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