Improved visibility

Just over a year ago, the statue A Bird in the Hand by Keith Goodwin on the edge of Parkleys was made more visible by a fallen tree and its visibility has just been much improved by the trimming of all of the bushes in one corner.

Kensington Clock

This house in Lammas Road is noted for its collection of unusual objects and while some of them may be considered a bit kitsch there is no doubting the quality of this clock.

Different porches

The house on the left ruined the character of this section of Woodville Road so it is hard to criticise the mismatched porch being added next door, especially as elsewhere along the road a number of new porches have been added and they are all quite different.

This one also has the advantage of appropriately coloured tiles.

More posts demolished

It is little over a month since a series of posts were placed at the entrance to Great South Avenue on the north side of Ham Common and already the incompetent drivers of Ham have managed to destroy most of them.

I first reported the posts on 10 April, the very next day I posted a picture of the demise of the first of them, now several have gone on the west side, including the leading one with red and white tape on it, and another has been knocked out and partially replaced.

 

There were two posts on the other side but little evidence of them now remains.

Lammas Road sign moved

Once upon a time, this sign for Lammas Road was attached to the house behind it, just as the one at the other end of the road was before it too was moved.

I suspect that both moves were done by the property owners rather than any one official and while I welcome the signs' retention it would be good to see them placed properly.

Ham House hidden

This is the rear gate to Ham House, approached via Melancholy Walk, which usually offers a lovely view of the house through the gate but not when it is draped in plastic sheeting.

Ham Hardware

This shop on Ham Parade had been operating incognito for a couple of weeks until the arrival of a sign announcing, to nobody's surprise, that it is called Ham Hardware.

Three dead trees

These three trees along the edge of The Copse may be dead but they still make a dramatic impression with their dark twisting branches etched on to the grey sky.

White boxes

The hoardings have come down at 2 Ashfield Close revealing a rather unassuming set of white boxes riddled with glass. Despite being brashly modern it has little street impact but a good front garden could fix that.

PK72 AYA

This parking, outside The New Inn, looks reasonable until you see the one-way sign.

Glass sign

Distinctive houses deserve a distinctive sign and the modern houses in Riven Lane have certainly got one.

Rainbow door

It is impossible to miss this door in Lammas Road for all the right reasons.

Wall watching

In common with many other people, I walk along Ham Street frequently which allows me to monitor closely the works at Stokes House. At the moment my attention is captivated by the wall.

Great care has been taken to give the wall with its potted history a consistent appearance and also a structure and a finish that will last for many more years. It is a real pleasure to see.

Update on 33 Ham Farm Road

33 (and 35) Ham Farm Road is continuing its unusual combination of merging two properties into one, demolishing the original building apart form one room, building a large extension to the room and adding a garden studio (which is a habitable space) right next to the main house, all this undercover of extensive sheeting.

Update on 31 Ham Farm Road

After a false start or two over a few years, work has restarted in earnest at 31 Ham Farm Road. Windows have been removed and a trench dug.

Update on 25 Ham Farm Road

Work has been going on at 25 Ham Farm Road for about a year and seems to be drawing towards a close. Part of the front elevation is now visible and it is an interesting mix of glass and black panelling, just like the roof lights. I suspect that I am going to like this house when it is finished.

Update on 23 Ham Farm Road

Ham Farm Road remains a centre of construction projects and I walk past them all most days just to keep an eye on progress. This seemed like a good moment to do an update on all of them, starting with 23 Ham Farm Road.

I thought that the only works proposed at the front of the house was a new porch so I was surprised to see two steel girders firmly installed on the front boundary (possible over it as there is a strip if Ham Common on that side of the road, hence the set-back walls). It will be interesting to see what develops. 

New trees in Church Road

I thought that the saga of Church Road ended with the recent planting along the boundary only to discover that trees were part of the plan too.

Petersham Avenue welcomes Spring

I walk along Petersham Avenue regularly (and every other path in Ham too!) and on this occasion it looked even more stunning than usual with the new Spring growth lining the path. 

The colours almost look unnatural but the image is untouched (except for whatever clever stuff the iPhone does whenever you take photos).

Work starts at St Richard's

St Richard's was consecrated in 1966 and has been an iconic building in Ham ever since. Age has taken its toll and a major restoration project is proposed if the necessary funding can be secured. Meanwhile work has started on some lesser repairs.

Wall repairs

Ham (and Petersham) benefits from a profusion of characterful old brick walls and I am glad to say that they are generally very well cared for and most have a visible history of sympathetic repairs and extensions. The latest example of this careful management can be seen in Meadow Close though the property is in Ashfield Close.

Richmond's Twinned Towns

Ham Parade has gained information boards on both sides and this one on the west side describes Richmond's two twinned towns, Fontainebleau and Konstanz.

I know little of Fontainebleau, and am content with that. Konstanz is a different matter. I spent a few good days there in 2018, travelling there and back by train and via a few other places. I loved Konstanz and if ever there is a need to send an ambassador from Richmond there then I am willing to do my bit.

The Manor of Ham

The recently installed bench in the southeast corner of Ham Parade has been joined by a information board giving a quick summary of the history of The Manor of Ham. 

A lot of it will be familiar to anyone with the slightest interest in the history of Ham but there are some less known pictures and it is very well put together so even if you know your local history it is still worth your time going to read it.

New shop on Ham Parade

A new shop has come to Ham Parade, sandwiched between the two Mervyn Smiths in the unit last occupied by a Princess Alice Hospice shop.

It is clear from the unobstructed glass frontage what it sells, though its name is still a mystery.

Rutland Drive and Lodge sign

It almost seems a shame to hide some of this old wall with a large sign so it is just as well that it is quite attractive, mostly thanks to its simplicity. Perhaps the arrow could be a little larger and the font a little less fussy.

Ivy House

Ivy House still looks a bit like a pub, especially to those of us who remember going there not that long ago, but they have made a good job of converting it. I particularly like the leaves in the windows even those these are at the expense of those that had the pub name etched in them.

Martingales mess

I have been watching this construction project in Martingales for almost a year, I posted something on it, in May 24. Then I added the comment, "Martingales Close does not look like Ham, it's more like Springfield, but there is some consistency of style which is welcome.", only to see that consistency destroyed by the arrival of grey windows.

Ironically the residents of Martingales Close fought hard to stop the new houses in Orford Place having Juliette balconies, despite balconies being a feature of the road, only for the character of the place to be ruined by one of their own.

Replacement fence

This new fence in Buckingham Road is a like for like replacement except that, being new, it is a bright yellow rather than a weathered mix of greys and greens. A rather neat hedge above the fence has been replaced by curved trellising which already has some vegetation growing up and through it. 

Stone post

Motorists are deterred from driving over the muddy strip of land on the south side (this counts as provision for pedestrians) by a range of barriers varying from large tree trunks to this small stone post that once helped to mark the entrance to Latchmere House.

43 Lammas Road revealed

I wondered what was going on behind the hoardings at 43 Lammas Road and now they have gone and the remarkably unremarkable house is revealed. It is unremarkable because it looks much like the other houses in the street and that is remarkable because the windows are a welcome white rather than grey.

Yellow frame

The Little Cottage site, on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue, has been hidden behind hoardings for several months but no longer as the frame of the new house busts into view in a surprising display of yellow metal.

Community Kitchen Garden sign replaced

Only a few weeks ago I posted a picture of the sign for the Community Kitchen Garden in Back Lane only to notice shortly afterwards that it had gone. The reason for its disapearance became clear when two supports for climbing plants appeared in the place it had been.

Tatty boat

It has been some time since I posted a picture of a boat that was not sinking and while this boat is attractively tatty, almost to a state of dereliction, it is still floating.

Ham Library this way

The positioning of this sign is unusual for two reasons; firstly it is very high up, too high to be readily seen by anyone passing by, and secondly it across the road from the Library which is much easier to spot than the sign is.

Easter pole

This is the third time that I have featured this pole; first it was decorated with Little Ponies, then it was Christmassy and now it is dressed with eggs for Easter.

Facing the shops

A new bench has been placed at the south end of Ham Parade, on Tudor Drive, and it looks across the small green to the shops whereas the bench adjacent to it offers a fine veiw of the traffic.

Clearing a raft

The raft that arrived at the moorings by Teddington Lock late last year has been moved to the other side of the bridge where it is being cleared piece by piece.

Fenced off

A few sections of greenery around the paths to Teddington Lock Footbridge have been fenced off. These were damaged by the construction site for the recent bridge repairs so they may just be there to keep people off while the vegetation recovers or there just may be some new planting on the way. 

There are deliberate gaps in some of the fences which suggest that someone still needs access to do something and planting is a reasonable bet.

No signs

The Gate House on Upper Ham Road (the top end of Ham Parade) is looking a lot better without all the gaudy signs associated with its last use, though there is still a plaque for Shockwave Clinics, a previous role.

It does worry me slightly that some of the fixings used for the signs have been left and were sometimes drilled into brick rather than mortar; one can be replace but the other cannot.

Looking less like a pub

The former Royal Oak / Ham Institute on Ham Street looks a little less like a pub now that the frontage has been rendered and the windows replaced. It is only a little less though and like so many corner buildings across London it reveals its public house history in just a casual glance.

The Hive in context

Now that the scaffolding has come down from The Hive (the new community centre being built on Ham Village Green) its bulk can be judged and it looks big. and from this angle it loks significantly larger than the buildings near to it. 

 

From the Green it dwarfs the shops and flats behind it.

The bulk is something of a shock but I am hoping that is partially because of its newness and once the shock has passed it become just another building. It is, after all, smaller than the existing and planned blocks of flats on the other side of the Green in Ham Close.

Lock Road leak

Ironically, the leak that is flooding a section of Lock Road originates at the spur that goes to the pumbing station, so Thames Water really should know about it.

Beaufort Court signs

I do not know why Beaufort Court thinks it needs such large signs but they are attractive and effective so I have no complaints.

 

Elsewhere there are older signs which have less impact but more charm.

There are good arguments for both styles and I am glad that they have kept the old ones when adding the new ones. It is an interesting history of signage on one building.

Broken post

Well, that did not take long!

Only a few days (hours?) after the new posts were put in at the southern end of Great South Avenue to try to keep cars parking their to access the area properly and one has been demolished. It was one of the most visible ones too.

New posts

I have always thought that the view across Ham Common towards Ham House was ruined by the cars parked at the southern end of Great South Avenue and that area has been made by inconsiderate driving and parking. Nothing is being done about the ugly view but an attempt is being made to keep the cars in their place with a set of posts.

Black balcony at Stokes House

One of the finishing touches to the extensive refurbishment of Stokes House in Ham Street is the return of this balcony which is now black when it used to be a light blue.