Tooting Bec

 

Tooting Bec station opened in 1926 as part of an extension of the Northern Line into South London. The station was originally known as Trinity Road but was renamed Tooting Bec in 1950.  The name Bec seems to derive from the fact that the land was given to Bec Abbey in France after the Norman Conquest.

As I ascended the escalator I could hear the soothing sounds of classical music coming from the loud speakers. I have heard classical music being played at Underground stations before but not for some time. Transport for London began to play popular classical melodies in a few stations to deter antisocial area. Set up in 2007 it was found that robberies were cut by 33% within 18 months, assaults on staff by 25% and vandalism by 37%. Since then it has been extended to a few other stations where the travelling public have said it has a calming and soothing effect on their moods.

Both exits/entrances have their own above ground building. Like the other stations on this extension line Tooting Bec was designed by architect Charles Holden. They all share the same features of the Portland stone exterior and double height windows with inset roundels.

Much of the green, white and black tiling in the ticket hall and on the platforms is original.

The stations straddle the busy A24 one direction would take me to Clapham and in the other direction would take me to Worthing on the South coast.

Round the corner from the station is the impressive building of St Anselm's catholic church, built in 1932 in a mixture of styles.

The church even has its own shop.

Round the corner there is the Centre for Catholic Formation. I think it might be a centre for people who want to promote Catholicism. This was once a convent dating from the late 18th century.

The area is largely residential with housing catering mainly for families.

I was walking away from the station to have a look at Tooting Common. This house which was fenced in stood out from the rest of the surrounding properties. I did eventually discover ( after much research) that it is called the lodge and dates back to the early 19th century. It was originally part of a much bigger horticultural estate at a time when this part of the borough was completely rural. It is one of the only buildings still in existence that is a reminder of Tooting's agricultural past. 

Historically there are two commons: Tooting Bec Common which was on my left and Tooting Graveney on my right as I walked down Tooting Bec road. Until the late 19th cent the neighbouring areas were predominantly rural and the commons were mainly agricultural rather than recreational as they are today. They tended to be made up of poorer agricultural land left over after the better land had been taken up by local farms. The commons were used by the people of the parish for grazing or foraging for wild fruits and wood or digging up gravel. From the 1870s onwards the agricultural uses made way for more recreational usage.

This is an artificial lake originally formed as a result of gravel digging. It was converted into an ornamental feature in 1895.

 

Near the Lake is the remains of the base or stump of a tree from the Jurassic Purbeck Fossil Forest of Southern England which formed about 145 million years ago when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

I came across a number of memorial benches.

At the far side of the common is Tooting Bec Lido.

Tooting Bathing Lake as the Lido was originally known was built in 1906. The work took a little over four months at a cost of £8000. What distinguishes Tooting Bec Lido from most other open air pools is the fact that it stays open throughout the winter even though it is not heated. It is one of Britain's oldest and largest open air pools.

I could only get photos by squeezing my camera through gaps in the fence. One day I'm sure I'll get arrested for this kind of behaviour.

As I returned to the road I came across a funfair that was being set up for this coming week which is a public holiday weekend.

I walked back to the crossroads where the station is and wandered down the other roads. Each of the roads had a number of shops on them, mainly takeaways, beauty shops, hairdressers, lawyers and estate agents.

This is the Royal Mahal Banqueting hall which used to be the Central Hall Picture Palace in 1910 before becoming the Classic cinema in 1960.

The old telephone exchange building which is partly being used as the job centre. Job centres are run by the government to help prepare people for work. They are set up to give guidance on training, CVs, etc and have computers you can use to apply for jobs. 

Looking up at the buildings you can see how grand they would have been when first built. There is a lot of added decoration to them.

This road used to have a number of mansion blocks like the one above. These ornate buildings were the beginning of high density living for affluent Londoners. They were built c1870s as a way of making the most of the space available. The apartments tended to be large with high ceilinged rooms where visitors could be received in the double sitting room. There would also be a grand dining room but smaller bedrooms and a bathroom. Hired help came in daily or were housed in a service wing rather than living with their employer. Not every apartment had a kitchen as this was the preserve of the servants but those that did, had it in the back, out of the way.

Further along the same road is Tooting Fire station. Fire services in London emerged from the need for insurance providers to limit their losses in the period after the Great Fire of London in 1666. At first, each insurer maintained a separate fire brigade that only served their own subscribers. It wasn't until 1833 that an integrated service was founded, funded by City businesses. The first publicly funded fire brigade was the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and from 1896 new stations were built for the newly formed London County Council. This station, which is still a working fire station was built in 1907 and is now a listed building. 

I returned to the tube station crossroad and walked down the last of the roads. One surprising find was the craft shop and the large sewing machine warehouse. Where everything seems to be bought on the internet these days it is a pleasure to be able to browse through the whole range of one item in one place. 

This large sewing machine warehouse is also the home to the Sewing machine museum. The museum is only open 3 hours a month so I wasn't able to visit today. 

At the end of this row of shops was a cafe so time for me to have lunch and maybe have a look at the next station on the line before going home.

It was a very pleasant cafe and I just ordered an omelette and salad with a cup of tea.  What I have noticed is the huge increase in prices. Not so long ago I would never have paid more than a few pounds in this type of cafe for this meal. Today my bill came to nearly £14 which was not great value for money. In future I need to look more closely at the menu before choosing where to eat. 

Tooting Broadway

 

Another Charles Holden station, almost identical to the others I have visited on this extension of the Northern line to Morden.

Outside the station is a statue of Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910). He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria, born as Prince Albert and known as Bertie in the family. He was almost 60 when he became king. He was a very popular monarch, known as a peacemaker and the last sovereign to wield political power. The statue was funded by public subscriptions and originally stood a short distance away, when erected shortly after his death in 1911. It was moved in 1994 after the area was remodelled.

Across the road from the station on a small traffic island is this magnificent elaborate lamp. It is actually a ventilation pipe for the tube station.

As I left the station onto Tooting High Street, the roads were blocked with traffic and the streets were full of people. If I could have asked people where their families had originated I think the answers would have covered half the countries in the world.

I didn't think there would be much to see but I was proved wrong, It wasn't just shops and more shops. There were two indoor markets selling a whole range of things from clothes, jewellery. household goods to fresh meat fish and veg. Tooting Market was established in 1930 and has been one of South London's most popular indoor markets.

There is a huge variety of things for sale.

Built in 1923 this building was once a department store. The business was part of the Co-operative movement which amalgamated during the 20th century and still runs convenience stores and supermarkets in many high streets. People would join as members and would have a share in the profits of the company in the form of dividend coupons which could be spent in the store. I can recall my school shoes were always bought with the 'divi' as it was called back in the 50s. 

The original sign is still clearly visible: Royal Arsenal Cooperative Society

This art deco store was built in the 1920s and ceased trading in 1985. It went through a long period of disrepair but local objections to its demolition have paid off and the building has been restored and given a new life  as a Lidl supermarket on the ground floor and  a Premier Inn Hotel above.

The King's Head, originally an ale house, built in 1621. It was rebuilt in 1896 by W. M. Brunton, a designer of numerous public houses.

As you can see from the signage this building is a Gurudwara, a Sikh temple. Looking at the building  and its coat of arms above the door it is obvious that it didn't start its life as a Gurudwara. 

After some research I discovered that it was built in 1904 as a Royal Mail sorting office. When it closed some 80 years later it was bought by the Sikh community and converted into a place of worship.

A colourful seat in the middle of the High Street.

On Mitcham Road I found the old art deco Granada cinema and concert hall of 1931. It was the first cinema to be Grade I listed and once hosted acts such as Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Beatles. It is now a gaming and Bingo hall and  I had heard that it was magnificent inside. I decided to try my luck and see if I could get in. At first I was refused because it is a members only establishment but another security guard said if I could be quick, I could take a photo of the inside.  

It was well worth my pleading to get inside as it was so unusual with its gilded arches, cathedral like size lined with gothic mirrors.

Marble staircases

I quickly took as many photos as I could of this amazing building which took me completely by surprise.

There were numerous pubs in Tooting. This large one was founded in the 1800s by Barclays which at one time was known for their beer brewing but nowadays the company is a global financial business. There used to be a boxing gym above the pub and in 1993 the pub was the venue for the first promotion by the newly formed British Ladies Boxing Association and featured 10 women fighting six two minute  rounds.

Time for a sit down and cup of tea. I don't recall the name of this charming little cafe but I do remember that it was very much a centre for the Aussie/Kiwi community.

Across the road from the cafe was the  local library. Unfortunately it  wasn't open, which was a shame as this is always the best place to visit for information about local places of interest. It is a very distinctive building with its brickwork and terracotta features. Built in two stages with the upper floor being added in 1908, six years after the lower floor had been built.

The weather vane on top of the building used to have a copper galleon on the top but that has now been removed.

Further down the road was this monument commemorating the site of the 1823 Parish Pump.

Close to the Parish Pump is the church of St Nicholas, built in the 1830s. The previous church which was demolished prior to the building of this one was noted in the doomsday book of 1086.

On the same road was this new housing estate. It was on this site in 1897 that St Joseph's RC College was taken over by Wandsworth board of Guardians to provide extra workhouse accommodation. It later became a home for the aged and infirm. During WW1 the War Office took charge of the building and it became a Military Hospital. It had 712 beds for enlisted servicemen. After the war the Ministry of Pensions used it as a neurological hospital for shell shocked ex servicemen until 1923. The buildings then became empty and derelict. In 1930 the London County Council bought the site and it reopened as St Benedict's Hospital, which closed 50 years later in 1981. It is now a private housing estate.  

The only surviving remnants of the hospital are the entrance gateway with its posts and the clock tower which has been preserved in the grounds of the housing development.

Tooting is home to another hospital, St George's. Founded in 1733, it is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK. The back entrance to the hospital was not far from the tube station but it is such a huge hospital that I couldn't be bothered to walk all the way round to the front. I contented myself with finding this statue of  Dr John Hunter (1728-1793) who was a pupil at the hospital and then went on to become a surgeon.  

It was just beginning to rain so I decided it was time to go home. Once again I was surprised by the number of interesting places I had visited today and who would have thought that a Bingo Hall would be the highlight of the day.