Gunnersbury

  I have now reached the final branch line on the District Line leaving me just three more stations to visit. This branch terminates at Richmond. 

Looking back towards the exit you see this 18 storey office building on Chiswick High Road, known as the BSI building. Below this building is the entrance/exit to the station. Very different from the previous art deco station buildings I have visited.

The station didn't start life beneath this building but was opened as Brentford Road in January 1869 on a new branch line to Richmond. Originally the station had four platforms; two on the line to Richmond and two serving a loop, known as the Chiswick Curve, through Kew Bridge station.  In 1932, the Chiswick Curve was closed and the tracks removed. The site of the curve is now a housing estate known as Chiswick Village.  The station's name was changed to Gunnersbury in 1871.

The station just has the two platforms. The London Overground and London Underground services share the same tracks. 

The only indication there is a station here is this sign on Chiswick High Road, directing you to the Chiswick Tower underpass.

Across the road from the station is Chiswick Park, a business park. The park was built on the site of an old bus depot. Designed by the Rogers Partnership, it is very different from the usual high rise office blocks. Here they have built twelve, four or five story buildings around an artificial lake rather than one 44 storey block.

As well as the lake there is a nature reserve and an open-air performance space.  Each building has its own car park away from the central area. Having two underground stations within walking distance as well as numerous buses on its doorstep, makes it easy for workers to travel here by public transport. I am pleased to say the nature reserve and lake are for the benefit of the public and not just the work force. 

 

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This is the open air performance area.

There were a number of these meeting pods scattered around. I am not sure whether these were here originally or as part of the socially distanced reorganised working spaces due to Covid.

It is a surprisingly peaceful and beautiful business park. With most office workers still working from home it made a delightful alternative universe to the busy, polluted roads surrounding it. I sat for a while watching this heron eyeing up the numerous fish in the lake.

After wandering around Chiswick Park I returned to the Chiswick High Road passing the Clayton Hotel.

I turned off the road before encountering the busy Chiswick Roundabout.

I followed a sign for Chiswick village which took me along  this enclosed pathway running beside the railway lines.

The path brought me out into this housing estate which  is not my idea of a village. A pleasant enough development but I just found the name very misleading. These flats were built in the 1930s on land that used to carry the railway lines of the Chiswick Curve.

At the other side of the housing estate is the railway line going towards Kew and Richmond. I walked over the bridge following the signs for Strand-on-the-Green.

Strand-on-the-Green is a small village on the banks of the Thames. A visit to this village has been long overdue. As readers of my blog will know I walked the length of the Thames in 2013 but at this section I walked on the path which runs along the South of the river so this is my first visit to what has been described as one of the most picturesque parts of London.

Only a footpath separates the river from the eighteenth century houses. This part of the Thames is still tidal and the river can fall and rise by 7 metres. 

 

The footpath is often flooded during high tides in the Spring and Autumn. All houses along the path have either flood defences or provision for flood boards. 

This Victorian Drinking Fountain was erected in 1904 and marks the start of  the footpath at Strand End. It is known as the Ellen Rearden fountain as a bequest from her in memory of her mother, father and sister paid for the fountain. It was renovated by the Strand-on-the-Green Association in 2009.

The origin of these cottages goes back to 1658 when almshouses for the poor of Chiswick were built here. The thatched buildings were repaired by the vestry until some parishioners paid for four new almshouses between 1721 and 1724. They were repaired in 1816 and then in 1934 they were extended and converted into three homes. This was made possible by funds from the estate of B. Hopkin Morris.

Hopkin Morris was a Middlesex County Councillor who left money in his will to repair the Chiswick almshouses, In his memory they were renamed the Hopkin Morris homes of rest. They were bought by Hounslow Council in 1973, when at risk of demolition, and restored in 1974.

Strand-on-the-Green has an interesting history. It is one of four small villages that merged in the 19th century to form the parish of Chiswick.  From the 13th to the 17th centuries it was just known as 'Strand' the old English word for shore. In those days it was very much a fishing community with a number of wharves, but then in the 18th century the area became popular with the wealthy and grand homes began to appear along the shoreline. The attraction of this part of the river was enhanced by the opening of Kew Bridge, a short distance away, in 1759. Across the bridge is Kew Palace one of the homes of King George III who reigned from 1760-1820.  It was during this period that some of his courtiers came to live in Strand-on-the-Green to be near the King. There were also a number of drinking establishments some of which are still here:  The Bull's Head, The City Barge and the Bell and Crown.

The Bull's Head was first licensed in 1722 and a pub has stood on this site for well over 400 years. It is reputed that Oliver Cromwell held military councils in a drinking establishment here during the English Civil war of 1642-1651.

In the middle of the river is Oliver's Island which takes its name from a story that Oliver Cromwell once took refuge there and it was rumoured that a secret tunnel connected the island to the Bull's Head pub.  I might add that no evidence of a secret tunnel has ever been found. However, a connection with Oliver Cromwell is not that far fetched as he led the Parliamentarians in a battle against the Royalists at Turnham Green just a couple of miles away. In the 18th century the City of London's Navigation Committee installed a tollbooth on the Island to levy charges on passing boats to fund improvements to the river's navigability. By 1865 it had become a place where barges were built and repaired. It is now a breeding ground for river birds.

A pub was first built here in 1484 and named The Navigator's Arms but was renamed The City Barge in the 19th century when the Lord Mayor of London's barge had its winter moorings on Oliver's Island. the pub was heavily bombed in WW2 and  was subsequently rebuilt but the downstairs bar remained intact. In 1965 it featured in the Beatles film 'Help'.

This pub was licensed as the Bell and Crown by 1787 and rebuilt in 1907 with a large conservatory extension added in 1984. Rumour has it that a resident ghost would turn on the beer pumps in the middle of the night.

A lovely spot to enjoy a drink with an excellent view of the river.

This is the Grade II listed Kew railway bridge which takes the District Underground and London Overground trains to Kew and Richmond.

Walking along the footpath I turned back just in time to see the Underground train crossing the bridge.

There are so many beautiful houses along this stretch of the river. As the tide was in I couldn't go down onto the shore to take better photos so this is the best I could do from the footpath. This one is known as the Dutch House.

Prospect House, thought to have been built by Thomas Cubitt c1812.

This Grade II listed Georgian house dates back to 1790. It is known as Zachary House after Mrs Anna Zachary, a widow , who lived here from 1797. The house has an interesting square balcony giving good views over the Thames. In more recent years the house was owned by Midge Ure of Ultravox.

I saw this bike advertising a cafe so decided to take a break.

I walked back through one of the alleys which take you from the river to the street which has a few shops. The cafe was small but had a  courtyard at the back with a  seating area. 

There was no-one else here so it was perfect for a cup of tea and a sandwich.

Feeling refreshed I returned to the river.

In the middle of the river is the Kew Mid-Stream floating buoys which provide moorings as well as a training point for the RNLI. The Chiswick RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) provides a 24 hour rapid response service. This one at Corney Reach is the second busiest of the four lifeboat stations on the Thames. All of our lifeboat services in the UK are run by volunteers.

OOn the road alongside the river is the Steam Packet pub and restaurant which was named after the steam launches that moored at Kew Pier on the opposite bank of the river.

Next to the Steam Packet is Pier House. This used to be a large steam laundry from the 1860s. It was said to be the largest laundry in London and was very successful with 200 employees before it became automated. At its closure in 1973 there were 19 collection shops and the premises covered over an acre and a half. The listed façade of the laundry has been retained whilst offices and commercial premises have been built behind it.

I have reached the end of today's walk as I approach Kew Bridge. The first bridge  at Kew was built in 1759 and was constructed of stone and wood. The second bridge was built in 1789. The current bridge was constructed of Cornish Granite and was opened by King Edward VII in 1903.

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