Snaresbrook

Snaresbrook is the 8th station on the Central Line that I have visited. The station was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1856 as a branch line to Loughton which was eventually extended to Epping and Ongar in 1865. The station was transferred to the London Underground's Central Line in 1947 which formed part of the delayed (due to WW2) Eastern extension of the Central Line.

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The station has a number of Victorian features including the cast iron canopy supports.

 Dating back to 1948 are these concrete roundels seen on the platforms.

A little area of green to brighten up the platform

Snaresbrook station is at the top of a hill, not very high but still unusual.

At the bottom of the road from the station is this unusual drinking fountain with its tiled roof (dated 1872).

The fountain is represented on the sign for Wanstead Village.




Turning right at the fountain on to Hollybush Hill you come to this lodge which is the pedestrian entrance to  Snaresbrook Court.

This is Snaresbook Crown Court. It is one of 12 Crown Courts that serve Greater London. Set within 18 acres of land with its own lake that borders Waltham Forest. It is the largest Crown Court in the UK  with 4,400 cases brought to trial in 2014. Built in 1841 as an orphanage, it remained as such until 1938 when it became the Royal Wanstead School. Just over 30 years later this impressive building became a court.

The Court overlooks Eagle Pond, one of the oldest ponds in Epping Forest.




On the corner of Woodford Road and Snaresbrook Road and across the road from the pond is the White Lodge a 19th Cent building. This was the Lodge for the late 18th Cent Snaresbrook House. The House and grounds are now privately owned and not accessible to the public.

Also on Woodford Road is The Eagle is an old coaching inn dating back to the early 17th cent. It was originally called The Spread Eagle and stands on the main A11 road, a major thoroughfare  between London and Newmarket. The frontage is 18th cent with a decorative cast iron balcony.

                      

I continued walking along Woodford Road and came across Hermitage Court, a large development of art deco apartments from the 1930s. As with many of the buildings along this road I assume it isn't cheap to own one of them. Googling the address I discovered that it was mentioned in the book Secret Train Robber referring to George Stanley, lawyer to the Great Train Robbers who kept his mistress here. Stanley is reported as being used by the robbers to launder their takings from the train robbery.

Woodford Road which continues as the High Road through South Woodford. Going beyond this point takes me too far away from Snaresbrook station so I crossed the road and made my way back to Snaresbrook Road.

Once on Snaresbrook road I walked round Eagle Pond and into the Forest.

This is Hollow pond. The extensive water areas were created from old gravel workings at the end of the 19th C using unemployed  men from the local area. The ponds are replenished from underground springs. It looked idyllic when I was there but a few weeks previous to my visit the body of a murdered man had been found here. (More info on the BBC website. )

In 1905 plans were made to create an outdoor swimming pool near to Hollow Pond. It was spring-fed but was muddy and unhygienic. In the 1920s the pool was improved and lined with concrete but was still liable to get muddy. In 1937 the pool was revamped with the latest facilities including chlorinated water. Finally with falling numbers and difficulties with maintenance the pool was closed in 1982. The pool was filled in and the land restored to the Forest and is now scrubbing over.

I am now on Whipps Cross Road and not far from Hollow Pond is this Hindu temple which was inauguarated in June 1980 and is the sister temple to a much lager one in Wembley, North London.

Just around the corner from the Temple and facing a small area of forest is this terrace of rather grand Victorian houses.


Walking on I passed this hotel. Alfred Hitchcock, the film director was born in nearby Leytonstone in 1899. I will be visiting his birthplace in a few weeks as Leystonstone is also on the Central line.

This stone marks the limit of my walk today as it marks the boundary with Leytonstone and is known as the High Stone. Names become so familiar that I don't think we pay much attention to their origin.  The name Leytonstone means the part of Leyton by the stone - obvious!
The stone was originally a mile marker and showed the distances to Epping, Ongar, Whitechapel and Hyde Park Corner on three of its faces.

The current obelisk only dates from the 1930s when the original stone was damaged by a vehicle. The base is part of the original stone which some say dates back to Roman times.




The road to the left of the marker is Hollybush Hill and takes you passed Snaresbrook County Court and back to the station.

I took the other road, New Wanstead towards Hermon Hill. Here I discovered another architectural gem.

This magnificent building was a purpose built orphanage constructed in 1862. It was known as the Merchant Seamen's Orphanage. It was first established in London in 1827 to care for the children of men lost at sea. The criteria for admission were  strictly.adhered to. The child's father must have died during active service at sea and no more than two children from the same family could reside in the orphanage (or asylum as it was called then) at any one time. The splitting up of children seems particularly harsh. This is the second building in this area that used to be an orphanage, the other being Snaresbrook Crown Court

Over the years the emphasis changed  from an orphanage to a school and became known as the Royal Merchant Navy school. In the 20s the orphanage and school moved to Wokingham in Berkshire and changed its name to Bearwood. The Snaresbrook site was bought by the Covent of the Good Shepherd but was sold again in 1937 to Essex County Council who converted the property into a hospital until its closure in 1986. The building has now been converted into flats.

                                          

You can still see references to its original purpose of providing a home for Seamen's children.

The old orphanage chapel is now being used as a synagogue.

Built in 1863 it was acquired by the synagogue in 1995 and restored with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Time to return to the station and home. Approaching the station from the other side you can see that it is above ground level and the bridge that takes the train on to its next stop on the Central Line.

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South Woodford

This is the 7th station on the Central line that I have visited. The station was originally called George Lane when it opened in 1856 as part of the Eastern Counties Railway. The name was changed in 1937 and then in 1947 it became part of the London Underground Central line when the service was extended from Leytonstone to Woodford.

I walked across the brightly painted bridge to exit the station onto George Lane East. On my right I could see where the Coffee Tavern used to be whilst in front of me was the Railway Bell which opened in 1880.

 The volunteer fire brigade engine used to be garaged at the rear of the pub.

 A short walk down George Lane brings me to the crossroads with Chigwell Road. Dominating this road junction is a large house known as Eagle House. With the arrival of the railway so came the wealthy merchants from London building their large Victorian mansions. It has now been converted into flats which is not unusual with these large buildings. However, this one is of particular interest to fellow blogger. Diane B from Adventure before dementia  who lived in  the top flat as a child before emigrating to Australia in 1949.

I wonder if Dianne remembers this stained glass panel in the window.

Diagonally opposite the house is the Holy Trinity Church

After visiting the church I walked back towards the station to explore the western side of Woodford South.

The road takes you over the railway line.

Eastern entrance to the station

I am now walking back along the High Road which connects South Woodford and Woodford Green. This large pub has been here since 1827 and overlooks the Green

This flower and gift shop took my eye as the colourful flowers covered the space outside the shop. 

St Mary's church was first recorded on this site in 1177. The oldest part of the current church is the tower built in 1708. A new church was added to the original building in 1817  and extended again in 1891 to cope with the expanding population but was destroyed by arson in 1969. Fortunately the silver and registers dating back to 1558 were saved. The new building was completed in 1972.

In front of the church is the grave of William Morris Senior, the father of William Morris(1834-96), artist, textile designer, poet and member of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood.

The Morris family lived  in Woodford Hall, next to St Mary's  from 1840-1847. Woodford Hall had been the manor house for centuries but was demolished in 1900. Today the parish Memorial Hall, built in 1902 stands in its place.

There was an antiques fair on when I visited which meant I was able to have a peep inside.

Also on the High Road is Elmhurst, one of a number of large mansions built in this area. It dates from 1771 and was built for a wealthy London merchant. By 1969 three tower blocks had been built in the grounds as halls of residence for Queen Mary College and the old house has been converted to offices. The halls were sold for development in 2003.

The site now includes a library and gym.

The  High Road  crosses the very busy North Circular Road (A406). It is 25 miles long and together with the South Circular Road forms a ring road for London. It doesn't quite make a complete circuit though, as you have to cross the Thames in the East on the Woolwich Ferry. The motorway M25 however does make a complete circuit of London.

On the bridge above the road are three sculptures that reflect South Woodford's connection with its proximity to Epping Forest. The structures are 7m high, made from stainless steel and  are topped by large leaf shapes. Also by Tim Ward  are these commemorative benches.




There are four benches and each one has a different theme.


The theme of this one is William Morris who spent his childhood in Woodford.

This one has images of  Sir Winston Churchill who was the MP (member of Parliament) for Woodford from 1924-64.

Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960), the suffragette came to live in Woodford in 1924 - 1956. She was the second daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, the founder of the Suffragette movement.

Images of South Woodford taken by the local photography group in 2012

Most of the shops are the usual ones you would find in most towns but this one was a little different. Inside there were jars and jars of old fashioned sweets.

On the corner of George Lane and High Road is the George. There has been an inn on this site going back to 1657. The present one dates from early 18th cent.

Continuing along High Road you will see the Odeon cinema built in 1935 and is now  a grade II art deco listed building

The car dealership next to the cinema is another art deco building.

A little further down the road is this building which dates from the reign of George II (1727-60) and at some point in its life, was the South Woodford post office.

I walked back to George Lane on my way back to the station. There are shops on both sides of the road with the Electric Parade erected in 1925 on the left. 

At the end of the George Lane is the Western entrance to the station.