Capturing the unremitingly normal

I suspect that these pictures say quite a lot and reveal a huge amount about the hum drum of tube travel in London.

But I quite like the slightly surreptitious nature of taking the picture - that is unwitting subjects, but not intrusive pictures (I hope).

It also reveals to the sharp observer which tube lines I frequent the most...

But crucially I notice now just how quickly observational photographs of the world today date - many of the pictures I have taken over the last 6 years of shops and people in Hampstead, West Hampstead and Kilburn have already changed and dated incredibly quickly.

Sure, shops and businesses change, but the speed with which images, fashion and styles change and the extent to which colour shifts too is fascinating. In this respect is the tube system in London with it's iconic colour and style one of the few timeless feature of life today.

I'm not sure but I guess time will tell...

Until then, I'll leave you with the unremitting notmality of life on the tube in the mid-morning of a weekday.

Triggered by my birthday

I've just had my birthday and one of the kind presents I received was wrapped up in paper that is an early map of the London rail network - or London Electric Railways as it is described.

The interesting bit - beyond the fact that it's pre-Harry Beck (so it's prob about 1908 or so...) are in the station names.

Looking at the station names in Blue to the right - nothing very different there.

But the Metropolitan Railway (the dominant line in red) has a number of interesting features:

• Marlboro Road - no longer a station, although Marlborough Place and Marlborough Hill survive
• Finchley Road and South Hampstead is now just Finchley Road station
• Kilburn Brondesbury is now Kilburn Jubilee station
• Willesden Green and Cricklewood is now just Willesden Green - indeed I'm not sure Cricklewood would today see it as their local station...

But more faint and a bit more revealing is some of the other rail lines:

• Loudoun Road station is South Hampstead today onn the Euston Watford line
• Kilburn and Maida Vale is Kilburn High Road
• Queen's Park & West Hampstead is just Queen's Park

Moving up the map:

• Brondesbury (Edgware Road) is just Brondesbury on the Overground line
• West End Lane is just West Hampstead

What a great piece of wrapping paper!!

Calling all drinkers of Kilburn out there

I'm just involved in a small project on Kilburn and commerce and wanted to check if I had the correct list of current functioning pubs. So the short question is are there any others or just the 18 I have listed here

Queen’s Arms, 1 Kilburn High Road, NW6 5SE

The Westbury, 34 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 5UA

The Old Bell, 38 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 5UA

Betsy Smith, 77 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 6HY

The Cock, 125 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 6JH

The Golden Egg, 155 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 7HU

The Coopers Arms, 164 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 4JD

The Kingdom, 229 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 7JG

The Colin Campbell, 266 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 2BY

The Good Ship, 289 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR

The Black Lion, 274 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 2BY

The Kings Head, 307-311 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 7JR

North London Tavern, 375, Kilburn High Rd, London, NW6 7QB

Brondes Age, 328, Kilburn High Rd, London, NW6 2QN

Powers Bar, 332, Kilburn High Rd, London, NW6 2QN

The Priory Tavern, Belsize Road, London, NW6 4BT

The Prince of Wales, 11a Cambridge Gardens, London, NW6 5AE

The Prince of Wales, 101 Willesden Lane, London, NW6 7SD

So what did the Kilburn High Road look like from the inside...

It's relatively easy to track down early postcards and images of high streets or in this instance, High Roads, - more on this to follow.

But I have often wondered who the shop keepers were, the customers and the products.

So this little gem gives us one small insight - dated on the back 1897 it looks like an engagement or aniversary picture... but crucially for this blog is taken on the Kilburn High Road.

It's a studio piece on a card mount, nothing on the back - the sort of thing you would go in have the picture taken and call back a hour or so later and collect it for a shilling or so... It's nice to note the wooden fence prop - relatively common at this period to give it a setting.

The shop of photographer, Edward J Davison, was at 310 High Road, Kilburn.

Now it's Furnishing First - just before Brondesbury Station - opposite the Luminaire (as was) - but a small insight into ye olde Kilburn...

Pawn to King 4

The picture to the right is my favourite picture of this trip. The concentration, the wisdom and the sheer humaity.

There is something curiously attractive, fascinating and civilised about street games between adults - in this instance street chess. This one appeals for me as a chess player of course, but nonetheless I do find it interesting how quickly a crowd gathers around street games like this.

Somehow the slightly lame layout of a small hopscotch in my own local Kilburn doesn't quite match up and yet it feels like the best we can attempt...

The other factor, when I passed by today, was the excitement amongst the older male regulars as a young woman took up the challenge to play. I used to play a lot (but haven't of late) and playing on a large street-board like this is very different to a table-top game, but I and these hardened regulars were impressed with the speed and the effectiveness of her game. She was playing to a formula, but with flair and style and a confidence that took them all by surprise.

At the end of her third win she retired leaving the older men a story to talk through over their bosnia coffee for days to come. Sigh - we could learn so much from such mediterranean mellow.

Eeeek, the weeks just shoot by...

Okay, okay it's been far too long since I sat down to do a set and run of updates.

It's not for the lack of content and local stuff, but rather the lack of discipline in writing the blog.

But today was aexciting in that I went to an appointment to the Museum of London to view the medieval seals of the Priory of St John the Baptist, Kilburn. There are four what appear to be late victorian copies - in varying forms of repair - and between them I reckon we can form a complete view of the seal as was.

What I nw have to do it track down the original seals and preferably the documents they are or are not attached to... tips and leads appreciated but I'm assuming that the British Library and Kew Records Office are my next stop - possibly Metropolitan Archives too...

Is this it Mum?

Not long after I was selected here in Hampstead and Kilburn my mother let it slip that she has wanted to attend Kilburn School of Needlework, but my grandparents could not afford the fees, and I've often wondered where that was.

I was more recently reading a history of an educational establishment and reflecting on my own experience of higher and further education and wondered if in fact whatever Kilburn School of Needlework was, whether it has been over the years federated into what is now the College of North West London. Any clues out there?

Now of course this is the old building in Esmond Road, Kilburn, grand and imposing - the workmanship is impressive, the detail lavish and the quality very high.

You can see from main pinnacle that it was topped off in 1903 and was clearly a premier building for it's time - the post Victorian era was a key building time in Britain - especially for local schools and municipal facilities.

Now on the needlework theme I have found this: http://tiny.cc/D65kg

"In 1893 Willesden local committee for technical education organized classes in Willesden town hall and in 1896 Middlesex C. C. bought the St. Lawrence institute in Priory Park Road, Kilburn, and placed it at the disposal of the local committee which opened it as Willesden Polytechnic. By 1898 there was an enrolment of 1,571, and a new building was opened in Glengall Road, Kilburn, in 1904. A needle-trades school for girls was established there from 1910 until it moved to an annexe at the Hyde, Edgware Road, in 1952; it closed in 1962."

The new College of North West London website proudly boasts:

In September 2007 the College of North West London moved into its new Kilburn Centre, a prize-winning bespoke building in the heart of Kilburn.

Extensive use has been made of oak and stainless steel to create an ultra-modern building that is both stylish and durable. All classrooms are fitted with interactive whiteboards and the entire building incorporates a wireless network.

Not only does the new building provide students with up to the minute facilities and technology, it is also environmentally sound, with a number of controls and features that lessen the impact on the environment.

Due to its innovative ‘green’ credentials, which include a central atrium to maximise natural light and exterior fins to minimise solar glare, the building was entered in a national design excellence competition of the Royal Institute of British Architects and won second prize.

Back to the ancients and early medieval

I reckon Kilburn is one of the first communities of England...

Watling Street was built in AD 44 as the route motorway into Britain and eventually into wales.

It was the principle route north and weas the thorough fare for all travel north.

Any Roman Emperor in Britain came through Kilburn along Watling Street...

Here are some - are there others?

I've ended the cycle of ancients with Alfred the Great and his coin of the conquest of London after the Watling Street treaty of AD 878.

Hence Danelaw = Camden and Wessex = Brent

Historic plaque scheme here in Kilburn?

Can you names these kilburnites?

Do they deserve a blue plaque or equivalent?

On which building would it go?

When and for how long was their residence in Kilburn?

Are there other parts of London for which there are so few recognitions of the people who lived there?

Ed

Come and join the queue...

Is this the best feature of Kilburn's future?

The Good Ship on Kilburn High Road as well as offering a great pint, some sound bands and a pretty good atmosphere - courtesy of John McCooke - a great guy and champion for Kilburn - has brough back a key feature to Kilburn... Queuing...

Not since the days where there were multiple cinema's on the High Road has there been such an outbreak of people wanting to get into a venue - I happen to think that queuing is a sign of vibrant activity and a desire to be part of something.

That for my mind sums up what a modern Kilburn should be like and where it might be heading today. Loads of cafe's, great bars and a superb attitude. All pretty safe and getting safer and all we need now are some good and better clothes shops... too much to ask?

Watch more of my pitch on this:
http://www.youtube.com/474towin?gl=GB&hl=en-GB#p/a/u/1/6t5efHMmJ-8

I should add that my constituency campaign office is in Drakes Courtyard, so the Good Ship is a great landmark and stop off point.

The Good Ship are also great Facebookers - the briefest search and you will find them...

St Cuthbert and the hidden plaques

This time we are in West Hampstead and Kilburn and it's St Cuhtbert's Church on Fordwych Road.

http://www.stcuthbertschurchhampstead.org.uk/welcome.htm

One of the nicest little churches it's a modern design (more of that later) but it's also quite hidden from the roadside.

The plaque on the wall is a tribute to Walter Watkins the first vicar who took over in 1882 and served for 48 (forty eight!!) years.

As well as the plaque there is the stone below which was clearly the foundation stone/topping off stone which reads
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THIS STONE WAS LAID ON
AUGUST 23RD 1883

Further, just in front of the church, there is one of the bells from the church which is inscribed
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
GEORGIANA AND MARIAN CHESS
JULY 1906

One of things that always interests me with ecclesiatsical history is the origin of the saint and dedication - I should confess I wrote a history of St Norbert's Catholic Church in Spalding when much younger!

So for those that don;t know St Cuthbert is one of the great English saints from the era of evangelical christian golden age of the 7th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Cuthbert

His feast day is 20th March - perhaps that should be the occasion for a street party in Fordwych Road?

The reason why I mentioned the design is that the architecture for the current church was by a friend of mine Jeremy Allen of West Hampstead.

Kilburn keeps-a-changin...

Without a doubt the best thing about the Kilburn High Road is the way it moves and shifts almost daily.

It reminds me of the phrase a old friend taught me "Everything has changed, yet nothing is different." It's that whatever the shops, the vibrancy, the verve and the pulse of Kilburn remains lives and pumping.

Now it's often said that much has changed in Kilburn - that it really isn't the same anymore. I understand these claims but in fact the country has changed - produce and clothes and goods have rarely been cheaper and more accessible for all.

The old department stores of the 20's and 50's have long gone across across Britain and the supermarket is now dominant.

One of the objectives of this blog that has emerged and now is developed is that it captures Kilburn and Hampstead today - and by doing that preserves snap shots of change.

This set of pictures was one such change.

No sooner had a store emptied then ye olde Poundland pounced. These pictures were taken on the sunday as the store rushed to get ready for the monday opening...

On of course the crucial thing with the open trading market that is places such as the Kilburn High Road is that the shops themselves live and die by the trade they can generate.

Now don't get me wrong, I do believe that much can be done to enhance and improve an area through direct action and economic measures that make an area better - but right now, new stores in Kilburn point to a live and an economy that is not dying, in fact it's growing and developing.

Where the street has a great name...

This is all part of my preparation for the history tours I do in the spring and summer.

But the great weather gave me the chance to do some snapping on Saturday.

In a way they are just pictures, but I realise that in taking these pictures and placing them on this blog we end up creating and capturing the history and the value of the local community.

Street name signs have a unique effect on the local area and the range of plaques, cast iron names and the tile lettering.

Sainsbury's and those plastic bags again

I guess it didn't take long, but after a period when my local Sainsbury's took the plastic bags off of public display they have put them back.

Considering how effective and determined they are about offers such 'as buy one, get one half price' etc I find it difficult and annoying that they don't apply the same level of effort to making the area plastic bag free.

The reality is that shop assistants and staff, driven by a lack of managerial political will and a negative consideration of the environment are perpetuating the production and free distribution of plastic bags.

Even when the bags were not on display the assitants were still offering them up keenly and I had to almost fight to not have my shopping put in new bags.

What's the solution?

• Sainsbury's should lead the way responsibly and pro-actively.
• They should remove platic bags from view
• They should have their staff to say - 'please re-use these bags' - if they do hand them out.
• They should encourage people to bring bags back at the next shop (often the following day).
• Kilburn Sainsbury's and others should have the bag recycling point restored.
• They should stop abdicating their responsibility.

I think the time is looming for some direct action to shame sainsbury's into action - their ongoing sustatined and deliberate trashing of the environment cannot carry on like this.

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?

Hanging a cardboard sign up adds confidence - it's true!

It's a good example of how to do highly visible christmas decorations and it's from Seven Dials.

The Seven Dials project which is now several years old is for me a model on how to take a neglected area and, using it's history, transform it into the height of fashion, desirablity whilst retaining it's charm and character.

The effect is then further built upon through innovative, intelligent and niche marketing drawn through in these card (?) christmas advertings that were suspended across the streets.

Yes, I know the buildings are tall and close but there are opportunities elsewhere it is just that too often there is the lack of ambition and vision to actually move an area forward...

More of this sort of this sort of stuff helps a lot I think in the place shaping debate and adds confidence. Could we see this nest year in Hampstead, Belsize, Kilburn, Salusbury Road and Kensal Rise?

31 years old this year - murals from the street

Regular readers of this blog will know my fascination and appreciation of local murals and here is a good 'un!

It's the railway bridge on Abbey Road as it crosses Belsize Road and this is the east side.

It is identified as being "Kids painting summer '78" and is beginning to look a tad tatty but it retains both it's charm, interest and an astonishing level of detail.

It has great artistic qualities - childlike, colourful, bold and varied...

There's a range of others that have been detailed on this site previously - some newish, many of them old:

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/10/many-murals-of-kilburn.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/10/street-murals-sure-beat-random-graffiti.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2007/11/save-old-visible-painted-wall-adverts.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2007/12/promotional-adverts-for-smoking.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/01/more-advertising-walls-by-popular.html

http://www.signalproject.com/kilburn/http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/07/second-largest-man-in-world.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-you-are-rushing-along-its-often.html

So here we go - let's show it off in full colour - hopefully the sections can be seen bit by bit as you look along the bridge left to right looking east:

I've tried to paste it up section by section but it proved amusingly difficult:


Does anyone know the then youngsters who painted it - were you there - is it your igloo, monster, house etc?

Get in touch...