11 Ham Farm Road

11 Ham Farm Road has features here a few times over the years thanks to its stunning Toad of Toad Hall weathervane and in the process the house itself gas been unfairly overlooked because it is charming and quite distinctive thanks to its windows.

It is also one of the houses included in the modernist architecture guided walk Perambulation Nº27—Richmond to Ham by Stefi Orazi.

Smaller windows

Most of the changes to 23 Ham Farm Road are being done at the back and I was surprised to see that the windows at the front, facing directly onto Ham Common Woods, are being reduced in size with almost half of the space filled with breeze blocks.

Fresh paint

The road markings on Ham Parade have been repainted and, for a short while at least, they look exceedingly bright.

The Hive from the south

As the scaffolding falls away, more of The Hive is revealed, this is the view from Ashburnham Road. The full impact will not be know until the hoardings have gone too but impressions are still good for all the reasons that I like the view from the north.

21 Ham Farm Road

21 Ham Farm Road gets another deserved mention here because it is included in the new architecture guided walk Perambulation Nº27—Richmond to Ham by Stefi Orazi.

Works at Harrington Lodge

Harrington Lodge was one of the better looking properties in Sudbrook Lane, against some very stiff competition, and I hope that it still is once the plastic sheeting comes down.

Taupe windows

The first blocks in Ham Close are having their windows installed and it is vecoming easier to judge what the finsihed buildings will look like. The taupe windows are something of a surprise but the colour seems to go well with the brick, and they are not grey!

Window work

This window faces directly on to Upper Ham Road so it is easy to monitor progress on it as the house is refurbished. Most of the paint has been removed which implies that it is going to be repaired and kept rather than replaced

27 Ham Farm Road

With all the work going on around it in recent years it would be easy to overlook 27 Ham Farm Road which would be a shame, particularly as it is one of the properties included in the architecture guided walk Perambulation Nº27—Richmond to Ham by Stefi Orazi.

A last look

14 Cedar Heights is looking very rundown and neglected for a good reason, it is about to be demolished. I have been expecting this for almost a year and am looking forward to seeing this house fall and a new one rising to replace it.

White windows

Strolling along Sudbrook Lane I was struck by these these recently painted white windows set in a lovely brick wall; it's an image well worth sharing. The newness of the paintwork is confirmed by the flecks of paint on the pavement.

Hidden statue

This spring, the statue A Bird in the Hand by Keith Goodwin on the edge of Parkleys was made more visible by a fallen tree and then the trimming of all of the bushes in one corner and that seemed like a good compromise between the built and the natural environments only now that balance has changed and new planting hides the statue.

Beechrow

I had assumed that I had posted a picture of Beechrow but it appears that I had not so this is a welcome chance to redress that error. 

 

I was prompted to do so by the brand new architecture guided walk Perambulation Nº27—Richmond to Ham by Stefi Orazi. Over the next few weeks I will feature more of the properties in Ham listed here but with only the briefest of descriptions so you will have to buy the guide to get the full story.

Preparing the ground

The vans in the background belong to a ground preparation company and it is clear that is what they are doing. What they are preparing it for is unknown but Thames Water is a good guess given that this is where they had a test bore about a year ago,

2 Ashfield Close

I have been following the refurbishment of 2 Ashfield Close for almost a year and while most of the work was completed a little while ago I have been thwarted in my attempts to get a picture of the finished house by workmen and/or cars interrupting the view, until now.

I still think it is less exciting than the original house though I will concede that it is better than I feared during the refurbishment. The front garden is a big help as are the two sections of vertical cladding. It is also good to see a prominent house number.

The Hive (partially) revealed

While the construction of The Hive is still very much in progress we can see what it looks like from the north looking across Ham Village Green, and it is ok as it is pretty unobtrusive. There are just enough features to prevent it from being a solid grey mass but not too many to draw attention away from the Green.

Not so Little Orchard

The size and shape of the new Little Orchard (on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue) is becoming more apparent as it grows above the wall. 

It seems, to me, to have a similar footprint to the old house and it is still effectively a chalet bungalow so the reasons for the rebuild are not that obvious, perhaps they will become clearer once the work is completed and I can see through the gate.

Unstoppable Training Studio

Unstoppable Training Studio looks ready for business. The finer details of that business are hidden by the reflections but the sketches of bar weights on the window and the cycling machine on the right give a good indication.

Rear fence

These are the backs of properties in Randle Road as seen from the access road off Dukes Avenue whee something interesting is going on. 

The new trellice-topped panels look too grand for such a location (though they will look good from the other side) and the white sections seem to have been cobbled together from unwanted materials, presumably these will be replaced as part of the construction work being done in the garden.

185A Petersham Road

I presume that there always has been a 185A Petersham Road sitting alongside 185 in its pretty corner but it did not have its own gate before.

Wall up

In July I noted that the wall to 50 Sandy Lane had been demolished and while it looked good without a wall it was likely that it would be replaced, and it has. 

And a very good wall it is too, thanks to the decoration.

The Council raises the stakes

The Council's attempt to control bad motorists from abusing the approach to the small parking area on the north side of Ham Common started with small wood posts in April but these were soon damaged so now they have raised the stakes with taller concrete ones.

Extension and gate

This is hardly a major project as these things go but being on the corner of Horsley Drive and Chivenor Grove it is fairly noticeable. 

The brick matching is surprisingly good so it is a shame that they did not continue the double line of red bricks.

Parkleys corner

These days I am walking along Ham Farm Road even more than usual, to keep an eye on all the building projects going on there, and that means walking around this cornet where Ham Farm Roads meets Parkleys, and there have been a few changes here too.

Most of the trees in the area were removed a couple of months ago and on this passing I could see that the area was being prepared for some planting.

 

But before I could post the photo of the prepared ground more work had been done and so I am posting this update.

Behind the plastic fence grass seed has been strewn. I hope that this is just the start and that there will be some more interesting planting too.

The corner section is interesting. There used to be a series of wood posts there (I recorded their gradual demise here) and these have been replaced by more substantial concrete ones.

Further preparation

It is over two years since I first noted that this mid-terrace house in Upper Ham Road was being prepared for a refresh and nothing visible has been done to it, until now.

Apple trees

I have been so busy watching The Hive rising on Ham Village Green that I have overlooked the apple trees recently planted in the north-east corner along Woodville Road.

Every little improvement like this to Ham Village Green is a reminder of what could be done to Ham Common if it had the same attention.

Unstoppable

The unit on Ham Parade that Mervyn Smith used as a temporary location (while their original was repaired) is being brought back into life quickly as Unstoppable Training Studio,

Bare trees

I last took a photograph of these trees when they were pollarded in March 21 (with a much less dramatic sky) so I was a little surprised to discover them pollarded again and at a different time of year.

25 Ham Farm Road looks good

This time, I made a point of visiting 25 Ham Farm Road in the morning when the sun is at the best angle to see the front and on a Sunday when, as hoped, nobody was working there (the person you can see in the house is a reflection!).

The house looks good and the structure of the front garden is good too. This is going to be a fine addition to a road that has a few other fine houses (and some less interesting ones too).

Completed but unnumbered

When I last posted a picture of this conversion of a pub to a house, back in April, there was still some touching up to do; that has been done and the house is on the market for an optimistic £1.9m.

Of course it looks like a former pub and it you look closely at the glass in the door it says, "Saloon / Off Sales" so that link remains.

I was going to label this post with the house number but I have no idea what it is. The planning applications are for "The Royal Oak" and the Royal Mail address list says "Ham Village Centre".

Mervyn Smith swap

After an extended stay two doors down, Mervyn Smith is now back in its original home on Ham Parade.

 

Meanwhile the temporary home is being reworked, either just to remove all traces of Mervyn Smith or to prepare for a new tenant. Hopefully the latter as there are already several unused and underused units on the struggling Parade.

Noisy works

Noisy work was going on at the BP garage at Ham Cross for a few days, and access was restricted during that time, the end result of which is that nothing much seems to have changed. 

The drainage grill across the exit was replaced but it looks the same as before so something else subterranean must have been done.

Road restricted

I have long wanted to see speed restriction measures in Church Road though I never thought that they would be done like this. I approve!

Speed camera

I suspect that Craig Road never had, and never will have, a speed camera but it has a warning sign just in case.

25 Ham Farm Road revealed

For many months my views of 25 Ham Farm Road have relied on a hole in the hoarding or finding the gate open so it is a relief to find the hoardings replaced by a simple metal barrier which allows full views of the site.

It was late afternoon so the sun stopped me from taking a photo with the main house in but it is worth admiring the living roof of the carport and I have a good excuse for taking another photo on another day.

Yellow barriers

The Hive (the new community centre being built on Ham Village Green) looks quite dramatic from Back Lane thanks to the ranks of yellow barriers and the framing yellow crane. There is also an early view of when the finished building will look like with the exposed wall on the right.

Full refurbishment at Mervyn Smith

It was last autumn that the roof gave way at Mervyn Smith forcing them to move quickly into an empty unit two doors away. Refurbishment on the original site while slow to start has picked up in recent weeks and it looks as though it will soon be ready for occupation.

Smaller window

I have been watching progress at 33 Ham Farm Road for months and while most of it has been hidden behind plastic sheeting some of it is visible, such as this section of the front of the house. This part is one of the few that has been retained from the original house and even this is changing as the window becomes smaller. 

It is still a little to early to tell but I think the new brick to glass ratio is wrong and the wall looks a bit forbidding.

New gate in Hazel Lane

I walk along Hazel Lane regularly, mostly to avoid traffic-heavy Petersham Road, and while it changes little it does change from time to time and this neat gate is one of those changes.

Clarendon SEND School

I was quite happy to wait for the new building/s on the former Strathmore site on Meadlands Drive to be build before discovering what they were only to have that surprise taken away from an information board on the site hoardings.

The diagram in the middle of the top row gives the new site layout and it seems it will be much like the previous school in form and function (though, of course, different specialist schools serve children with different needs and ages).

Wood over steel

I am intrigued by the construction of the new Little Orchard (on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue) and have been since it started with a bright yellow metal frame. The wooden roof is another surprise to me. Of course that is not the end of the story and I look forward to seeing what is placed over the wood.

Sudbrook House outbuildings

While Sudbrook House is the main building of the estate there are other interesting buildings worth noting and I like the look of these, made even lovelier by their setting.

Cube Room at Sudbrook House

The Cube Room at Sudbrook House is as grand as the main room in a Palladian should be. Sadly it has lost most of its original colour but the plasterwork is too delicate to even determine what those colours were.

Another angle shows more of the detail in this remarkable room. And what I also find remarkable is that the room is in regular use, it is the club's dining room.

The front of Sudbrook House

It is a shame that the front of the house, facing in to Richmond Park, is partially obscured by a marquee (the gold club is a business after all) but there is more than enough showing to be impressive.

The middle section in white is original, unlike at the back of the house, and is one of the walls to the Cube Room, the literal centrepiece of the house.

Sudbrook House

I have wanted to post pictures of Sudbrook House for years but despite it being semi-public I have not had a good excuse to visit it before so I am very grateful to Ham United Group for organising an architecture tour there. 

Sudbrook House, home of The Richmond Golf Club, is one of the areas more fabulous buildings (in a tough competition) built in the early 1700s with later additions. This is the view of the back of the house, as approached from Sudbrook Lane, and the colonnaded section in the middle is one of those extensions, as is the rather out of keeping block on the left.

Substantial porch

This new porch in Dysart Avenue is substantial in size and in materials used, it may even be more solid that the house it is attached to as well as being wider that the extension.

There is some work to do to integrate the new build with the brick and pebbledash of the old and I will be interested to see what they do.

It looks as though the semi-detached neighbour is having the same porch built at the same time (matching porches will be good) but they had a car plarked in front of it so no photo this time.

New planting

It is only a short while since this area alongside Albany Court in Ashburnham Road looked harsh with the removal of a hedge and already there is cause for optimism with new planting.