# My London



## stevekeiretsu

In this thread I will post photos I've taken in London, where I've lived since 2005.

Occasionally I (re)visit tourist hotspots but most photos in here will be from lesser known suburbs; having "seen the sights" on childhood visits here, I've not been very interested in photographing them since I moved here. I'll try and show typical streets and areas where people live, work, shop and relax, although I particularly tend to focus on various things including the tube, trains, and mass transport; parks, woodlands, etc and wildlife; rivers and canals, boats and bridges; churches, temples, mosques etc; and historically or visually interesting buildings of any kind. And, given the forum we're on, skyscrapers and construction/development, obviously.

Hat tip to SE9's marvellous thread London: A World Capital for inspiration - I will loosely copy his pattern of posting a handful of shots per 'location', with snippets of wikipedia info for context, but with a rather slower pace, and lower quality threshold, and the addition of personal ramblings.

Alphabetical index of areas covered so far:



Code:


Battersea  - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=113346032#post113346032"]page 4[/URL], 5, 6
    [COLOR=SeaGreen]Battersea Park[/COLOR]   - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=114184157#post114184157"]page 7[/URL]
    Battersea Power Station  - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=114320660#post114320660"]page 8[/URL]
Berrylands - - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=135697623#post135697623]page 24[/url]
[COLOR=DarkRed]Blackfriars[/color]  - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=135591289#post135591289]page 24[/url]
Canbury (North Kingston) - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=130704403#post130704403"]page 18[/URL]
[COLOR=DarkRed]Clapham Junction[/COLOR] - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=113331932#post113331932"]page 4[/URL]
Coombe - - - - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=136097372#post136097372]page 26[/url]
Ham & Petersham  - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=144469598#post144469598]page 28[/url], 29
Kingston - - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=128788265#post128788265"]page 15[/URL], 16, 17
New Malden - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=133059452#post133059452"]page 19[/URL]
Norbiton - - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=132950074#post132950074"]page 18[/URL], 19
Putney - - - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=110627815#post110627815"]page 1[/URL], 2
Putney Vale  - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=127418166#post127418166"]page 13[/URL]
Raynes Park  - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=146922391#post146922391]page 31[/url]
Richmond - - - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=141919402#post141919402]page 26[/url], 27, 28
    [COLOR=SeaGreen]Richmond Park[/COLOR]  - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=144517499#post144517499"]page 29[/URL], 30
[color=blue]River Hogsmill[/color] - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=135697289#post135697289]page 24[/url]
Roehampton - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=127446928#post127446928"]page 14[/URL]
South Bank - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=135396974#post135396974"]page 22[/URL], 23
Southfields  - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=115857599#post115857599"]page 9[/URL]
Spitalfields - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=146950885#post146950885]page 31[/url], 32
Surbiton - - - - - - - - - - - - [url=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=135927826#post135927826]page 25[/url], 26
Wandsworth Town  - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=111043676#post111043676"]page 2[/URL], 3
[COLOR=DarkRed]Waterloo[/COLOR] - - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=133365533#post133365533"]page 20[/URL], 21
Wimbledon
    [COLOR=SeaGreen]Wimbledon Common[/COLOR] - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=126063030#post126063030"]page 13[/URL]
    Wimbledon Park - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=125491025#post125491025"]page 11[/URL]  
    Tennis Championships - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=115964428#post115964428"]page 10[/URL], 11
    Town - - - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=125568677#post125568677"]page 11[/URL], 12
    Village  - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=125674540#post125674540"]page 12[/URL]
    Windmill - - - - - - - - - - [URL="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=126220390#post126220390"]page 13[/URL]


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*PUTNEY*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH • SW15 • ZONE 2/3
• 5.1 MILES (8.2 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• PUTNEY ON WIKIPEDIA

Where better to start than at home, which in my case is Putney.











City and Canary Wharf from East Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Putney, from Wikipedia, "is a district in south-west London, UK, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth." It is situated on south bank of the Thames, opposite Fulham.

On the borders of TfL zone 2/3, Putney is a fairly affluent suburb. In a nutshell, I would guess it is mostly percieved by Londoners as "pleasant but quiet" (arguably boring), and having lived and worked here for years I couldn't really disagree. It's not somewhere with cutting-edge nightlife, modern architecture or exciting attractions - you're rather unlikely to visit as a tourist. 

However, it does nonetheless have some nice buildings, streetscapes, parks and associated historical trivia/claims to fame.

So let's have a look around...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

As mentioned above, Putney sits on the Thames, and two bridges cross to Fulham here.


Rippled clouds over Putney Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

On the left, Putney Bridge (road), on the right, Fulham Railway Bridge.

Putney Bridge was the second bridge to be built across the Thames in London (after London Bridge), finished in 1729. Various theories abound as to its construction being due to royal or notables being inconvenienced by the ferry when returning from Kingston or hunting in Richmond Park.

Damaged by the collision of a river barge in 1870, the bridge was replaced with the current structure designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette as a five-span structure, built of stone and Cornish granite (Bazalgette also designed London's sewerage system, and the bridge forms part of this system). It opened in 1886.


Putney Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Bridge with Osiers Road u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Pedestrian on Putney Bridge #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fulham Railway Bridge opened in 1889 and carries the Underground's District Line (Wimbledon Branch) between Putney Bridge station (actually in Fulham) and East Putney station.

It also has a footpath, thus being the only bridge in London shared between tube trains and pedestrians.


Langham Sq u/c from Fulham Railway Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Next to Putney Bridge is Putney Pier.

Mostly private/pleasure boats are moored here, though commuter riverboat services run from here to the City during the week.



Late evening Putney Pier by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

It looks nice at sunset.


Sunset from Putney Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The dominant use of the Thames at Putney Embankment, though, is rowing. More than twenty rowing clubs are based here, and the famous (Oxford vs Cambridge) University Boat Race has started from just upstream of Putney Bridge since 1845.

Not shown here: _the_ Boat Race. I have watched that from the riverbank, but they flash past in seconds; as someone with no great skills in sports/action photography, it's more suitable as a drinking occasion than a photographic one.

I have no idea what occasion or event this was.


Rowing en masse, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rowing en masse, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rowing en masse, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rowing en masse, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rowing en masse, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

From Putney Embankment you can see Wembley Stadium's arch.


Birds on the Thames at Putney Embankment by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset Wembley arch from the Thames at Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Beyond the Embankment, the Thames banks are unbuilt and wooded to Hammersmith Bridge, and popular with joggers and cyclists.


Jogging by the Thames by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Jogging by the Thames by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney Bridge is allegedly the only bridge in Britain with a church at both ends.

Seen on the left in the photo below, All Saints Church, Fulham sits on the north side. To the right, St Mary's, Putney.

In 1647, St Mary's was the site of the Putney Debates during the English Civil War, discussing the future constitution of England.


Putney High Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Here are some other churches from around Putney.


Putney Baptist Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Methodist Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Polish RC church, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


All Saints Church, Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


st. margarets church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Some typical residential streets in East Putney, showing the mix of prewar houses with newer blocks of flats.

My current flat is actually visible somewhere in this lot 


Disraeli Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rayner's Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Mercier Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Rose Garden, Heath Ride - before by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Snowy Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Snowy Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Snowy Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Lytton Grove by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney High Street isn't great, to be honest. The shops are the usual range of chain stores, and it's always clogged with traffic.

Change is afoot, though. The main shopping centre is getting rebuilt and extended, and the council is planting trees, changing the road layout and so on to try and improve things. I hope it works.

Putney Exchange as it was:


Putney Exchange - before development by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Knock it all down:


Putney Exchange demo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Putney Exchange demo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Build it back up:


Putney Exchange redevelopment by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Exchange redevelopment by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Putney Exchange by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney High Street is the main road running North-South, and it meets Upper Richmond Road running East-West in a crossroads with Putney Hill.

The Upper Richmond Road isn't a contender to win anyone's "Favourite Street" award, either, being lined with architecturally unlovely office blocks in the 60s. Again though, change is underway, more dramatically, as most of these blocks are being knocked down and replaced with office/resi midrises. Although not architecturally mindblowing, they are generally better than their predecessors, and taller, so the feeling of this street will change a lot in the next few years. I have a thread about it in the London forums if anyone's really interested.


Looking toward Brentford over roofs of Upper Richmond road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Upper Richmond Road looking east - "before" by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


113 Upper Richmond Road "before" by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


113 URR - scaffolding up by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Plaza - before by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Langham Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


113 Upper Richmond Road demo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Demolition complete by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tower crane removal from Langham Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tower crane removal from Langham Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tower crane removal from Langham Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

I used to work in one of these office blocks, and enjoyed a pretty awesome view towards central london. I could see the City, Shard and Canary Wharf, London Eye, Houses of Parliament (with a zoom lens, at least), Battersea Power Station, Wembley Stadium...


london panorama by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


london panorama (city) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Crane recovery at St George Tower (distant) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Looking North-West-ish to Wembley by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London skyline on a cold Febuary night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

One of the new midrise apartment blocks on Upper Richmond Road rising above a nice example of one of Putney's older residential streets


Langham Square u/c from Wadham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Langham Square u/c from Wadham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Langham Square from Wadham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney Hill slopes gently from the end of Putney High Street up to Putney Heath.


Cranes over suburbia by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Snowy Putney Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bus on snow-dusted Putney Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

From the residential streets off Putney Hill, if you know the right spot, you can catch a glimpse of the Shard.


Sunrise and Shard from Rusholme Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice photos from London @stevekeiretsu :cheers:


----------



## Mr Bricks

Nice pictures! Seems like a great place to live.


----------



## SE9

Great thread! I must take more time to explore south west London. :cheers:


----------



## sky-eye

Very nice pictures!


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney is served by both the Underground (District Line) and national rail services to/from Waterloo: these services, it should be said, are not _usually_ steam trains.


Steam train / tube train by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

In 2012 Putney station was the 32nd busiest in the uk with 10.8m passengers, more than Newcastle, York, Sheffield or Nottingham.

The station is currently being enlarged, with the addition of lifts to platforms.

Putney is between Barnes and Wandsworth Town stations. Services to Waterloo take 15-20 minutes via Clapham Junction & Vauxhall.


Snowy Putney Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Mystery ramp at Putney station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Station - the lines west by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Station rebuilding by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney station redevelopment by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Plaza - before by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Railway through west Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Railway through west Putney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

After crossing the Thames, the District line cuts through East Putney on an embankment with a series of bridges, arriving at East Putney station on Upper Richmond Road.


Deodar Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Bridge Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Bridge Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Upper Richmond Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Golden hour #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Langham Square above East Putney tube by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

From the platforms of East Putney station, you can just make out the Leadenhall building and the Gherkin.


Putney Plaza - before by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Leadenhall building from East Putney tube platform by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

South of the station, the line enters a short tunnel under West Hill on its way towards Southfields.


District Line at dusk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

West Hill forks from the Upper Richmond Road between Putney and Wandsworth.


Sunrise over West Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The most imposing building on West Hill is the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.


Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Towards the top of the hill, the road broadens to 4 lanes, becoming the main A-road to Portsmouth.


SLOWSLOWSLOW by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


West Hill Subway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


A3 at Tibbet's Corner by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

At the top of West Hill and Putney Hill lies Putney Heath.

Putney Heath has a somewhat violent history, being a popular site for duels, and a gathering place for highwaymen, one of whom was executed then publically displayed here.

Nowadays it is probably the most expensive part of Putney, and is like a pocket of rural England inside London. There probably aren't many places in London where the road signs warn of deer, but this one of them.


Putney Heath by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Deer road sign by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Telegraph by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


cricket by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

From the edge of Putney Heath, Putney Park Lane is a muddy avenue popular with dog walkers running downhill to the Upper Richmond Road.


Putney Park Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

A little further north lies Putney Lower Common.


All Saints Church on Putney Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cyclist on Putney Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Lower Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Late evening sunshine on Putney Lower Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Next to Putney Common is the abandoned Putney Hospital.


Putney Hospital by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Hospital by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Hospital (derelict) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Hospital (derelict) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Hospital (derelict) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

From here we head along Lower Richmond Road, past some more typical suburban side streets.


Wymond Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old-school AA Mini by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bemish Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Lower Richmond Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Where Lower Richmond Road meets the High Street and Putney Bridge, St Mary's Church is overshadowed by the riverside midrise Putney Wharf. Chelsea footballer David Luiz has a penthouse flat here. (Stamford Bridge is only about a mile away. My ex-flatmate claims to have also seen Mourinho driving down Putney High Street and Oscar buying Christmas presents in Putney's branch of Boots, but I've never seen anyone personally...)


St Mary's / Putney Wharf by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Bridge from Bishop's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Wharf by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Just downstream of Putney Wharf is the Grade II listed Wandsworth Park, with an avenue of trees along the Thames bank.


Osiers Road u/c from Fulham Railway Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Snowy Wandsworth Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Snowy Wandsworth Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Snowy Wandsworth Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Osiers Road u/c from Wandsworth Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney lies under the Heathrow flight path - planes coming into land fly overhead every minute or two. You get used to the noise...


Plane over Carlton House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Putney Plaza demo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset from Bishop's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Putney has a few interesting pubs.

H.G. Wells wrote part of _The War of the Worlds_ in the Green Man.


End (or start) of the line by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Half Moon hosts live music, and in the past The Rolling Stones, The Who and U2 have played here, before they got huge.

None of the bands I've seen here have gone onto similarly huge things, but who knows, they may yet....


The Half Moon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr










The Bricklayers Arms is the place to go if you're serious about beer. It regularly wins CAMRA 'pub of the year' awards.


Bricklayers Arms by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Railway is, er, a Wetherspoons. But the sky looks cool in this photo.


Dramatic skies over the Railway pub by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

In 2012, the Olympic Cycle Road Race came down Putney High Street and along the Upper Richmond Road.

Putney has one of the highest number of Australians and New Zealanders in London, and they were in evidence here.


Crowds at the bottom of Putney Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Crowds at the bottom of Putney Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Aussie supporters by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cycle road race on Upper Richmond Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cycle road race on Upper Richmond Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Pryde Hart

A1 photo thread. Well done.


----------



## belray_o

I like your London. Thanks for sharing your amazing photographs. Greetings from Perú


----------



## madonnagirl

neat.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*WANDSWORTH*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH • SW18 • ZONE 2
• 4.6 MILES (8.2 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• WANDSWORTH ON WIKIPEDIA










Putney is in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and just east of Putney is the eponymous *Wandsworth Town*.

Between Putney and Wandsworth, the A3 (West Hill) and the South Circular inner ringroad (Upper Richmond Road) merge, creating heavy traffic through Wandsworth town (with unfortunate effects). 


Rainbow over West Hill #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rainbow over West Hill #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Despite the traffic, this red brick Catholic church is nice.


Wet West Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Thomas a Becket Church, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Thomas a Becket Church, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Thomas a Becket Church, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Continuing along West Hill, we pass Wandsworth Museum and Wandsworth Police Station...


Wandsworth Museum by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Police Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

and reach Wandsworth High Street.


West Hill / Wandsworth High Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth High Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c behind Wandsworth High Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


All Saints Church, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

On both sides of Wandsworth High Street where it crosses the River Wandle lie two of Wandsworth's key sites.

To the south, the Southside shopping centre with the 25 story blue-and-white Sudbury House, and a chain of other 60s(?) residential mid-rises, that dominate the Wandsworth skyline.

The shopping centre is currently undergoing expansion/redevelopment.


Sunset Wandsworth Southside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Southside phase 3 - demo begins by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Amazing light in Wandsworth town by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Amazing light on the Spread Eagle, Wandsworth #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Amazing light on the Spread Eagle, Wandsworth #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


King George's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Edwyn House catches the late winter sun by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset Wandsworth skyline by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset Wandsworth skyline by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

To the north, the Ram Brewery.

Previously the headquarters of local brewers Young's, until its closure in 2006 the Ram Brewery was claimed to be Britain's oldest brewing site in continuous operation, with a history dating back to the 1550s.

The site is due to undergo regeneration, with the core of the historic brewery turned into a microbrewery/brewing museum, and the rest of the site redeveloped to give access to the riverbanks, retail and dining, and residential, including a 115m tower.


Ram Brewery site, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset Ram Brewery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery site - panorama by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Street ('before') #4 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth from Armoury Way by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The Ram Brewery has lots of nice architectural features.


Ram Brewery Chimney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery weathervane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery detail by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery clock tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Although the Ram Brewery site is being converted from industrial to mixed-use, and other industrial sites have already transitioned that way, Wandsworth retains some large industrial areas, particularly around Armoury Way and the River Thames.


Industrial Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old delivery van by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Osiers Road from Armoury Way by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old York Road / Armoury Way junction by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Armoury Way by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Recycling Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Recycling Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Recycling Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Recycling Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

But at the end of the industrial Armoury Way, at the junction with Fairfield Street...


Zodiac by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

...lies one of Wandsworth's nicest streets, Old York Road, with many independent shops, cafes and bars.


Old York Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old York Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old York Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old York Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old York Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Alma by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## JoseRodolfo

Great picture collection


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Old York Road is also home to Wandsworth Town's only station, unsurprisingly called Wandsworth Town. (Wandsworth doesn't have a tube station.) It's in zone 2; trains run to Waterloo, taking about fifteen minutes.


Wandsworth Town station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Town station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Masumin's Kiosk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

At the end of Old York Road is a large roundabout, where Wandsworth Bridge meets the six-lane Trinity Road. The roundabout contains an atom-like structure for displaying advertising, and is surrounded by an ever-growing rash of mid-rise riverside residential blocks.


Trinity Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Construction at Battersea Reach by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Atom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Atom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Atom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Atom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Atom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Wandsworth Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in London for traffic, with >50,000 vehicles daily, but also one of the least photogenic.


Wandsworth Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Construction at the north end of Wandsworth Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Aerial Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Like Putney, Wandsworth has extensive areas of traditional terraced housing.


East Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dempster Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Distinctive detailing on the houses of Fullerton Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Barchard Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Suburban Wandsworth reflected in a very nice car by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Wandsworth Register Office is a rather fine edifice


Wandsworth Register Office by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Register Office - detail by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Smaller but still fine, this 1888 building hosted the Wandsworth District Board of Works.


Book House 1888 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And perhaps the finest building in town, St Anne's church, from 1824, designed by Robert Smirke, the architect most famous for the British Museum.


St Anne with St Faith, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Anne with St Faith, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Wandsworth has fewer parks than Putney, but still has some nice green spaces. Here's King George's Park, where the lake at the north end hosts many birds.


The Filaments u/c from King George's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fountain in King George's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c from King George's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Red autumn leaves in King George's Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The park is bordered to the east by the River Wandle.


River Wandle by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


River Wandle by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


River Wandle by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The River Wandle gives Wandsworth its name. Unfortunately, the river in the town is mostly innaccessible or dark and unwelcoming as it flows under or through industrial districts. 

In the 18th century this Thames tributary was one of the most industrialised rivers in the world, and one of the most polluted, although water quality and fish stocks have improved in recent years.


River Wandle from Armoury Way by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ram Brewery site by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dark River Wandle by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The other large local park is Wandsworth Common. You can see the Shard from the north end.


Shard from Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Further south there are various ponds with lots of ducks and other birds.


Pond at Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Duck at Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Male Tufted Duck at Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Pond at Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset over Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset over Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset over Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset bus by Wandsworth Common by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

East Hill by night


Bus stop, East Hill, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


East Hill, Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Wandsworth is seeing many new mid-rise residential blocks rising above the traditional streetscape.


Wandsworth Business Village u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth Business Village u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments & Wandsworth Business Village u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Schoolyard u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Schoolyard u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Osiers Road from Fawe Park Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Osiers Road from Tonsley Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Like Putney, Wandsworth is under the Heathrow approach, so planes fly overhead constantly.


Ram Brewery Chimney with dead birds  by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Plane over Wandsworth by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Filaments u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## GeneratorNL

Thank you for showing us all these non-tourist parts of Londen. Keep up the good work.


----------



## Pryde Hart

A brilliant photo thread.


----------



## MyGeorge

lovely thread.
I like showing us what's look like and going on outside of London.
they're interesting actually.


----------



## openlyJane

Battersea Power Station is quite something; and, of course, it was designed by the same architect as Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; and you can certainly see the same hand in both buildings.

It is quite amazing, to those of us who live in other cities, just how much money is spent on redevelopment & regeneration in London compared to elsewhere.....


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Let us abandon our north-westerly direction of travel, and return back to base, East Putney. At the end of page 1 we saw a district line tube train entering a tunnel, southbound... let's see where that comes out.


Northbound tube entering West Hill tunnel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Southbound tube emerging from West Hill tunnel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Here's the other end of the tunnel. Looking the way from the same bridge, the tube glides on an embankment past the suburban rooftops of...

New tube stock through Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

New tube stock through Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*SOUTHFIELDS*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH • SW18, SW19 • ZONE 3
• 5.6 MILES (9 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• SOUTHFIELDS ON WIKIPEDIA










For a thread with a "places the tourists don't go" spin to it, Southfields is almost exemplary. For 50 weeks of the year, the level of tourists is surely nil, owing to the complete lack of stunning parks, grand architecture, renowned museums, big scale shopping, etc.

If Putney was "nice was dull" then Southfields is that on another level. Now I should clarify here I'm not trying to hate on the place. It's green, it's safe, plenty of quality housing, various good schools... all in all a nice place to live, but that's the thing, it's overwhelmingly residential. 

Which doesn't always make for the most interesting photography... I found it challenging anyway. But there we go, that's the point of a "real London" thread / self-challenge: most of "real London" (by area) is fairly unremarkable housing.

So for all you fans of fairly unremarkable housing... (wow I'm really selling this thread here :lol: )

Tube through Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Here for example, the tube is glimpsed running between streets of extremely typical suburban postwar British housing.

Then over a bridge and shortly arriving at...

Granville Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Granville Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

...Southfields tube station (dating from 1889).

Southfields tube by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields tube station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Keep off the tracks by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Opposite the tube station is the commercial hub of Southfields, such as it is, where a few shops and restaurants cluster around the crossroads

Replingham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

World Tout by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

With tout (sunny) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

As you head down Replingham Road the shops fade away and turn into houses

Replingham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

South of Replingham Road lies 'The Grid', a residential district unimaginatively named for its grid-like pattern of streets, lined with Edwardian terraced houses.

Melrose Avenue by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields Grid by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields Grid by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields Grid by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Loft extension by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Other terraced houses of Southfields

Granville Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Wincanton Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Wimbledon Park Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Seen in the background of the first photo in the last post, St Michael's Church

St Michael's, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Other red-brick churches of Southfields

Everyday Church, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

St Paul's, Augustus Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

St Paul's, Augustus Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Holy Trinity church, on West Hill, is a more traditional looking stone

Holy Trinity church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Holy Trinity church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Holy Trinity Church clock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

It sits next to the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability, which I previously included in Wandsworth although on reflection it's arguably Southfields... I should note that my 'boundaries' are occasionally based on official borough/ward boundaries, and often use major roads, rivers etc, but are essentially psychogeographic.

Royal Hospital for Neurodisability by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

It's on the theme of religious buildings that we finally encounter a seriously notable Southfields building of London-wide historical significance. The Fazl Mosque, unaugurated in 1926, was the first purpose-built mosque in London.

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Fazl Mosque, Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Southfields doesn't have many public buildings, but here's the library, and a school.

Southfields Library by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

School by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The north-west corner of Southfields sits on a hill:

Augustus Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Although there are still some older detatched buildings:

Struan House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and terraced houses:

Row of houses by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

this area has a rather different feel, overall, to the Edwardian uniformity of The Grid.

There is much more post-war achitecture including lots of council housing, council estates and mid-rise blocks of flats.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Here is a flavour:

Willison estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Sutherland Grove estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Keevil Drive by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Squirrel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Benonie

kay: Nice and fancy houses over there. That old mosque doesn't look bad, though I miss a minaret or two.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

More Southfields midrises:

Beaumont Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields residential blocks by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields residential blocks by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Wimbledon Park Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Victoria Drive by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

and a third lot of miscellaneous residential architecture

Flats off Victoria Drive by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Murfett Close by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Residential Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Residential Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Community centre in Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Residential Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Southfields tower block by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Being on a hill, Southfields keeps offering hints of an impressive view of the central London skyline, but it's a frustrating experience- the full panorama never quite materialises. Or if it does, I haven't yet found the exact spot! There always seems to be foreground houses or trees, and/or the nearby 'skyline' of Wandsworth, partially in the way.

Then of course there's sometimes the smog... you can barely pick out the Shard and Canary Whard in this picture

Skeena Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Here are some views taken on a clearer day!

Canary Wharf from Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Skyscrapers from Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Skyline from Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

St Paul's from Southfields by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

openlyJane said:


> Battersea Power Station is quite something; and, of course, it was designed by the same architect as Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; and you can certainly see the same hand in both buildings.
> 
> It is quite amazing, to those of us who live in other cities, just how much money is spent on redevelopment & regeneration in London compared to elsewhere.....


I didn't know that. Nice cathedral 

Going to diplomatically avoid that second bit (can of worms) :lol:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Benonie said:


> kay: Nice and fancy houses over there. That old mosque doesn't look bad, though I miss a minaret or two.


Yeah most London mosques (that I can think of) are not very flashy. I don't think we have an Islamic architectural equivalent of the Hindu temple in Neasden, for example.

Neasden temple by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice new photos from London :cheers:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

stevekeiretsu said:


> until next year!


well, I said this meaning that I wouldn't be back to the tennis championships until next year, but somehow it ended up being that I didn't come back to this thread until next year...

didn't intend to take a year off this thread, but somehow I have, but what better time and place to pick it up, than right where I left off?

so, back in the AELTC once again, and looking at that view of central london... despite vast amounts of construction the skyline does not look very different. 
the tallest new building you SHOULD be able to see is One the Elephant, which happens to be behind a tree (that one tree which breaks the horizon).

in fact, the only major difference I can really notice compared to 2014, is that Battersea Power Station has lost a chimney. (don't worry, they're rebuilding it).

So I didn't take many pics of this compared to last year. 


London skyline from Aorangi Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London skyline from Aorangi Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

However I did discover that if you walk a tiny bit further, you see Canary Wharf


Canary Wharf from Aorangi Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Similarly, I won't post more general photos of the AELTC grounds because we did that a year ago and nothing much has changed, however this year I did get access to something new and exciting...

...Centre Court!


Centre Court by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centre Court by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centre Court by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Murray/Peers v Erlich/Petzschner by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centre Court scoreboard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centre Court umpire by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centre Court crowds by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Anyway that's enough tennis, I shall shortly be returning to this to 'normal service', i.e. endless boring suburban houses :lol: with a look around Wimbledon itself.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*WIMBLEDON*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON • SW16-SW20 • ZONE 3
• 6.9 MILES (11.1 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• WIMBLEDON ON WIKIPEDIA










Wimbledon, says Wikipedia, "is a suburban district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. The residential and retail area is split into two sections known as the 'village' and the 'town', with the High Street being the rebuilding of the original medieval village, and the 'town' having first developed gradually after the building of the railway station in 1838."

However I think Wimbledon splits into more than two sections. Wimbledon Park, where I lived in 2007ish, doesn't really fit into either the Village or the Town. You could also describe South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Chase and Copse Hill as distinct neighbourhoods. I've made maps for the former three but not the latter, for no particular reason I can explain.

Anyway. Enough rambling. Let's look at Wimbledon Park.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*WIMBLEDON PARK*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON • SW19 • ZONE 3
• 5.9 MILES (9.5 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• WIMBLEDON PARK ON WIKIPEDIA










In typical London style the name Wimbledon Park means three things - a park, a tube station named after it, and the surrounding suburb/area, named after either/both.

I'll start with a look at the park itself.

During the Championships it gets taken over as a car park / coach park...


Wimbledon Park during Championships fortnight by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park during Championships fortnight by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...and a campsite for people queueing overnight.


Wimbledon Park during Championships fortnight by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park during Championships fortnight by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park during Championships fortnight by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Outside of the crazy tennis fortnight, this space is just a normal park / field for running around


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

not particularly photogenic although the tubes running alongside give it a London touch


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

south of here, through this pretty trestle thingie...


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and we reach the amenities of the park - cafe, tennis courts, children's play area, etc


BT Tower from Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Future Federer by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Busy Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

To the west there's a lake with lots of birds


Wimbledon Park lake by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Egyptian Geese(?) at Wimbledon Park Lake by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Goose by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Goose by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Mallard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## hseugut

Nice parks, looks very green


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The tube runs past Wimbledon Park...


Tube approaching Wimbledon Park station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...to the station of the same name.

One curiosity of the Wimbledon branch of the District Line is that the track is not owned by London Underground, but by Network Rail. 

This despite the fact that tube services are the only trains that stop at these stations, and you can only catch a National Rail train running (non-stop) along this line something like once a week, at some ridiculous time like 1am (a Parliamentary train). However you do quite regularly see empty South West Trains units running through without stopping, on their way to the depot (of which we will see more very shortly), as seen on the left here:


Mainline train at Wimbledon Park tube station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Mainline train at Wimbledon Park tube station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Step out of the station onto Arthur Road and you can admire the delightfully pint-sized station building from 1889


Wimbledon Park tube station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Arthur Road is the commercial 'hub' of the Wimbledon Park area, although commercial hub is a rather grandiose exaggeration for what is just a short stretch of (rather pretty and colourful) local shops.


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

If you carry on going up Arthur Road, past the tube station, the shops fade out and some rather expensive, large, detatched houses begin


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Houses near Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

There are two reasons you might slog up this hill - to get to Wimbledon Village, or to look at the view, because there happens to be a spot on the hill facing in just the right direction to see the skyscrapers of central London

I discovered it way back when I lived there, although didn't photograph it until 2011 when I got a better camera.

Here's the Shard not yet finished:


London skyline from Wimbledon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Returning to the scene in 2013, to see the Leadenhall building and 20 Fenchurch Street under construction:


Skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and Canary Wharf


Skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and back once again in 2014:


London skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London skyline from Arthur Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## diddyD

A good thread^


----------



## stevekeiretsu

thanks!

at the bottom of the hill Arthur Road meets Durnsford Road coming down from Wandsworth, where there is a local mosque:


Wimbledon Mosque, Durnsford Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Mosque, Durnsford Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Mosque, Durnsford Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Just behind this mosque is St Luke's Church:


Saint Luke's, Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Luke's, Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Lots of 'typical' residential streets around here, much like the Southfields Grid


Dora Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Here's the street where I lived back in 2007.


Wellington Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

I didn't take many photos in those days, I have only two, a dawn shot from my front door and a panorama from our roof


Dawn, Wimbledon Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Park panorama by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

You can see the mosque and St Lukes on the left


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Just beyond Wimbledon Park the tube line sweeps round to meet the mainline railway between Waterloo and Southampton. Wedged between the two lines is an extensive train depot


BT Tower from Durnsford Road #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BT Tower from Durnsford Road #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth skyline from Durnsford Road #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandsworth skyline from Durnsford Road #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

there's also a flyover to separate the 'fast' and 'slow' trains for more capacity


Train lines by Wimbledon depot by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon flyover by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The other side of the tracks is a large expanse of warehouses, recycling plants, electricity substations and similar industrial uses...


City and Shard skyline from Durnsford Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Industrial stairs by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Electricity substation by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Industrial by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Recycling facility by the Wandle by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wandleside skipyard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

In this vicinity is Plough Lane, a land of retail parks...


Plough Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...and slightly more interestingly, the Greyhound stadium.


Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Wimbledon FC used to be based here, and the reborn AFC Wimbledon are trying to build a new stadium here so they can "come home".


----------



## stevekeiretsu

if you've been through this thread you'll know that where there's railways + warehouses, there's graffiti...

this wall was one of the best on my regular travels, with several of my favourite writers like cosa and soeta featuring:


COS, ONUE, VANZ, HUH, others by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


LERN / SOETA / DTM / SOIR2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SOETA, SOIR2, others by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


COS by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


ONUE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SOETA by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


VANZ et al by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


HUH! by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SOIR2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Recently it got buffed, SOIR2 was quick to reclaim his spot but it hasn't quite got back to its former level


ZEB / SOIR2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


? / PUKA by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Beyond that wall, other trackside graffiti from the Wimbledon depot area:


PIEZ by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


HOST / CUT! by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SOPE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


HOMIE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


JPT / ENAMO / RUNCH by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And then the trains and tubes pull into Wimbledon station itself, the hub of

*WIMBLEDON TOWN*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON • SW19 • ZONE 3
• 6.9 MILES (11.1 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• WIMBLEDON ON WIKIPEDIA










A look at the station...

The terminus of this branch of the District Line:


Wimbledon platform 2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Here on the opposite side of the station, across a bunch of National Rail platforms, behind the blue hoarding, they are building a second platform for the tram.


Wimbledon station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Yes, even many Londoners are oblivious, but we do have a tram system. Centred on Croydon, Wimbledon is the northern/western terminus, and the only place to interchange between tram and tube.


Tram at Wimbledon station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

From here it runs past a couple of small halts -


Tram at Dundonald Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tram under Morden Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and out of the range of our current look around Wimbledon, on its way towards Mitcham.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Emerging from the station -- here shown in tennis fortnight mode (last year) --


Wimbledon Station decked out for the Championships by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Station decked out for the Championships by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

we find ourselves in the town centre, by the dome of the cheesily named Centre Court shopping centre


Wimbledon town centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centrecourt shopping centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Centrecourt shopping centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The Broadway (the main road) is lined with midrise office/commercial buildings which, shall we say, few people are probably terribly fond of

The Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Derelict Jobcentre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Alexandra Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon offices by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Office by night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Stairs by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon office building by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Although the 'Town' area is not without its older and/or nicer buildings, too:


Architecture in Wimbledon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tower with dome by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BANK BUILDINGS by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Corner tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bright Wimbledon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Winefride's by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Round window by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Victorian something in Wimbledon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Victorian something in Wimbledon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And various old signs or other cute details -


Brandies, Liqeurs, Wines by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


WIMBLEDON PVBLIC BATHS by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Elephant on Wimbledon Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dining Rooms by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BARCLAYS BANK LIMITED (ghost sign) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BARCLAYS BANK LIMITED (zoom) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Reflections by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Beulah Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ghost sign on Wimbledon Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cyclist by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The guy above is a local legend, he cycles around the local area and well beyond, with this crazy decorated costume/bike, for no reason other than to make people happy.

Here's an interview with him, you can find youtubes etc as well


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Wimbledon has two theatres, both on the Broadway, the New Wimbledon Theatre, and the children's Polka Theatre


Wimbledon Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


New Wimbledon Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wimbledon Broadway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Polka Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Polka Theatre clock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Mr Cladding

Fantastic photos Steve , you've inspired me to a similar thing for my neck of the woods. 

Did you make those maps yourself ?


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice updates from London :cheers:


----------



## sky-eye

Roehampton is very interesting and diverse. Nice pictures!


----------



## Hardcore Terrorist

Great thread, I love it when there's something informative to read to accompany the pictures! This makes the contrast between the charming village side and the ugly apartments even more interesting. Must admit I like the one with the chimney though...


----------



## openlyJane

The good thing about city centre university campuses is that you can explore them at leisure... 

Interesting thread.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Mr Cladding said:


> Fantastic photos Steve , you've inspired me to a similar thing for my neck of the woods.


where is your neck of the woods, Harrow / Hillingdon way right?

My knowledge of NW is zero so that'd be cool.



> Did you make those maps yourself ?


yes... if I'm absolutely honest I think I'm taking photos and posting in this thread as an excuse to make the maps, rather than making the maps to support the thread :lol:

always been a bit obsessed with cartography...



christos-greece said:


> Great, very nice updates from London :cheers:





sky-eye said:


> Roehampton is very interesting and diverse. Nice pictures!





openlyJane said:


> The good thing about city centre university campuses is that you can explore them at leisure...
> 
> Interesting thread.


thanks guys!



Hardcore Terrorist said:


> Great thread, I love it when there's something informative to read to accompany the pictures! This makes the contrast between the charming village side and the ugly apartments even more interesting. Must admit I like the one with the chimney though...


I sometimes don't write as much as I could, cos I figure nobody is really reading it anyway, so that's nice to hear.

Next installment will probably be Kingston, where I expect to write more than usual, because there's quite a lot of history and I also have stronger than usual opinions about the cityscape around here...

Yeah the chimney is awesome :lol: I actually rather like the architecture of Alton West a lot, I can understand why many find the style ugly though.


----------



## Hardcore Terrorist

Well, I like to read about what I'm looking at

Maybe ugly's not the right word, it's that there are always so many of them (blocks of flats).


----------



## Mr Cladding

stevekeiretsu said:


> where is your neck of the woods, Harrow / Hillingdon way right?
> 
> My knowledge of NW is zero so that'd be cool.


My neck of the woods is South Hillingdon , West Drayton if you're interested in specifics. There's lots in my area to photograph , plus there's the villages of; Longford , Harmondsworth and Sipson to photograph before they're possibly wiped of the map to make way for an expanded Heathrow Airport.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*KINGSTON*
• ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES • KT1 • ZONE 6
• 10 MILES (16.1 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• KINGSTON ON WIKIPEDIA











Welcome to Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

I had intended this thread to move inwards toward central London, but rising rents pushed me to move house in the opposite direction at the start of this year, out to zone 6. And so to *Kingston*, otherwise known as *Kingston upon Thames* if you're not into the whole brevity thing, or need to distinguish from Kingston upon Hull, or Kingston, Jamaica...

Now, to clarify one thing before we go any further: Kingston *is* in London. This is still a London thread. Not a 'places near London' thread.

I emphasise this for three reasons. 

Firstly, you often encounter people who will tell you that it is not in London, or (even more often) that "ok, it technically is, but it's not _'really'_ London". This isn't a matter of outsider's ignorance: you hear this from Londoners, even people from Kingston. _Especially_ from people from Kingston, perhaps! We'll get into this as we go along...

Secondly, because my map makes it look like it is not connected to the rest of London. That's just because we haven't visited the places in between yet, in reality the cityscape continues all the way. We'll get there and fill those in, eventually.

Thirdly, most of my commentary will talk about it like a (significant) town in its own right. For the fairly simple reason that for most of history, it has been.

See, history, there's the thing. Kingston has quite a bit of it. So let's start at the beginning...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*Royal Kingston*

If anyone was paying exceedingly close attention to my small print "info panel" intro, they might have noticed that instead of "London Borough of Kingston upon Thames", I wrote "Royal Borough of..."

Three of London's 32 boroughs are Royal. Greenwich was awarded the status in 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Kensington had it granted by Edward VII in 1901 in memory of Queen Victoria.

Kingston's claim is a bit different. It predates the current royal family; it predates the British monarchy; believe it or not, it predates even the concept of a King of England...


Coronation Stone by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Coronation Stone by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

That's the Coronation Stone, (allegedly) the stone where 7 Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned. Or possibly only 2 of 3. Nobody seems quite sure. If you believe all seven, they were: 

Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, 900AD
Athelstan, 925AD
Edmund I, 939AD
Eadred, 946AD
Eadwig, 956AD
Edward the Martyr, 975AD
Ethelred the Unready, 979AD

You can see these names and dates around the base of the stone, with Ethelred (written Æ Ð E L R E ∂) facing the camera in the first shot.

At the start of this period they proclaimed themselves King of the Anglo-Saxons, moving onto King of the English and then King of England.

So in 1927, the mayor of Kingston wrote to the current King, George V, requesting confirmation of the right to use the 'Royal' title. His reply was rather amazingly worded, sadly the webpage where I read it has gone offline so I can't quote verbatim. Instead of saying something like "I grant you this title", he said something like "What right would I have to dare declare that you _cannot_ use this title, possessed since time immemorial?"

Just to emphasise the chronology here: Kingston was crowning national monarchs at the start of the 10th century. The city of Westminster, the current heart of national government and heart of (tourist) London, didn't even _exist_ until the mid 11th century when Edward the Confessor set about building an abbey.

This is the starting point for why, 1000 years later, when it finally gets enveloped and absorbed by London, it stubbornly retains such a sense of placehood, somewhere that "isn't 'really' London", instead of becoming just another district of the metropolis.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

So besides the coronation stone, how does Kingston commemorate this amazing piece of history, architecturally speaking? An amazing medieval castle? A towering gothic monument?

Well, there's this sculpture thing...


Seven Kings by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Shame it's stuck on the side of an ugly department store, but hey, nice enough. What else?

Well, there's also this multi-storey car park:


Seven Kings Car Park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

No kidding. Seven Kings Car Park. Classy, huh?

And therein lies a conveniently neat summary of Kingston's architectural character. Extensive history with some really nice stuff to show for it - but also some outstanding examples of the very worst kind of 20th century development. From facepalmingly car-centric transport planning to huge mid-rise concrete brutalist boxes dumped onto previously charming medieval streets, all the usual failures of post-war British urban planning are present and correct.

In the great scheme of things, Kingston didn't do _too_ badly. Other towns and cities around the country probably suffered worse. Kingston retains many pleasant aspects, but it does have a bit of a jekyll and hyde thing going on. Which hopefully makes for a more interesting 'photo-essay', at any rate...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

But before we get to the 20th century and its failings, let's return to our saxon kings.

They've since moved the stone, but the actual coronations happened at All Saints Church:


All Saints Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


All Saints Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


All Saints churchyard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The present building was begun in 1120, although earlier churches occupied the site since the 800s at least. It is now Grade I listed.

Almost as old is the *Clattern Bridge* over the *River Hogsmill*, a tributary of the Thames (which I will explore properly in later posts).

I read somewhere that it is the oldest bridge in what is now London, still in use, but I can't 100% confirm this as fact, probably just "one of those" type of claims...


River Hogsmill in Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Clattern Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

A plaque gives the history:

_ Clattern Bridge, which crosses the Hogsmill River, is one of the oldest bridges in Surrey and it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The earliest known reference is in a deed of 1293 and the medieval name 'Clateryngbrugge' is thought to have been descriptive of the sound of horses crossing the bridge. The stone arches on the downstream side are the oldest parts of the bridge which until the 19th century was only 8ft wide. _


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Moving onto the 16th century, we saw the construction of a Nando's and a Pizza Express on the High Street:


Kingston High Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

(well, maybe that's not _strictly_ true)

Also on Kingston High Street, from the 1740s, is Picton House:


Picton House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

the man whose name it bears has a rather interesting story:


Cesar Picton plaque by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Cesar Picton, as the plaque euphemistically states, was 'brought' to England from Senegal in 1761 aged about six. ("Enslaved" might be a more frank description, albeit for a comfortable house servant role as a nominal free man, not indentured hard labour.) When his 'master' and 'mistress' died, they left him money which he used to go into business as a coal merchant, became enormously wealthy, purchased a few mansions in the surrounding area, and upon his death at the ripe old age of 81, was buried at All Saints church - "evidently a very large man as a four-wheeled trolley was needed for the coffin".


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Associations with ancient kings are all very nice, but practically speaking a town doesn't thrive for a thousand years by namedropping, it needs some more concrete advantages.

Kingston had two main things going for it in the 13th century: a strategic bridge across the Thames, which I'll come back to later, and the charter/right to hold a market, first granted by King John in 1208.

So it's essentially a classic English county market town, with the market square at the heart. Today, the market square is also the centre of a pedestrianised zone, which is nice.


Market Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Market Place / Market Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The grand building on the right is the Market Hall, built in 1840, replacing earlier wooden versions dating back to 1505.


Market Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Market Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Some of the very nice buildings on the square:


Buildings on the Market Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Decorated building on Kingston Marketplace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Market Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The market is still very much active:


Kingston Market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


All Saints churchyard gates / Kingston market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fruit n veg market, Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fruit n veg market, Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Some of the other 'traditional' streets around the marketplace:


Eden St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Apple Market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Everyday Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

A miscellany of attractive or interesting details from around the town centre


'Out of Order' by David Mach by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


EMPIRE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Green tiles by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Clock tower / weathervane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Lightfoots clock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Octagonal corner tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Clarence St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bird perched on bird by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BEACON by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Strange layers of decoration by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


THE PAVEMENT 1880 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## openlyJane

Kingston has some great little buildings; and the saxon church...so distinctive.

You can imagine that some people might actively choose to live in Kingston, rather than end up there through being priced out - such as yourself. Where, if you could have a free choice, would you really like to live in London?


----------



## El_Greco

Good stuff! kay:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Oh definitely Jane. Even in my case, I shouldn't really suggest I ended up here purely out of financial necessity/desperation - it's not even that cheap for starters, lol - I was working here so it was cheaper for *me* as it meant zero commute costs. But a few months later I left that job...

It's a pertinent question because I don't have long left on this tenancy. I've been in SW for ten years, on the one hand it's nice and if I were settling permanently i could see it being round here. Maybe Richmond - it has pretty much all the good points of Kingston, but much, much better trains 

On the other hand being as I don't have a wife and dog just yet I'm a little bored and keen to move more central / more east to give me some new areas to explore. Somewhere like Bermondsey, Wapping, Rotherhithe might be nice. Depends where (if!) I find a new job really.

Or if we're talking "euromillions winner, never work again" scenario, I'd probably plonk myself right on the south bank!

Cheers El_Greco!


----------



## stevekeiretsu

A few highlights from the *east* fringes of Kingston.

The Grade II* listed Lovekyn Chapel was founded in 1309 and is the oldest complete building in town:


Lovekyn Chapel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Lovekyn Chapel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

nearby, the Baptist church is of a more modern design:


John Bunyan Baptist Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

the art-deco-ish Bentalls warehouse is now an Odeon/IMAX cinema:


Odeon / Hardman Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

while Fairfield Recreation Ground is one of the few green spaces in Kingston. It manages with very little park provision _in_ town because there is a huge amount of parkland _near_ town, but we'll come to that in due course...


Fairfield Recreation Ground by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Breaking the geographical narrative for a look at Kingston *by night*, part 1


Sunset over Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The ubiquitous insouciant by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Night snowfall in Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wood St by night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Road / Mosaic by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hippodrome by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cromwell Road Bus Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Here's the victorian *Old Post Office* and *Telephone Exchange*, currently disused. There is a controversial proposal to regenerate them by building new 20 storey residential on the site, which you can read about in the Kingston developments thread in the London forum if you want.


The Old Post Office by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old Post Office by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ashdown Road / Old Post Office by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Telephone Exchange by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Telephone Exchange by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Kingston curves!


Curved wall / autumn leaves by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Car park spiral ramp by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bench by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Morning mist by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rotunda at night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

In August there was the mass-participation cycle road race 'RideLondon 2015', which came through the town.

To celebrate this day of cycling, they invited the Action Sports Tour to do demos in the marketplace:


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

[
url=https://flic.kr/p/wNEfrL]Action Sports Tour[/url] by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Action Sports Tour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The marketplace was also the starting point for the shorter Handcycle race taking place alongside the main 'normal' cycling race


Handcycle Classic competitors lining up to start by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Handcycle Classic ready to start by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Handcycle Classic - and they're off! by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Handcycle Classic gets underway by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The main event, part 1


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

part 2


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

part 3


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RideLondon 2015 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## openlyJane

Really like the night time image that contains the fox.


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice updates from London :cheers:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

thanks christos + Benonie!



openlyJane said:


> Really like the night time image that contains the fox.


Yeah that was a nice piece of luck. Londonist shared that on their facebook and it was very popular. Not even properly in focus, just goes to a show the moment is the main thing!

Time for Kingston by night, part 2:


Pryzm by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Market Hall statue by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Underground parking by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Five Guys by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fife Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Castle St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Clarence St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Gratteciel

Very nice pictures!


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Regulars to the thread will know that I like to cover local graffiti, but it must be said, Kingston is rather low in that.


FORG(?) / KANE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


IMAGE / HOBO / 10FOOT by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


MINE/ OWAH by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


JPT / CURE 916 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


MOON / DUCE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SOME / DEST by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DEST by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


RAENS by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

There's a much more active graf scene in neighbouring parts of the borough, which we'll visit soon.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

So, resuming/completing our semi-circular tour around the fringes of the town centre, we get to the northern edge, where the train station is located.


Sunset Kingston railway station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Kingston was located on the main road from London to Portsmouth and the south coast, and derived much trade from stagecoaches stopping en route. So when the railways were invented, the forward-thinking citizens of Kingston insisted it came nowhere near their town. Eventually, of course, a station was built after all, but by then the damage was done: the mainline had been routed a couple of miles south, effectively giving birth to the Surbiton district (which I'll visit soon-ish). Thus, to this day, Surbiton gets at least 10 trains per hour to Waterloo, some of them fast / non-stop, while Kingston is stuck on a dawdling little branch line with only really two slow trains per hour to Waterloo. (Technically four but two of them go an even longer and slower way round)


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Near the station is the *Regal*, an Art Deco cinema from 1932.

Currently in ratherly bad condition, it is due to be renovated/restored (in fact scaffolding went up a few weeks ago, not that I have a photo)


Kingston Regal by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Regal by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Regal by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Regal by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Regal alcove by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Completing the loop back to the riverfront we find ourselves back in "unsympathetic mid-rise development" mode. Proving that ugly, bulky mid-rises were not limited to the 60s/70s, most of these are 90s-00s, the newest (and tallest) is even from the 10s, and also arguably one of the worst. Being a skyscraper forum there's a tendency here to be pro-development and to call opponents NIMBYs but living here has really helped me empathise and understand why many people are instinctively against large new developments. To be blunt: nearly every pre-war building in town is nice, and nearly every post-war building in town is utterly charmless.


Mid-rise Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The trees in the foreground of that last shot are *Canbury Gardens*, a fairly small but very nice riverside park.


Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Benches by the Thames at Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Misty Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Misty Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Misty trees by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Misty trees by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## openlyJane

Interesting; and some really good photos. Particularly liked the one second down - one of the the night-time shots. Good to see the cinema restoration. Is it still being used as a cinema?


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice updates from London :cheers:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

openlyJane said:


> Interesting; and some really good photos. Particularly liked the one second down - one of the the night-time shots. Good to see the cinema restoration. Is it still being used as a cinema?


Prior to dereliction it was a bingo hall.

Post-'regeneration' I think it's due to contain a small 'boutique' cinema, amongst other things (dance studio, cafe, restuarant iirc). They are dividing the massive main auditorium which some people are unhappy about, but they say it's not viable as one single huge space. which is probably true considering there is a big odeon/IMAX about 100 yards away.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Let's continue walking north through *Canbury Gardens* alongside the Thames...


Thames at Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...as the park peters out into residential housing...


Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

we find ourselves no longer in Kingston town per se, but in an area called

*CANBURY*
• ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES • KT2 • ZONE 6
• 10 MILES (16.1 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• CANBURY ON WIKIPEDIA











Canbury Arms by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

"Canbury" is hardly a place with a strong identity, many londoners would not recognise or place it, even south-west londoners. It's almost entirely residential and is effectively just "North Kingston", which you might also hear it called.

Not too much to see here, but this thread being what it is, I'm going to doggedly show it anyway


----------



## stevekeiretsu

There's a small island in the river here called Steven's Eyot - eyot or ait is a local word for islands in the Thames - which hosts lots of boats


Steven's Eyot by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Steven's Eyot by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Boats by Steven's Eyot by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Boathouse on Steven's Eyot by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

serving all these boaters (and, indeed, local landlubbers) is the Boater's Inn


The Boater's Inn by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

once as I came walking down here at dusk the Thames was flooded


Flooded Thames at Lower Ham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Flooded Thames at Lower Ham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Flooded Thames at Canbury Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

North of the eyot there are a few blocks of flats by the river


North Kingston from the river by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


North Kingston flats from the river by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But beyond here, and inland, it's all very low-rise indeed:


Lower Ham Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Thames path at Kingston's northern edge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Behold, the seemingly endless residential suburbia:


Latchmere Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Albany Park Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kings Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Elm Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Most of which I find rather pleasant, although to the northeast of this area, there's a road called Tudor Drive, hosting a vast swathe of mock-Tudor:


(Mock-)Tudor Drive by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


(Mock-)Tudor Drive by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

which I really don't like. so moving swiftly on...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

As is typical for this sort of area, the "stand-out" buildings are almost all churches.


St Luke's, Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Luke's, Kingston by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Paul's Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Agatha's Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

I also stumbled on this large victorian building styled like a medieval castle, situated near a road called 'The Keep'. I have yet to determine why the hell Victorians were pretending to build a castle here. Crazy what surprises even the sleepiest suburb can throw up.


The Keep by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Keep by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Edit: cpwken clears up my ignorance!



cpwken said:


> The Keep is the last remains of the old Kingston army barracks, former home of the Surrey regiment.
> 
> EDIT: A quick google found this history of the barracks, in case anyone is interested..
> http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/depots/depots20.shtml


----------



## stevekeiretsu

randoms


Roof dragon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bevans Butchers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## openlyJane

The butcher's shop is a gruesome sight.......

Looking at the flooded Thames, it just confirms that going forward living right beside a river - up-stream - would, perhaps, not the best choice to make.

Interesting pictures.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*NORBITON*
• ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES • KT1 / KT2 • ZONE 5
• 9.5 MILES (15.3 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• NORBITON ON WIKIPEDIA











Norbiton Church / London Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Like Canbury, Norbiton is a suburb of Kingston, but the two make for a clear example of how the word "suburb" covers a range of quite different urban scenarios.

Whereas Canbury is the suburb as dormitary, row after row of affluent housing and, beyond a minimum of local shops/pubs, nothing but housing - Norbiton possesses a wide variety of civic, industrial, retail, leisure and otherwise non-residential land-uses.

However it has the rather unfortunate air of being the sort of place where a town of a certain size (in this case Kingston) shoves all the unglamourous things it NEEDS, but doesn't necessarily WANT in the town centre itself. 

Things like ugly student housing, ugly blocks of flats that were aspirational in the 80s, ugly offices that weren't even aspirational in the 80s, self-storage warehouses, builders' merchants and - well - let's continue this list as we take a look around...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

So, things your town needs to have, or inevitably has, like it or not:

(1) sick people - 

Kingston Hospital is a sprawling and utterly unphotogenic 'campus' as most NHS hospitals these days are.


Kingston Hospital by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

(2) dead people - 


Kingston Cemetery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Kingston Cemetery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

(3) a big concrete / brutalist telephone exchange


Taverner House at dusk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Taverner House at dusk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Birkenhead Avenue by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Telephone exchange by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

(4) loads of generally scruffy, ugly or bland-at-best office and industrial architecture


Clarendon House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brick wall / cables by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


MOT Parking Area by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

(5) a football stadium, for all those terribly noisy unruly football types

Kingsmeadow Stadium has a capacity of 4,850 and is best known as the current base of AFC Wimbledon, while they look to rebuild their Plough Lane home (which we visited earlier).


Kingsmeadow entrance by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But as this is the Kingston part of this thread I thought it would be more appropriate to go and see the town's own Kingstonian FC, who play in the Isthmian League, on the 7th tier of England's pyramid. Here they are against Billericay Town, the game ended 2-2.


Kingstonian vs Billericay Town by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Free kick by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Half time by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Organising in the box by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Goalmouth scramble by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

As you can see, crowds at this level don't exactly fill the stadium :/


----------



## stevekeiretsu

(6) poor people. ooh, look at this thread getting all edgily sociopolitical.

Kingston 'proper' is fairly unusual in having no significant council housing provision, but Norbiton picks up the slack in that regard.

Large scale social housing building here began fairly early, with this 1930s effort on Cambridge Road.


Cambridge Gardens Estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Opposite, lies a council estate in its most familiar form: concrete, post-war, I think probably '60s, with a scattering of tower blocks amongst many low rise blocks.

Here are some shots of the towers popping up from around Norbiton.


Modernised mews off Bonner Hill Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road estate towers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Norbiton tower block by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Somerset Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road Estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

A look around the estate itself.

Typical of the era in many ways, the post-war planners' belief that bleak expanses of concrete made for a suitable play/recreation/communal area...


Cambridge Road Estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road Estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road Estate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and that elevated walkways linking blocks would make 'streets in the sky'


Cambridge Road Estate - Fulbourn by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Taking its cue from its location on Cambridge Road, the estate names all the blocks after villages around Cambridge. Which is probably of no interest to any of you at all, but by coincidence I grew up in exactly one of those villages and went to school with kids from most of the others, so for me personally it was a bit surreal to walk around here seeing these childhood names attached.


Comberton House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road Estate - Caldicote by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cambridge Road Estate - Impington by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

I don't like to be unfair or mean about places, so it's only right having shown some of the unglamorous features of Norbiton, to also show some nice things.

Here are some attractive pubs.


The Norbiton & Dragon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Old Moot House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Six Bells by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Albert by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And some nice houses.


Bonner Hill Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bonner Hill Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Burnham Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cottage by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The parish church - 


Norbiton church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

old Kingston register office (now being repackaged into luxury apartments) -


Register Office by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and the station (zone 5, approx 25 minutes to Waterloo) is, rather surprisingly, the only Victorian station building in all of Kingston borough.


Norbiton Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## 10ND0N

Great thread, Steve. I know the area well but good to see your perspective.


----------



## Copperknickers

El_Greco said:


> I always find it curious how certain nationalities seem to always congregate in certain areas.


It's natural I suppose. Immigrants who know each other will try to live near each other, and some will bring their families and have children, who will want to live near their parents. Friends from the homeland will move in near them, and before you know it businesses start springing up to cater for the demand for food and services, which attracts more people of the same nationality, and before you know it you have a community. There are a lot of small communities like that, especially in London which is such an international city that there will often be enough of each community to populate a whole neighbourhood. 

It's not always ideal since it means people have chosen to mix with their own ethnicity and not all make the effort to integrate. There are now parts of London where you can find people who have been born and grown up in England and have a foreign sounding accent because they are so unused to speaking English, which is rather odd. But generally speaking diversity is a good thing. I will never forget a couple of years ago while the World Cup was on, I was looking for a pub to watch one of the games (Ecuador vs Brazil I think?) and completely by accident managed to walk into an Ecuadorian bar, full of people going crazy watching their team's success. Had a great time. I'll probably never go to Ecuador in my life but Elephant and Castle on a Summer's evening is fine by me if it saves me the air fare. I could probably 'visit' several dozen countries in the same way for the price of an all-day London travelcard.


----------



## Eduarqui

stevekeiretsu said:


> Putney is served by both the Underground (District Line) and national rail services to/from Waterloo: these services, it should be said, are not _usually_ steam trains.
> 
> 
> Steam train / tube train by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


I discovered your thread about London - a fabulous city, with unsurpassed role for the History of Urban Planning - just today, this afternoon (in Brazil), and hope to visit it al the time.

This photo is wonderful: my vision about England has always a train nearby (Cinema has a role about my memory of a place I never went before).

Thanks for sharing with us your knowledge and impressions.


----------



## Eduarqui

stevekeiretsu said:


> Cyclist by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr
> 
> The guy above is a local legend, he cycles around the local area and well beyond, with this crazy decorated costume/bike, for no reason other than to make people happy.
> 
> Here's an interview with him, you can find youtubes etc as well


Suddenly, when seeing this picture, a film done in London by famous italian director Michelangelo Antonioni came to my mind: *Blowup* (1966).

Both sixties film with that "swinging London" and your XXIth Century picture made me happy, be sure


----------



## Eduarqui

stevekeiretsu said:


> and I was thinking of perhaps covering this river next, but then, I wonder if I'm not overdosing on the unknown suburban backwaters in this thread, and perhaps it's getting a bit boring, and I should mix it up with something more londony, some skyscrapers and tube trains and stuff. let me know what you think...


I'm not bored about all your splendid research over suburban London - both texts and pics are very good, specially for a foreigner.

Guess you have more "londony" posts in your other threads, and I will visit them very soon.

So, please go ahead with this "Suburban Paradise", please


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Eduarqui said:


> I'm not bored about all your splendid research over suburban London - both texts and pics are very good, specially for a foreigner.
> 
> Guess you have more "londony" posts in your other threads, and I will visit them very soon.
> 
> So, please go ahead with this "Suburban Paradise", please


I'm a bit surprised and very flattered that you would go through every single page of my suburban backwater tour, and be so nice about it. But I don't have any other londony london threads, only this one, so I'm afraid I think it's indeed time to pay a visit to a recognisable central location.

Don't worry, the suburbs will return 

Still



Eduarqui said:


> my vision about England has always a train nearby





Benonie said:


> I like that colorful trains!


Hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway, cos there are lots of trains. 

Almost every place I've been in this thread so far, I've commented it is served by "trains to Waterloo", so it must be a pretty busy place...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*WATERLOO*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH • SE1 • ZONE 1
• 0.6 MILES (1 KM) SE OF CHARING CROSS
• WATERLOO STATION ON WIKIPEDIA











Waterloo stations sign by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

'Busy place' is actually a bit of an understatement, as Waterloo is not only London's busiest station, but the whole UK's. It had 99.2 million entry/exits in 14/15 on the national rail alone, add in 10 million interchanging passengers and 95 million entry/exit for the tube station, you are looking at over 200 million total journeys a year. For comparison, Heathrow handled a puny 75 million passengers last year.

As well as serving a huge swathe of suburban areas in the south west _of_ london, it also serves various intercity routes to places south west _from_ london such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Exeter. All services are from the unsurprisingly named South West Trains.

Generally the mostly white trains run the long distance intercity services, the blue ones middle-distance suburban/commuter lines, and the red ones for inner london suburban lines, although there are plenty of exceptions.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

There's only one way for this thread to "arrive" at Waterloo, and that's by train of course!

Looking out the left window many people arriving on longer distance trains "ooh" at the sight of the London Eye:


London Eye from Waterloo platform 4 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But I prefer looking out the right hand side, for a glimpse of the Shard and the skyscrapers in the City:


Two spires by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo & Shard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo & City by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Entering Waterloo / London towers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo / Shard #2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo / 20 Fenchurch St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

you can also see the new wave of towers going up closer to the station.


South Bank Tower u/c above Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Step off the train and look back at where you've come from and the theme of tower construction continues - 

directly above the station throat you can see the top of the St George Tower in Vauxhall, soon to be joined by many more towers


Waterloo throat by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

look right, and there's a (horrid) student block going up near the station


199 Westminster Bridge Road u/c above Waterloo International by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

look left and the rising skyscrapers of Elephant & Castle are visible


South Bank Architects / Strata / One the Elephant u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

But enough looking backwards, let's head down the platforms


Waterloo platforms by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo, platform 4 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo, Platform 17 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo platform 17 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo, Platform 17 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Trains at Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

...to the main concourse.


Waterloo concourse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo concourse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo concourse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo concourse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


People at Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo wayfinding by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The station roof isn't as celebrated as the likes of Paddington or Kings Cross. The triangular trusses just aren't as inspiring as their arched designs. Still, a pretty good piece of engineering.


Waterloo roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London Eye above Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

When Nicholas Grimshaw was hired to design the newer Waterloo International part of the station (which used to serve Eurostar, has been disused for years and now being refurbished to expand the domestic platforms), he gamely attempted to continue the tradition in epic british railway station roofs. Generally praised, for me it's somehow not quite as great as it threatens to be, but again, very impressive engineering nonetheless.


Waterloo International roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo International roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo International roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

including the disused ex-Eurostar ones, there are 24 mainline platforms at Waterloo, so obviously it covers a pretty big area. to look at it from above for a sense of scale, we can go on the london eye:


Waterloo Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

I was hoping for a good view when we had a forum visit to the South Bank Tower, but the weather was so bad, it was only a silvery smear, really.


Waterloo East / Waterloo / Waterloo International from 30th floor by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

so how about a plane? from Heathrow approaches -


Aerial Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Aerial Westminster / Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## cpwken

stevekeiretsu said:


> I also stumbled on this large victorian building styled like a medieval castle, situated near a road called 'The Keep'. I have yet to determine why the hell Victorians were pretending to build a castle here. Crazy what surprises even the sleepiest suburb can throw up.
> 
> 
> The Keep by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Keep is the last remains of the old Kingston army barracks, former home of the Surrey regiment.

EDIT: A quick google found this history of the barracks, in case anyone is interested..
http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/depots/depots20.shtml


----------



## stevekeiretsu

ah, so it was genuinely military. excellent, cheers for that cpwken

back to Waterloo - even from the sky, we only see half the station since of course it has a massive underground element.


Waterloo underground options by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Waterloo is served by four tube lines, the Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Waterloo&City. One of the enjoyable things about having a transport system so old is the varied 'feel'. Not only do different stations in different parts of london bring different architectural styles, but at a place like Waterloo even the various platforms have their own flavour, being built at different times.


Waterloo escalators by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The Northern and Bakerloo are pretty typical deep tube fare for the most part. The Northern platforms are made slightly more claustrophobic by the footbridges cutting in from above...


Waterloo, Northern line, southbound by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...while the Bakerloo platforms are distinguished by the curvature.


Bakerloo, southbound, Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Bakerloo platform, Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

The Waterloo & City is something of a curiosity. It's one of London's oldest tube lines, and also one its newest. Confused? It was opened in 1898, but only became part of the London Underground in 1994.

The (mainline) train company who'd built Waterloo never wanted it to be their terminus - they wanted to extend the railway right to the City of London. But by the end of the 19th century it was clear this would be impossible, so instead they built a tube style railway to convey their commuters this final couple of miles - it only has two stops, Waterloo and Bank (previously known as 'City'). And somehow this railway escaped being merged into the UERL, or London Transport, or any other predecessor of today's TfL, remaining instead with British Rail until it was privatised in the 90s, at which point this line finally, officially joined the Underground.

if you're a railway nerd you can still easily determine this history:


Network Southeast logo on Waterloo&City platform by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

because the platform has "Network Southeast" logos on it, which was a subdivision of British Rail in the 80s. Amazing really that they've lasted over 20 years.

Otherwise it looks like a fairly normal tube platform:


Tube approaching by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

although access is via a set of long slopes, rather than stairs/escalator/lift (which is unique on the tube as far as I can think, but probably isn't unique at all since I haven't been to most tube stations)


Waterloo & City ramps by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

one other cool/unusual thing about this line is that you can see into the depot from the end of the platform:


Waterloo & City sidings by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

finally the Jubilee line, which being much newer that all the other lines, has a drastically different aesthetic. although originally opened in 1979, the Jubilee didn't reach Waterloo until twenty years later, with the 1999 opening of the Jubilee Line Extension (JLE).

although a range of architects worked on different stations, the JLE had a consistent overall sci-fi vibe, and offers some of my favourite futuristic architecture in London.

at Waterloo you can see the standard elements of this design scheme, the metal panels, platform-edge doors and so on.


Jubilee line escalators, Waterloo by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo travelators by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Waterloo Jubilee line platform by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

however since this was just adding new platforms to an existing station, that's really all you get, there's no epic futuristic station per se, like there is elsewhere on the JLE (and I'll cover in this thread in future, of course).

so instead my favourite part of the Jubilee at Waterloo is something rather different - it's this random elephant at the top of the escalators.


Waterloo Elephant by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## paul62

Good & interesting shots.


----------



## Eduarqui

stevekeiretsu said:


> I'm a bit surprised and very flattered that you would go through every single page of my suburban backwater tour, and be so nice about it. But I don't have any other londony london threads, only this one, so I'm afraid I think it's indeed time to pay a visit to a recognisable central location.
> 
> Don't worry, the suburbs will return
> 
> Still
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway, cos there are lots of trains.
> 
> Almost every place I've been in this thread so far, I've commented it is served by "trains to Waterloo", so it must be a pretty busy place...


Every page of your thread deserves a good luck 

And I guess there is something "londony" in your threads about London Projetcs ... I need to take alook.

And here is my reaction after seeing your brand new posts with Waterloo and Railways: WOW... and WOW again!


----------



## Benonie

:applause: Wow indeed! I love every kind of rail transport, so the pictures and information on this page are heavenly for me and make me wanna revisit this railway paradise again and again.

Thanks Steve!


----------



## stevekeiretsu

ok I'm going to stick around the more central/famous area of london for a little longer before going back to the suburbs and lesser-known. in fact, it's time for a look at one of the most touristy places in town... 

*SOUTH BANK*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH • SE1 • ZONE 1
• 0.4 MILES (0.6 KM) SE OF CHARING CROSS
• SOUTH BANK ON WIKIPEDIA











Fountain by RFH by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But don't worry... I haven't totally abandoned the ethos of this thread. This area may be popular with tourists but you're not about to get a bunch of cliched postcard photos of Big Ben. See, the beautiful thing about the South Bank is, in my opinion, it's the one place where locals and tourists mix on an equal level.

Somewhere like Leicester Square, tourists (inexplicably) consider a vital part of London's urban make-up, a must-visit destination, a nexus of nightlife and entertainment. All the residents I know consider it awful and go there approximately never. Conversely somewhere like Brixton will see lots of Londoners heading there for the local bars and music venues, but rarely registers on a tourist radar.

the South Bank, on the other hand, is pretty special in that almost any tourist in town will visit for attractions like the Eye and Tate Modern, but it's also genuinely popular with locals.

Before I stop rambling and get on with the photos, a quick note on my map above. You'll notice I've shown both South Bank and Bankside. That's because they're honestly fairly indivisible, and when I made the map I originally planned to cover them as one. Strictly speaking Bankside is in Southwark, east of Blackfriars, and the South Bank is in Lambeth, west of Blackfriars, but they are both on the _s_outh _b_ank of the Thames and the seamless riverside walk has many popular attractions located along the whole stretch. When walking along you don't notice a sudden change in the character of the area. 

However I've since realised I have so many photos, I'm probably going to cover them separately after all. So with no further ado...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

I'll start at Westminster Bridge and 'walk' downstream.

The first building we find walking this way is County Hall:


Eye / County Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

County Hall used to be the seat of London's local government but these days hosts various tourist attractions.

At the risk of _immediately_ contradicting myself - while I claimed above South Bank is touristy, but still has credibility with Londoners - this kinda doesn't. Last time I was there it was hosting "Shrek 3D". Seriously? What's that got to do with London? 2000 years of history here and you go to see a spin off of a hollywood cartoon? Suit yourself. I haven't been. So moving swiftly on... you will already have noticed that next to it is the London Eye.


Eye / Parliament by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and I'm only slightly more fond of the Eye. I mean, I wouldn't say it's terrible, you do get a kinda nice view... But it's really expensive, especially these days when there are more and more viewing options like the Shard and so on... and oh dear god:


Absolute madness by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Crazy queue for the Eye by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Just look at those queues :nuts:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

so I think most Londoners probably go on the Eye once, maybe when some out-of-towner friend/family is visiting, but don't go back again. that's certainly the case with me. back in 2011 when my parents visited, I went on it, and dutifully took some photos:


London Eye by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


London Eye by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

mostly shots of the view, of course. since we just looked at Waterloo, here's a train running into Waterloo as seen from the Eye:


Toytown train from the Eye #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and here's some people in front of County Hall:


People on the south bank (hi res reup) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

but I'll save most of the other views for when this thread reaches the locations they depict.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Next to the Eye is a small park called Jubilee Gardens:


Shell Centre / Jubilee Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

overlooked by the Shell Centre:


Shell Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

here you can see it in relation to the Eye:


Shell Tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Shell Tower / Eye by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

this is how it looked just one year ago (sept '15):


Shell Centre - 'before' by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

but change is afoot. the main tower is staying but the "wings" have since been demolished:


Shell Centre demolition by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Shell Centre u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and now they are building new 100m+ buildings here:


Southbank Place u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

of course this redevelopment is covered in detail on the london forum if anyone is interested.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

however, back to the river-front walk along Jubilee Gardens:


Jubilee Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

where there are always buskers and street entertainers:


South Bank busker by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and fairground rides:


South Bank carousel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

which offer a splash of warmth and brightness even on a cold December day:


South Bank carousel by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

at this point we reach the Hungerford Bridges, seen here from the Eye:


Hungerford and Waterloo bridges by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

this is quite an interesting structure. as you can hopefully see above the main bridge is a railway bridge:


Shell Tower / Hungerford bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

but on both sides there is a pedestrian bridge "hung" from it by white cables. 


Hungerford Bridges by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hungerford footbridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

(the pedestrian bridges are officially called the Golden Jubilee bridges but always known by Londoners (at least those of a certain age) as the Hungerford bridges.)

As so often in London the distinctive design results from a very real engineering need based on the peculiar historic circumstances. The Bakerloo line tunnels run not far underneath the river bed, and there is also the possibility of unexploded WW2 bombs lying at the bottom of the Thames. This prevented the installation of new piers/foundations, forcing the new footbridges to be supported from the existing railway bridge. Also, the bridges had to be added without interrupting the trains heading in/out of Charing Cross station, on the north bank. hence the complex web of cables and struts:


Hungerford footbridge cables by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hungerford footbridge engineering by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr




Turbulent Thames by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

no railway structure is safe from graffiti writers, not even one as centrally located and 24-hrs-a-day busy as this one!


CLART (KOFE / FORCE) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tn by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


4CE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

both bridges have outstanding views. the western/southern bridge offers a view over the Shell Centre and London Eye:


Shell Centre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

as well as some more traditional grand buildings on the north bank:


Royal Horseguards by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

here's the northern/eastern footbridge looking toward Charing Cross station:


Torrential rain on Hungerford footbridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

This gives you an amazing view towards the City:


London skyline from Hungerford Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Needless to say I have photographed the view in general -- and, this being skyscrapercity.com, the new skyscrapers being constructed over the last few years -- from this vantage point, many many times over the years. The one above taken just yesterday.

It would probably get a bit boring/samey if I posted them all here so I will save many for when I talk about the various buildings visible from here. For now here are some taken at "blue hour" about three years ago:


Twilight blue London skyline - wide by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Twilight blue London skyline - medium by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Twilight blue London skyline - zoom by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## yansa

I enjoyed this walk very much, Steve! kay:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

At this point we reach the beating heart of the South Bank district, the Southbank Centre. This is one of Europe's largest centres for the performing arts (wikipedia actually says THE largest, but it's not cited). It comprises numerous venues for music, dance, theatre, art etc with millions of visitors each year.

The first venue we reach walking in this direction is the Royal Festival Hall:


Royal Festival Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

This 2,500 seat concert hall was completed in 1951.


Royal Festival Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Royal Festival Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hungerfood footbridge by night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

I've seen many things at this venue, probably the best was Baaba Maal and friends:


Baaba Maal and friends by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Baaba Maal and friends by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

in case anyone isn't familiar with this incredible singer, and is curious to check him out, it turns out there is a full concert of his, at this very venue, on youtube. or if you don't want to commit to 70 mins, here's one of my favourite short tracks.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Sneak down the side of the RFH:


Outside RFH by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Southbank Centre Christmas lights by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and round the back, there is a frequent street food market:


Southbank Centre Market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


South Bank food market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Southbank Centre food market by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Out the front by the river is even more lively. 


Busy South Bank in the sun by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The RFH main entrances sit on a sort of elevated level above the riverside walk (seen on the left above), so this is a favourite spot of mine to chill out and people-watch.


South Bank by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

There's also often street food here:


South Bank food trucks by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and a fountain which is popular with kids on hot days...


Schoolkids vs fountain by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

as it reaches the next venue along, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, this elevated level is sometimes decorated colourfully:


Colourful installation on the South Bank by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

providing another fine people-watching spot:


Busy South Bank in the sun by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

in the summer they often install a temporary urban beach here:


'Beach' on the South Bank by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

This is the point that the famously brutalist architecture of the south bank really begins. Some hate it, some love it, but either way - concrete ahoy. And I suppose this is a sort of architecture forum so perhaps it's about time I stopped with the people-watching and showed off the concrete.


South Bank / Queen Elizabeth Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Queen Elizabeth Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

as you can see, there's a boat on the roof - it's a "one room hotel"


Rooftop boat / Queen Elizabeth Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Boat on the roof by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and a bright yellow staircase and wiggly sculpture to break up the stark concrete lines


South Bank sculpture by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall lies the Undercroft, famously the home of british skateboarding


The Undercroft by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Undercroft by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Skater in the undercroft by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## yansa

Nice and interesting London impressions, Steve! kay:

Love this pic:



stevekeiretsu said:


> Southbank Centre Christmas lights by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Gratteciel

Great photos! London is one of the most beautiful, interesting and vibrant cities in the world. kay:


----------



## Eduarqui

Glad to see you coming back, and with great style :cheers2:


----------



## christos-greece

Great, very nice updates from London; well done :cheers:


----------



## Benonie

Thank you Steve, for this beautiful pictures and interesting information about this world class metropolis! kay:


----------



## openlyJane

A great tour of the utter mundanity, and yet at the same time , the interesting points of London suburbia.....


----------



## stevekeiretsu

one other historic landmark, the clock tower, completed in 1908, to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902.


Surbiton Clock Tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Surbiton Clock Tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Surbiton Clock Tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

of course like any suburb the majority is not distinctive and unique historic buildings but pretty samey housing. 

this being a rather prosperous suburb, it is mostly laid out on spacious tree-lined avenues.


Lingfield Avenue by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Lingfield Avenue by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Avenue Elmers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and there are a few streets that are slightly more eye-catching, like this street of nice colourful houses. unfortunately this is where I had a minor altercation with an extremely rude and unpleasant man who practically accused me outright of being there to case out the houses for burglarly and claimed (completely incorrectly) I was breaking the law by photographing houses.

yes, mate, because obviously someone who's preparing to commit crime stands there for well over an hour waiting for the sunlight to reach the right angle, messing about changing lenses, and so on. rather than just discreetly snapping a quick shot with a compact and getting out of there quickly before they can be accosted by an obnoxious, mannerless, ignorant, presumptious busybody / moron.


Cottage Grove by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cottage Grove by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cottage Grove by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

random grab bag of unsorted shots from around Surbiton


Hillcroft College by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brighton Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Surbiton Crescent park by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Ewell Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Mini 'crashed' through a house by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Surbiton station approach by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Fox & Hounds by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

concluding our tour around Surbiton with a look at the Thames-front.

Unsurprisingly for a rather well-heeled locale there are several marinas here with lots of private leisure boats moored.


Surbiton marinas by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Surbiton Thamesfront by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Towards the south of this district there is an island in the Thames called Raven's Ait.


Ravens Ait by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Raven's Ait by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Old crane on Raven's Ait by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

To the north runs Queen's Promenade, linking up to Kingston's riverside which we visited earlier in the thread. In fact you just make out the mid-rise rooftops of Kingston in the shot below.


Queen's Promenade by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

This is a lovely place to sit on the numerous benches...


Ample seating along Queen's Promenade by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...and take in the sun.


Enjoying the sun, needing the shade by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## openlyJane

I’ve also experienced confrontations on the odd occasion with suspicious householders, or with motorists thinking I’m targeting their car ( apparently to get an image of their number plate in order to create a new fake one.....) :nuts:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

yes i suppose it's an "occupational hazard" of being a photographer. to be honest, I dont even mind the odd confrontation, it's understandable, but 99% of the time if I'm polite and friendly and explain it's just a hobby, I'm happy to move on / not photograph them then it's all cool, this guy just really annoyed me because he kept getting more aggressive and scornful. I remember an exchange like "why are you taking photos?" "it's my hobby" "oh _right_, do you expect me to believe that, who just goes around taking photos as a hobby?" and I just thought mate if you didn't have one foot in the grave and actually looked around the world, you'd notice with ubiquitous phone cameras / instagram and the like it's more popular than it's ever been in history. but there was no reasoning with this man.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*COOMBE*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF KINGSTON • KT2 • ZONE 5
• 8.5 MILES (13.7 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• COOMBE ON WIKIPEDIA











The gated world of Coombe/Kingston Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Staying somewhat on the subject of feeling welcome / recieving bad reactions while urban photographing, I have an observation which I'd be interested to see if others in this forum have experienced too. Which is that I always feel more uncomfortable in rich areas than poor ones. 

It's a bit weird, I often dish out tourist advice to people visiting London and a very common question is "are there any bad areas I should avoid?" - well, in the name of architectural photography I've tramped through run-down council estates clutching £1000 worth of camera gear and never felt sketchy, but when I go to posh places I constantly feel on edge. 

And Coombe was definitely one of those places.

I should say, to be fair, that nobody confronted me, nobody said anything, but I always felt like I was about to be chased away by bodyguards or something. See, this is the sort of area where rich retired celebrities live, people who were famous in the 70s and now want to live out their retirement in big old mansions in private, playing golf, and there's definitely an air of 'this area doesnt welcome nosy passers-by'.

Most of it is even a private estate with private roads, that normal drivers arent legally allowed down, luckily one of them is a public footpath so I was entitled, but even then, the actual houses are set back down long drives behind tall walls and electric gates (see photo above). 

So there's really nothing much to photograph and this will be a very short installment. Had to include it anyway just to wrap up the Kingston borough stuff. (I haven't covered every part of the borough, but I've done most of it and I never really went to the few remaining bits)


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Here's one of those private roads, with barriers to keep the plebs out.


Warren Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

And some of the squillion pound houses you can glimpse if you walk down it.


Warren Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Warren Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Warren Road by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

A few other glimpses of how the other half live


Coombe weathervane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


House next to Richmond Park with a nice tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Coombe Neville by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

There are two big golf courses in this area:


Coombe Wood Golf Club by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and probably my favourite street name in all of london


Warboys Approach by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

this is the "low end" of the area's housing


Coombe Lane West by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and from up on this hill you can look far across South London...


Croydon skyline (Saffron Square) from Coombe by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...to the concrete jungle of Croydon, some 8 miles away.


Croydon skyline (Saffron Square) from Coombe (close up) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

which concludes my little look around Kingston. I dont know where to go with this thread next, because I actually moved out of London in the summer, and it seems like I can't get a new job, at least not one means I could afford to live there. I do have a huge backlog of photos so this thread isnt necessarily dead but I've covered most of the areas I actually used to live and my collection from the other areas is a bit more incomplete - without being there to go and "fill in the gaps" I dont know what to do next. I might leave it for now and start a new thread about where I've been licking my unemployed wounds instead. Or maybe I'll just go ahead and post what I've got. I was probably being too "thorough" to the point of boring, anyway. We'll see...


----------



## Eduarqui

^^

Well, first of all, after seeing your updates since september, I'm glad you wrote this:

*In fact there is one little cluster in particular which was a very nice surprise for me. Sometimes I wonder why on earth I have the bizarre hobby of traipsing around suburban districts with a camera looking for worthwhile architecture to document - often I'll take a long walk and discover nothing but generic housing, and think to myself, why not just be like everybody else and photograph Big Ben from Westminster Bridge, or every plate of food I eat But then every so often you stumble on little gems like this and it makes it seem fairly worthwhile*

Your initiative brings a lot of good ideas and feelings for visitors of your thread, be sure 

I loved the Hogsmill River Park, and it was splendid to see the place where problably was made the painting _Ophelia_ (I enjoy it very much). And Surbiton, combining victorian architecture and Art Deco, was a very nice surprise for me.

And I will appreciate a lot to come back till your thread from time to time to view again your style of showing London. I wish good luck with your next address (and wish a good job to you too), and problably will have again good News through your future texts and photographs.

Best wishes, my friend


----------



## skymantle

great pics and commentary, although I think 'the other half' is such a misnomer...more like the one per cent.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

*RICHMOND*
• LONDON BOROUGH OF RICHMOND • TW9, TW10 • ZONE 4
• 8.2 MILES (13.2 KM) SW OF CHARING CROSS
• RICHMOND ON WIKIPEDIA











Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Time to resurrect this thread from afar; I have too big a backlog of photos to let it die!

Above, we see Richmond through the window of a train arriving from my former home of Kingston, visited earlier, and in many ways Richmond is a twin of Kingston. It's not just that both are affluent satellite towns of SW London, fronting the Thames and with *i**o* names. Both were in Surrey and some people still pretend they still are. Both have centuries long existence as significant towns with royal connections, prior to being swallowed by London. 

However, there are significant differences. As we saw earlier, by the 15th century, Kingston's royal connections were already in the distant past, a source of pride but a historical footnote compared to its real business as a market town.

Richmond at this time did not exist - it owes its existence to Henry VII's decision to build himself a palace in what was then the agricultural manor of _Sheen_, naming it after his former Earldom of Richmond.

Sadly nothing remains of Richmond Palace, except the Gatehouse:


Richmond Palace Gatehouse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Palace Gatehouse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Still, the trend was set, and by the Georgian era the pace of wealthy Londoners building grand homes in this area gathered force. And while the coming of the railway in the Victorian era brought the usual wave of urban 'fleshing out', it only cemented rather than undermined Richmond's position as an attractive retreat for the well-heeled Londoner. Contrary to Kingston, even the post-war period was unusually kind, meaning Richmond survived relatively 'unscathed' and continues to exist as a pleasant, prosperous and historic enclave of fine architecture, famous views and first class parks within the metropolis.

There are moments when it's only the constant drone of places low overhead on Heathrow approach...


Plane over St Matthias Church, Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

that remind you you're in London, not a genteel country town.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Arriving at Richmond station though, is not one of those moments.

Because as well as being served by the Waterloo-bound South West Trains* that have appeared almost everywhere visited so far...


Richmond station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...it is also served by London Overground and London Underground:


Richmond station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond, London end by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Indeed, from the road bridge across the London end of the station (seen across the top of the photo above), I was nerdy enough to wait until I could capture all three types of train in one shot.


Tube, Overground and National Rail converge at Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

And look, there's Canary Wharf on the horizon, some 20km (12.5 miles) away.


Trains at Richmond with Canary Wharf on the horizon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Or if we change our viewpoint just slightly, the Shard, a mere 15km (9.5mi) away:


Tube approaching Richmond / distant Shard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tube / distant Shard #1 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Overground train / distant Shard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

* a couple of days ago, South West Trains were replaced by the new franchise-holder South Western Railway, thus instantly consigning all my photos to a bygone era!


----------



## stevekeiretsu

We emerge from Richmond Station - a 1937 Portland stone effort which I consider nice but not stunning -


Richmond station (1937) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

- onto The Quadrant, the rather oddly-named road which, turning into George Street, functions as Richmond's commerical High Street.


The Quadrant by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

It is easy to walk along The Quadrant and see only the buses, traffic, modern shop facades - a fairly generic and charmless environment. I spent many years with this attitude: visiting Richmond often, only ever hurrying through here to the "nice bits" of the Green and Riverside (forthcoming). It was only after developing this strange obsession hobby of seeking out and discerning edwardian, victorian, georgian (etc) architecture that I eventually looked up and realised how many splendid buildings line this stretch, too.


The Quadrant by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Clock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


George Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


York House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


George Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


George Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


WB 1896 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Quadrant (wide angle) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Nice building in Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dome by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Imperial 1890 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Imperial 1890 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Imperial 1890 / Saffron by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Saffron by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Not that the town centre is _strictly_ period architecture by any means. Though a little less so than some of the capital's districts, it's still an example of the "London jumble", where the mostly Victorian-ish grain is regularly interrupted with blocky post-war infill.


Orange Tree Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Bus Station by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Red Lion Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Victoria Place by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Yellow-detailed office building by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Yellow-detailed office building by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## yansa

It's a great joy for me to follow your London paths in word and picture, Steve!

Good work, very interesting, hope to see more! kay: :cheers:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Plenty more to come! 

Cut through from The Quadrant / George Street and we reach *Richmond Green*, described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the most beautiful urban greens surviving anywhere in England". It has hosted cricket since at least the mid C18th, and continues to do so:


Cricket on Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

As well as less organised leisure:


Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Although if you're crazy enough to visit at 5.30am you can catch it empty and peaceful:


Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But I don't think Pevsner was getting excited about the grass, being an architectural critic, he was probably more enamoured with the buildings that line the green.

You can begin to see here...


Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

... but it's worth taking a closer look.

Along the northwest are these villas (apologies for the smudge on the lens):


Pembroke Villas by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Northeast, the only non-historic stretch, and at first glance fairly humdrum british housing, but on second glance, there's a rather sharper, more mindful aesthetic to the terrace. I'm not sure who did it.


Portland Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But the real splendour is on the other sides.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

On the south west / southern corner, around Old Palace Terrace, near the Old Palace Gatehouse (seen in the intro to Richmond post), is a wonderful ensemble of (early?) Georgian architecture.


Old Palace Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Romashka01

Excellent pictures! kay:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And all along the south-eastern side, an outstanding, almost-unbroken display of early C18th


The Cricketers / Georgian Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Cricketers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green (wide angle) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green (wide angle) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Of course the Victorians couldn't resist sticking their oar in with the rather showy addition of Richmond Theatre in the northeast corner:


Richmond Theatre (1899) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Library & Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Gratteciel

Very nice district and pics!


----------



## yansa

Lovely architecture, great pics! kay:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

There are many more Victorian gems scattered around town, from humble residential to large (ex) civic institutions. If you've been following this thread you'll know this is absolutely standard for almost any london suburb.


The Square by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Petersham Road buildings 1884 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Orange Tree Theatre by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


(1881) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Nice weathervane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Vestry House by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Window decoration by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Vineyard Terrace by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Old Town Hall by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

What is more unusual is that Richmond also has plenty of Georgian gems scattered around town. Richmond Green has the biggest concentration, sure, but once you're tuned into the style you spot it in plenty of places around town...


Georgian Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond (Petersham Road) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond (Petersham Road) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Georgian Richmond (Church Terrace) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

as well as some later Georgian (Regency) style streets too


Queensberry Place by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

From a similar style and era, bearing the same classic 'two-tone' yellow brick/white stucco look of the 1820-30s, is the White Cross pub.


The White Cross by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Located on the Thames front, at exceptionally high tides the pub can be cut off, creating a fantastic excuse for drinkers to stay there.


Sunset high tide at Richmond waterfront by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

On that April evening I had only waterbirds for company:


Birds on the sunset Thames by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset high tide at Richmond waterfront by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But ordinarily this stretch of riverfront is thronging with people, especially when sunny.


Richmond from the train by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Thamesfront by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Throngs on Rivermond riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunny Richmond riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Throngs on Rivermond riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Throngs on Rivermond riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Working on a boat by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Working on a boat by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Eduarqui

Glad to see your thread "back to business"  - and with very good images and texts :cheers:

Guess some films used Richmond as location, because there are some images above making me remember films.


----------



## christos-greece

Wonderful, very nice photos from London :cheers:


----------



## Benonie

Stunning red brick architecture! Nice pics Steve. :cheers2:


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Thanks to all of you for your comments, likes and views!

Seen above is Richmond Bridge, built between 1774 and 1777. This makes it only the 8th bridge over the Thames built in what is today Greater London, so not very old in a way -- however it is the oldest physically surviving Thames bridge in London today, as all the earlier ones have since been replaced.

The Grade I listed Portland stone structure was remodelled slightly in 1937-40 but essentially retains the picturesque design which was so popular in the past, with top artists like Constable and Turner coming to paint it.


Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Birds over Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Birds over Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Under Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Boats by Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Photographing all London's Thames bridges was, IIRC, the very first 'tick-box challenge' I set myself as a means of 'forcing' myself out and about to improve my photography. And I think Richmond was one of the first places I visited on this learning curve, since it has no less than four of them...

Downstream from Richmond Bridge is the railway bridge, a nice historic cast iron affair


Richmond Railway Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Very close downstream from that is Twickenham Bridge, a more nondescript modern concrete bridge carrying the new C20th "main road" (kind of a Richmond bypass)


Richmond Railway Bridge and Twickenham Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Twickenham Bridge and Richmond Railway Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Then a short way downstream again is a footbridge running over Richmond Lock/sluice, which moderates (though does not remove) the tidal variation upstream to ensure navigability even at low tide. It is the last lock on the Thames.


Richmond Lock Footbridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Lock footbridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

By this point we have kind of left Richmond town behind and the riverbanks are more like this:


Heron by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

So let's go back to the stretch between the White Cross and Richmond Bridge, and take a closer look at the architecture of *Richmond Riverside*.

One day I came down this way at 'golden hour', and it was the most ridiculously golden golden hour I think I've ever seen...


Ridiculously golden golden-hour light on Richmond Odeon by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset light on Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sun setting on Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Which I thought was a fantastic light to shoot the Riverside 'quarter'


Richmond Riverside from Richmond Bridge by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Although later it occured to me, with no frame of reference, those pics are almost misleading, so I'd better take some in slightly more 'normal' light as well. The (river)front:


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Tower House, Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The 'side':


Richmond Museum / Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

The 'back':


Richmond Riverside by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Architectural twiddle in Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Quick quiz! Having shown you so many examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture in Richmond, who can identify the era of these buildings in the Riverside area?

If you said, the red brick one looks Georgian, and the Italinate white Tower House and various other bits look more Victorian, then.... partial credit because there are such historic elements here, but heavily restored/rebuilt, and partly, you fall into my cunning trap, because the actual answer is 1980s.

The product of 'New Classical' architect Quinlan Terry, the development is a poster-child for both sides of the ongoing 'flame-war' between those who favour neo-historical styles and those who deride them as pastiche. It is variously held up as triumphant proof of how 'our greatest living architect' shows how traditional style construction like this is more popular, pleasant, cheaper, generally better than anything modernism could offer, or, as tone deaf, incoherent, vaudeville, etc.

I must admit to being slightly on the fence in this debate. When I first visited here (see next post), I was still basically ignorant of architectural history, and happily accepted these as 'genuine'. After many years of becoming an increasingly opinionated nerd about these things, I do find parts of it a bit overwrought, or naff, i can spot a few giveaways that this is 80s pseudo and not the 'real thing'. And intellectually I feel inclined to lean towards the idea that architects of our era should design buildings of our era. But overall I find it pretty successful: even with my most architecturally elitist nitpicking hat on, I can find only a few quibbles; without that hat on, well, it looks nice, convincing even, it's a place I enjoyed returning to for pleasure year after year, which can't be a coincidence; and it's hard to imagine even the most 'intellectually' satisfying 'of our era' design (say, Zahid or Calatrava!) fitting harmoniously in this site, however impressive it was in its own right.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

My first visit to Richmond Riverside, for the World Music Festival in 2010

I think these guys came from DR Congo


DSC_0657 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0660 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0666 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0672 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0645 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0682 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

These guys came all the way from... Hounslow. Gotta love london :lol:


DSC_0751 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0752 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0842 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0718 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0699 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0746 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0694 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0722 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0771 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0734 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0822 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0812 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0797 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

i think this band were local


DSC_0859 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0853 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


DSC_0878 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

snappy dressers in the audience


DSC_0848 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Eduarqui

About the real age of that part in Richmond, I would win the lottery (how much?), because I know the work of Quinlan Terry and has even a photograph from the scale model of this "future" construction, back to late 1970s or early 1980s.

Speaking about he debate, I'm not so in the fence, because I enjoy the approach of Quinlan Terry, and think it isn't necessary to translate his projects as "genuine past", but as "continuity of past" on our own days. It's ike to build, in 2017, using pilotis and roof gardens as Le Corbusier made in 1920s: still possible, still useful,.. so, why not? We need many architectures, I guess, and there is room for everyone.


----------



## Why-Why

A great tour of one of my favourite places in London! And like Eduardo, I'm not on the fence about those Terry buildings. Yes, they are pastiche, but they don't offend the eye by offering a stark contrast with the rest of the urban landscape nor do they abjectly surrender human space to the automobile. They suit Richmond because the town is a low-rise jumble of buildings from different periods that feels good to walk around in.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Eduarqui, nice work winning the lottery! that would be interesting to see your photograph.

And Why-Why, too, both of you, interesting thoughts.

Perhaps I phrased it wrong. I am not really on the fence about the Riverside development. I like it. I feel more on the fence about the abstract "holy war" seen amongst architectural critics and forumers :lol: Although I think the 'pastiche' approach worked well in Richmond, I can't agree with the tone of most of Terry's cheerleaders, who often seem sort of... triumphalistically luddite. Agressively conservative. I would no more wish this to be the 'default' of architecture in todays world than I would wish radical deconstructivist or savage brutalism should be a default. And it seems to me that even if it were adopted as a default, the average neo-georgian development would no more match the standards of Richmond Riverside than the average provincial office block matches the Gherkin. 

So in summary I like this bit of Richmond but maintain major skepticism over the type of "modern architecture is rubbish, everything should follow this example" dogma which follows it around.

Anyway... I ramble

Another piece of Georgian 'pastiche' I forgot to post earlier - where the Palace used to be, Old Palace Yard:


Old Palace Yard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

near to Old Palace Lane, which doesn't fit in anywhere else so I'll post it here.


Old Palace Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Churches of Richmond


Church of St John the Divine, Richmond by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St John the Divine by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Little Green by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Converted Victorian church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Mary Magdalene church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Mary Magdalene church (wide angle) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Matthias Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Matthias Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Vineyard by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Elizabeth of Portugal RC church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Vineyard / St Elizabeth of Portugal RC church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Elizabeth of Portugal RC church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


St Elizabeth of Portugal RC Church by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

As you can see from the street sign in that last pic, we find ourselves on *Richmond Hill*, specifically near the bottom of it, populated with smart independent boutiques and restaurants:


Base of Richmond Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Richmond Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Ascending the hill, though, things on our left rapidly become very residential - grandly residential - first with this large Edwardian(??) block:


Golden hour on Edwardian(?) block by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

while to our right, the hill falls away over the Terrace Gardens


Terrace Gardens, Richmond Hill by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Allowing views over to the planes landing and departing at Heathrow:


Plane coming into Heathrow by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Plane taking off from sunset Heathrow by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Flight 2 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

(The lattice structure is Twickenham stadium, home of England rugby)


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Time now to look at the eastern half of Spitalfields, centred around Brick Lane, and aka *Banglatown*, since the latest group to hop aboard Spitalfields' textiles-immigration merry-go-round were Bangladeshis.

We can take a choice of routes through several side-streets between Commercial Street and the roughly parallel Brick Lane. Tourists may come to London to look at Buckingham Palace and Parliament, but imo London's real glory is streets like this. If I were put in charge of an architectural trolley problem, I would absolutely save these in preference to that overblown kitsch on the Westminster riverbank 

I might be alone in going that far, but I'm not alone in liking their old style, because I've seen them closed off quite a few times for filming historic tv/movies. (Don't have any pictures of that though, sorry)

Hanbury St -


Hanbury Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hanbury Street at golden hour by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Hanbury Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Fashion Street - its name is still relevant today as a fashion college occupies some of the former textiles buildings on the street


Fashion Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fashion Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


STEAM DEPT WORKS OFFICE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Princelet St


Princelet Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Princelet Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Princelet Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Fournier St / Wilkes St, besides Christ Church we saw earlier


Fournier Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wilkes Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

It may be Banglatown but you can still find some English essentials...


Poppie's Fish & Chips by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

And so we reach *Brick Lane*, although for the sake of order I want to start at the bottom and work up, and the bottom of Brick Lane isn't actually Brick Lane, it's Osborn St, technically...


Goodmans Fields u/c above Osborn St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Archers by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...but regardless, you can already see many businesses here are extensively owned by / aimed at Bangladeshis, not just restaurants (although lots of them, as we'll see) but finance/banking, travel (hajj), clothing, music, dvds, groceries, etc.

In the last decade or so I have seen Brick Lane's Banglatown character diluted from almost 100% to the current state where, although still a big presence, it is mixed up with Italian restaurants, steakhouses, cocktail bars, vape shops, even (ugh) an estate agent. Still, it's far from disappeared.

Here where Osborn St officially becomes Brick Lane we have a nice gateway to mark the spot, and the street lamps are styled to match as well.


Brick Lane / Osborne St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brick Lane streetlamp by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

As we head north up Brick Lane we see a silvery spire ahead, a minaret-ish sculpture attached to the mosque. This building is the poster-child embodiment of the area's immigration history, since it was built by the Huguenots as a Protestant chapel, converted to a synagogue when Jews were the major local population, and then into a mosque after Bangladeshis took their place.

What photos can't show is the lights in it cycle through different colours, which is pretty nice.


Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brick Lane Jamme Masjid minaret by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

As you can see the density of curry houses is extreme in this part of Brick Lane. These days, some of them have refined and authenticit-ised their offering a bit, actually providing more Bangladeshi/Bengali style cuisine, but to be honest, many of them are still content to shovel generic "Indian" slop to people who don't know better. And even some who do... on my last trip I ended up here since my hotel was nearby, I didnt fancy the queue at Tayyabbs, and was too tired/lazy to go elsewhere, but more fool me because the meal I ended up with was dreadful. Surely the worst curry I've had in london - any random suburban takeaway would beat it. On the other hand, the other time I ate on Brick Lane it was fine; nothing special, but fine. 

So, in terms of the finest, most authentic food from South Asia, there are better places in London to go, but for an evening out it's still a nice place to come, getting particularly colourful and lively as night falls...


Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Because it's not just food, there's lots of nightlife, bars and music here too, in particular around the former Truman Brewery complex.

With record stores, cafe-bar-club hybrids, alternative fashion, vinyl fairs etc this is a very popular spot with the young international crowd - students, backpackers etc. As well as locals of course. Actually the reason I know this area so well is because I used to have a friend living a few hundred yards away from here and when we were energetic young nightlife types we practically lived here some weekends. Hell, even some weeknights, we'd get carried away with the after-work festivities and I'd find myself on a slow nightbus all the way back to south-west london at 3 in the morning. Those were the days, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, photos:


Truman Brewery crowds by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Truman Brewery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Truman Brewery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Rough Trade East by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dray Walk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dray Walk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

since I'm me, more views highlighting the skyscrapers seen from Dray Walk -


Broadgate Tower from Dray Walk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Principal Tower u/c from Dray Walk by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

no surprise that with all this "art student" demographic in the area we find plenty of street art.


Art off Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Art off Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Wheler Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


SONY / Truman chimney by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Priced out of London by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

what is actually more surprising to me, is not street art appearing rather than bare walls, but that in this rather hipstery-gentrified area, cutesy legal street art has not yet conquered the walls from outright graffiti writers. particularly around the unglamourous 'back side' of the ex-industrial / brewery buildings, the same criminally committed writers I've shown doing the mass trespass and vandalism of the train network are the ones dominating the walls - no shiney happy animal murals here (yet)


ROSE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


EARO by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Grey Eagle Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


TIZER by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


PRISE by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


T.17 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Grey Eagle St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


BAMS by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Calvin St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


HEKLA by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


42 by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


T.17 / FOUR by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Note also the street signs in Bengali


BW by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Buxton St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

To the east of Brick Lane is the prosaic reality of residential Banglatown.


Banglatown Cash and Carry by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Blue and yellow by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Blending imperceptibly into Whitechapel to the east, the housing here mostly looks like this:


Hanbury Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

My friend lived in a flat much like that. (ex) council flats, mostly redbrick, not sure of era, possibly interwar. Similar style to ones we have seen before in places like Norbiton, and it occurs widely across London.

So not much motivation to photograph around here extensively, except for some sneaking views of the City skyline


Old Montague Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Dramatic skies behind Broadgate Tower by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Woodseer Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


City skyline on a winter night by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

In particular, my favourite spot that I discovered here is Chicksand St


Heron Tower from Chicksand St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Chicksand St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Chicksand St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## stevekeiretsu

In the north-eastern corner of Spitalfields lies a small park called Allen Gardens.

Bounded to the north by the London Overground's East London Line, which I take as mental northern boundary of the district, although to be honest I'm not sure where the official boundary is


Overground bridge at Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Principal Tower u/c from Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Above, a train approaches us on the right, heading toward Whitechapel, while the now-familiar duo of Broadgate Tower & under-construction Principal Tower are prominent here, beside the Old Truman Brewery's chimney.


Principal Tower u/c from Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Principal Tower u/c from Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

A quiet place on a November morning -


City skyline from Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But busy on a July afternoon - 


Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But all to myself again on a January sunset - 


Sunset City from Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset City (close up) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Sunset Truman Brewery by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Last trace of orange over the City by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------



## Why-Why

A fascinating tour of Spitalfields, Steve. You manage to convey the almost impossibly complex layers of settlement and development in this part of London. I have to say, though, that the architects of the City skyscrapers seem to be in a competition to see who can design the most ungainly tower.


----------



## Eduarqui

Interesting tour: I enjoy very much to see places that aren't in touristic guides, but have the soul of local population at hand to show for us


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Why-Why said:


> A fascinating tour of Spitalfields, Steve. You manage to convey the almost impossibly complex layers of settlement and development in this part of London. I have to say, though, that the architects of the City skyscrapers seem to be in a competition to see who can design the most ungainly tower.


A well-worn topic of debate on the London-specific forums here. Much as I'm wary of speaking for diverse other people it feels a little bit like, even amongst the most skyscraper-cheerleader types, there is a little collective despair/disappointment at the state of the cluster.

You can kind of count me into this group, even though, unlike so many critics of the emerging skyline, I don't have a problem with towers in the abstract, nor even most of the individual towers in reality. 

Gherkin + Leadenhall ('cheesegrater') are top quality imo, two of my favourite buildings in London. The Heron Tower (the one with the triangular bracing) is a bit of a mess in its different elevations, but from any one perspective I find it somewhere between adequate filler and (from the Spitalfields side particularly) rather decent. Scalpel is hard to judge unfinished, but seems generally high-quality. Tower42 is older than me so part of the furniture, and all the others are unexciting but entirely inoffensive filler imo. The only City tower I would seriously criticise as ungainly would be 20 Fenchurch St (walkie-talkie), and even then, it's with qualification; I think in a dense forest of C21st towers, like somewhere in UAE or China for example, it would be an interesting/elegant building, it just looks so bloody awful in its location.

But increasingly the cluster seems doomed to be less than the sum of its parts. I can defend almost all of the towers, but struggle to defend the City skyline as a whole. Renders I see on the london forums which include even newer proposals only seem to make it look worse. 

Still, my personal philosophy is a bit laissez faire despite that, it's hard to explain but I feel London naturally operates more like "ah, let's build it, if it's ugly, it's ugly, sometimes ugly is interesting, sometimes it gets appreciated later, and anyway if it's definitely hated we'll just knock it down and build something else". 

i think the people who want it to operate more like "let's definitely not push any boundaries of height or style, conservatism trumps evolution and expansion and modernism, tall/modern buildings ruin the unified aesthetic of the historic cityscape" etc (not superimposing this perspective onto you, btw, I'm speaking generally) are really spectacularly missing the point of London; indeed mostly I see this from people who don't live there, or even in the UK, but only 'know' it by teaboo media representation as some kind of Harry Potter theme park. But sometimes it comes from people who are in London, and I can only imagine inhabit a parallel reality, as I don't think there has ever been a moment in history where it had an outstanding historic aesthetic or commitment to orderly/conservative urban planning. It's no Prague or Paris in that sense. I always think the reaction to the Great Fire kind of sums it up, Wren et al come up with grand urban planning schemes for an orderly rebuild, the population say "yeah, nah, sorry we've got lives to get on with" and proceed to rebuild _ad hoc_ on the basically Roman street plan. And the Victorians were absolutely ruthless! Not that I disagree whatsoever with preserving our Victorian stock, but I find it a bit ironic how fervently people come out to defend Victorian buildings from threat of demolition, when the Victorians probably razed swathes of Georgian or medieval properties to build that stuff in the first place. etc, etc.

But I ramble...


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Eduarqui, Brick Lane is very much in the guidebooks, but perhaps not every murky corner of Spitalfields is on the tourist trail 

Back to Allen Gardens to wrap out the final chunk of Spitalfields.

Besides the railway line are some walls which I suppose are at least _de facto_ legal walls, since the standard of graffiti on there tends towards the complex and detailed


Graf at Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Graf at Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Graf at Allen Gardens by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

if you duck under the railway there's this weird hippie traveller shantie town thing called the "Nomadic Community Gardens", which really deserves full coverage, but that'll have to be another time


Hippie shanty town by the Overground by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But let's cut from Allen Gardens back through to Brick Lane, and we pass this venue which always has huge murals on it

One time I came past here shortly after the death of Terry Pratchett and was very pleased to see a huge mural dedicated to him and his former artist Josh Kirby (whose style it adopts)


Pratchett / Kirby tribute mural by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

with a full spread of Discworld characters


Pratchett / Kirby tribute mural (wide angle) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

of course it didnt last long and the next time I went along it was a Star Wars mural, but it was nice to see one of my favourite writers remembered in this way. I found his books very entertaining as a kid and continue to find them entertaining, and increasingly also aware of the layers of great wisdom, as an adult. RIP Sir Terry


----------



## stevekeiretsu

Back on Brick Lane, as we duck under the unabashedly 'functional' / C21st bridge installed to carry the East London Line from Shoreditch to Whitechapel...


Beneath the Overground across Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...then by my own prior statement about these tracks being my mental boundary of Spitalfields, we are leaving the area, and entering the hipster epicentre of Shoreditch.

However it would be a bit silly to just stop dead. Neighbourhood boundaries, in the sense that I am defining and using them here, have blurry edges, and actually walking the full length of Brick Lane is an interesting case in point. so i will briefly complete the northern, arguably-Shoreditch stretch of Brick Lane.

As you already can see above the retail focus here is shifting, although some Bangladeshi and/or textiles enterprises still exist, fashion and 'vintage' is the big business. You can't really read it very well but in the picture above is a trendy barber shop called 'Jack the Clipper'. (I think I forgot to mention his victims mostly lived and/or were murdered in Spitalfields). Says it all really


Brick Lane (Sony) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Cheshire St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

In what is presumably the last outpost of Brick Lane's Jewish era, there are a couple of legendary bagel shops here, catering to the partygoers of the area pretty much 24/7 (which is still a surprisingly rare thing in London).


Brick Lane by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Stepping back south into Spitalfields, let's cut along south of the railway, along the rather unpicturesque Quaker St - the growing City my main point of photographic interest here (this building is now finished and serving as Amazon's UK HQ I think):


Quaker St by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Principal Place u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Principal Place u/c by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

to reach the north western corner of Spitalfields where we have one or two final architectural treats to conclude the tour.


----------



## stevekeiretsu

We cross Commercial Street and head down Folgate Street, with the Broadgate tower looming ahead. a big victorian (i think) affair fronts the street besides us


Folgate Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

But towards the west end of this street the building stock shifts to earlier Georgian era.


Folgate Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Folgate Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


The Water Poet (Folgate Street) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

This little Georgian corner of Spitalfields dates from 1722 onwards and is currently designated the *Elder Street Conversation Area*.

Here's the eponymous Elder Street.


Elder Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Elder Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Elder Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

It's not a wholly preserved district, here on Blossom St you can see some modern buildings


The Water Poet (Blossom St) by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Blossom Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

at the far end of Blossom Street are a series of derelict victorian warehouses.


Blossom Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Blossom Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Warehouse by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fleur de Lis street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Fleur de Lis street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

There was a scheme proposed a few years ago to restore (imo, very nicely and sensitively) those lovely warehouses, knock down those not-so-lovely modern buildings and replace them with something texturally much closer to the historic fabric (although admittedly still not a historic recreation/pastiche). Sounds great right? Well I thought so, but it was vigorously fought against as spoiling the heritage area, etc. The worst part is, an even earlier scheme, restoring less of the historic buildings and with much less sensitive commercial-style architecture, already has planning permission! so if the newer scheme is defeated, we don't get this area left untouched, we get absolute crap.

I can't remember what happened to the planning decision in the end, if it's even been made yet.

Anyway. If we squeeze between the warehouses down this dodgy looking alley


Passage to Fleur de Lis Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

we emerge onto Norton Folgate, which is a very scruffy and run-down looking parade (this is the stuff that would be demolished and replaced with nice modern pseudo-warehouse style), visually very much more in keeping with the 'East End' side of Spitalfields than the City side...


Norton Folgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Norton Folgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

...and yet, in one of London's more jarring transitions, we are in fact now at the head of Bishopsgate, 


Norton Folgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


Norton Folgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

with the sky-high core of the City right in front us


Bishopsgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

and Bishops's Square just off to our left, bring us full circle around Spitalfields.


----------



## yansa

Thank you for this very interesting walk, Steve! kay:
I pick out two of several favourites (also love the pic where the young man
is sitting on the ground):



stevekeiretsu said:


> Elder Street by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bishopsgate by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr


----------

