'Double Trouble'

Day 31

 

East Putney - Edgware - Edgware Road - Edgware Road

 

A wet and miserable day today as I set off once again - not a day I'm disposed to travel on really - but I'm meeting a friend of mine in Hampstead later on, and with a bit of a stretch of the imagination that could be said to be sort of on my route between my first two stations, so I brave the inclement weather and head, firstly, south to East Putney.

East Putney

 

This is (certainly at this time of day) 'Yummy Mummy' country.

 

Throughout its history, Putney has been a haven for the 'professional classes'. The streets today are lined with grand houses (not all of which have suffered the usual fate of being divided and subdivided into ever more miniscule flats and bedsits) and more boutique-type shops than your run-of-the-mill high street. A quick glance down any list of Putney's famous residents past and present will quickly give you an idea of the gentrified nature of the place.

 

Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey, William Pitt The Younger, Clement Attlee, Richard Branson, Nick Clegg, E.M. Forster, Simon Le Bon, Marc Bolan... the list goes on.

 

Having said all of this, East Putney station and the area immediately surrounding it is a bit of a let-down. Given such an august history to live up to, I'd expected rather more than the tiny red-brick building tucked away down a side street and pretty much hidden from view from the main road - Upper Richmond Road - that passes it by. A (closed) flower stall, and a tiny kiosk selling coffee are the only signs of life.

 

I wander up and down the main road, past the very nice looking shops, pubs and coffee houses; the branches of Waitrose and Sainsbury's; and the numerous estate agents, but decide after a short while to head to somewhere a little more off the beaten track - to a monument I've read about which is hidden away up on Putney Heath.

 

***

Putney Heath (actually part of Wimbledon Common - home, of course, to the original Wombles, whose celebrated 'underground overground Wombling free' shenanigans gave me the name of this blog) is mainly tree-covered, although there is a somewhat mysterious village tucked away in the centre of the woodland. This is Putney Village - a community of people over 60 who have decided to combine forces in a sort of self-help network. In my imagination its isolation suggests something vaguely Brigadoon-like, but I'm sure the residents enjoy it here.

 

Down a pathway that runs between the trees, close to the busy Kingston Road that runs past the heath, is a brick and stone obelisk - not especially big, but with much ornate inscription on the four sides of its pedestal.

 

This is the monument I'd read about, and is a memorial to a certain David Hartley (1732-1813).

 

Monument To David Hartley

He was, among other things, the MP who first put forward the case for the abolition of slavery in the House of Commons (that is, he put forward, in the House of Commons, the case for the abolition of slavery. I don't think anyone, even in the 18th Century, would try to claim that MPs were under any form of penurious servitude). He was also the King's representative responsible for dealing with the United States regarding their Independence.

 

However, the monument on Putney Heath (close to where he lived) celebrates one of his later achievements:

 

As inscribed (although very faded now) on one of the faces of the pedestal:



Inscription (Very Faded)

"THE RT. HON. JOHN SAWBRIDGE SQRE

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON

LAID THE FOUNDATION STONE

OF THIS OBELISK

ONE HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS

AFTER THE FIRE OF LONDON

ON THE ANNIVERSARY

OF THAT DREADFUL EVENT

IN MEMORY OF AN INVENTION

FOR SECURING BUILDINGS

AGAINST FIRE."

 

The invention in question was the use of iron plates within the fabric of building structures - preventing fires from spreading. He built an experimental house and offered frequent demonstrations of its efficacy by setting it alight in front of witnesses, including the King and Queen.



Path Through Putney Heath

He was granted a sum of money to continue his experiments - a very generous sounding 'sum not exceeding £2,500'. (Except of course that this typically political bit of linguistic vaguery could mean anything from the maximum sum, down to a mere tuppence ha'penny!)

 

I leave the monument and walk back through the trees, leaving the Heath behind me.

 

***

I've got one last pilgrimage to make while I'm in Putney, although at first glance there's nothing particularly out of the ordinary about the location.

 

In fact, it's this very lack of exceptionality that is the reason for its (mild) fame. Festing Road - and in particular numbers 52 and 54 - will probably be completely unknown to most of you. If however I mention the fictional address it gave rise to - Number 52 Festive Road this may ignite some spark of recognition in some of you - especially if you grew up watching British TV in the 1970s.

'Everything was ordinary...'

 

Mr Benn, he of the dressing-up fetish and magically appearing shop-keeper, was given a house on the fictional version of this Putney street by author David McKee, who lived 'next door' at number 54.

 

For those who remember (and if you don't - Google it) this street is exactly the same as the fictional version - even down to the detail on the bay windows and doorways. In a sense, coming here is like being in one of Mr Benn's adventures myself - I feel like I've stepped through a magical doorway into a cartoon world, where any minute now I'll see a bowler-hatted figure returning home after a hard day's being a Caveman or a Zoo Keeper or a Cowboy...

 

***

'Exodus'

At the end of Festive Road, where it meets the river, is a little park called Leader's Gardens. There's a children's playground and a few benches, and in the middle, one of several sculptures that make up the Putney Sculpture Trail'. This is a collection of nine sculptures, by artist Alan Thornhill, which line the south side of the Thames either side of Putney Bridge. The one here in Leader's Gardens is the westernmost - and is called 'Exodus'.

 

I take a quick stroll down to the waterside and look a short distance eastwards to Putney Bridge, among other things the starting line of the boat race that has taken place between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge for nigh on 200 years.

 

Other than a few sinkings, time off during the two world wars, and one recent disruption by a protestor who swam between the boats, the two universities have battled it out annually here since it's inauguration in 1829. Every Spring the banks of the Thames are packed with spectators and the normal river traffic comes to a halt as the two 'blues' race to the finishing line at Chiswick Bridge.

Putney Bridge

 

There are several rowers out on the river as I watch, but none seem to be exerting themselves overmuch, so I head off on my way north to my next stop - Edgware.

 

*** 

Edgware is one of the two northern termini of the Northern Line and is pretty as close to the perimeter of Greater London as you can get.


Edgware

It's definitely less Yummy Mummy territory and more Yiddishe Mamma, being one of the major Jewish centres of London. Its list of famous residents is also a tad less... highbrow, shall we say... Max Bygraves, Vanessa Feltz and Barry Norman - fine people though they no doubt are - just don't measure up to former Prime Ministers and advisors to Henry VIII.

The main street outside the station (which, other than a sign that for some reason seems to be advertising the late 80s dance music combo S'Express, has little of interest to it) has a Starbucks and a Caffe Nero, but it also has a Poundland and a Cash Converters - which I doubt you'd find frequented by the great and the good of Putney.

This street - Station Road - is, as far as I can tell, pretty much it for Edgware. The Tripadvisor page for Edgware lists only one major 'attraction' - the Mecca Bingo, which isn't really my cup of tea.

I walk up and down the length of Station Road but since I'm not planning on buying or selling any second-hand goods, purchasing budget groceries, or visiting the very cosmopolitan café de la poste (a couple of chairs and tables in the local Post Office) - I decide to move on after a relatively short visit.

***
Now then.

Those of you who've been with me since the beginning of this epic (if pretty nonsensical) journey, may remember that way back on Day One I mentioned the fact that Edgware Road boasts not one but two stations bearing its name. I said back then that I was going to count them as one, for the purposes of this blog, since the point is to explore the area around the stations, rather than just tick them off a list - and the area around two stations on the same road is going to be, well... the same.

So - the labels attached to this post list just one station here - but of course, I'm visiting both of them.

The first is that which serves the Bakerloo Line. It's one of the familiar red-tiled creations of Leslie green, although this one is enhanced by the 'living wall' up its right hand flank.

Edgware Road - Part I: An Unexpected Greenery

The station sits just north of the dominating A40 flyover - the A40 being one of the two main thoroughfares onto London from the West (the other being the A4).

The Edgware Road itself runs from Marble Arch (to the south) all the way up to (not surprisingly) Edgware, and it was built on what was once the original Roman road here - Watling Street. This explains its notable straightness.

Although the larger part of the street is therefore north of my current position, I'm going to explore the stretch heading south towards Hyde Park and Marble Arch. This is partly because there are agood half dozen or so stations along its length - some of which I've already visited - so I shall have other opportunities to explore this road in future visits. Mainly, though, it's because the view north doesn't look particularly interesting.

So, I cross the Marylebone Road under the flyover and take in the second of the two Edgware Road stations before heading further south.

Edgware Road - Part II: The Fellowship Of
The Circle, District And Hammersmith & City Lines

The second station serves the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines, and was originally part of the Metropolitan Railway - the first underground railway in London, and indeed the world.



'Should've brought
a bigger ladder...'

Opposite the station entrance is my second sculpture of the day - this one called (for reasons that should be obvious) "The Window Cleaner". His expression of bemused disbelief is explained by the fact that he is depicted looking up at the huge glass-covered office building next to him - no doubt wondering how he's going to reach the higher windows...
The other notable landmark near this station is one that stands out whichever direction you see it from.

'Wrapper' by Jacqueline Poncelet

It's actually an electricity sub-station, which powers the tube lines, but it has been clad in brightly coloured panels of different patterns - which collectively form an artwork known as "Wrapper", created by Jacqueline Poncelet.

Further south the road becomes more retail based - with a large number of electronic goods shops, mingling with various eateries, banks and the ubiquitous Starbucks and Costa Coffee shops.

It's all very familiar and, I'm afraid, not very exciting.

Still, it's not every day you visit two separate stations with exactly the same name. There has been, over the years, the odd suggestion to change the name of one or other of the stations to make life 'easier' for people. Easier perhaps, but surely less quirky.

And it depends on what your definition of 'easier' actually is of course. My current endeavour would be infinitely easier if not just these two, but every station on the tube map were to be called Edgware Road. Now there's a thought, Boris...