Golders Green

 

I was very unsure about my visit to Goldesrs Green in early November. I was aware that this area has a large number of synagogues. Security is on high alert as the Jewish community have received an increase in anti-semetic abuse. So me wandering around taking photos might pose a problem. I have not yet avoided any underground stations for any reason but I will try to be sensitive and hopefully cause no offense.

I needn't have worried. In fact I should have taken notice of other things which I'll mention later,

The  platforms are numbered 1 to 5 although platform 1 is not in public use and is used for staff. but no trains currently stop at platform 1. Platforms 3 and 4 are often used for trains terminating at Golders Green before reversing back to London. Platforms 2 and 5 are for trains going to and from the terminus at Edgeware.

Steps take you to the exit. The tiled stairwell has black edging tiles which is the colour of the Northern line on the tube map.

The frontage is the original 1907 entrance for the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, the forerunner of the Northern Line.

In front of the entrance is a bus and coach station with not only lots of local buses but also National Express coaches. A good place to get off if you don't want to face the usual long traffic jams into Centraal London. you can also pick up a coach here that would take you north to Birmingham, Manchester or further.

To the right of the station is the large Hippodrome building.  The Hippodrome opened as a theatre on Boxing day 1913 with a seating capacity of over 2000 people. The stage was also very large and as with many of the Hippodrome theatres of that time, the stage was fitted with a giant trap that could be opened to reveal a huge water tank holding 20,000 gallons of water. It was a popular venue having easy access from London via the tube and was famous for its annual pantomines which continued until its closure in 1968. After it closed it was converted into a TV studio, Radio studio and Concert Hall by the BBC with a greatly reduced  seating capacity. It was used by the BBC until 2003 when it was put up for sale. The building is now owned by the Hillsong church and is also used for various concerts. 

 

The Clock Tower on the other side of the bus station, standing in the middle of a roundabout,  is a war memorial. It was built to honour those killed in World War 1 and later names were added of those Golders Green residents who were killed in World War 2.

I followed the road uphill to Golders Hill Park passing the Old Bull and Bush on the way. An ale house on this site got its license in 1721. However, this building is mainly from the 1920s. The pub, The Old Bull and Bush was immortalised in an old music hall song. Popularised by a well known music hall singer in the 1930s, Florrie Ford (1875-1940). Originally from Australia she made her name in the UK on the Music Hall circuit. Her other popular songs of the time were: 'Pack up your trouble in your old kit bag'; 'Hold your hand out you naughty boy' and 'I do like to be beside the seaside'.

I carried on up the hill, past this half hidden row of houses in the wood.

It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine and blue skies. As I entered woodlands I said good morning to a couple walking their dog. It was only as they went past that I realised the woman was Tamsin Greig, a well known actress. By coincidence I had just finished watching her latest series on TV called 'Riot Women' the previous night.

Golders Hill Park is adjacent to Hampstead Heath. I walked around the park for ages as it was so beautiful. It had a wide variety of trees as well as a small zoo.

 

Golders Hill Girl by Patricia Finch.

I decided it was time to move on and asked someone for the quickest way back into the town. After consulting his phone, a very pleasant gentleman pointed me in the right direction. I decided to take the shortest route across the grass between the trees. The ground was covered in leaves and small branches that had come down in the storm the previous night. Next thing I knew I was up to my knees in water. Preventing myself from falling further I put my hand out to save myself. I had stepped into a deep stream but when I looked back you couldn't see it as there were so many leaves floating on the top of it.

There was little I could do to dry myself off. My trousers were wet to above the knee. My socks were soaking wet and my feet were squelching in the shoes. At least it wasn't that cold and the sun was shining. I could only hope that if I continued walking my trousers would eventually dry off. 

Back in the town I found a shop selling Xmas socks and I sat down in a corner of the shop and removed my sopping wet socks. At least with the new socks, my feet felt dry again. 

I then found a cafe where I could just sit at the back with a cup of tea and wait until my trousers had dried off a bit. I had now lost all enthusiasm for walking around the town but as it was such a long way from home I carried on to just look at a few more roads before making my way home.

 Hoop Lane cemetery. The West London Synagogue needed a larger burial ground and purchased this site in 1894, an area of 15 acres. A few months before it opened, the West London congregation sold half of the site to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of London. The cemetery space was then shared between the Reform and the Sephardi communities. The arrangement still continues today  managed by a joint committee from both synogogues.

Further along Hoop Lane is the Golders Green cremetorium and cemetery. Constructed in 1902 , the first crematorium built in London. It is a hidden gem with its architecture and beautiful gardens. There are numerous notable memorials here, including: Sigmund Freud, Anna Pavlova, Marc Bolam, Peter Sellars, Ivor Novello, Bram Stoker to name a few.

It was a very peaceful place and I sat in the sunshine for a while before going home.  

On the way back to the station was this old Scottish police car outside a second hand car garage. I needn't have worried about feeling uncomfortable taking photos of the are, I just need to take more care about where I put my feet. I will remember Go;ders Green but probably for the wrong resons.