Rising walls

The construction of the first phase of the Ham Close redevelopment continues apace with the walls rising up from the foundations.

Abandoned gate

I thought that i had posted a picture of these posts before but I cannot find one so either I did not or I tagged it incorrectly, either way that means I can post some now.

To be honest, I am not sure whether these are gate posts or fence posts but I will go with gate posts as there are only two of them.

The gate was between Ham Avenues, next to the spur past Ham House, and The Copse.

 

Another reason for thinking that these are gate posts is the decoration that despite being simple seems too much for a fence post.

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Still more trees

The recent programme of tree planting across Ham included Ham Lands North (between Thames Young Mariners and Ham House) where just a few trees have been added to the boundary with the towpath.

The location of the new trees (set amongst existing ones), their small size and the heavy protection that they have been given suggest that these trees are special in some way though I have not seen anything that says what that special thing is.

Forlorn garages

The area just north of the lock keeper's cottages has been tidied up and cleared a little exposing these three garages to anyone strolling along the towpath.

Sad remnant

When the Richmond Chase development was finished the wild area along Latchmere Lane was roped off from the paths cutting through it but these always looked flimsy and had already started to break in May 2021, now all that remains is one post and a little bit of rope hanging on to it in desparation.

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Even more trees

Fairly obviously I took this during a late stroll, it was around 11pm, so there is limited detail but there is enough there to show that some new, and heavily protected, trees Have been planted along the towpath opposite Burnell Avenue.

This section of the towpath could do with a lot more trees to distract attention from the houses and so I hope that these new arrivals are the first of many.

Works at Glen Cottage

It is over ten years since I last wrote about works at Glen Cottage in River Lane and while I have no idea what the current works are I do like to flag that they are in progress and to appreciate the industrial clutter that they bring.

More trees

It is always good to see more trees planted and these were something of a surprise as there were some local objections when the nearby Community Orchard was planted in 2021. What I particularly like is that the trees have been planted in two lines to, hopefully, grow into a decent barrier in time.

Richmond Council have just done a consultation on trees in the Borough (I submitted a response) which suggests an intention to plant a lot more trees and I hope that happens.

Ivy House coming soon

The saga of what used to be The Ham Brewery Tap in Ham Street has started a new chapter with Ivy House nursery announcing that they will be moving in soon. Of course another nursery was planning to go there previously so it has planning permission for that use. And before that it was going to be a vet so I think it is too early to claim that its future has been set.

Church Road clearance

The recent clearance of the Common along Church Road included some significant trees as well as messy brambles and the strip looks remarkably tidy, not that tidy is a good thing when describing nature.

Wonky door

Several things about this door look odd, notably its elevation above the path and its angle.

The timber frame looks new which would explain why I had noticed this door before when walking the path between Murray Road and Ham Street.

Launch Lock barriers

The latest works at Teddington Lock have finished after several months and the most visible difference is the second set of barriers at Launch Lock.

Sandy Lane sign

I am interested in this street sign as it appears to be a transition stage between the oldest and newest style because it has the newer serifed font but it does not have the area name in the bottom right corner.

That suggests that street signs have been through (at least) two design reviews which seems like a lot of effort for something so simple.

Red cow

Swiss Bread bakery and cafe in Ashburnham Road has become and important part of the local community in the five years since it opened and while the staff and the produce are the main ingredients of their success the decorative features help too. Most of these are inside the shop but the red cow normally stands attentively outside.

Doubly wrong roof

Ten years ago the first house broke the roof style for this section of Petersham Road by having smooth ridge tiles rather than jagged ones and now this house has got things doubly wrong by going for grey tiles as well as smooth ridges.

Test bore

Just as the Thames Water works next to Teddington Lock finish they move on to Northweald Lane to do a test bore there.

Aftermath

The work that started in July between the paths to Teddington Lock has finished, the construction site has been dismantled and all but cleared away, leaving a patch of bruised land waiting for spring to heal it.

Barely visible fence

The new fence around Bull Meadow, the Grey Court playing fields, has been completed and is all but invisible, it is only the direct sunlight on some of it that gives it away.

Different Woodville Road street signs

Woodville Road is one of the many local roads where its street signs are in a different style. I find that there are differences interesting, as it suggests a job half done, and I also like the review the styles of each one individually.

The first of these two signs is the more recent as shown by the slight serifs and the inclusion of "Ham".

I think it looks a little cramped; the kerning is quite tight, see how the "D" and "V" encroach on each other, and there is little white space at either end.

The older sign is the simpler with no serifs and no kerning. It also has a strangely large gap between the two words.

Solar panels

It was nice to catch the work being done to reroof and install solar panels on several houses in Meadlands Drive and just as nice to see the end result.

Isolated bench

For reasons that are not all obvious to me, all of the vegetation close to this bench (next to Ham Gate) has been cleared away leaving the bench isolated and not at all welcoming.

"X" marks the spot

Thames Water's investigations for their controversial Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) are continuing with a test bore just off Northweald Lane.

Making an interesting house bland

Once upon a time 2 Ashfield Close was an interesting house, and I said so in 2015. One of the things that made it interesting was the unusual roof line and in the latest refurbishment that has been, unaccountably, removed.

The colouring of the house was interesting too and there is still some chance that the new frontage will repeat the use of more than one colour, but I am not that hopeful.

The house has also failed to learn the lessons of its near neighbour across the road which also had large picture windows which the new owners sensibly broke up with glazing bars,

A new old roof

A new roof is being installed at the north end of The Manor House grounds in Ham Street and it looks pleasingly old. I also like the way that it hangs forward of the wall and so hides that the top rows are new.

Winter trees

While this blog is mostly about things that people may not have noticed I also like to post reminders of common things that some people may take for granted through familiarity and these trees on Ham Common are definitely worth pausing to admire.

A new sign for Ham Common

This street sign is outside Avenue Lodge and is new, the previous one was like the one next to The New Inn with a heavy sans-serif font. I have no idea why one was replaced and not the other or, for that matter, why this one is there at all as this is not a junction.

This style has been used for a while and is reasonable if not great. The small fiddly serifs may make the sign a bit more fancy but combined with the less bold text they also make it less readable.

The alignment also bugs me. I would prefer to see the two lines of text aligned on the right.

Weathervane

I thought that I had already posted a picture of every weathervane in Ham but I saw this one when walking out of Bute Avenue into Sudbrook Lane and took a photo just in case and if I have posted it before then it was not tagged as such.

Too bold

I thought that I had finished with street wigns in 2023 then I thought about this one and now I have more to say on the subject. The obvious problem here is that the lower, and less important text, is bold whereas the street name is not.

I also think that it would look better with the arrow below the house numbers, as it looks more attached to the street name placed where it is.

Site closed

The Ham Close redevelopment project has been firmly closed over the holiday period with large vehicles parked against the gates to deter unwanted visitors.

Carport

One of the on-going projects that I shall continue to monitor regularly in 2025 is the new build in Ham Farm Road which has just gained a carport. 

Its size and location means that it will dominate the front of the property and I am interested to see how the carport and the house combine visually when the project has finished.