Bromley-by-Bow

This is the 14th station on the District Line and the 118th station I have visited on my 'Above the Underground' challenge. The name of the station was changed from Bromley to Bromley- by-Bow in 1967 to prevent confusion with Bromley railway station in SE London. The station opened as Bromley in March 1858 on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway.  Underground services began in 1902 when the District line was extended. In 1936, the Metropolitan, now the Hammersmith and City line opened a service along the District line from Whitechapel to Barking.

I used to alight at this station 8 years ago when I was rehearsing for the Paralympic Opening ceremony. Much has changed in the intervening years.

There seem to be far more blocks of flats overlooking the station than I remember.

The original iron supports are still in place but this station has been undergoing extensive work over a number of years. Lifts have now been installed for the first time, making it the 73rd step free station on the London Underground. It means there will be step free access to both the Westbound and Eastbound platforms. A further 13 stations will be step free by 2022. The difficulties of accessing non step free stations was brought home to me this week. I took my 2 yr old grandson to visit the Natural History Museum which meant using Embankment and South Kensington stations. Neither are step free which meant trying to negotiate the steps of very busy stations with a toddler in a buggy or carrying a buggy whilst trying to hold the hand of a toddler walking up and down numerous steps. Without the assistance of fellow passengers it is impossible. Only 27% of the underground is currently accessible. This figure is due to increase to 40% by 2022.


As well as new lifts the ticket hall has been renewed and a new glass frontage added but it is not quite finished.

This side view of the station shows how the station building is perched above the railway lines. As you exit the station there is a slope/steps leading down to a subway taking you beneath the very busy A12 roadway.

The A12 is one of the main thoroughfares taking traffic south of the river through the Blackwall  Tunnel or north to the main motorways, a route I have taken  many, many times. The road splits the area in two and the only way to get from one side to the other is via  subways.




Once on the other side of the A12 you are taken back through the centuries with the Three Mills. In the Doomsday Survey, commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, eight tidal watermills were recorded in this area on the river Lea and its tributaries. Three Mills was certainly one of the sites.

This stone is almost illegible but it shows the flood levels. On Jan 7th 1928 the mills were under about three feet of water



 This is the House Mill, believed to be the largest tidal mill still in existence. It was built in 1776 and is a Grade 1 listed building. The surrounding area includes the Grade II listed Clock Mill, the Custom House and the cobbled road.

On the front of the House Mill is this elaborate stone plaque. It has the initials of Daniel Bisson who built the House Mill in 1776.

In 1588 the Three Mills area had two water mills, one a corn mill and the other was a gunpowder mill. It changed ownership many times and then in 1727 it changed again and became a distilling business to produce gin although the other mill still continued to produce flour which ensured its longevity. The mills were powered by water from the River Lea.

At the end of the cobbled road is the 3 Mills Studios, London's largest film and TV studio with 14 stages and 10 rehearsal rooms. It was here that I had the majority of  rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games. 

Following the river beyond the Mills you walk across the Three Mills Green with its 'Helping Hands' 'memorial. 

1901 four men died opening up a disused well . Each suffocated from 'foul gas', followed by his colleague who went down to help the previous worker. Today the memorial commemorates all those who have died in workplace accidents.

The statue is next to Three Mills Lock. There is a lot of building work being carried out here, mainly new residential blocks. They are also building new bridges across the canal.

There are a number of narrowboats moored here.  I liked the name of this one.

A lot of wildlife on the canal today.

From the Three Mills Green you can see the present day pumping station belonging to Thames water. Just beyond this one is the magnificent Abbey Mills pumping station which I mentioned in my previous post.

I walked back from the Green to Bow Creek and followed the towpath towards Bow Locks.

The towpath takes you beneath the railway lines which carry the trains to and from Bromley-by-Bow stations.

From the path you can see Bromley by Bow Gasworks. In 1809 this was the site of a rocket factory but in 1870 it was bought by the Imperial Gas Company who built their gasworks here.There used to be eight gasholders but one was destroyed by a bomb during WW2. Gas is no longer stored in these containers so it will be interesting to see what happens to these giant iron structures. ( This photo was taken last Summer hence all the greenery).

Bow Locks. The locks link the tidal Bow Creek to the River Lee Navigation (the part of the river which has been canalised). Built in 1850 and then rebuilt in 1930. They were modified again in 2000 to keep the tide out and reduce the silting up of the canal. From here I made my way back to have a look at the tow path going northwards.


There was so much construction work going on. Everywhere I looked new buildings were springing up.

The council wanted to maintain something of the historical story  of this area and have put signs up where not so long ago there were a number of industries here. Cheap land with no building restrictions attracted many different types of industries from soap making to porcelain. Between 1860 and 1900 there were 200 chemical works around the area. When the 2012 Olympic Games were awarded to London, the area set aside for the building of the Olympic Park was just a stone's throw from here with this river running through it. Some 1.7 million cubic metres of  contaminated soil had to be treated using soil washing and chemical and geotechnical stabilisation. Two soil hospitals were set up to test, process and treat excavated contaminated soil for reuse and five washing plants treated a range of contaminants. It became the UK's largest ever soil-washing operation.

I left the towpath at the Bow roundabout and came back up onto the A12 desperate for a drink and sit down. The only place I could find was a McDonalds! I must admit I was grateful for the rest and a strawberry milkshake!

Back on my feet again I knew I was too far from the station and wandered back in an easterly direction through a housing estate. The blue plaque on the wall of this building intrigue me.

The building is Kingsley Hall on Powys Road, a social centre set up by two sisters Muriel and Doris Lester in 1928. They wanted to improve the lives of the poor. Prior to opening the hall, in 1912  they opened a nursery where the children were fed, clothed and cared for at 5p a day. When mothers couldn't afford the fees, children were sponsored by a network of wealthy supporters. They needed larger premises and with the help of donations from wealthy patrons they had this hall built with residential units or cells including the one that Gandhi used.  The women stood for peace, temperance and women's rights, supporting the suffragette movement. In 1931 Mahatma Gandhi stayed here while attending a conference discussing Indian Independence. He had refused to stay at a hotel but agreed to attend the conference if he  could live with the working class.
In the 1980s Kingsley Hall was used as one of the sets for the film 'Gandhi'. Richard Attenborough, the director of the film helped to raise funds to have the hall refurbished. The Hall was reopened in 1985 as a community centre offering a wide range of activities.

Next to the Hall is the peace garden which I could only view through the peace gateway as it was locked.

Looking back at the garden from the road I could see an eternal flame burning in the garden.

Next to the Peace garden is a park. Bromley-by-Bow park is locally known as Bob's park named after Robert Grenfield who looked after the park  in the 50s and 60s.

There is a cobbled pat through the park which has a number of blue glass squares set into it. The squares have tiny pictures of animals or flora etched onto them.

In the children's section of the park is this dragon which has a small trough down its back hat fills with water when it rains.

There are a number of sculptured seats scattered around the park

The park is now part of the Bromley-by-Bow Centre, an innovative project that combines a medical centre with an extensive neighbourhood hub. There is also a cafe in the building and artists' studios.

It seems to have a lot happening here.

This is the front entrance to the centre. I was curious about the arch as it looks so out of place. I discovered that the Archway came from Northumberland House which used to dominate the whole of the southern side of Trafalgar Square. The house was built in 1640 and lasted until 1874 when a new road was built from Trafalgar Square to the Embankment. In memory of the house the new road was called Northumberland Avenue.  Parts of the house were reused in other buildings. The archway was first used as an entrance to the garden of Tudor House on the site of Bob's Park. Then in 1998, when the Health centre opened, it was moved to its present position. The archway was designed by William Kent in the 1700s.


This sculpture inside the courtyard of the centre was commissioned in memory of the life and works of Lord Ennals, patron of the Bromley-by- Bow centre. 'The Passenger' was sculpted by Paula Haughney, the resident artist at the centre, shortly after the birth of her daughter.

Next to the church are these mosaics, made by members of the community. A good way to brighten up an otherwise plain, brick wall.

The gateway to St Leonard's churchyard. The 19th century church was destroyed in WW2 leaving just the gateway and garden beyond.  St Leonard's Priory was founded here in the 11th century during the time of William the Conqueror. It was home to between eight and thirty Benedictine nuns. The nunnery was closed during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII and the building passed through various owners. The chancel part of the priory remained and was altered to build the church of  St Mary and St Leonard. It was one of the few places in London that had Saxon features and artifacts but sadly it took a direct hit during the war. In 1969 the Northern Approach Road was built over the church and most of the old grounds

This old pub has been converted into residential properties but they have kept the frontage . The pub is just across the street from the station.

I decided to walk southwards from the station along the A12, the road in front of Bromley by Bow station. This six lane road with a central barrier was built in the 1970s and had a profound effect on the area as it was split in two. Many side streets with their terraced housing had to go, to make way for the new road.

 Just past the station is the newly opened Bow community hub. It is designed for use by local community groups, voluntary and community sector organisations and local residents.

I was pleased to see some greenery along this very busy road. I could taste the pollution from the cars as I walked along the road. There looked to be some buildings of interest on the other side of the road so I crossed using the subway. The only trouble was that I was too close to the buildings to take photos of them so I had to cross back!

This is a former London County Council fire station. It was built between 1909 and 1911 and is now Grade II listed. Following its closure in 1972, it has been converted into residential and work studios.   The station was known as Brunswick Road Fire station.

This is Bromley Hall, deceptive in appearance as inside the house survive parts dating back to Tudor times. It is thought to have been built in the 15th century with many changes taking place in the centuries that followed. Much of the brickwork at the front is said to be Tudor. Residents of the property include a mistress of Henry VIII and the secretary of state to Elizabeth I. I have often sat in a traffic jam looking at this distinctive building and wondering about its history. Well, now I know.

This building looks odd sitting beside the busy road. It was built as a public library between 1904 and 1906. Once the new road was built the library was stranded on the wrong side. It closed in 1981 after being empty for a number of years. It has now been converted into office and work spaces.

I walked back along the road crossing the Limehouse Cut. This short canal links the River Lea to the River Thames.