HSBC closed

The branch of HSBC on Ham Parade closed on 27 June 2008 and already all sign that it used to be there has gone. Hopefully there will be a new tenant soon and we won't have to put up with the ugly temporary boarding for much longer.

The NatWest branch closed a few years ago and that leaves Barclays as the sole bank on the parade.

Lock office

The lock keepers' office is on the artificial island between the two main locks. It is familiar Victorian architecture and could just as easily be a railway station.

Brick box

This looks as though it has been built to hold something very valuable so it is rather odd to find it out in the open in Douglas Footpath.

Rear gate at Ormeley Lodge

The rear gate at Ormeley Lodge used to lead to the hunting grounds but now it is the sanitised landscape of Richmond Golf Club.

Huf Haus plans

Surprisingly, the latest addition to the period lodges and cottages of Petersham is going to be a very modern Huf Haus. It is being constructed next to Cecil House on Petersham Road.

Secret lawn

Ormeley Lodge must be one of the best gardens for playing hide-and-seek in; there are probably people, now middle-aged, still waiting to be found. A good hiding place is this small lawn that has been squeezed in behind one of the main borders to the main lawn.

Paved path

Parts of the garden at Ormeley Lodge are maze-like with tall hedges and narrow paths between them. This is a wonderful place to get lost.

Woodbines Cottage

This is a really cute cottage rather let down by being so close to the main road.

Lion

The door-to-door salesman selling reclining lion statues must have had difficulties believing his good fortune when he called on Ormeley Lodge as they bought at least eight of them. This is one of the pair guarding the main path from the house to the rear gate.