Barons Court 2: The Coal-holes

Part two of our wanderings around Barons Court reveals large numbers of coal-hole covers and a number of new manufacturers to add to the list. Some striking designs too, such as...

A. D. Woodrow & Co. - Engineers, London
Very simple design of concentric circles but quite striking too. My first thought was that this is the ideal coal-hole cover to use for a game of marbles. A new producer though, so very welcome.
James Paynell; Chapel Stall, Edgeware Road
Tricky one to read this, mainly due to the wear and the wet conditions. It's an interesting design and unusual in as much as the central motif is quite amorphous or 'blobby' rather than well-defined and mathematical. As a reader remarked in the Comments section, this is apparently more due to wear and tear rather than design. It'll be interesting to find a better example to compare.
Unknown Manufacturer:
Could just be the way my mind works but there seems to be a hint of the Minoan about this one. Another intriguing one for a game of marbles. First to the centre of the labyrinth?
Unknown Manufacturer
What's going on here though? It seems to be the same design as the example above but with a central groove added across the central section. It's not clear why but I can only imagine it might have been intended either as a space for a name or possibly to aid the coal-man remove the lid in some way?

Vine Morrison & Coy.; Earls Court Road SW
Is this where Irish songster Van Morrison pinched his name? Vine Morrison is a new one on me but with an attractive geometric design this one could be described as 'nice and tidy' with some attractive, solid lettering.
Unknown Manufacturer
So different to the 'modernist', geometric approach of those other 'Unknowns' above, this is all Victoriana and Church Stained glass. Very striking to see though.
Unknown Manufacturer
This one struck me as being very similar to the example above and indeed, after exhaustive use of high-tec comparison and photo-mapping I can reveal that it is, indeed, exactly the same design. The effect of the extra wear on the second does make you think twice though.
Froy & Son; Hammersmith
The Froy name still seems to be about, albeit in kitchen design rather than ironmongery but there is still a definite link to follow. I might well do a 'Froy special ' if I can get some history about the firm, especially in it's early days. Compare the lettering on this one to that of Vine Morrison above. In comparison Froy's comes across as a bit reserved.
Hayward Brothers: 187-189 Union Street Boro.
The ubiquitous Hayward Brothers are here of course. This looks like an earlier version that hardly seems worn at all.
Green & London; Walham Green (various designs)
Similar design to that above but a bit more compact and punchy to my way of thinking. Presumably the holes were to let in some light.
This one is very similar, but if you look carefully then you can see the slight stylistic differences, most notably lack of light holes and small chevrons between the circles. Same basic design though.
Again at first glance this looks the same but differences in the positioning of the letters around the rim show that it was probably from a different production run. Green & London seem to have been perfectly happy with their basic design though
Unknown Manufacturer
No idea who made it but it's quite nice in it's understated way. No chance of slipping on this one.
There were some other pieces around Barons Court, including some nice fan-light stained glass I could have recorded, but I couldn't miss the magic show so scurried off for an afternoon of cards and illusion! A very enjoyable and informative afternoon all round.

Barons Court 1: The Boot-scrapers

Area around the "Curtain's Up" pub

I found myself emerging from a very attractive Barons Court Underground station on Sunday accompanied by a wife and seven children (not all mine) on our way to the three o'clock show of the 'Magician's Cavern' in the basement of the "Curtain's Up" pub. Very enjoyable it was too and recommended as a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday, especially if you bought your tickets on the lastminute website at half price. However, we found ourselves a good half an hour early and so with several willing (and some less than willing) assistants we set off with a camera to see what we could see.

The first thing that's obvious in this part of London is that it is heavily residential, with large terraced town houses with stairs up to the front door and basement rooms below. The second thing that hit me was the large number of surviving coalholes and boot scrapers. Coming from an area of fairly late Victorian development and high streets that are re-paved and surfaced every few years, it's always a thrill to spot the odd survivor. In Barons Court it seems that almost all of the coalholes had survived - presumably because there had been no impetus to revamp the pavements, which preserved the coalholes, and as the property owners were now into lettings rather than living there themselves, no-one had thought to 'tidy-up' the bootscrapers either! Their negligence is our gain though as I present, with nothing up my sleeve, the magic bootscrapers of Barons Court...

Barons Court Road
Not so much a bootscraper, more like 'the one that got away'. Obviously this fine recess once housed a magnificent boot-scrape whose time has been and gone. The recess lives on however.
Barons Court Road
Quite a tall example with an elaborate central 'floral burst' effect. At least that's what I think it is. Either way it's quite a 'sit up and take notice' sort of a scraper. Not for the faint hearted.

Castletown Road
Functional is about all you could say of this one. A bit gangly and earnest it tries with a bit of ornamentation but only barely rises above the bland.
Perham Road
Without a doubt this is the lowest-slung bootscraper so far. Not much more than a blade trapped between to supports , I was intrigued by their design, despite not being able to make out exactly what they were.
Perham Road
Watch out, this one looks a bit of an uneccessary risk taker! Strapping fluted columns leading to an ornate cut-away blade. Surely that's cutting it a bit fine in the middle arch? Still, it's survivied all these years and I guess it doesn't get much of a workout these days.
Perham Road
To my way of thinking this is far better proportioned than the Castletown Road effort above, although they do look similar at first glance. squat, solid and with no ideas above its station.
Vereker Road
There were several examples of this style of scrape and I suppose it comes nearest to being a local 'house' style. Nice and solid with a 'classical' feel to it I think...
Coming soon: a plethora of Barons Court coal-holes.

T. J. George - Coalhole

T.J. George - BatterseaHaving taken an interest in coalholes, one thing that's become apparent is that many of them seem to have been produced locally by small scale producers and local ironmongers. However I've no idea if this was really the case - for example did these ironmongers really cast their own coalholes as would have been suggested at first glance, or did they actually produce designs that were then sent off to foundries for them to cast enough to fulfil the order, enabling these small-scale businesses to provide 'local coalholes for local people'. The example above is a case in point. I came across this one outside a large (now multiple occupancy) house in Pelham Road Wimbledon. It seems to have been cast by a Battersea Ironmonger called T. J. George, a producer I hadn't come across, even when I'd visited parts of Battersea. As my own perception of an ironmonger is a small shop manned by several blokes in their sixties wearing brown coats, you have to wonder if an operation like that would be up to casting molten iron. Would the returns be worth all the set-up costs? A bit more research is required I think, but for the time being I'd be happy to add T.J. George to my list of coalhole manufacturers

Of Drains and Stink-Pipes

Put a peg on your nose if you must, but it's about time we tackled the emotive world of the "Main Drain Stink Pipe"... Well that certainly seems to be how they are referred to in general conversation. Not that the subject comes up much though and to be honest I've a feeling it's a bit of a misnomer. After all could it really be possible that the manufacturers of London's sewage system would build in, at regular intervals, outlet pipes to waft the sickly -sweet hints of sewage across the neighbourhood? I doubt it. Actually, I believe that they were installed almost as 'safety valves' to prevent any dangerous increase in air pressure in sections of the tunnel. Although there seems to be pretty much a standard design, the ones I've found do have interesting variations

Let's start with the first one I spotted

Merton Road, Wimbledon
As proof of how innocuous these pipes can be I had walked past this several times before I suddenly noticed it. I was taken by its relatively ornate design when, let's be honest, a straight pipe would have done just as well. Yet there it is - a hint of Victorian over-design nestling quite happily in its modern setting.
Although there are some cracks in the iron these days, you can see how the Victorians felt thatn even a basic pipe would benefit from a little ornamentation. Southey Road, South Wimbledon
Not too far away from my first spotting (and possibly even on the same main drain?) is my favourite stink-pipe. Two for the price of one, this unit was adapted to take an early electric light. Now very much defunct, I believe this design would date back to the early years of the last century, with the small pices of mirror reflecting the light back on the assers-by below
Not much left of the mosaic of mirrored glass these days...The ivy's starting to take a hold around the 'collar' area but a plastic id tag is still visible...as is the still ring of spikes designed to deter any would-be lightbulb thief!

Lambton Road, Raynes Park
This seems to be of the same design as the one on Merton Road, but what I like here is the fact that the paint-job only goes half-way up. Could it be that the painter wasn't allowed to go any higher due to Health & Safety regulations about streatching too far above your head?

Vicarage Road, Hampton Wick
This beauty looks as though it should either have a flame coming out of the top, like some strange lantern, or lots of Victorian children tying ropes to the top. It really does seem an evocative object and I've no idea what either the spurs were for... ...or the basket -effect near the top. A subtle dispersal of faint aromas possibly?Still there's a nice bit of cast-iron scroll-work near the bottom and that'll do me.Garrat Lane, Wandsworth.
Here's a whopper! Tucked behind an advertising hoarding I couldn't see the base of this one, but it was by far the tallest I'd seen. Looks a goody though...

Dodgy Van Sign

I know this isn't strictly speaking within the usual remit of Faded London but I couldn't help recording this striking example of van signage. Now it could be just a unfortunate coincidence or it could be a cunning example of reverse psychology but am I the only one to do a double take when first seeing this?It reminds me of the sniggering that greeted the London 2012 Olympic Logo and the suggestions that it reminded people of Lisa Simpson in a compromising situation. OK, this might not be in the same league but I wonder if everyone responsible for designing the new company logo stood back to admire it, realised what they'd done, muttered it under their breath... and decided to keep very, very quiet.

A Lot of Old Bollards

Bollards aren't what they used to be. I can remember one in an alley down the side of my Grandparent's shop in Battersea that was an old cannon with an oversized cannon ball stuffed down the barrel and you could find similar examples of municipal re-cycling all over London. As years have gone by there's been more and more homogenization of street furniture and bollards for the most part, look pretty bland. There's still the odd one or two of interest though including some of those shown here

Putney High Street
A large number of modern, fairly bland an inoffensive bollards line the High Street. The point of interest here lies in the colour they are all painted -the colours of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Putney Bridge is the starting point of the annual University Boat Race which might not be quite up there with the nearby Wimbledon Tennis Championship, but is still obviously making a fuss about (if painting your bollards two-tone blue can really count as 'making a fuss')
Roehampton High Street
This is a 'proper' village-like High Street, now little more than a backwater, but this solid and rather attractive bollard looks as though it's been around for quite a while.
Spring Passage, Putney
Ha! What's this? Same bollard, different location and this one looks as though it's not buried quite as deeply as its Roehampton cousin
The Strand, Central London
No idea as to age, but it's suitably ornate and solid for a prime 'prestige' tourist location. Westminster seem to go rather for the ornate, which is no bad thing in my book.
Westminster, Central London
This seems to be the 'bog standard' Westminster design. There were certainly enough of them around. Quite distinctive and not at all unattractive I feel.
Borough Market, London Bridge
All on its own by a passageway under the railway bridge, again this is one that could have been here for a while. I'm not too sure abouth the dated plaque though. I doubt that it's been here since 1813!
Albert Road, Kingston-on-Thames
It looks pretty plain and modern, but it was standing all alone without an obvious job to do and the wall and fence had been built around it. Interesting...as was the 'Chelsea' embossed on the top. Is it a bollard though, or have I come across a new sub-species?

Station Road, Morden
Classic in its design, sturdy no-nonsense stuff on a riverside location and with quite a nice logo.
Medfield Street, Roehampton
This elegant beast is located at the other end of the passage from where the other Roehampton bollard is located, but they are totally different in design. This has a definite air of Victorian design about it, octagonal stem, scroll-work, loads of gratuitous knobbles and a nice bit of patina and wear.
Blackshaw Road, Tooting
My personal favourites - five very quirky and unusual bollards near St George's Hospital
Not sure what's going on with the design here - It reminds me of a row of lolly sticks with a few bulges. And why does the middle one not have a round top like the others?
The maker seems to be 'Thomas Perry' although the paintwork looks as though it could do with a touch-up. Better not mention it to the local council though as they'd probably whip them out and replace them with some concrete ones...
Winchester Walk, Borough
Could this be it? This bollard is actually embedded into the side of this building and I'm wondering if underneath all that paint and rust... could this possibly be an old cannon? Probably not but it certainly looks the part.
As does its companion just a few feet away. Hmmm... the ball is definitely in a depression there, but I'm still not 100% convinced.

A Quick Stroll Through Barnes

Map location for Barnes Pond and High Street

I've some fond memories of Barnes, especially the Sun Inn by the pond which was my first 'regular' as a spotty youth. A pleasant walk across the Common, a drink around the pond on a warm summers evening (could only afford the one usually) and then a nice stroll back. All very bucolic and English so our spur of the moment decision to 'go somewhere' last Sunday was partly influenced by my desire tovisit old haunts and partly to see if there was anything worth noting in what was always a very village-like part of South London.

I could only fit in a brief stroll but there were a few nice items, some blue plaques and some lovely old buildings, but I had the feeling that, being a very desirable (aka expensive) part of London, Barnes had been scrubbed up nicely and a lot of the old stuff had been tidied up.

Barnes High Street
A typical butchers shop with its traditional butchers tiles and mosaics. I'm not really sure why butchers seem to be such bastions of tile work - possibly as it was easy to keep clean and tidy - but they do have some nice examples. The shop is still owned by the Seals as well...
Barnes High Street
There were no old ghost signs in Barnes, but it did look as though a couple of older companies had maintained some painted signage. This one was up by the river...
Barnes High Street
...whereas this was more toward the pond. It's still the site of a pharmacy but I bet that sign has been around for a while!
The Terrace
This mosaic of Bacchus was by the front door of a house fronting the river. I was wondering if it was a copy of a genuine Roman mosaic, but nicely done anyway.
The Terrace
Very odd one this. A quite ornate house facing the river with two painted boards overhanging the pavement. Each board had two very worn and indistinct painted surfaces with depictions of sailing ships (you have to click on the picture below to make sense of it really). But what was the house originally? Barnes High Street
I like this one and pound to a penny it'll be used in a specific posting on mosaics as well! A typical shop front proudly proclaiming the original owner. Sad to report that they are no longer there...
Barnes High Street
One of the remaining sections of original tilework. OK, so it's not that special but it's loud and proud and it goes well with the black and white checker board mosaic so just marvel at its ability to surviveBarnes High Street
Last, but by no means least. I almost missed this as I was strolling down the road. Very grey and innocuous, it's only when you look closely that you realise that it is, in fact, an early vending machine. I'm not sure what it sold but my guess would be cigarettes, but whatever it was it cost a shilling. I also presume it was a little more colourful in its youth. Anyway it's very impressive that it's managed to hang on for so long.What I'd be really interested to know was when the last item was purchased from it. Presumably before 'Decimal Day' in 1971!