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 gates have simply been lifted off; hopefully to be refurbished or replaced with something better.

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.

Neat and tidy

This property at the bottom end of Ham Street has always looked neat due to its simplicity and regularity and it looks even better after a recent tidy-up. The fresh paint is the most obvious improvement but the little things matter too, like tidying up the cable that used to come out of the front of the bottom right corner.

31 Ham Farm Road revealed

I have been watching progress on the refurbishment of 31 Ham Farm Road for several years so I was very pleased when the hoardings were removed to reveal the house for the first time. As the front garden is still being worked on it is not possible to make final conclusions but first impressions are not great.

The view from this angle is not disastrous though the grey rendering on the upper level is not very pretty and cheapens the look.

 

The view from this angle is disastrous. The black box has no redeeming features and sits poorly with the rest of the house which it dominates.

A stunning garden

Only a few weeks ago I was praising this new garden in Ham Farm Road and since then it has only got better. Some things have shot up taller and more flowers have bloomed. It is absolutely stunning and perfect for wildlife too.

79 Woodville Road

Nothing particularly remarkable here, just another informative, clear to read and aesthetically pleasing house sign.

Fairlawn extends

Fairlawn is hidden away at the far end of Petersham Close. The building on the left is original (as are the shutters) but its neighbour on the right and their roofs are new,

Ham Close landscaping

With most of the work on the buildings finished, attention has moved on to the landscaping. This is very early days but the shape of the border is a good sign.

Nature recovers

Just a year ago, a few sections of land around the paths to Teddington Lock Footbridge were fenced off after being damaged by the construction site for some bridge repairs. This was to allow nature to recover the scarred areas and it has done so spectacularly.

Bacchus

Over the winter the status of Bacchus in the Ham House Cherry Garden is wrapped for its protection and it was nice to find it revealed again on a bright sunny day.

Wall works

Once upon a time there would have been a gate to Beaufort House between the pillars but it has been a brick wall for some time, judging by the age of the bricks and the installation of a lamp post in front of it. The boards hide whatever is happening to it now so that is something that I will be looking out for on a future walk.

Ham Close exposed

For two years the work on the first phase of the Ham Close redevelopment has been largely hidden behind boards but these have now been replaced by a metal chain-link fence exposing the ground floor to full scrutiny for the first time.

This block is facing on to Woodville Road and the entrance appears to be in the recessed section as that is where the letterboxes are.

Exceptionally lovely bricks

Having commented on some nice bricks yesterday I thought I would follow that with a return to The Cottage on Ham Common.

On my previous visit, not long ago, the extension was defined by blocks and these have been clothed with bricks, and exceptionally lovely bricks they are too (a zoom in is recommended). The mix of colours and the rough texture give them character that is completely lacking in the building on the left.

Murray Road extension

I make a point of visiting quieter places like Murray Road regularly just to see if there is anything new and this time it was an extension being built. As always, I like to mark projects like this in case the change is dramatic and also because I like all the physical things associated with these building projects. 

In this case I also very much like the end wall of the house, the bricks are a lovely colour and the contintion of the motar suggests that it was well built.

Little Free Library in Lock Road

The first Little Free Library in the area is in Ashburnham Road and now there is a second one in Lock Road.

Long grass and more

The linear part through Royal Park Gate is looking wonderful in spring and the many small flowers amongst the grasses (zoom in to see the better) are attracting bees and butterflies,

Unfortunately in the time between me taking this photo and then posting it, Kingston Council has brutally mown this area and a misguided resident has swept up the loose grass to prevent the organic matter from enriching the soil.

It used to look natural and lovely and now it looks like the managed garden of somebody who has no interest in wildlife.

Work underway at St Richards

St Richards Church in Ashburnham Road is, I would argue, the most iconic building in Ham so it is good to see the work begin to repair it after much planning and fundraising.

I believe that the plan is to replace the copper roof with a zinc one so it will look different when the work is complete but it will retain its shape and still be just as iconic.

Wrong place, wrong time

My brief investigation of signs on Ham Common ends with this one by Ham Ponds. The two things to notice are that it is not on a formal noticeboard, despite there being several nearby, and it is out of date. 

Given that HAPA&AG organise litter picks in that area every month it is a little surprising that it has not been removed yet.

Undulations

The landscaping of Wates Estate is a constant joy and I wanted to highlight this area, approaching the entrance to TYM from the south, because unlike most of the landscaped areas it is not flat. The recent mowing helps to show the contours but the best way to appreciate the undulations is to walk past it.