Progress at Harrington Lodge

When work started at Harrington Lodge in Sudbrook Lane last year it was hidden behind plastic sheets and now that they have been removed I am pleased to say that the Lodge looks much as it always did, and most importantly the climbing tree is still intact.

At the moment it is wilder that it was and it has grown up a little at this end compared to what it was in 2009.

Waiting for a garden

I have been following the current phase of work to 31 Ham Farm Road for almost four years (!) and they finally seem to be drawing to a close. Most of the front garden has given way to a hard surface for vehicles  with little space left for vegetation.

The small strip in front of the low wall is actually part of Ham Common and so I presume that this will be replanted as will the small strip of ground the other side of the wall where one tree stands as a reminder of the former garden.

Sandy Lane foundations

Sandy Lane has seen a lot of change in recent years as houses in large plots have been extended or even, as in this case, demolished to make even larger properties.

Annoyingly there is a green narrow mesh screen across the front of the property which my camera gets confused by, focusing on that rather than the works behind, and so all I could get this time was the view from one edge.

Restored cap

When I last posted a picture of a former gate to Beaufort House in Ham Street the work on the pillar on the left looked unfinished and the cap had not been replaced. A month later and it looks completed. 

You cannot tell from here that the brick pillar has been worked on and the cap is back in place. It is only the new slab that suggests that anything has changed.

Battered bollard

It is only a week or so since I noted the new concrete bollards on the bend of Church Road, by the south-east entrance to Ham Common Woods, and one of them has taken a hit already.

Behind Ham Parade

The service road behind the west side of Ham Parade (possibly Warners Lane but sources are inconsistent on that, e.g. it is not named on Ordnance Survey maps) has been the scene of much building over the years  so that it looks something of a mess, so unlike the frontages.

This current work is at the south end and it is too early to tell if it is an extension to a Ham Parade unit or a  separate building.

 

Close to the new works is this building which is a separate habitable one bedroom dwelling. The address for the planning application is 311A Richmond Road despite it facing on to the service road.

Ivy House refreshed

A couple of weeks ago I noted that Ivy House on Upper Ham Road was being repointed and now that the work has finished I am rather impressed. 

At this distance it is hard to see that anything has changed, though the whiteness of the windows suggests that they may  have been repainted not long ago, and it is only when you get closer that the newness of some of the pointing can be seen.

The Hive revealed

For many months the lower part of The Hive on Ham Village Green has been hidden behind boards so I was delighted to find it finally revealed. And the ground floor makes a big difference as it explains why there is a grey arch on the first floor, which had looked out of place.

The Hive sits very comfortably in its Village Green setting and is a welcome addition to the area.

Celebrating Wimbledon

This hedge at the Common end of Ham Street is something of a local landmark and I have posted a picture of it before when the two spheres became Christmas puddings. Their current transformation into tennis balls is stylistically simple but technically difficult as the two curvilinear ovals on each sphere have to be approximately the same size for the effect to work properly.

It is always good to see people making an effort like this to brighten the area even if all it takes is a little bit of white tape.

On entering Petersham Lodge Woods

It is easy to overlook Petersham Lodge Woods as River Lane and the towpath let you pass easily but it is worth making the effort to step inside and this is the serene view you get on entering from River Lane,

Three out of four

It is worrying that three out these four properties on Upper Ham Road are empty commercial units (the other is the intermittently used Ham and Petersham Cricket Club pavilion) and more worrying still that there are no signs on any of them suggesting that the owners are looking for new tenants.

Tree protection

The last time that I checked on these works at The Navigator's House in River Lane these gates were open and the tree was unprotected. I do not recall seeing protection like that before and I am sure that it is there for good reasons, better safe than sorry!

Dominic House in Sudbrook Lane

The changes made over the years to Dominic House in Sudbrook Lane have been small but noticeable. The driveway used to be paved and was smaller. The garden is reduced as a result and the row of semi-spherical trees that used to define the house has been reduced from seven to three.

Fallen tree

This fallen tree is on the towpath opposite Eel Pie Island and I like the way that it has just been pushed to one side. It has made the path a lot narrower but this is not a path that gets a lot of buggies or wheelchairs and there is still enough space for them.

More concrete posts

Richmond Council is continuing its welcome campaign against bad drivers by replacing fragile wood posts with stronger and taller concrete ones, this time on the bend of Church Road by the south-east entrance to Ham Common Woods.

Lammas improvements

I caught these changes in Lammas Road while they were still very much in progress and I just liked the business of it with a lot going on from a new front door to grey fences. The limited amount of paving is also encouraging.

Thames Young Mariners changes

I took a similar picture to this one in 2007 and I was interested to note the changes; the floating quay is larger, the embankment in the centre has been cleared of vegetation and there are new railings at the lock. There is also a lot more vegetation on the left side which has recovered from the major clearance done in 2009.

Replacement fence and hedge

Earlier this year I described how the lane past St. Peter's Church Petersham and on to Petersham Nurseries was being remade as a proper road and the last part of that work was to rebuild the combined fence and hedge on one side.

Gates gone

In 2023 I commented on the gates to the porch at St Andrew's and now they have gone. The pins are still attached to the front wall and it looks as though the gate panels have simply been lifted off; hopefully to be refurbished or replaced with something better, though there is also the possibility that they have been stolen.

BenForrest make-over

BenForrest arrived on Ham Parade in 2014 and had a refresh in 2019. The recent make-over has given it a very different look with white tiles, green paint and a fake plant background to the shop name which makes it rather hard to read.

New trees on the towpath

This will be a familiar view for the many people who make a habit of walking along the towpath and the bending river with vegetation on both sides makes it a great view. Slowly adding to the view are some recently planted trees though it is too early for me to tell what they are; the sturdy protection they have suggests that they are something a little special.

Broken tree

The foliage in the bottom centre of the screen comes from a high branch that has broken but with just enough of it left to hold the branch off the ground.

Common parking

Ham Fair is the biggest event in Ham each year and it is always good to go and to see so many other people there enjoying themselves. 

Unfortunately the Fair also brings traffic on Upper Ham Road to a frequent stand-still as visitors are allowed to park half on the road and half on the Common. The car on the left here is stationary while vehicles, like the bus in the distance, struggle to make progress on the narrowed road.

Repointing Ivy House

While the recent works at Ivy Cottage have been hidden at the back of the house the work at its twin, Ivy House, is very visible. I caught it mid-repointing when the front wall was covered with dust from the gouging out.

Bridge barriers

The Ham end of Teddington Footbridge has had barriers firmly installed on both sides. 

My guess is that this is to stop people from jumping off though there are already spikes to do that and there are no barriers on the more dangerous Teddington end where I have seen people jumping in to the river from in the recent heatwave.

4 Manston Grove

I get planning notifications from both Richmond and Kingston councils, simply by lying about my address, and I had seen several for 4 Manston Grove in Royal Park Gate so I went to capture a before image to compare with the completed works.

My timing was good as some work had clearly started but there was no change to the appearance of the property yet.

Fence in Sandpits Road

It is impossible to miss this new fence when walking along Sandpits Road towards Petersham Road and that is fine because it is a decent fence. The colour also goes well with the house.

It would have been even better if the wooden components of the steps had been replaced at the same time, they looked good with the old fence but do not match the new one.

Ham Fair Saturday 13 June

After Ham was plastered with advertising for Ham Open Gardens I was expecting something similar for Ham Fair but the only sign I have seen so far is this modest one on Ham Common facing the traffic.

The font reminds me of the lively debates over Comic Sans MS several years ago where it was generally accepted that the font should never be used. At lest is says "13" rather that "13th" which is much clearer, though the "3" does not look to be in bold from this angle.

Not for sale!

I thought the days of rogue estate agents' boards was long over until I saw this one technically on public land and outside a property which is not for sale.

A history in brick

This wall in Sandpits Road is hardly the oldest in the area but it still carries a lot of history told by the differently coloured bricks. The place where there used to be a gate is the most obvious feature and I also like the small arch over a former gap on the bottom left.

Unexpected trees

Having cleared the vegetarian away from the bench in Ham Gate Avenue, close to Ham Gate, two news trees were planted which seems strange, particularly as the far one is under another tree.

The posts may be necessary but they draw too much attention to themselves at the moment.

St Richards is enveloped

St Richards is a superb building so it is good news that it is being restored and even better news that it looks so good enveloped in scaffolding while the work is done.

Ham in flowers

This short journey along Sandy Lane ends at the Ham Street end with a small display of flowers. It is easy to miss the significance of the flowers and a closer look is required.

The flowers spell "HAM" which is a very nice tough. I especially like it as some people would claim that this is actually in Petersham, but I agree that it is Ham.

An uncertain future

Yet another house on Sandy Lane is about to be worked on. Judging by the lack of scaffolding and the relatively small size of the house, I suspect that this may be a demolish and rebuild. As with all the other construction projects in Sandy Lane, and elsewhere, I will keep visiting and noting any significant progress.

Ready for work

This house on Sandy Lane looks ready to start the next stage in its life though the limited anount of scaffolding suggests that it may not be that different from the last one.

15 Sandy Lane remodelled

Things have clearly changed at 15 Sandy Lane and not necessarily for the better. The house is a bigger, e.g. the garage has been included in to the main house, but it is also much blander, e.g. the terracotta tiles in the bay between the two windows have been removed.

There are a few little details there, e.g. in the small panes at the top of the windows, but these are lost in the uniformity of the painted front. I expect the porch to be painted too, it needs to be.

Leaning tree

While I usually try and mix which part of Ham I post pictures of I have collected several of Sandy Lane so I thought that I would post them as an end-to-end theme, starting with the Petersham Road end in the east.

This young tree has been forced to lean by the strong winds battering it and it does not have any support to help it. It will be fine though it looks a little odd against the vertical lines behind it.

LB23 GVT

HY56 YMW

Gold plaques

Several of the plants in Parkleys have been given memorial gold plaques for former residents. 

New entrance to Ham Close

Work on the surface areas of the new Ham Close development is in its final stages and one of the things that has been completed is the new entrance from Woodville Road, complete with white and yellow lines.

Reduced pond

When I posted a picture of this pond in Ham Common Woods in spring 24 I commented on how unusually wet the area was but now the story is the exact opposite. As we start the first very hot spell of the year the pond has all but disappeared and I had to get quite close to it to be sure that there was any of it left.

Unusual porch

Ham has several large areas of similar looking brick houses built for social housing and over the years quite a few of these have added porches and most of these have followed the style of the having a brick construction and a sloping roof with terracotta tiles. This one in Lammas Road has taken a very different approach and looks horribly out of keeping as a result.

Missing cap

The simple wood boards have gone from the front of Beaufort House but the wall behind them looks to be unaltered. What has gone is the cap on the pillar on the left. That pillar has been built up to the height of the rest of the wall but this work looks messy and may be unfinished. It would be nice to get the other cap back.

Clarendon SEND School is austere

I was fortunate to walk past the new Clarendon SEND School on Meadlands Drive when both gates were open to allow a large truck out and the man on the gate was away from his post guiding the truck out and away; that gave me a decent view of the frontage for the first time. I am not impressed.

As an office building this is fine but as a school I think that it is too austere and unwelcoming. I appreciate that is sits in a sensitive area but I do not think that is a good enough excuse.

BenForrest refresh

I have been keeping an eye on the former Rowleys shop on Ham Parade as work continues to bring it back in to use and while this is happening BenForrest (or is it Ben Forrest?) next door is getting a refresh. 

This is not unexpected as BenForrest arrived on Ham Parade in 2014 and was last refreshed in 2019.

Ham Open Gardens 2026

Having praised the poster for Ham Open Gardens 2024 for its simplicity, things have taken something of a backwards step this year with the main text relegated to one side and the rest of the poster littered with unnecessary text. It looks like a poster designed by a committee.

Neat gate

Continuing the (short) neat and tidy sequence, this is a gate to a car park in Parkleys which has been well looked after in distinct contrast to the nearby fence and wall.

The keypad is something of a conundrum though. There is an open access for cars just a few metres away so there is no security on the site anyway.