Upminster Bridge

 This is the 2nd station on the District Line when travelling westwards. It is one of the least used stations on that line with less than 1.5 million entries and exits compared with 5.5 million at Upminster.

This shows all the other stations on the District Line. I wonder how long it will take me to complete it. I am hoping to have finished this line by the Summer of 2021!

 Upminster Bridge station  was constructed in 1934 by the London Midland& Scottish Railway. The Underground took over the station in 1969. Many of the station's original features still exist including these oval seats.

and the cream and red tiled interior and tiled floor in the entrance.

The reversed swastika pattern on the floor of the ticket hall was a popular decorative design at the time the station was constructed.

Upminster Bridge is the only underground station with a red telephone box. However, it no longer has a telephone inside.




Just outside the station was a sign for one of the sections of the London Loop walking route. The London Outer Orbital Path (Loop) is 150 miles long. It circles the Greater London area and takes you through ancient woods, parkland, farmland as well as alongside rivers and canals. I have walked along parts of the Loop when I have visited the outer reaches of the tube line.

The station is named after a crossing over the River Ingrebourne.  The River formed the boundary between the ancient parishes of Hornchurch and Upminster with the station on the Hornchurch side. As there has been a bridge there since 1299 I was very keen to see it..

Turning left onto Upminster Road from the station I walked past The Windmill pub which used to be called the Bridge pub because of its close proximity to Upminster Bridge. If I continued walking along Upminster Road it becomes St Mary's Lane where the windmill is located  which I wrote about in the previous post.  The pub wasn't open when I visited but it looked pleasant enough from the outside.

Then I came to the bridge - not quite what I was expecting!  In 1782 it was suggested that a stone bridge was needed over the river instead of a wooden one but the plan was rejected. As a consequence it had to be repaired many times. It was another 100 years before a stronger crossing was built following flooding. The new bridge was twice as wide as the previous one and had a time capsule of local documents and publications sealed into the foundation below the road surface. However, I must admit I was expecting a slightly more impressive bridge than this tarmacadam road.

 I did wonder if this was the right place but on one side of the bridge is this pedestrian walkway where you can clearly see the River Ingrebourne beneath.

The river passes through the Borough of Havering travelling from the north east to the south west and then flows into the River Thames at Rainham Creek.

I walked round the corner off  Upminster Road onto Bridge Avenue.  At the end of the Lane is the ground of the non league football side AFC Hornchurch.  It is also home to Havering Athletics club stadium.

A path from the football club's car park takes you to Gaynes Parkway, an open green space running alongside the river. 

Tempted though I was by the rope and tyre swing, sense prevailed and I left well alone.

I walked as far as the next footbridge  and then crossed to the other side of the river and followed the road back onto Upminster Road.

The area is very residential with street after street of 1930s housing.

The local shops are more business premises than traditional retail food shops.

I walked down the main road as far as St Andrew's church. There has been a church on this site for over 800 years.

One very unusual feature of the church is the horned bull's head mounted on the east end of the wall. In 1158 King Henry II granted the church and land to the monks of St Bernard in Montjoux who built Hornchurch Priory which survived until 1390. The monk's seal was a bull's head and it is possible  that might be why a horned bull was put on the church. One can also assume that is where the name of Hornchurch originates. In 1610 it was thought the horns were made of lead but when they were repaired in 1824 it was discovered that they were in fact copper. In 1999 the copper horns were stolen and never recovered. They were replaced in 2001.

The lychgate and the war memorial were erected after WW1.

A lychgate is a covered gate at the entrance to a churchyard. Lych means corpse and the gate was traditionally the place where the corpse bearers laid the body of the deceased. The priest would then carry out the first part of the burial service under the shelter of the lychgate. They are usually made from wood and are prone to decay. Consequently many lychgates are modern reproductions.

 St Andrew's churchyard was the only place authorised for burial in this area and it is thought the monks from the Priory in the 13th and 14th century were buried here.

The cemetery at the back of the church looked overgrown and quite a few of the gravestones had been moved by tree roots.

I was surprised to see this gravestone in the churchyard as I would have expected it to be in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery which is nearby in Hornchurch Cemetery. Eric Arthur Dunlop served with the Canadian infantry and died, aged 23,  on 20th April 1918.

The immaculately manicured Commonwealth Graves section in Hornchurch Cemetery which is next door to St Andrew's churchyard.

I spent less than a couple of hours wandering around Upminster Bridge. Although it was pleasant enough, sandwiched between two larger towns of Upminster and Hornchurch, it is mainly a suburban housing area.