Not the entrance to Ham House

It looks as though some people have confused the entrance to the stables as the entrance to Ham House (understandable given the size, age and grandeur of the entrance) and so there is a sign pointing people in the right direction and this entrance is marked as "Private".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some progress at Grey Court

It has been a month or so since I lasted posted a picture of the new building at Grey Court and while there has not been much change in that time a bit more of the building is visible and enough of it to suggest that this is going to be a fairly traditional building.

KP Dry Cleaners

What used to be ROYAL Dry Cleaners (in Ham Street opposite Grey Court) has morphed into .KP Dry Cleaners. "KP" is my reading of the logo but it could be "KR" or even just "K".

This comes almost exactly a year after K S Dry Cleaners morphed into ROYAL Dry Cleaners.

Evelyn refresh

Evelyn Road, off Ham Street is a slightly out of place row of Victorian cottages that seem to attract relatively high prices because of theit cuteness, certainly not because of their size. This one on the corner with Ham Street is showing its age and the refurbishment is welcome. It is gaining a rear extension too, which is no surprise.

Changes at Grey Court School

There have been many changes to Grey Court School over the years and while many of these have been incremental I believe that these works signal the demise of the futuristic pod.

I am sure the school has good academic reasons for removing this unusual building but it is an architectural loss. There is (was?) one at Meadlands School too but that is not visible from the main road.

Cupola repairs

The former stables for Ham House are always attractive because of their design and detail and on this day I also appreciated the colour of the tree, the structure of the scaffolding and the drama of the bright sunlight.

Ivy House sign

The last sign, literally, of what used to be The Ham Brewery Tap in Ham Street has gone with the pub sign at the front bening replaced by a new one for Ivy House.

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".

More wall repairs

Possibly inspired by the impressive wall works at its neighbour, Stokes House in Ham Street, Bench House is undertaking some wall repairs of its own.

Wall work completed

Now that it is finished, I will almost miss checking up on progress on the wall to Stokes House in Ham Street as it has been a pleasure watching the painstaking work being done well. The compensation is that the completed wall is a delight.

I also like that it does not look brand new, even though it is.

Stokes House door

The wall work at Stokes House is all but complete, there are a couple of pillars still to do, and the latest change is the arrival of a delightfully traditional new front door.

There is a lot to like about the door and its setting and as a deliverer of the Ham and Petersham Magazine I am particularly pleased to see a good sized letterbox and a decent height.

Not white

The rule here is clearly that fences must be white so it is a shame that somebody has chosen to break ranks and pick a different colour. The one saving grace is that it matches the front door but that is not a good enough excuse.

Wall work

The wall work at Stokes House in Ham Street continues to interest me and it has progressed noticeable since I last posted a picture of it a couple of weeks ago. It has gained caping stones along the top and a slightly wider section along the bottom.

Stokes House sign

I am sure that this is not the last picture that I will post of the impressive refurbishment of the wall to Stokes House in Ham Street; this is just to note the arrival of the house name sign above the gate. The sign does the wall justice.

Wall watching

In common with many other people, I walk along Ham Street frequently which allows me to monitor closely the works at Stokes House. At the moment my attention is captivated by the wall.

Great care has been taken to give the wall with its potted history a consistent appearance and also a structure and a finish that will last for many more years. It is a real pleasure to see.