Building Plaques

This collection of photos comprises mainly of interesting plaques and brickwork that pop up from time to time. They don't really fall into any easily identifiable category so they vary from one to another, from the fairly plain to the ornate
New Malden High Street
Starting with one of the less ornate, this dedicatory plaque seems to have been created with a more impressive cast list in mind. Mr Penny seems a little lost in all the space.
Garrat Lane, Wandsworth
This is typical of the plaques found on the sides of schools all over London that were commissioned and built by the London County Council. This particular example is dated 1905.
Kingston Road, Wimbledon Chase, SW19
This is the sort of brick plaque that intrigues me, with all the delicate scrolling and attention to detail. I was wondering how they were made - presumably a model would be made up a cast taken and brick dust mixed in with a binder before being poured in to obtain the detailing. I'm probably very wrong about this, but it cetainly makes an attractive addition to the side of a house
Munster Road, Fulham SW6
A similar example to the one above, only larger and designed for the front of the building rather than being tucked away on the side.
Kingston Road, South Wimbledon, SW19
Built by John Innes (he of No.2 fame) the Masonic Lodge features this attractive plaque above the front door.
High Street, Croydon
Although the new shopping centre has changed the focus of Croydon, there's still a fair bit of the Victorian Town to be seen, although it's not always easy to work out what you're looking at! For example this plaque is dated 1894 but I've no idea what the letters 'BG' stand for.
High Street, Croydon
This either represents justice (the scales and the blindfold) or it could be something relating to fair trade and merchants. Although why the boy would be blindfolded if it related to trade is beyond me...
Coldharbour Lane, Brixton
Bit of a sad and shabby example here. I'm thinking that maybe York House was a smart and prestigious house when it was first built but it's obviously seen better days.
Old Town, Clapham Common
There must be a story here! This plaque is on the side of a fairly small building (compared to its neighbours) but has an unmissable plaque on the front. It seems to be a heron standing on the back of a two-legged dragon. These two are on a set of furled flags that surmount a coat-of-arms. However the most eye catching element is the motto 'Contentment Passe Richesse' which is a quotation from a play by Moliere that refers to marriage and translates as 'Happiness Before Wealth'. How it ends up on the side of a house in Clapham is beyond me though.
Clapham Common South Side
Part of a pub that obviously used to cater for a wide clientele, I wonder how long it's been since luncheons and teas were regularly available?
off Clapham High Street
I'm not sure what building this one came off, but it was one of a series of several of similar designs. Very nice though wherever it came from.
Borough High Street
This one speaks for itself. Really attractive and eye catching stuff, especially with the gold lettering. The hop exchange is just up the road so Borough Market was obviously the centre of hop dealing in London
Westminster, W1
The Portcullis is the symbol of Wesminster and the lettering is attractive in an art-nouveau sort of way as well.
Coombe Road, New Malden
This looks like a pretty standard plaque found on the front of local telephone exchanges, in this case one laid during the reign of George VI in 1937
Braganza Street, Lambeth nr. Kennington Tube
This attractive plaque was on the side of a fairly small shop, but had been painted over, which was a pity really. A bit of damage too. I wonder if that might have been from the last war? More likely a careless workman fixinf the drainpipe or something...
Wimbledon Broadway SW19
The courts may have moved and the site now a shopping centre, but the Royal Standard is still looking down on the shoppers.
Borough Market
The BMT stands for 'Borough Market Trust' and sits above the small historic building used for runing and regulating the market.
Balham Station Road
This one is so ornate you can hardly read it! Nice one to finish on though...

Some Fulham Ghost Signs

Looking back through my collection of snapshots and unused photos I realised that I had a fair number from a couple of strolls I took over Putney Bridge into the wildlands of North London during the summer. Now I know to most people Fulham would be bordering West London, but to anyone born south of the river the real divide is north/south rather than east/west. Crossing that river, be it on foot, in car or on train is always a psychological trip to the dark side. It seems the locals are reasonably friendly though and after a while I was able to relax enough to take my camera out of its case and to start taking a few snaps. It's been a while since I was there and I may have a bit of a problem remembering exactly which road the pictures were taken in and although there were no major ghost signs in evidence there were a few tantalising glimpses of what used to be...

The Drive, Fulham Road
The Drive is a small slip road in front of a block of flats that might have been quite grand in its day. The gold paint has faded though and the sign long since ceased to be worth re-painting

Fulham Road (?)
I know, you're thinking "This one is too clean to be a ghost sign - he must be mistaken?" Well granted it is very clear but apart from the fact that the business is no longer in place, when was the last time you can remember a removals van being called a Pantechnicon? It's one of those words which is crying out for a check on its origins so here goes. From the Wikipedia comes the following explanation

Pantechnicon has become the generic name for vehicles specially designed and constructed to transport furniture, except where "moving van" is usual. This is derived from a building of that name in Motcombe Street, Belgravia, London. The Seth Smith brothers, originally from Wiltshire, were builders in the early 19th century and constructed much of the new housing in Belgravia, then a country area. Their clients required storage facilities and this was built with a Greek style Doric column façade, and called Pantechnicon, Greek for "pertaining to all the arts or crafts". Subsequently special wagons were designed with sloping ramps to more easily load furniture with the building name on the side. The Pantechnicon Ltd, a furniture storage and removal company continued to trade until the 1970s. The building still exists as an antique shop.

Parsons Green
This one is so frustrating. It faces a railway line so is a prime site for advertising and it is obvious that the current inhabitants quite like being superimposed on previous signage, but I feel like I'm trying to read this one twenty years too late. Although there are loads of layers of advertising here, it makes it almost impossible to make out more than a few letters at a time. Best of luck if you can make anything out...

Maybe the top lettering might be easier to read? Maybe not...Draycott Mews, New Kings Road
Now bisected by a modern gate this alleyway once led to a printers. Sadly it's now impossible to make out who they were other than the fact they started "W. BR...". You can still see some lettering on the other side of the bars but not enough to make out the name.

New Kings Road (?)
Last ghost sign on my little perambulation. This one was on the side of a house facing the street and seems partially obscured by what I assume was a later building. It's obviously for a builders merchant as it's offering bricks and sand amongst other items. Pity the white paint is obscuring most of it, but that's the way it goes.

Barons Court 3: The Miscellany

I wouldn't want you to think that the streets around the 'Curtain's Up' pub were just populated with boot-scrapers and coal-holes. There were a few other items that caught my eye that I feel I should add to give a more rounded feel to the area.

Vereker Road Looks like someone took the instruction to 'Press' a little too literally
Perham Road The end of Perham Road curves behind some of the terraced houses into a short dead-end that I suspect used to have some service yard like a milk depot, stables or a coal yard. As it curved there was probably less incentive to build the standard houses and some small plots seem to have been purchased for more individual and esoteric buildings. The stained glass fan light below came from above the front door of one of these and to my uneducated eye has a look of the Arts & Crafts movement about it. There were a series of these, at least three or four, and I wish I'd taken a photo of each now. I've a feeling they were named after individuals, even though this one does seem at first glance to fall into the 'Dunroamin' school of house names.
Barons Court Road A nicely painted pillar that for some reason stopped short of repainting the number. I'm sure there must have been a reason for leaving it but I'm struggling to think what it could be...
Barons Court Road What an attractive basement light this one is - the squares are almost opaque but the banding between isn't the common metal or concrete, but what seems to be white tile-work, giving it a very strong and vibrant presence.
Perham Road Fancy coming home to this every evening... To my mind a very attractive and elegant mosaic and one of a series along the road.
Perham Road Unless my memory is playing tricks I believe this is the mosaic outside The Studio featured below
Perham Road Tucked away in in the corner is this interesting little building dated 1899. A quick google for 'The Studio' + Perham Road came up with (apart from loads of studio flats to rent) a link to the manuscript library at the University of Glasgow and the following entry

Letter from Alfred Lys Baldry to James McNeill Whistler. 1, Perham Crescent, Perham Road, West Kensington, W., March 21st 98. 'Dear Mr. Whistler' Asks permission to reproduce some of Whistler's recent work, 'pictures or drawings.', in the spring number of the Studio. Will send Gray to photograph what Whistler chooses. 'Very truly yours A. L. Baldry'. [As the spring number of the Studio contains no photographs of W's work, one assumes that W did not comply with the request]

Although this was dated 1898 I think it a safe bet to assume Whistler was working in The Studio before giving it a bit of a face-lift the following year and might also explain some of the more artistic flourishes (and names?) of the houses nearby. No plaques or markers that I could see though to give a clue as to it's illustrious former inhabitant

One last thought from the Wikipedia entry on James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Whistler founded an art school in 1898, but his poor health and infrequent appearances led to its closure in 1901. He died in London on July 17, 1903

Could The Studio have been the site of this ill-fated art school?

Even if it wasn't the last three entries are all the result of a quick stroll down four streets and as a way of killing twenty minutes I think that Barons Court has done us proud.

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.