Been up and over The Hill recently?

I don't know how often lcoal residents wander up to Hampstead Heath to enjoy the natural beauty or indeed the constructed natural beauty.

This - The Hill Garden - is one of the finest pieces of constructed natural beauty around.

http://www.ukattraction.com/london/map/the-hill-garden-and-pergola.htm

Completely unknown to many locals it is overlooked by the even more stunning and amazing Pergola and is just a great location of quiet charm and solitude.

The views out across North West London are truly amazing - over to Harrow.

http://www.opensquares.org/detail/Hill.html

This was orginally/constructed to be the back garden of Lord Leverhulme's Inverforth House - the Pergola, as i think I have mentioned before, was constructed using the earth from the Hampstead Tunnel when the Northern Line was constructed in 1906/07.

If you haven't been up there you are missing a treat - of a summer evening it is breath-taking... oh and The Olde Bull and Bush and The Spaniards Pubs are also to be recommended!

Loving Hampstead Lido

The Hampstead Lido is just great - but to my mind is beginning to show it's age.

It's approaching it's 71st birthday having been opened on 20th August 1938. rather bizarrely the opening was done by a slightly puzzled and bemused Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA (Football Association)

Designed by London County Council Architects Harry Rowbotham and T Smithson is was only one of 13 Lido's built by LCC and was said to have been the most expensive to build. It is of course in the art deco style and cost £34,000 to build.

Today it's still a great facility - the pool is immaculately clean and the water clear - and even in the bitterest winter there are still early morning swimmers - for my part I don't swim well so avoid even the warmer months for dipping.

I love this picture I captured a while back - it has a certain 'little britain' quality to it... :-)

The donkey's are a-staying...

It's taken a while but we are now in the second year of having the donkeys back at Whitestone Pond - and to considerable acclaim from local children.

I'm pictured here with Cllr Flick Rea (Culture and Tourism at Camden) and it's the repeat of last year.

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/10/donkey-ride-for-you-too.html

The festival on Whitestone Pond is a nice little collaboration between Camden and the City of London and part of a programme that will see the area round the pond get a whole refurbishment later this yeat (and not before time!).

Until then - it's me, Josh, Chalie and Flick
:-)

Drinking water on the heath...

I've covered the feeding and watering troughs before but not mentioned this one nustled on the side of East Heath Road on the Heath.

The viewpoint is stunning as you emerge from Gainsborough Gardens and Heathside and look across the Heath.

I used to live on Christchurch Hill and it was without a doubt one of my personal favourite walks and views...

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/01/where-is-metropolitan-drinking-fountain.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/03/back-to-fountains-and-public-water.html

I currently serve on the Hampstead Heath Management Committee and as a result particpate in a series of walks and site visits on the heath.

But even so there are just so many features and facets that you could explore and explore and still not know everything there is to see and understand about it - and these troughs just point at one aspect of the forgotten history.

Lots of people look at me really oddly when I tell them that sheep used to graze openly on the heath within living memory and so the use of horses was a norm of day-to-day travel - well here's some of the insight into that time gone by.

Come on TfL, you know you want to talk to us...

Is this discreet little building on Finchley Road the answer?

For months, indeed years now, a group of local users of the North London Line (Overground) have been trying to get a Users Group together.

We've made the offer to TfL, to Silverlink historically, now to LOROL and a range of associated officers.

The response is a warm enthusiasm and then silence. Put simply there is no sustained commitment or support for such a venture from those who appears to be responsible for the line.

The result is a culture that is distant and hand-to-mouth. The whole operation works on a 'surprises only' basis.

For example, we have the signs being re-done at all the stations without a conversation on improvements, the benches at Kensal Rise being moved, the clock at West Hampstead being moved, a bike rack at Hampstead Heath in the daftest of locations, a coffee bar in Hampstead Heath, a cash point at Brondesbury - all unannounced and all could have been done better.

None of these need be problematic but the fact is all of them could have been done better, smarter, cheaper, to greater effect, if there had been the most cursory conversation with users.

So the challenges to Tfl, LOROL and the asociated arms of transport agencies are very simple:

1. Decide if you really (really) want a Users Group and if you don't then be honest and say so.
2. Provide a written commitment to working with that Users Group on a no-surprises principle (ie. we won't arrive at the station one morning to find closures, changes and additions that have not ben consulted on or notified in advance).
3. Make a geneuine effort to be far more joined up - it's no longer credible to be consulting on access arrangements for Brondesbury, at the same time as making the installation of a ash point, at the same time as consulting on Phase Three - all of which should be joined up.
4. Provide an up-to-date real contact sheet for the stations from Hampstead Heath to Kensal Rise and the associated staff responsibilities in order to remove the excuse culture of 'sorry not my department/scheme/section'.
5. Include the British Transport Police and the local residents and amenity groups and stop playing one off against the other but committing to public meetings and regular information briefings (that can also be issued at stations).

So there it is a pretty simple five point challenge to TfL, LOROL and the associated agencies. I won't hold my breath... (but hope to be proved wrong)...

Built in 1939...

The Lido on Hampstead Heath is one of the most popular and busy places in the good weather.

I'm not a Lido user (I'm a very weak swimmer) - I've been to several, but it's not the most obvious place at which I'll be found - but what I do understand is the incredibly laid back leisurely sense of fun that they excude - and this one at Hampstead is no exception.

The City of London is rightly proud of this Lido. It's a Grade II listedbuilding, is an Art Deco pool and was officially opened to the public on 20 August 1938.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-ablog-ca/2408387814/

This event was described as a grand ceremony presided over by the then-Secretary of the Football Association, Stanley Rouse.

Incredibly, it was the twelfth of a total of 13 such outdoor pools built by the London County Council between 1906 and 1939. With a total build cost of £34,000 it was the most expensive - this was partly attributed to the premier location at the foot of the heath. It's construction was controversial - along the lines of 'stop building on the heath' - but had strong supporters who saw it as facilities for bathing and play for the masses.

Interestingly, the pool remained open throughout WW2 and saw its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. During these decades it saw more than 100,000 visitors a year cross its threshold.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oliver.merrington/lidos/hampstead.pdf

The Corporation wesites records "The lido passed to the Corporation of London (now called City of London) in 1989 when the Corporation took over the running of Hampstead Heath from the London Residual Body.

"Since then, the City has spent almost £3million refurbishing the pool, giving it a state-of-the-art filtration system and brand new, stainless steel lining. The lining has helped raise the residual temperature of the unheated water and to save more than 100,000 litres a day of water that was being lost through tile cracks.

"In 2005 the City Corporation pledged to give £1.425million towards the cost of restoring the historic fabric of this Grade II listed building, on the understanding it would be used to try and obtain match-funding by an external body. The City is now in the process of applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund and BIG Lottery’s Parks for People initiative for capital funding which, if successful will be part of a bigger programme of works for the entire Parliament Hill triangle area including restoration of the Lido building."

More details here:
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/media_centre/files2008/hh_lido_70.htm

Takings pictures is really hard...

This wasn't intended as proof of the problem, but considering Flask Walk in NW3 is one of the nicest passages around this photo reveals the problem.

It's actually very hard to take the picture that captures the charm and the 'olde worldy' atmosphere.

Of course down Flask Walk you have a great bookshop, penshop, cafe, pub, tailor, florist - it's a veritable hive of activity... (sadly no butcher)

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/06/upper-flask-or-lower-flask-pub.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2007/12/when-is-it-too-late-to-try.html

It's not without issues and problems and you can see the trade waste piled up.

But if you don't go to Hampstead very often, then why not this saturday wander up there - you're just 2 minutes from the Heath, have the Northern Line and a great range of buses too...

Gwan, gwan, gwan...

Daytrip to the cockney seaside of London?

We're down on the far eastern border of Hampstead Heath on the Highgate Road...

It's a part of the heath that when you use if regularly you know it well and if you don't go there often then it takes you by surprise.

The key element is the stunning view up the heath (towards the white marker stone) looking north west (towards Harrow?) and the great green expanse of the heath really opens up and looks just - well breath taking - pic below.

But there is also the entrance and the lovely clutter of shops around the Swain's Lane junction. On the side of the first building up the road - that abuts the heath - is this great wall mural (above right and building in tree next to it).

It has a faded grandeur about it and to my mind recalls the days of the late victorian and early edwardian daytrips to Hampstead Heath.

You can almost close your eyes and cast yourself back to noise and bustle of the weekend trips, when the heath was known as the London Cockney seaside - a real treat and day-out.

Now it's less focussed in that way and needs sort of spruce up - not to make it clinical but to make the entrance more defined and more suitable to the showing off of the view and making sure it's maintained in a way that is in keeping with the rural tradition of the heath.

I'm a member of the Hampstead Heath Management Committee and take a pretty close interest in the workings and maintenance - without a doubt we are lucky beyond calculation for this vast green lung here in NW3...

All roads lead to... Kilburn?

I was down in the City of London for the meeting of the management committees of Hampstead Heath , Keats House and Queen's Park when I spied this little gem.

Ye Olde Watling public house
There's a great summary review here http://ultimatepubguide.com/pubs/info.phtml?pub_id=353
including the much repeated claim that this pub was built on the instruction of Christopher Wren for workers on the St Paul's project...

The picture isn't great quality - I was in a rush and the light was falling and failing, but of course it's also on Watling Street.

The road later (physically and historically), as it heads north, becomes Edgware Road, then Maida Vale, the Kilburn High Road and Shoot Up Hill, Cricklewood Broadway and off into England's shires...

But of course it starts somewhere and as I dashed for my tube to Mansion House I had forgotten that it was in fact here.

Don't worry good readers I didn't delay, but a return visit to the watering hole before emabarking north to Kilburn seems appropriate at some point...

Anyone else want to join me here for a sneaky half one day soon?

Today really was the day...

It's felt like ages in coming, but the Kensal Rise to Hampstead Heath section of the Overground North London Line was re-opened this morning.

I made this little video clip to show that the line is running again - hurrah!

Of course one of the issues is lots of people this morning (well the 8-10 people I spoke to were expecting new trains and new service - they hadn't appreciated that this was work on the track not on the service or the rolling stock - that, along with station refurbishments is coming down the track (as it were!) - but of that more to follow...

It was really interesting how many people were using the line and if you had forgotten just how effective a service it was, then boy was the journey for me a zip along - just 7 mins!

Here are a couple of pics that reflect the volume of passengers - the first at West Hampstead and the second on Hampstead Heath station.

If you're interested and use the Overground North London Line and would be interested in helping with a User Group please do drop me an email on ed.fordham@hampsteadandkilburn.org.uk

Overground North London Line - welcome back!

The Pryors of Hampstead

Today this - the Pryors - is one of the premium residential areas in Hampstead.

In the 1740's this was a single house on the heath just east of the Wells estate.

The name, 'The Pryors' is thought to come from Thomas Pryor (d. 1821), son-in-law of Samuel Hoare (d. 1825, of Heath House, Jack Straw's Castle) .
http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/02/blue-plaque-for-george-crabbe-in.html

These impressive Edwardian mansion blocks on Hampstead Heath date back to 1904, 1906 and 1910 and retain many of their original features internally and externally.

Landscape painter Walter Field lived here. Taught by John Rogers Herbert and John Pye, he exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, of which he became an associate in 1880, between 1856-1899. He died in Hampstead, London, on December 23rd 1901.

John Mortimer, author, barrister, was born at No 7 The Pryors, East Heath Road, Hampstead, and subsequently lived at 35 Downshire Hill.

The case for looking at our bus routes again

The closure of the North London line has been accepted by users and residents as part of the essential work needed to make the line better and crucially make it more able to carry freight - something I'm hugely in favour of.

But the costs, efforts and communications of the closure have been a bit more tricky.

Overground and Lorol are all pretty new creations but the management of this scheme has been laden with decent folk and good intentions but somehow it falls short of the mark.

The cordons closing stations have been pretty lame. The signage (as shown here at Hampstead Heath station) are well below the standard promised or expected. The staffing is a series of people desperately trying to provide information in a context where there is little.

The provision of a replacement bus however, has provided a fascinating insight. Two elements with the bus, the first is how it is much busier at certain times than you would expect - I caught it late the other night and there were a host people - families, shift workers and visitors. And the second, is how interesting the route is - not as an experience, but in demonstrating the need for more horizontal bus routes. One of the major transport hiccups in london is the way everything flows in and out of the centre and with the exception round here of the C11 and the North London line there is little across north London.

I wonder if there is now a case for approaching TfL and asking that they take a medium to long term look at their bus routes with a view to more and more variation on these routes - there is clearly a demand...

The lanes of Hampstead

Okay, okay - they are not lanes but one of the most charming features of Hampstead are the number of lanes - often small old, even medieval.

I've taken to capturing them on camera cos their charm and historical insight.

Spring Path indeed refers to the old and ancient spring - one of the tributaries of the Fleet river that runs from the Heath and Shepherd's Walk was one of the paths that was used for driving sheep onto and from the Heath.

In fact I have a postcard from about 1896/98 of sheep grazing on the heath...

And then there is this small lane off of Heath Street - about half way up on the left - if I recall correctly it leads up and onto Holly Bush Steps and thence the Holly Bush Pub.

There are so many sdo of which refer to the name of the old trading company that was there - Stanford Close, some refer to the residents - Golden Yard - and others are less clear - Bird In Hand Yard (presumably an old pub?).

I'm sure there is a really good sunday walk about the unknown lanes and alleys of Hampstead - one for me to ponder on over the weekend as the trickiest bit is putting otgether the map - it's one of those occasions where your knowledge is in your head but drafting the map would be pesky and I'm not a cartographer.

Tranquil and idyllic thanks to the Northern Line

Hidden away in Hampstead Heath is the magical Hill Garden. It offers a complete contrast to the wild decadence of the pergola.

It is famously quiet and serene and a great place to sit, contemplate, write or paint. It's not unusual to find a painter, sketcher or photographer here enjoying the view and atmosphere.

There is an ornamental fish pond at the heart of the garden and at the far end there is a little alcove with a bench which gives a stunning view of the heath with London as the backdrop.

The pergola itself is the creation of Lord Leverhulme who owned the nearby house, The Hill. Working with architect Thomas Mawson he went on to build this long Pergola. Started in 1904 it came to fruition in 1905 before being extended in 1911 as more land was available. It was built using vast tonnage of earth that had come out of the Hampstead Heath tunnel for the Northern Line!

The pergola itself is a photgraphic dream - more of that to come - but the view over the Hill Garden is beautiful and tranquil. If you don't know it, then it's time for a sunday walk...

Our railways have great tradition - it's a shame TfL fails it so often...

This is the wooden edging at Hampstead Heath Overground station (North London Line) and it's a charming reminder of the quality of work and the strength of the London railway tradition in quality.

The effect of the railway upon Britain was dramatic and still the lines they cut across our landscape are deep and significant.

And literally hundreds of us use them every day.

Within that useage are a series of 'givens': we know where to stand on the platform in order to get off at the other end, we know our colour of line (orange, purple, yellow etc), we often see the same pople every day in the same place and equally often don't talk to them over the weeks, months and weeks. Further, we know the weakesses (crime, poor lighting etc)...

So for all of these bits of knowledge what is it about the Transport for London arrangements that makes them so resistant to having and supporting a user group?

The frequency with which staff leave, don't respond or don't have a cultural tradition of working with users is scary. So from 1st September (just before schools come back) they are closing the North London Line Gospel Oak to Willesden Junction and the bus replacement arrangements are... currently undefined! And the refurbishment of Brondesbury station? No consultation plans.

To my mind it's shambolic and an insult to the railway tradition. Several of us have tried to help but frankly I'm at a bit of a loss and think that on this occasion the responsibility lies with Transport for London to show some committment and lead the debate in a way that is inclusive and sincere. It's a high bar and they have failed todate but this a chance to turn a new leaf over...

http://www.urban75.org/photos/london/index.html

http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/Victorian/RailwayArchitecture/Introduction.aspx

Save the florists!

We've run a few bits and pieces on here about plaques - but not much on the historic blue plaques (though I sense a theme for the summer there!).
http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/05/at-home-with-george-orwell.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/02/blue-plaque-for-george-crabbe-in.html

But there are also a number of what you might call 'genuine residents' plaques' - raised by friends, admirers and local people who appreciate the work, dedication of their fellow residents.

This one on Willoughby Road is just one example and is very charming, but of late it has assumed a greater significance...

Clearly Maggie Richardson died in 1974, but until last year there was still a florist on this corner (Willoughby Road meets Hampstead High Street). Now gone.

Until 2006 there was a florist outside Hampstead Heath Railway Overground Station. Now gone.

But for how much longer is the florist in South End Green, outside Marks and Spencers and the Royal Free Hopsital going to survive? There is an ongoing and documented spat between the officials and planners and highways crew and the florist himself.

So these three things all left me wondering if we were seeing a decline or collapse of on street florists? Is there a specific issue here, are supermarket chains overtaking the industry, is it home delivery flowers and interflora (and brand variants) winning the battle?

I for one much prefer street traders, I think they add character, act as eyes and ears of the community, they provide opportunity for what I regard as the 'little man' and are great features on the street - noise, colour, charm...

Let's not lose things that are good about the area we live in and this is one small part worth standing up for. So when did you last buy from your local florist?

Ed Fordham

The 13th train line colour for London

When does a bench mean more than just the bench itself...?

Well here at Hampstead Heath Station (now in zone 2 - hurrah!) the benches have been repainted this orange (ish) colour for the new Overground livery colours.

It got me thinking about the other colours of the map and a bit of research (not tricky research you understand) yielded that the London Underground map has twleve colour coded lines and this makes a 13th on the famous TfL map of London:

• Bakerloo Line (Brown)
• Central Line (Red)
• Circle Line (Yellow)
• District Line (Green)
• East London Line* (Orange)
• Hammersmith & City Line (Pink)
• Jubilee Line (Silver)
• Metropolitan Line (Purple)
• Northern Line (Black)
• Piccadilly Line (Dark Blue)
• Victoria Line (Light Blue)
• Waterloo & City Line (Pale Blue)

Harry Beck famously takes the credit for the first meaningful diagramtic map of the transport system in 1933. There are all sorts of little features that might go un-noticed at first glance. For example the Thames is either a straight line or at 45 degrees. There is a direct differentiation between stops and interchanges. The map itself at concept was very controversial and within London Transport management structures quite political and laden with personal relationships.

The reality however is the impressive map we have today and one of the results is that the benches at Hampstead Heath station have been repainted as part of the livery coding that started with Harry Beck working in his spare time to design a better map...

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/communityandeducation/2443.aspx

http://www.design-technology.info/alevelsubsite/page5.htm

http://www.harrybeck.co.uk/

Open space in urban London... in pictures

It's been a slow Easter weekend - lots of food, walking, cafes and of course, living in North West London - the visit to Kenwood House.

It's all part of the heath but of course managed separately - but the vast space and sense of openess is truly magnifcent for this part of urban england.

I have just bought a copy of 'Hampstead Heath, by Deborah Wolton and David McDowell, photographs by Sandra Lousada' and whilst I can't match their pictures - taking pictures of what you see and being able to enjoy them at home is astonishingly satisfying.

So this is just a small photographic reflection of the trees and colour - it's truly awe inspiring in the best possible way and so good and so easy to just sit back and see the natural environment for what it is.

The list of tributes for those who saved and enhanced the Heath is itself interesting:

• The 3rd Earl of Mansfield


• Octavia Hill


• Thomas Barratt


• Henrietta Barnett


• Arthur Crosfield, Robert Waley-Cohen and Henry Goodison

(more to follow I think!)

But this fails to recognise the work done by the men and women who work every day and every week on the heath and at Kenwood House.

Since I have served on the management committee, I have come to understand the nuture of the flora, fauna and trees - issues such as pollarding seemed harsh but are in fact necessary: http://www.passionfortrees.co.uk/html/pollard.html. But also to respect and appreciate the tenderness, the care and the love felt by those who work and volunteer on the heath and in its environs.

It also makes for great photography and dramatic shadow on the sky-line...

To see more of these pics you can click on them and they should open up larger if you want.

A blue plaque for George Crabbe in Hampstead?

Heath House is one of the most amazing houses in North West London. Great location, perspective, proportions, gating, settings - all over wow.

I have walked past and around on numerous occasions and thought how great it was and reflected on the shame that was the closed boarded up current state.

Now there is a planning application proposal progressing that will see the house restored to residential occupancy - which can only be good (assuming that all the plans respect the great architecture and listing features).

Some of us had dreamt that the house might have eneded up as the headquarters of the Hampstead Heath Managers (City of London Corporation), but it looks not to be the case now...

However, a new twist for me was the discovery that this was occupied by the Hoare family (Samuel and his daughter Sarah at least) who were cery close family friends , even confidentes, of George Crabb. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Crabbe

Crabbe is a serious player in the canon of romantic poetry and, it emerges, he stayed on a frequent basis at Heath House with the Hoare family writing his poetry and gathering inspiration from the heath and surroundings. I want to return to this but i think the stay here was significant and saw the writing of his very greatest works...

In the context of the links with Keats and Bloomfield I think there's a wider restoration of the poetic significance of Hampstead in the period 1800-1820.

A blue/Hampstead plaque for Crabbe on Heath House?

Why Overground need to listen to a Users Group for the North London Line

The North London Line (I assume it is still called the North London Line even though it's part of Overground) is being gradually tidied up - or at least new signs are going up and handrails are being painted.

But frankly I'm looking for a bigger shift than just the paint colour. Now we do have the security guards, but there's a bit of work needed on some of the customer service based on my experience - and I'm using about 4-5 different stations a week - and some fixture repairs are going on.

My picture here is of a dumping area at Kensal Rise that needs cleaning up - it's pretty grim, use an area used for putting full bin bags and is generally being used as a storage space for rubbish and becoming an eyesore. it's not the only one - it is just one example I saw when i had the camera.

But there is a still a further catalogue of repairs and enhancements that are needed:

- the graffiti at Brondesbury

- the awful awful wire security fence at Finchley Road and Frognal

- the bike rack in the wrong place at Hampstead Heath

- the lack of screens in the various ticket halls which mean you have to swipe your oyster card to go in and find out if a train is due (yes, I know there is a printed timetable, but trains on this line are frequently late and the screen is the only way of finding out actually likely departure times).

Oh, and when the trains are cancelled I hope that there is a better system in future than this one I caught on a recent sunday...

Yes, the piece of flip chart paper says "NO TRAINS FROM THIS STATION 12.30 TODAY

02/12/07 Sunday"

And the even more amusing piece of tape over the Oyster swipe card point says "NO TRAINS TODAY."

To be fair these were put up by a member of staff who 'happened to be there' and who was trying to be helpful - but it didn't feel very professional and did nothing to assist the people who had bought tickets cos the machine is separate from the swipe point or the stairs to the platforms...

For these reasons and more I'm very keen to accelerate setting up a Users Group for the 6 affected stations - please do get in touch. I'm hoping to get a meeting sorted in the next week or so and will let everyone know.

ed.fordham@hampsteadandkilburn.org.uk