Hall, St Saviour’s Church, Ruskin Park, Herne Hill, Lambeth 1989 89-5e-51*

I walked back towards Loughborough Junction station and then turned right down Herne Hill Road, but nothing caught my attention until I came to St Saviour’s Parish Hall on the corner of Finsen Rd. This was erected next door to the church in 1914 and is Grade II listed, its architect Beresford Pite. The hall is now in use as St Saviour’s Church.

St Saviour’s Church was an impressive Victorian building designed by A.D. Gough and consecrated in 1867. It was a short distance to the north on Herne Hill Road in what are now the grounds of St Saviours Church of England Primary School. It was made redundant in 1980 and demolished in 1982 as it was in danger of falling down.

Ruskin Park, named after the named after the noted Victorian writer and naturalist John Ruskin who grew up in the area is just on the other side of Finsen Road, and although I took no photographs here I think I may have found a seat in it to eat my sandwiches before continuing.

Houses, Milkwood Rd, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-42 — *Houses, Milkwood Road, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-42*

I walked back up Herne Hill Road, taking a picture of one of the houses with distinctive porches in the terrace on the west side at 17-35 (not online) and then walking down Wingmore Road to the junction with Hinton Road and Milkwood Road and turning south to go along Milkwood Road towards the centre of Herne Hill.

Milkwood Manor covered a large area including Denmark Hill. The development around Herne Hill began in earnest after the railway station was opened in 1862, and more importantly later in the decade when services began to the City and Kings Cross. In 1868 the Suburban Village and General Dwellings Company took out a 99-year lease to develop twenty-four acres with houses that working men could afford, and cheap worken’s tickets made living in the suburbs possible. Most of those houses are now beyond the means of most working men.

Gubyon Avenue, Fawnbrake Avenue, Kestrel Avenue were all first developed at around the same time, I think largely from the 1880s with development continuing until a little after the end of the century. Much of the land was owned by a family called Gubbins, who perhaps thought Gubyon a more distinctive version of their name. 13 Gubyon Avenue is thought by the Sherlock Holmes Society to have been the location of Major Sholto’s residence, visited by Holmes and Watson accompanying Miss Mary Morstan in The Sign of Four, written in 1889.

The houses in my picture are probably older, in a similar but slightly less grand style and are closer to the centre of Herne Hill at 352 to 373 Milkwood Road. It’s perhaps surprising they lie just outside the Herne Hill Conservation Area.

*Wandles, Car Sales, Flats, Milkwood Rd, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-4489-5e-44*

Just a few yards from the end of Milkwood Road, these flats which have a frontage on Herne Hill are now hard to see from Milkwood Road, hidden by a two-storey block of Sainsbury’s Local and other buildings where the car sales once were.

What I have called flats its actually the rear of the 1906 LCC Fire Station at 130 Herne Hill, its rear with this rather odd gabled tower considerably more interesting than its rather plain Queen Anne frontage.

Half Moon, pub, Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill, Southwark, 1989 89-5e-45 — *Half Moon, pub, Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-45*

Herne Hill is split in two by the boundary between the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth which runs along the centre of Herne Hill and Norwood Road – all the buildings in this picture are in Southwark borough.

There had been a pub here since 1760, although the current grade II* listed building dates from 1896. It was once one of London’s more famous music venues in London for around 50 years hosting among others U2, Van Morrison, Van Morrison, Dr. Feelgood and David Bowie. Even Frank Sinatra gave an impromptu performance here when he came to visit his former chauffeur on his first night as landlord in 1970.

Closed for around 4 years in 2013 after flooding from a burst water main it has been restored and reopened but no longer features live music. The Dulwich Estate which owns it had wanted to convert the pub to flats, but was prevented when it was listed as an Asset of Community Value by the council and the pub was bought by Fullers.

*Shops, Half Moon, pub, Herne Hill, Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-46*

Another view of the Half Moon pub, this time from a few yards up Herne Hill, with shops along the east side of that road. The Half Moon is one of a number of pubs which Dylan Thomas frequented on his visits to London, coming to watch London Welsh play Rugby at the nearby Velodrome. No alcohol was available there and after games the members retired to the Half Moon.

He is said to have found the name for his radio drama Under Milk Wood standing in in the doorway of the Half Moon looking across to Milkwood Road. I can find no evidence for the claims on web sites that he once lived in the road, but I don’t have a detailed biography.

*Herne Hill Mansions, Flats, Herne Hill, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-32*

I continued walking up Herne Hill (confusingly the name of a road as well as the area) and immediately past the Mobil garage – now replaced by Tesco Express – came to this large block of flats.

*Houses, Herne Hill, Gubyon Ave, Herne Hill, Lambeth, 1989 89-5e-33*

Continuing uphill up Herne Hill were an number of large late Victorian or Edwardian detached houses. This one on the corner of Gubyon Avenue was perhaps just a little larger and certainly had two sides clearly visible. As you can see there are other large houses further up the hill.

My walk will continue in later posts.