Ravenscourt Park

 

This is the 51st station I have visited on the District Line. It also marks the half way point for me in this challenge of 'Above the Underground'. There are 270 separate stations on the underground and this is the 135th that I have written about. I started this challenge in 2014 and thought it would take a couple of years! What a fool! I am hoping I will be a little quicker with the second half but I make no promises.

Ravenscourt Park only services the District Line. The station was opened in 1873. It has two island platforms and four tracks. The outside tracks are used by the District Line. The other tracks are used by the Piccadilly Line but the trains do not stop at this station. Calls for the Piccadilly Line to stop here have been made but so far I haven't heard any plans of this happening anytime soon.

I like the way the wooden benches are shielded  from the worst of the weather.

The track is above ground level so you need to descend the stairs to the exit.

The ticket hall and ticket machines.

The station exits onto a residential street. 

The bridge that take the trains into the station.

The street had many large houses which overlook the park.

This is Ravenscourt Park from which the station takes its name. The park is what remains of the once extensive medieval estate of Pallingswick. This estate was part of the then manor of Fulham, owned by the Bishop of London and at one time there was a large manor house here. King Edward III's mistress Alice Perrers lived in the manor during the 14th century. It was only in 1888 that the 32 acre site was officially opened to the public.

From the park you can see the Ravenscourt Park Hospital

The building was opened in 1933 by King George V as an independent Freemasons Hospital. It had four main buildings linked by glass bridges and at its entrance are these two large concrete figures of Healing and Charity. The five storey hospital had 270 beds and provided private health care for subscribing Masons. By the 1970s the hospital was experiencing financial problems which eventually caused its closure as a masonic hospital but not until 1994 when it was put up for sale. It reopened as the Stamford private hospital. Then in 2002 it was leased to the NHS as one of the first diagnostic and treatment centres which were used to cut waiting times for orthopaedic operations. It was renamed as the Ravenscourt Park Hospital and the Stamford Hospital staff were then employed by the  NHS. In 2006 the NHS services and staff were transferred to the Charing Cross Hospital. There were no signs outside the building to indicate its current status.

I walked through the park and under the railway arches onto King Street.

I had the eyes of the badger following me as I walked under the arch.

I crossed over King Street to take a closer look at this memorial. This Victorian water fountain was erected in 1887 in memory of S L Swaab with the inscription ' His knowledge like a spring of refreshing water flowed ever during life for the relief of suffering.' I couldn't find out who Mr Swaab was but I did discover that the council are going to refurbish it so it becomes a drinking fountain once again.

The fountain stands in front of this impressive building. There is a blue plaque outside the building giving the following information: This is Palingswick House. It was built in the mid nineteenth century as a private residence possibly for Barnabas Steele whose initials appear on the façade. By the 1880s it was in institutional use, first as a Kensington and Chelsea Board of Guardians school and then as a home for diabetic children. The house was renamed after the old manor of Pallingswick in 1954. This is the first time I have ever heard of a home for diabetic children.

This is the Polish Social and Cultural Association which was founded in 1967. It houses the Polish library in London  and has an art exhibition space. There is also a 300 seat theatre for film screenings, theatrical productions and musical recitals.

Close by, also on King Street, is Latymer Upper School which was founded in 1624 by Edward Latymer. He was a wealthy lawyer and bequeathed part of his wealth for the clothing and education of 'eight poore boyes' from Hammersmith 'unto the end of the worlde'. Between 1624 and 1895 Latymer Foundation's lands paid for local boys to be educated in local schools. Then in 1895 the Foundation decided to open its own school here on King Street.

The clock shows the significant dates in the school's history.

I walked down the road alongside the school and came out at the Great West Road. I wanted to get down to the Thames so I used a subway to go under the road.

On the other side of the Great West Road is this large imposing building. At first I couldn't find a name on it but then spotted a plaque which told me that this was the old Hammersmith Pumping Station built in 1909. It was decommissioned in 1997 and has now been converted into apartments.

I came out on the Upper Mall which runs alongside the river. The building on the corner is Rivercourt House which is home to Latymer Prep school. On the wall is a blue plaque in memory of Andy Holmes (1959-2010). He was a former pupil of the school and it was here that he learnt how to row. He went on to win gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics but sadly died in 2010 after contracting Weil's disease, a water born disease feared by any river user.

As it was a Saturday morning there were a number of rowing boats taking to the river.

A little further along the Mall set back a little from the river is Linden House. The house dates  from 1733 and was built for a wealthy merchant. The house is now owned by the Corinthian Trust and is used for sport and community use. It is home to the London Corinthian Sailing Club as well as the Sons of the Thames Rowing club.

A close neighbour to Linden House is The Ship Public House which dates back to the 1720s.  In Pre Covid days, a popular place to sit upstairs and admire the view of the Thames whilst enjoying a drink.

I decided to return to the station via St Peter's Church.

I am now back on the north side of the Great West Road. As I mentioned in a previous post I used to work near Baron's Court station and would travel to and from work on my Yamaha 100cc bike. Small but powerful enough for me to weave my way through the traffic. I remember passing this building everyday. I didn't realise it was a church as I never noticed the cross, my eye was always drawn to the columned frontage. It's hard to believe that when this church was built in 1829 it was surrounded by fields and market gardens. When built the church was equipped with a single bell cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. In 1916 four further bells were added to provide a ring of five. The tower also contains a blue faced clock and is dated 1862.

 

In sight of the church is this row of Victorian cottages. There is evidence all around of the growth of development during the Victorian era.

The building still serves the same purpose for which it was built almost 160 years ago.

The Carpenter's Arms first opened its doors as a public house in 1871.

Around the corner from the pub is St Peter's Square. The houses here were built during the 1830s on land owned by George Scott. An open space was left in the centre for use as a garden by the residents.

The rectangular garden had originally included a well and an engine house in the centre to raise water from a deep artesian well and pump to the neighbouring residents.

In the centre of the garden is this sculpture. The Greek Runner is a bronze statue by Sir William Blake Richmond who lived nearby. It was presented to Hammersmith Borough Council by the family of the sculptor and erected as a memorial to him in 1926. 

I left the square and returned to the station pleased that I have  now seen half of the underground stations. I never realised this station was walking distance from the Thames or that between the congested Great West Road and King Street is a delightfully peaceful garden square. I wonder what delights await me in the second half of my travels 'Above the Underground'.