Saturday, October 10, 2015

Debden

This is the 3rd station as I travel West on the Central Line.



Not quite as attractive as the previous two stations but nevertheless someone has taken the trouble to plant and maintain a flower garden. Just the two platforms, one going East and the other going West. Access from one to the other is via an iron bridge
 






A short walk from the station takes you onto the Broadway



where the most interesting shop was the eel, pie and mash shop.


 I think the only place you will find these cafes/takeaways is in London, in particular the East end of London. Pie and mash shops have been around since the 19th cent. The pies are usually minced beef served with mashed potatoes and an eel liquor sauce which is a green colour (from the parsley). Eel pies were a favourite of the working class during the Victorian era as eels were plentiful being the only kind of fish that could survive life in the polluted River Thames. Nowadays the shops tend to sell either steamed or jellied Eels to go with the pie and mash. Neither of which appeals to me.



Debden is surrounded by countryside and is also close to Epping Forest












 Just five minutes walk from the station is the Roding Valley Nature reserve.




When I visited the blackberries were ready for picking but unfortunately I didn't have a container with me. I couldn't resist tasting them and they were deliciously sweet.









Overlooking the large nature reserve was this housing estate which by its design I would assume was built in the 60s. How it got planning permission I have no idea, it reminded me of a disused school.


Sign for the London Loop (London Outer Orbital Path). It is a 150 mile walk, made up of 24 sections, around the edge of outer London. I'll keep that in mind for another day.












This is Epping Forest College. a large 6th form and further education college.
In the distance you can see the London skyline. The tallest one being the Shard at London Bridge. Debden is about 11 miles  from the centre of London



There are two large industrial sites close to Debden, places I don't usually bother to visit as they are not exactly interesting. However, after returning home and doing some research to accompany my photos I made a couple of discoveries. It meant a return to Debden to have a look.





This building with its double fencing and razor wire is only five minutes from the station. Intrigued?






 Well, this is where all our bank notes are printed, hence the security. (Did wonder if I might be visited by the security guards before leaving the area.) I have also heard that this building is the reason there is no junction onto the M11 motorway from Debden making a quick getaway very difficult with the heavily congested roads here.



 Around the corner from the printers is this large storage unit. A small board outside informs you that this is the store for the  Postal Museum.  It is only open to the public by prior arrangement on certain open days. I couldn't complete this post on Debden without a visit so I had to wait a couple of months before an opportunity arose and I wasn't disappointed.

This is a store room where larger exhibits are kept before going out on loan. They are packed tightly together so doing them justice wasn't easy. I enjoyed the tour and here are a few of the highlights.

The mail coach dates from around 1840. It carried passengers as well as the post.
















An electric bike which didn't really catch on.











                             

The designer of this Victorian pillar box was so intent on making it decorative that he forgot to put an opening in it for the letters. When he added one he put it on the top, the ideal place to catch the rain! Needless to say this one didn't last long.





                       


                   

                                                                           
I never realised that we used to have special pillar boxes for air mail letters.





















Squeezed between a K2 and a K6 telephone box is a much larger one that was also a post box and had a stamp machine on the side as well. Apparently it didn't catch on as the stamp machine was too noisy whilst someone was using the phone.








Sharing with Our World Tuesday





24 comments:

  1. You did find some fascinating places in what appeared to be just another stop.

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  2. Wow! I didn't expect this when I clicked on the link. Well done! :-)

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  3. How nice to see flowers at the station and only a short walk and you're in a nature reserve. I had to smile at the Eels Pies & Mash signage. I guess if you were really hungry it would be just the place to go.

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  4. I loved seeing the postal museum, especially the post box with the crown on top. I don't recall seeing one of those before. I love pies and mash but not so sure about the eel sauce. Oh, what the heck, I'll try it!

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  5. Goodness, it really shows what one can discover by taking more than a superficial glance (much more, in this case ...at least a couple of return visits to a place that didn't look all that interesting at first. I just love this. Bill doesn't really read blogs but I always show him these posts. We both love the idea of what you are doing ... And London!

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  6. Hello, looks like another great stop. I would like to visit the nature preserve and the postal museum. Wonderful collection of images and post. Have a happy new week!

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  7. From an apparently ordinary London suburb you came up with some fascinating (and valuable! )information. That grey building looks like something from Soviet Russia.

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  8. What an adventure you are having and sharing wonderful photos ~ This looks like a very different Great Britain to me ~ not to mention the 'eel pie' ~ Don't think I would care for that ~

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  9. Oh, the pillar boxes are a treat to see! In my neck of the woods there is much discussion about the fact that our historic and longstanding door-to-door mail delivery service throughout Canada will soon no longer be offered door-to-door. :(

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  10. There's definitely a lot of interesting things to see here - I like the mail museum.

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  11. I need to go and get my book I bought on The Tube. I am loving your posts. Your pictures of all the different mailboxes are fascinating. This is a fabulous post to someone who wishes she were an Anglophile.

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  12. I like the old phone boxes and pillar boxes.

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  13. Very interesting and beautiful to see. all those pillarboxes. I also like the little vehicles.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Wil, ABCW Team

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  14. What a fantastic tour you've taken us on. I'm lovin' it.
    The eel sauce tho.....hmmmm, not too sure 'bout that concoction.

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  15. Great blog full of interesting places. Though you might be up for the eel pie & mash but I must admit It does not sound that appealing. Never knew about the museum, looks a great place to visit and all those post boxes are little gems

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  16. That line I haven't taken very often or just for one or two stops ! But if I would have known that I can (steal) print pounds there I would certainly go there, I still can ! Would love to see the printers !

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  17. Interesting displays at postal museum.

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  18. Well. I learned several things here. Can't imagine eating an eel especially from a dirty river. but I guess protein was protein.
    That postal museum was very interesting..

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  19. I'd always wondered where the postal museum was. It looks amazing. I think it's moving soon, or changing so it will be open to the public more. My husband works in Paddington and has got to see the mail rail. When I started reading about Debden, I didn't quite expect what you found there, with the Bank of England printers too.

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  20. I enjoy your walks and finds a lot. This is the first time where I even thought to think there is an outside of London. lol. I would've enjoyed that postal museum, too. Thanks for sharing your finds.
    Take 25 to Hollister

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  21. Those are imposing fences! The postal museum was certainly worth waiting for. Thanks for sharing such a nice variety of places and images.

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  22. You are doing such a great job with your posts and research on this theme well done. Amazing what you find in the suburbs. The mint and a storage place for museum pieces. A great post. So much traffic there too.

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  23. Bakery fanatic though I am, I think I'd give the eel pie a miss!! Although we can sometimes get a pie with mashed potato & mushy peas down here - it's the first thing Pilchard goes for!! LOVE all the RED!

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  24. I remember driving from Barkingside to the M11 and going past the Bank of England building. If I remember rightly they also weight the workers going in and then going out too! Loved the Royal Mail Museum, especially the story of the first post box :-)

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