Fulham Broadway

This is the 41st station I have visited on the District Line as part of my 'Above the Underground' challenge. The District Line  is the only line to serve 60 stations, covering a distance of 40 miles. From Earl's Court the Line branches out in four directions. I am now on the Wimbledon branch at Fulham Broadway. The station was opened as Walham Green in March 1880 when the District Railway (now the District Line) extended its line south from West Brompton to Putney Bridge. The name was changed to Fulham Broadway in 1952.  The station was upgraded 20 years ago as part of the Fulham Broadway Shopping Centre which was built above the station. 

New 'match day' staircases were added at the far end of the platform to allow crowds attending Chelsea FC games easy access to the ground without going through the shopping centre.

I exited the station into a new, bright shopping mall. Covid has meant a number of outlets are closed. I am sure this looked quite different pre covid days.

Turning right out of the mall brings you to the original station building which is now a food market.

I decided to walk back past the shopping mall and follow Fulham Road. The building next to the mall is the Fulham Broadway Methodist church. I didn't realise it was a church until I crossed the road and saw a cross above the glass frontage.

 

A little further along the Fulham Road I came across this impressive entrance. I wandered inside the gates looking for more information about the building.

Just inside the entrance was this huge tribute to the supporters and benefactors of the foundation. Further research informed me that the land was donated to the War Seal Foundation in 1916 by Sir Oswald Stoll. The charity was formed to help disabled soldiers returning from World War 1 and their families. The charity which was renamed in the 1930s to the Sir Oswald Stoll foundation, provides housing for ex-servicemen and women as well as supporting veterans suffering from mental health issues. Members listed included  Royal family members, Gordon Selfridge (owner of Selfridges) Sir Jesse Boot and the Prime Minister's wife of the time, Mrs H Asquith.

Sir Oswald Stoll (1866-1942) was an Australian born British theatre manager. In 1898 he formed Moss empires with Edward Moss and together the company had music halls in nearly every town. Stoll also owned Cricklewood Film studios.

The front of the Stoll Foundation mansions.

Next to the Stoll foundation is Chelsea Football Club. You would think that as we are on Fulham Road just 100m from Fulham Broadway station that this would be Fulham FC. but that is not the case.

In 1904, Gus Mears with his brother Joseph Mears bought the freehold of Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground. As they were both football enthusiasts they intended staging first class football matches at the ground. Unfortunately they couldn't persuade Fulham to move to a new ground. But in 1905 a new club was set up in a local pub. They couldn't use the name Fulham so chose Chelsea instead. And so began the rise of one of the most famous football clubs in the world. Its fortune increased when in 2003 the club was bought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who cleared all the club's debts and then spent obscene amounts of money buying new players for the club.

Opposite the main entrance to the football ground is The Butcher's Hook pub. It was in this pub that Chelsea FC was founded on 14th March 1905. At that time the pub was named The Rising Sun. 

There seem to be numerous pubs in the area. This one is 'The Chelsea pensioner' which dates back to 1862. Being just a few minutes walk from Stamford Bridge it is a popular drinking place for football supporters. It was originally known as The Black Bull before becoming 'The Chelsea Pensioner' in 2014.  It now refers to itself as 'The World's Number 1 Chelsea Fan Pub'.

Just off the Fulham Road in a cul-de-sac is this delightful row of cottages. It seems a world away from the busy Fulham Broadway. The flowers outside the pub were putting on a dazzling display.

The building is said to date back to the 17th century. Over the years it has had a number of name changes. Then in 1965 it became the Fox and Pheasant. It looks like an old country pub in the heart of a city. In 2017 it was up for sale and bought by the singer James Blunt. The singer, a local resident,  was worried the property might become a residential property so decided to buy it. It has had 18 months of renovations and has been transformed into a gastro pub with no expense spared. It apparently has open fires, leather armchairs with the outdoor space turned into an orangery style dining room with retractable glass roof. There is also a private dining room upstairs.

On the other side of Fulham road from the cul de sac is the old chapel of the College of St Mark and St John which is a Grade II listed building. It was built in 1841 as the chapel of St Mark's College. The college which was an education college for teachers moved to Devon. As from 2017 the chapel was redeveloped into two houses.

An open gate led me through a private park and then out onto the King's Road.

You could hardly miss this building on the Kings Road. It houses a collection of furniture and antique dealers.

Who would have thought that on a Saturday afternoon on the Kings Road,  the shops would be closed. I wonder if they will ever reopen.

I continued past the deserted shops onto the New Kings Road and then turned left onto Eel Brook Common.

The common was formerly used for pasture. Building work encroached upon the land during the late 18th century and the District Railway reduced the area further in the 19th century. Public opposition prevented further erosion of the land and in 1881 it was designated as a public park. Its facilities now include cricket and football pitches as well as tennis courts.

Leaving the common I came out onto Effie Road. My attention was drawn to the number of people I had seen carrying guitar cases but the mystery was solved when I saw this building. This is the Bimm ( Brighton Institute of Modern Music) Institute. 

 Further along the road was this delightful old Welsh chapel. A small plaque on the outside informed me it was built in 1900. Researching it on the internet I found out that this is now the Breast Cancer Haven. A place where men and women can go to receive complementary services addressing the emotional and physical side effects of breast cancer treatment. A new centre was due to open soon near King's Cross but its construction had to stop due to the pandemic. It is now expected to open in May 2021. On the day I was here the building was being used as  a Covid testing centre

 Outside silver leaves are intertwined around the Victorian iron railings. Inside the converted church there are stained glass windows and a water feature. A master of Feng Shui was used to help design the features inside the building.

On the opposite side of the road is an old Mission school, introduced in the late 1850s to educate the poor in a Christian environment. This one was built in 1905. What is interesting about this building is that it has the original sign still in situ as well as the porch with its triangular arch. 

Effie Road led me on to Barclay Road and this 1770s pub which was originally called The Red Lion hence the sculpture on the roof. Now known as the Redback it has Australian themed food and drink. The Redback is named after Australia's most venomous spider.

I stopped for lunch at this roof top cafe on the North End Road.

Tables were all socially distanced and as it was outside I felt safe eating here.

Across the road from the café were a couple of interesting buildings. This one is St John's Parish Hall. 

Next to the parish hall is the old public baths and wash house with its very ornate frontage. The building dates from 1902 but just the front section remains. The building is still in use as a dance studio.

Further along the road is the North End Road market. It has been in operation since the late 19th century as a food market selling mainly fresh fruit and vegetables. At its height there were over 90 stalls along the road but that number has dwindled with the increase in supermarkets. Now it's just six family businesses that form the mainstay of the market. Over the years the diversity of the produce has increased with less familiar fruits and veg from all over the world. I noticed there were a number of stalls specialising in vegan options. Here is the place to shop if you don't want your food pre-packaged in plastic.

I made my way back to the station via some back streets. This is St John's church which had a small food market in its grounds.

This is 'Clarion' by Phillip King.  I couldn't work out what it represented but it did brighten up the space between two roads.

I finished today's walkabout outside the old town hall which is across the road from Fulham Broadway station.  It is a Grade II listed building but was sold by the council to a developer in 2014 for £10,000,000. Planning permission has now been granted for it to become a 'boutique ' hotel.