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.