Construction site decomissioning

An area next to the car park at the north end of Ham Street had been used as the centre of operations for the major works at Ham House and now that those works have finished this area is being decommissioned and sits mostly empty.

Ham Close Road Closed

The barrier around the start of the Ham Close redevelopment that I saw the start of a few days ago has slowly spread to Woodville Road and now blocks one of the roads into the estate.

Renovation complete

The renovation of the first house in Clifford Road (Sandy Lane end) looks to be complete and from this angle it does not looks quite reasonable, though there are obvious questions to ask about the colour scheme.

I said "from this angle" deliberately as from here the attached house is all but invisible and the renovations fail when compared to the context. The dark red brick of the house and front wall of its co-joined neighbour is a stark reminder of what houses in this area should look like.

Taking shape

Rather faster than I expected, the shape of the new 25 Ham Farm Road begins to be revealed.

Comparing posts

When the new posts were installed, in some number, along Church Road, I was surprised that little heed seemed to have been paid to weather proofing with the posts having flat tops and no sign of any treatment, i.e. the tops are a different colour to the sides. That gave me the excuse to go and look at some other posts in the area to see what had been there.

This post in Croft Way the posts are Gold Standard with a fairly steep point to encourage the rain to flow away and a groove just to make it look better.

In Parkleys a different approach is taken with a simpler, and less decorative, V top, despite which the post seems to have weathered badly.

This post just off Riverside Drive is similar to its near-neighbour in Croft Way but has a slightly less steep point.

Prom Pop Up

Ham Parade is suffering with a mix of empty and dead units so it is good to see some fresh artwork brightening it up a little.

Wet varnish

The shop that was the much missed M&J Hardware had been boarded up since last summer without much sign of it coming back to life so it is good to see the boards removed and work being done on the building.

Night lights on a building site

I was surprised and delighted to find these lights on at this house in Sandy Lane. I was out for a night time walk (I have a daily step target to reach) and was not intending to take any photographs until this interestingly lit jumble of construction materials and scaffolding forced me to stop and enjoy the scene.

Lurid green nets

Ham Common has been scarred by the new lurid green cricket nets which have become the most visible thing on the Common to the detriment of everything else.

To show the impact I took this photo from some distance away (the tree intruding on the left shows that I was on the edge of the common) and even though the nets are a small part of the scene the dominate it.

I can only hope that the awfulness of these will has be appreciated by those responsible for them and that they will be replaced quickly.

Matching houses

Having posted a picture of Vine Cottage with its new roof yesterday I wanted to post a picture of its neighbour, Jude Gate, today to show the similarities between the two. Both have new simple grey slate roofs and it very much looks as if Jude Gate is being painted the same colour.

New roof for Vine Cottage

When I caught Vine Cottage in the act of acquiring new roof timbers recently I expressed the hope that the old slates would be retained but they were not and I was wrong; the new slates look better.

Preparing for Ham Close redevelopment

The much awaited redevelopment of Ham Close looks as though it is finally about to start with an end section of the estate being fenced off.

Parking restrictions in Church Road

I walk along Church Road several times a week, and at different times and while I am quick to moan about badly parked cars I cannot recall this ever being a problem in Church Road (except next to the church), so I was surprised to see these new posts.

They are fairly small and so not that intrusive but the road would be prettier without them.

Church Road does have a problem with cars but that is speeding, not parking. Without a pavement it is a tricky place to walk and I have had cars deliberately driving straight at me as well as speeding past close enough to touch.

Ham Open Gardens 2024

To be honest, I find the poster for Ham Open Gardens more attractive than the prospect of actually visiting the gardens.

The poster gets everything right; it is appealing and it says all the you need to know in large clear letters. This is very different to the approach sometimes adopted for Ham Fair and I hope that the simpler and clearer style will be used for all such events from now on.

Mt issue with the gardens is that I have seen most, if not all, of them many times and they lack the grandeur of those on show in Petersham Open Gardens, particularly now that the lovely garden at the convent has been built over.

I also have an issue with the way that the event is publicised on the HPA&AG describes the event on their website, which states "Once every two years, we have unique opportunity  to ...". If it happens every two years then it is not unique!!

Extension in Headway Close

When I first moved into Ham (1996) I liked the homogenous character of the Locksmeade development  and I have been saddened since then to see it gradually eroded. This recent extension in Headway Close is just one of many examples with the loft extension destroying the symmetry of the roofline.

Pavement parking

Normally when I post photos of Bad Parking I post them as additional entries with limited text alongside the usual (almost) daily posts (the daily posts are timed at 02:00 and the Bad Parking ones at the time of the incident) but this collection of incidents was so egregious that it warrants its own post.

These three examples of bad parking were taken only five minutes apart.

The first was in Ham Farm Road where the driver left enough space for a cat but not for a person.

The next two pictures were both taken round the corner in Parkleys. The driver of this vehicle actually followed me on the pavement before parking.

The third example, another van, also left almost no space for pedestrians.

To complete the story, the delivery driver in the white van delivered his first parcel quickly then pulled away, drove past me and parked on the pavement in front of me again. I was not impressed!

Unfortunately while bad parking is not always as bad as this it is still far too common and is something that pedestrians locally have to contend with usually several times a day.

All gone

I have been watching the demolition of 25 Ham Farm Road with interest and the first stage of the project has completed with all of the previous house knocked down. 

I will keep looking through the gaps in the hoarding but I am not expecting to see anything notable for quite some time. To set expectations, the building notice says that the planned duration for the work is 57 weeks.

New roof timbers

I have been walking along the north side of Ham Common even more often than usual recently to check on progress on Jude Gate only to pass when significant work was being done to the roof in an adjacent property (Vine Cottage).

The work had only just started and while the new timbers were obvious it was not clear what was happening to the roof. I hope, and presume, that the old slates will be replaced.

Gate to Pond House

When Pond House (on the north side of Ham Common) was refurbished in 2013 I posted a picture of it that showed off the front fence but neglected to include the matching gate, a mistake that I am very happy to rectify now.

It is a simple design but it does enough attract appreciative attention and avoids being garishly fussy. It is perfect for the house and the location.

A feast of scaffolding

As scaffolding goes, this is a great example due to the density of the vertical poles combined with the other lines created by the bridge, trees, fencing and barrier. It is a wonderfully busy picture.

58 Hardwicke House

Way back in time,  2007 to be precise, I posted a picture of one of the house signs at Hardwicke House and while I mentioned the other one I did not post a picture of that too, which is a shame becuase it has been replaced.

The new sign, on the left side of the gate, does all that is expected of it by clearly showing the house number and being constructed of stone that suits the wall well.

For completeness, here is the sign on the right side of the gate. It has weather even more since I took the earlier photograph of it and it is now all but unreadable.

Barren island

I have not seen anyone working on the island in the pond on Ham Common for a while but I hope that more work is planned as it is looking very barren at the moment just as the vegetation around the pond is welcoming Spring.

Works completed at Ham House

The current stage of the major works to Ham House have completed and the scaffolding has gone to reveal the house in its familiar beauty.  I like scaffolding (I really like scaffolding!) but I like this view of Ham House even home and it is good to see it return in time for the warmer, brighter and longer days.

A closer look at the side of the house tells us that the maintenance work included some fresh paint, another welcome improvement.

Missing bench

This is the Ham Farm Road end of Parkleys and the paving marks the spot where a south-facing bench used to be enjoyed by the residents. I have to assume that it will be replaced soon because it was popular, and understandably so.

White paint

I posted a picture of this fencing above a wall in Woodville Road when it was added in 2019 and then it was left as plain wood. Five years later it has all been painted white and draws attention to the property. I am not convinced that it works but that just may be its newness and the initial surprise in seeing it.

New surface

While the work done on Teddington Lock Footbridge has brighted it up and, presumably, improved its structure it has not has much impact on me as someone who walks across it regularly. That started to change when the section on the slope up from the Ham side got a new surface, replacing the one which was quite uneven, especially along the joins between the sections. This is a noticeably nicer walk.

The two questions I have are how quickly will it be before this new section deteriorates like the old one and is anything being done to improve the surface of the central section?

25 Ham Farm Road demolished

The demolition of 25 Ham Farm Road is happening at pace and there is little of the house remaining, other than as rubble.

I took this photos a few days later after watching a skip lorry struggle through Parkleys bringing an empty skip and collecting one full of rubble; the filming further along Ham Farm Road had blocked access that way.

Tree erased

I was surprised to see the tree at the entrance to Martingaes Close being removed and even more surprised to find that this was not to replace it with some better planting but with cold grey stone. The tree was not very special but at least it was a tree and that is so much better than not having anything there at all.

And they have not even remodelled the island to make it easier to cross the stupidly wide entrance to a small unimportant road.

I also note that some of the powers behind the (awful name) Ham and Petersham Association and Amenities Group live in Martingales Close and their inability to stop this destruction on their doorstep does not say much for their ability to "preserve and secure our environment".

A tree's last day

While I do a lot of walking at night I do not take many photos then, for obvious reasons, and I only took this one to remind me to go back to the entrance of Martingales Close (on Ham Common) the next day to capture the works in daylight but when I went back workmen were busy there and the tree had been dug up.

This new work surprised me because some work was done on this little traffic island only a year ago and after that I remarked that it looked neater and safer.

Daffodils at Ham House

Being a member of National Trust means that I can pop-in to Ham House for a quick look around the fardens whenever I am walking in that area and I do so many times a year because there is always something interesting to see. On this visit I was charmed by the daffodils.

The main display is in the beds in the Kitchen Garden (top picture) and there are others around the gardens, like this one along a border.

Working on Langham House

I have been running this blog for so long that some patterns are starting to emerge and one of these is the maintenance of Langham House on the south-west side of Ham Common. I noted maintenance work in 2008 and in 2016, and it is happening again in 2024. You do not have to be a competitor on Only Connect to work out that is every eight years.

Resurfacing Dukes Avenue at night

Another attempt is being made to resurface Dukes Avenue, this time at night. Signs like this appeared at the end of last year saying that Dukes Avenue would be resurfaced during the day on 5 December but they disappeared the day before the work was scheduled to be done.

Jude Gate revealed

Having been hidden behind plastic sheets for several months, the new Jude Gate has been revealed. It is not the most inspiring building but it design fits in very well with its uninspiring neighbours on the north side of Ham Common.

Incidentally, Jude Gate was the name of the previous house and I do not know yet if they are keeping the name for the new one. I hope that they do and that we get an impressive house number sign that is at least as good as the old one.

Worn bridge

The bridge connecting Douglas Footpath to the towpath was constructed in 2008 and is starting to show its age with part of the surface sloping slightly. It is not yet unsafe or impassable but its days are clearly numbered.

Water works

There seems to be work going on inside the former dance shop on Ham Parade and there is more obvious work going on outside too. Hopefully this means that this shop will be back in use soon.

Wet Woods

Much of Ham Common Woods is naturally wet, hence the toads, but I have not often seen it as wet as this. This pond has covered the base of the fence around it and has spread beyond its normal boundaries.

Many of the paths through the Woods are very muddy and this one has gone a step further and turned into a pond.

Blackout

When the entrance to The Old Vicarage in Petersham was rebuilt in 2016 it gained a lovely front gate only now that gate has been hidden by ugly solid black metal sheets. I guess it adds a little more privacy but at quite a cost.

This is exactly the opposite approach taken by the bigger, and grander, Forbes House on Ham Common which, despite being much closer to a busier road, removed its similar sheets in 2021.

Starbarks is coming to Ham Parade

I am not sure that Ham Parade needs another cafe, particularly one with such a bad pun in its name, but time will be the proof of that and perhaps there is a demand for a cafe that does dog grooming.

Pattern in the wall

The old wall on Ham Street either side of Eveyn Road has a story to tell and this pattern in the bricks is part of it. Other components in the story are the two low pillars either side of Evelyn Road, the curve in the walls as they stoop down to the pillars and the permanently closed gate at the end of the road.

Hiding 29 Ham Farm Road

There is a shared character in Ham Farm Road and number 29 has chosen to ignore it.

That character is one of openness with either no front boundary or a very low one. And that is set back from the pavement as the first metre or so of land is Common Land. This is usually just grass or small plants.

Number 29 wanted to build a front wall with railings and settled for a mid-sized wall (barely visible) with a dense hedge in front of it. This is not how the rest of the street looks.

I fail to see why this has been done. Privacy is not an issue as so few people walk along there and a substantial hedge hides the view of Ham Common Woods, which surely is the whole point of living there.