Wimbledon Chase

A map of the area can be found here

Wimbledon Chase is an area I would have imagined growing up around the railway station at the turn of the last century. It was probably quite a genteel area at first, with some fine shops, nice houses and an ideal site for the new Nelson Hospital, which had outgrown its original site in Wimbledon. It's still pretty genteel, although the area just past the railway is a little more run down these days. I started off one evening walking between the two railway lines as can be seen on the map above.
Junction of Kingswood Road and Wilton Grove What a combination of features to kick the tour off with! This is a combination of what I assume to be a sewer ventilation/pressure release stack, electric lights of the same vintage as those found in South Wimbledon (1901 and if they were listed why not these?) and what looks like the original fittings for the road signs (I can't imagine they've not been repainted in the not too distant past!). Quite easy to overlook s the whole set acts as a roundabout. Very nice though...

Kingston Road It's always a pleasure to stumble across a building with a bit of history, even if it does look pretty unprepossessing from the front. I think the plaque speaks for itself
Kingston Road A nice brick dating plaque on the side of a restaurantOpposite Nelson Hospital, Kingston Road There's a very attractive block of shops and flats in a very distinctive red brick just opposite the Hospital with attractive chimneys, weather vanes and towers. The elegance still seems to affect the shops which are mostly quite characterful themselves. Here's a few of the more attractive features.
Here's a chimney stack that's slightly more interesting than most in the area

There's a tower at the two corners on the road but only one retains its pennant, and this one looks a little lop-sided

Nice ornate date plaque in red brick I haven't seen many drainpipe brackets stamped with the date of construction before. Many were still intact but I thought this one was more interesting.
Kingston Road This was one of the original ventilation grills spotted just underneath a shop window
Nelson Hospital, Kingston Road The Nelson Hospital moved a mile or so down the road when it outgrew its original site on the broadway and has a series of dedication plagues. Yhis one faces the main road and can be easily seen when you're walking along.
Nelson Hospital, Kingston Road Nine years later they extended it as can be seen from this plaqueKingston Road SW19 Just by the Nelson Hospital is a very popular Italian deli which has been there for some years. Luckily they decided not to paint over or replace the previous shops tiles so you can still see that it was originally a butchers. Thumbs up to the deli!
Kingston Road SW19 Tucked away to the side was this rather attractive mirror which has suffered a bit with the attention of what looks like a ventilation unit