Putney Bridge

Putney Bridge station, the 43rd station I have visited on the District Line as part of my 'Above the Underground' challenge. It took me longer than it should to get to the station but I am following my own strict precautions with regard to Covid, which involves using National Rail trains rather than the tube as the carriages are emptier and the windows are all open. This time I got a train to Victoria (18 mins) and then a short journey of 6 mins by tube to Earls Court station. From there I walked to Fulham Broadway station (25 mins)  and then got on the tube to go the two stops to this station.  So I hope I will find enough places of interest to make these long winded journeys worthwhile!

On each of the two platforms were these waiting rooms/ shelters. I imagine they are not in use at the moment but useful during inclement weather.

The station is above the ground as are most of them on this branch line. It opened in 1880 as Putney Bridge and Fulham when this line was extended. Before the railway bridge was built over the River Thames this station became the terminus until 1889 when the Fulham Railway Bridge was built across the Thames. In 1902 the station was renamed Putney Bridge and Hurlingham. It received its current name  of Putney Bridge in 1932 even though the station is in fact in Fulham being North of the River Thames. You have to cross the River to be in Putney.

Opposite the station is the River Cafe. A great pity this café was closed when I visited. It has the look of an original  1950s/60s cafe. Looks like their speciality was the good old English breakfast. Somewhere to revisit if it survives the Covid closures.

The owner was just opening this little gem of a bookshop. I don't feel happy about browsing through books at the moment so I didn't venture inside.

Around the corner from the book shop was The Eight Bells pub. This is a Grade II listed building dating from the 18th century and is the oldest surviving tavern in Fulham. First licensed in 1629 as the Blue Anchor but changed its name until settling on the Eight Bells in 1754 which may have been when it was rebuilt.

The station is named after the bridge which is just a short walk away. Before there was a bridge here, ferry crossings were the only way to get across the Thames from Fulham to Putney. Putney Bridge station is on the Fulham side of the river. The bridge was first built in 1729 and was known as Fulham Bridge and made out of wood. It was the first bridge to be built across the Thames since London Bridge was first constructed in Roman times. The wooden bridge had toll booths at either end. The Metropolitan Board of Works purchased Fulham Bridge in 1879, discontinued the tolls a year later and set about rebuilding it. The current bridge is constructed from Cornish granite. It was opened as Putney bridge by the Prince(later King Edward VII) and Princess of Wales in 1886.

On the approach to the bridge is Riverbank House which has a 15 foot high sculpture. It was completed in 1963 by the sculptor Edward Copnall (1903-1973). When I first saw it I thought it was by Henry Moore.

It was the first fibreglass sculpture in Britain and is known as 'The Swanupper'. Swan Upping is the counting of swans, on behalf of the Queen, which starts in Putney. The ceremony of Swan Upping dates from the twelfth century and takes place during the third week of July each year. The Swan Uppers weigh and measure the cygnets and check them for injury, commonly caused by fishing hooks and line. The cygnets are ringed with individual identification numbers. The sculpture shows a man  grappling with a swan.

There are medieval churches on both sides of the river which would denote that Putney was an ancient crossing point of the Thames. The church on the Fulham side (the North side) is All Saints church.

Aside from the Tower, the church was mainly rebuilt in Victorian times. The lower part of the tower dates to the 14th century. The base of the tower was used to house the earliest school in Fulham. In 1630 a Dr Edwards gave money to build a school room for village children over the porch. During the English Civil War, Parliamentary soldiers stabled their horses in the church. In 1880 the church was pulled down and rebuilt with the exception of the tower. 

The architect reused much of the original medieval stonework and preserved many of the historic monuments within the church. Due to Covid restrictions , the church was closed so I was unable to locate any of the original monuments.

I did come across this beautiful sculpture in the churchyard, though. The Mother and the child (2000) by Helen Sinclair. It is of a mother walking with the child carried on her back in a shawl. It was commissioned by the Rev Kenneth Bowler. A bronze miniature was given to him on his retirement. 

 

Unusually, there are 11 bishops buried in the churchyard. The Bishops of London resided at Fulham Palace, a short walk from the church, from 700 AD until 1973. The first known burial was in 1376. The churchyard was enlarged four times between 1781 and 1843 and was closed to burials twenty years later.

 

Next to the church are the Sir William Powell's Almshouses. They were established in 1680 to provide accommodation for 12 poor women. Originally built in Back lane Fulham,  they were rebuilt here at Church Row in 1869. The building is extremely decorative which I found amazing as their purpose was to accommodate the poor.

The houses form an L shaped block around a small garden.

The scheme is now run from the offices of the Sir Oswald Stoll foundation ( which I wrote about when I visited Fulham Broadway station). To be eligible applicants must be female residents of Fulham, over the age of 55. Each flat has one bedroom, a combined living room/kitchen and a separate shower room. 

I walked back through the churchyard and into Bishop's Park. The Park was given to Fulham Borough council in 1883 by the Bishop of London on condition it was laid out and maintained for public recreation. 

It includes Bishop's Walk which is a raised pathway along the riverside.  This walk along the river is part of the Thames Path National Trail. It follows The Thames, England's longest river for 184 miles from its source in the Cotswolds to its mouth in the Thames Estuary. The river is tidal from the sea to Teddington Lock, 12 miles upstream from Putney Bridge.

From the river path you can see Pryor's Bank.

 The original Pryor's Bank was a grand Gothic house built in 1837. In 1900 the house was replaced by this half timbered building. Formerly tea rooms, it is now All Saints parish offices.   The gardens were preserved and opened as an extension of Bishops Park.

Nestled in one of the flower beds I found this memorial to the International Brigade, the volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War.

I continued walking through Bishops park until I reached Fulham Palace. 

The Palace is now a museum but that was closed today. However, the gardens were open to the public. The site  has been a residence of the Bishops of London since 704. During the mid 13th century the original manor house was demolished. It was at this time that the foundations were laid for the current house. From then on , different Bishops carried out various building works to meet their own needs, including demolishing the Tudor wing. The Bishops of London used the Palace as a Summer retreat from London.

 It was also a place to entertain important visitors such as Queen Elizabeth I in 1601.  After the reformation in the 16th century the clergy were allowed to marry and it became a family home. In the 19th century  the Bishops shared the facilities  with the community by holding parties and church pageants in the grounds.

In 1918 the Palace became a hospital for wounded soldiers.  In 1940  during the Blitz two hundred people sheltered here when their homes were destroyed. The final Bishop to live in the Palace left in 1973. The Palace is now managed by an independent charitable Trust.

In the palace gardens you will find these wonderful carvings. The sculptures are the work of Andrew Frost. He carved the pieces in 2007 from a cedar of Lebanon that had been felled due to disease.

The two acre walled garden was first enclosed in 1764. This included an earlier wall from 1500. Kitchen gardens became fashionable in the late 18th century. This garden was divided into four sections by paths. Soft fruit and vegetables were grown in each of the sections.  Flowers which were needed for the house were grown along the borders of the paths.

 

On leaving the Palace I walked past this area now used for allotments which once formed part of the Palace Estate. It was known as The Warren and there are numerous references to haymaking taking place here. Late Victorian photographs show the land as parkland with open areas for cattle grazing. Since 1908 local authorities have been compelled to provide small strips of land - allotments- for working people to grow their own food. This became more important during World War 1 due to food shortages. The Warren was offered to the local authority for use as allotments in 1916.  The Fulham Palace Meadows Allotments Association now manages 410 plots.  

As I walked back towards the main road I passed 'The Palace Gardener', a garden centre. Fortunately it had a café where I could sit down outside and enjoy some lunch.

After lunch I walked a little further to have a look at Craven's Cottage. This is the home to Fulham Football club. They played their first match here in 1896.

A sign of the times with all sports being played behind closed doors at the moment.

I returned to the station via the main road,

At the junction of Burlington Road and New King's Road is this Grade II listed kiln. It is all that remains of the Fulham Pottery, a complex of buildings dating from the 17th century. This brick built bottle kiln probably dates from the 19th century. John Dwight founded Fulham Pottery in 1672 when he perfected a way of firing clay pots and bottles with a glaze that gave them the appearance of stone. The pots had a smooth finish and were ideal for holding food and drink and could also be decorated. The pottery was usually grey decorated with blue bands, leaves or flowers. After his death in 1703 the pottery remained in the family until 1862 and was then sold. During WW1 there were nine bottle kilns in operation making stone hot water bottles and run jars for the armed . In 1975 the Pottery was demolished as part of a redevelopment but one of the kilns was preserved.

Just a couple of minutes walk from the kiln and I was back at the station.

Sharing with Our World Tuesday

Parsons Green

 This is the next station on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line. It is the 42nd station I have visited on the District Line out of a total of 60 stations. Covid 19 is making travelling to these stations a challenge as I do not want to be on a tube train for more than 10 minutes so I am walking far more than I normally would during these excursions. This station opened in 1880 and the first thing I noticed was the amount of wood cladding used in its construction.

Not the usual kind of station clock which made me wonder if this had been presented to the station for some reason or other but I could find no plaque or other information to quell my curiosity.

The outside of the station has attractive arched windows and brickwork.

There was a different feel to this area. As soon as I left the station I felt I was in the suburbs. There were lots of families out and about, babies in prams, toddlers in buggies, children on their bikes. Even the cafes seemed busier here.

A short walk from the station brings you to Parsons Green, from where the station takes its name. Not a large green space but lots of mature trees and benches. Well used by locals and with little litter to be seen, I would guess that there is a very active neighbourhood group here. The name is derived from the parsonage or rectory that used to stand about midway along the western side of the Green. The rectory was demolished in 1882 and St Dionis Church built on the site.

St Dionis Church(1884-5). Sadly, I was unable to visit the church as it was closed. I wanted to go inside to see the font which was designed by Wren and came from one of the churches in the City.

 References to Parsons Green date back to at least the 14th century. A pond known in the 17th century was situated at the SE corner of the Green. It was filled in during the 19th century when the natural spring by which it was fed was destroyed during the construction of the main drainage for the King's Road. Parsons Green, together with Eelbrook Common and Brook Green was purchased by the Metropolitan Board of Works for £5000 in 1881 and administered as a public open space. In 1971 the administration and maintenance of Parsons Green was transferred to the London Borough of  Hammersmith and Fulham.

To the left of the Green is the 19th cent White Horse pub. As with many large pubs its origins lie in previous buildings on the site. A license was first granted to a coaching inn here in 1688 which was rebuilt 100 years later but destroyed by fire in 1881 after which the present building was constructed.

The pub has a number of decorative features

In more recent times the pub has been nicknamed the 'sloanie pony' a reference to the clientele being 'Sloane Rangers'.

This term was derived in the 1970s from Sloane Square, an expensive and fashionable square on the borders of the Belgravia and Chelsea districts in London, and, of course, takes its linguistic lead from the Lone Ranger. Sloane Rangers, or latterly just Sloanes or Sloanies are upper class and fashion-conscious but conventional young people, living in the more expensive parts of West London. The term Sloane Ranger is most often applied to young women. Lady Diana Spencer, prior to her marriage, was the archetypal Sloane. Wealth, and an upper class, although not necessarily aristocratic, social position is a pre-requisite. Sloanes are widely derided and, regardless of whatever educational standing they may have achieved, are generally regarded as dim-witted socialites. A typical female Sloane might be called Victoria or Sophie and, prior to marrying a male Sloane, have a part-time job in childcare or public relations. A typical male Sloane might be called Ben or Toby and opt for a job in the Army or the City..https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sloane-ranger.html

Next door to the pub is the former Fulham Maternity Hospital which opened in 1937. During WW2 a section of the hospital was used as a First Aid Post for civilian casualties. It is now a surgery and medical centre.

 Lady Margaret's school for girls occupies the next three large houses overlooking the Green. The earliest dating from 1800. 

The school takes its name from Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509), the mother of Henry VII. The school began life in Belfield House, the oldest of the three houses.  In 1937, the second house, Elm House was purchased. War interrupted further improvements as the school with most of its pupils moved to Midhurst, Kent. The school reopened back in Parsons Green in 1943.

On the opposite side of the Green there is a YMCA hostel. This hostel caters for long term residents especially the homeless. Residents stay here for up to three years before moving on to rented accommodation. The hostel doesn't just provide a roof over their heads but helps to support its residents.

Next door is St Dionis Church Hall, a former mission church of 1876.

Streets leading away from the Green are lined with Victorian cottages

At the far end of the Green on New Kings Road is Aragon House, built in 1796 and now a pub and boutique hotel. It was built on the site of a dowager house that was occupied by Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, hence the name. During its history it has been a school, a private members' club and in 1914 it was bought by the Royal British Legion. However it is now owned by the City Pub Co. 

To the left of Aragon House, also overlooking the Green are three terraced houses dating from the same period

This  pub on the corner of Peterborough Road is a Grade II listed building, built in 1892. Apparently there has been a pub on this site since 1657.

It had the name, The Duke's Head until 1971 and then it was changed to The Duke on the Green. It was named after the Duke of Cumberland who was the son of George III who owned estates in the area.                                                      

I turned into Peterborough Road which was mainly residential. The date on this building was 1911.

Then passed this large telephone exchange which opened in 1938. Form here I found my way onto Broomhouse Lane.

This is the entrance to the private Hurlingham Club

It was in 1867 that Mr Frank Heathcote obtained permission to promote pigeon shooting matches at Hurlingham and soon after formed the Hurlingham Club. The pigeon still forms the Club's crest and until 1905 there was still a pigeon shooting competition. The game of Polo was first introduced to the club in 1874,  followed by lawn tennis in 1877. The first All England tournament was held at the club in 1900. The club was modernised after the WW2 with the addition of indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a golf course. It is still an exclusive members' club with its waiting list now closed.

After WW2 the size of the club was significantly reduced when the polo fields were compulsorily purchased by the London County Council to build council housing. Across the road from the Hurlingham Club is the Sulivan Court Estate. It is a post war development  built in 1949-56 on the site of the Hurlingham Club's No. 2 Polo Field. It is named after the Sulivan family who were 19th century local benefactors living at Broom House, a mansion by the river. After the death of Charlotte Sulivan in 1911 Broom House and its extensive grounds were sold. Hurlingham Club bought two of the most valuable lots including the house. The house was then demolished and the site incorporated into the grounds of the club.   

The other polo field became Hurlingham Public Park. The site of former stables became a series of enclosed gardens, bowling green, paddling pool and play area.

The park was full of children playing football matches and the younger ones enjoying the playground facilities.

This Gothic mansion is the Castle Club built in 1855 as  a 'ragged school'. Ragged schools were charitable organisations that ran free schools for destitute children in the 19th century. In most cases the schools also provided food, clothing and even a place to stay.

The building of this Ragged School was commissioned by the Right Honourable Laurence Sullivan. He named the school after his wife Elizabeth, the younger sister of the Prime Minister, Lord Palmeston. This historic building has fallen into a state of disrepair over the decades. The property development and Investment company Thackeray Estate recently bought the property for £4,500,000 and propose to return the building to its original purpose of an educational establishment.

At the end of Broomhouse Lane is the River Thames.

Broomhouse dock used to be a ferry point taking passengers across the river to Wandsworth.

I walked along the Thames Path for a short distance when I came up against construction work for the Tideway.

London's super sewer, a 25km tunnel that will run below the river going from West to East. Currently sewage pollution flows into the river on average once a week.

I left the riverside and took a left turn down Peterborough Road. On the corner is an unusual building. This is the Piper building which was built in the 1950s as a laboratory complex for the North Thames Gas Board. The renowned artist John Piper was commissioned to create giant murals on the theme 'The Spirit of Energy'. In the mid 1980s the Gas Board moved out and the building remained empty for a number of years and was destined for demolition. However, it was bought by a developer in the 1990s and redeveloped into 70 apartments. 

This was no ordinary redevelopment. Although there are just five floors , each floor is a double height space, an unusual extravagance in London. The apartments were initially sold as shells so buyers could employ their own architects to develop the space in a creative way. Consequently the apartments are unique and far removed from the usual identical little boxes.

Moving on I came to South Park. It is impossible to walk any distance in London without coming across a public park. This park offers a wide variety of sports facilities, managed by the local council, which are available to the general public.

South Park is the only farming land in Fulham that still remains as an open space. The land was known first as Broom Farm and then Southfields Farm. Charlotte Sulivan sold the land to the council for use as a recreation ground and it was formally opened in May 1904. During the First World War the land was used for allotments and the growing of vegetables. In the Second World War it was again used for allotments. Full air raid shelters were also built in the park.

A short distance from the park is this housing estate. These houses are known as the 'Lion houses of Fulham. They were all built in 1900 to the same design. The Irish builder James Nichol distinguished his work with the addition of lion finials.

Most of the houses have been extended by the addition of attic floors but there is a conformity of design which retains their original character. It is said that too many lions were ordered so each house had their own lion plus sharing another with the neighbouring house. It was just a short walk from here back to the station.