New handrail

The major works to the bridges at Teddington Lock continue to have little visible impact and it is only the plastic covering that confirms that the handrail is new. 

Normally I would expect details like this to be done last which implies that nothing much is going to happen to the sides of the bridge, even just painting the metal work is a little more difficult with the handrail in place.

Rear terrace at Ham House

It is only a couple of months since I last posted a picture of the rear terrace at Ham House and my excuse for posting another one is that things have changed. The scaffolding is the most obvious difference while the removal of the pots that were spaced between the white boxes is a more subtle change.

It also gave me an excuse to post the view from a different position and angle.

From gold to silver

While the main structure of the bridge looks unchanged (so far) by the major maintenance project a few changes are clearly visible and the changing of the colour of the main cables is one of these.

Cheese

Ham House is not making much of an effort for Halloween, and nor should it, but the effort it has made is worth seeing for its frivolity.

Resurfaced

The car park of The Woodville Centre in, obviously, Woodville Road has got a new surface and new markings. I understand the economics of the decision but, as with the garages in Ferrymoor, I wish that a way had been found to do something a lot more environmentally friendly. 

Lots of scaffolding

I have said many times, and will probably do so again, that the rear view of Ham House is my favourite. I have also frequently confessed to a love of scaffolding. Therefore, it is no surprise that I really like this view of the back of Ham House absolutley thick with scaffolding.

Ham, Baker and Co.

While it is nice to see the word "Ham" on a fire hydrant cover on Ham Parade, sadly the name has nothing to do with the place. The company was formed by Frederick Ham, William Baker and Claude Sansom in Westminster..

Frederic Ham was born at Greenwich in 1856, and was educated at the Greenwich Proprietary School and the City of London College. He was then employed at the works of Messrs. J. Stone and Co., Deptford, from 1874 to 1880, and for the next twelve years was engaged on sewerage and water works in various parts of England.

He was one of the founders of Ham, Baker and Co. in 18894 and it became a limited company in 1893.

Ham, Baker and Co.,was engaged in the erection of iron and brass foundries and fitting shops for the manufacture of engineers' specialities for sewerage and water works.

Subsequently contracts were carried out for the supply of all the fire hydrants used in London by the Metropolitan Water Board, and for penstocks and iron work for various Corporations and District Councils of Great Britain.

My thanks to Grace's Guide To British Industrial History for providing this information.

Unnecessary hedge

I love the way that Wates Estate is riddled with paths that weave between the houses and lead you to unexpected open spaces and so I find it frustrating when paths have been closed off, as one has here in Ferrymoor; Riverside Drive is the other side of that hedge.

 

One impact of closing off the path is that it has created a dead space that lacks the sparkle of the rest of Wates Estate simple because it no longer has any purpose.

Two signs

My almost obsession with street signs continues! 

Previously I have posted a few examples of different signs for the same place on opposite sides of the road and this is a variant on that theme with two adjacent signs for different roads.

Arlington Road is the older one with the bolder sans serif font while the newer sign for Sandy Lane as a normal weight font with slight serifs; it also has the word "Petersham" which is all but unreadable and is also debatable. 

Works at Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station

The reason for the new fence around Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station (on the edge of Ham Common Woods) is now clear with more equipment and materials on site, and a portable loo too.

Sudbrook Lane / The Russell School

Once upon a time this bus stop was called "Sandpits Road" and now it has been renamed to "Sudbrook Lane / the Russell School". (The school and the sign have a capital "T" in "The" but the TfL website has a lower case "t", which is just sloppy).

I must admit that I do not understand the thinking behind this; Sandpits Road was inline with the naming of many bus stops, the new name is far too long and I suspect that not many children go to The Russell School by bus from the north.

Of course there is a bus stop closer to The Russell but that is called "Petersham / Fox & Duck". I like that this name includes the area, "Petersham" as this is useful information, I have been asked on buses "where are we?" many times. 

The obvious solution was to rename "Sandpits Road" to "Petersham / Sandpits Road".

Pavement blocked

Sadly this sort of selfish parking is all too common and I have to spend far much more time walking in roads than I would like. It is outrageous behaviour like this that encourages the so-called war on motorists.

Window work in Ferrymoor

There are two blocks of flats above the shops in Ashburnham Road with one set facing on to Aashburnham Road and the other on to Ferrymoor. The work on the window on the Ashburnham Road side has completed and now it is time for the Ferrymoor side.

These flats are above the backs of the shops and so the getting is less attractive than the other block but they have the advantage of views towards Ham Lands.

A fresh look

The work has completed on the windows on the flats above the shops in Ashburnham Road that face on to that road and they look very bright and white.

The repairs on the near end of the block are very obvious too.

Moving bus stops

This is the Dukes Avenue end of Broughton Avenue where a new bus stop is being installed almost directly opposite where one has been removed. For the moment there are no bustops in this stretch of road as the old ones have gone and the new ones, though largely complete, are not yet in service.

///jacket.occurs.issue

These are signs on the temporary fence around Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station and I find them interesting because they give the site's reference number, Park P6ZZ, and as the site does not have a street address so they use What Three Words.

I do have one minor quibble in that the correct format of the What Three Words location is as I have put it in the post title, using periods, rather than the hyphens used in the sign.

Fresh concrete

This fresh concrete is in a block of garages off Ferrymoor. There is a drainage strip down the middle but, personally, I would have preferred to see something more porous and with integrated planting.

Newman House exposed

A month ago I posted a picture of Newman House in Ham Street covered in scaffolding and now it has been uncovered, and delightfully so. 

3 Ashfield Close is being refreshed

Yesterday I said that 14 Cedar Heights had the potential to become one of the most interesting houses in the area and was going to make the point that this is an honour already held by its neighbour across the road at 3 Ashfield Close. 

Unfortunately that house is being refurbished and I cannot tell from the plans whether it will lose its distinctiveness in the process. 

 

This is what 3 Ashfield Close used to look like.

14 Cedar Heights

14 Cedar Heights is an unremarkable house on an usual plot. The style is very much of its age and it looks like many of its neighbours; the plot, however, includes the curved section between Cedar Heights and Ashfield Close.

What makes the house noteworthy is that it is due to be demolished and, if the plans are to believed, be replaced by one of the most exciting houses in the area, if not the most exciting.

This is a development project that I will be following with great interest.

Parking area closed

One of the ugly parking areas in Ham Close, this one is in the north-west corner alongside Woodville Road, has been closed off with two bright yellow pillars. It is several years away but Ham Close will look a lot better without areas like this.

Working on the bridge

Teddington Lock Footbridge is closed overnight to allow maintenance work to be done and they are also managing to get some done during the day while the bridge is open.

At this point I have no idea what work is being done. Every time that I cross the bridge, which is several times a week, I look for signs of completed work but have failed to spot any so far.

Little Orchard

This is Little Orchard (the name is on the thin vertical plaque between the gate and the letter box) and it sits on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue.

It is clearly an attractive property and well suited to the area.

 

And the reason that I have posted these photographs of it is because a planning application has been submitted to demolish it and replace it with a new and bigger property.