Travellers on Ham Common

Travellers ocassionally set up camp in Ham but I have never seen them on Ham Common before or in such numbers. I took this on Saturday morning and as I last went past Ham Common on Friday evening (walking back from the Fox and Duck) it was bit of a surprise to see them. 

I post this merely as a record of it happening, much like I post pictures of rare snowfalls, and I do not share the racist rhetoric of the likes of Ham and Petersham Association who urged people to "try to avoid the area", advice I gladly ignore.

Telltale arch

Today, Ivy Cottage and Ivy House on Upper Ham Road are two properties in one building but the closed arch in the middle of that building suggests that is was once one property. The wall leading up to the closed arch is the boundary wall between the two properties,

Well hidden

I suspect that many people are as interested as I am to see what becomes of Stokes House in Ham Street but the extensive works are exceedingly well hidden. Normally bits of sheeting move or come away leaving gaps to look through, but not here not yet.

Danger Live Electric

My recent visit to The Russell School allowed me to get close to what remains of the old Strathmore School, which is this cube with the encouraging words "Danger" and "Live Electric" painted on in red. It does not look very official but it would be enough to encourage me to keep well away.

Butterfly bench

Unfortunately you can only see this lovely carved bench from the grounds of The Russell School, and even then it is quite well hidden. 

 Many years ago (25+), one of the reasons that we chose The Russell School for our boys was the amount of space there and despite the new school being larger there is still an abundance of space that is nicely zoned into different areas. This bench is in a wild garden area.

One side of The Russell School

The south side of The Russell School has open spaces on both levels for instructive play and also just to rest and enjoy the fresh air in a safe environment. It is all very impressive.

The building to the right is one of the four campuses of Strathmore School which is a separate facility with its own Assistant Headteacher. This was not part of the tour though as it was built to the same style as the larger Russell School it has that to its credit.

The Russell School from the back

I knew all the old buildings at The Russell School well because both my sons went there but the new building was a mystery to me until a Ham United Group architecture tour gave me the opportunity to visit it.

This is the view looking west across part of the play area to the back of the school. The design looks good with its use of brick and amble glazing and it also looks big, which was confirmed by the internal tour.

Re-refurbishing Gordon House

This photograph was taken a little while ago and since then the scaffolding has grown to cover the front of the house making it even more obvious that this is a substantial project.

I am surprised at the scope of the work being done as the previous owner did a lot of work ony eight years ago and left the house in a very good condition. I am worried that any changes to the frontage will make it look worse.

Taking advantage of a demolished wall, I was able to see a side of the house and get a better idea of the scope of the work.

Broken sign

Sadly, it would be all to easy to fill this blog with the results of bad driving so I try to post only the most severe and obvious cases, such as this one by the car park in Ashburnham Road. 

Steps

There is nothing remotely special about these steps in Sandpits Road but I like their rustic character, the unassuming setting and the light that suggests that they are used regularly.

A nice front door

At times I worry that I am moaning too much about redevelopment projects, but I only do that when there are genuine things to moan about, and so it is good to be able to report on a nice thing, like this new front door in Ham Street. It is unashamedly traditional and fits the street wonderfully. 

I am not going to start a series of posts on the neighbouring doors but I do recommend that, given the chance, you look at them all while walking past. They are a mix of vivid colours with different arrangemens of glass, each one is an individual and they are all part of a cohesive whole.

Going grey

The neat, and desirable, enclave of houses around Lauderdale Drive benefit from their common character so when one house breaks their style then they all lose. The grey windows without glazing bars draw the most attention followed by the long windows either side of the front door.

Ongoing work

The various works that have been going on for some months at the former The Ballet Boutique on Ham Parade (it closed in March 2023) have been largely hidden by until now, being revealed by the removal of the window painting.

Things like the tin of paint on the floor are evidence of the work but the mirror and wall bar suggest that no major changes have been made.

Construction Time Again

The area fenced off between the path and the track to Teddington Lock that announced it was going to be a construction site now looks more like one with the addition of these portakabins. 

Paint it white

The renovation and extension of this end of terrace house in Ham Street has hit some significant milestones, among them is the painting of the front and side extension. White is clearly the right colour not just to match the house next door but also the cottages on the other side of the road.

If I am allowed one gripe it is that the surface of the side is smooth, not stippled like the front.

The front of the house has also got some new wnindows and, again, these are a good fit for the area.

Prominent project

This is one of the most prominent projects that I have posted due to it being situated next to the busy footpath to Teddington Lock.

The scaffolding and sheeting hide most of the work but the visible windows on the first floor are already too grey for my liking. 

Black stop

I do not plan to go into an in-depth analysis of the different styles of bus stop across Ham (street signs was an example not to be quickly repeated) but this one on Ashburnham Road, facing Ham Village Green looks distinctly different to other stops due to being black where most are grey.

High and dry

The recently rebuilt island in the pond on Ham Common is looking very high and dry at the moment, the vegetation around the edge has died and it looks as though it sits too high in the water for the wildlife to access it easily.

I hope that the problem is just a result of the unusual rainfall pattern this year and that it looks in better health next year.

The third window

As expected, the middle of these three windows at St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church is also being replaced, following closely in the footsteps of its two neighbours.

Ramp replacement

Admittedly I was standing in Teddington when I took this photo but the footbridge is an important connection to Ham and as far as I am concerned it can be counted as part of Ham.

The latest stage of the repair works has the most impact on users with the ramp on the Teddington side being rebuilt and a lengthly detour in place while the work is done.

Preparing the ground

Work on the Ham Close redevelopment is underway and the impact on the site is already dramatic, the first area has been cleared and flattened with one section slightly lower than the rest. The drop is more obvious in the dark!

This view gives a better idea of the scale of the work and the progress made, and it also captures some of the work in progress.

Three windows tell the tale

I always like to catch work in progress as I did when new windows were being installed at St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church on Ham Common. Deliberately out of shot below the photo men were getting a window ready to fill the gap. 

The new window on the right had already been installed and is a pleasing match for the old window next to it. That window is showing its age with peeling paint so I am expecting that to be replaced or repaired too.

New roof in the wrong style

This house in Lauderdale Drive has a new roof which, like the extension, is not quite right. The issue with the extension is that the bricks are not well matched and the issue with the roof is that the hips (edges) are smooth when the style for that area is jagged, as on the house on the left. 

Ham Market Garden

I was unaware of Ham Market Garden until I saw this banner on Woodville Road, which just goes to show that banners like this work.

New windows

It is rather obvious that St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church on Ham Common is getting some new windows. I suspect, and hope, that they will be just like the old ones and that their newness will not be obvious because of that.