Author Archives: Geoff Clements

*London’s “Lost Music Venues”-Part 4-the “Ruskin Arms”-East Ham and its Mod & Metal connections

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This week ‘London Shoes’ didn’t have to travel too far to reach its subject matter location – just a short 15mins train journey from my home base to East Ham–London E12.

The topic in question represents Part 4 of the London Shoes series entitled “London’s-Lost Music Venues” and takes a look at a place that I was fully aware when growing up nearby, and a venue that I actually frequented a couple of times myself in my early 20’s.

The venue itself has been closed for quite a while now, but its legacy will forever be etched in rock music history – it’s the legendary “Ruskin Arms” pub in High Street North-East Ham-E12.

The Ruskin Arms pub situated on the corner of Ruskin Avenue and High Street North, first opened its doors way back in 1899, at a time when East Ham was considered quite an affluent and posh area of east London, with a high density of residential and commercial properties.

Structurally, this magnificent 3 storey building displayed all the architectural features of the pubs that were built during the late Victorian period – with timber frames, large oriel designed windows and plenty of small gables.

The Ruskin Arms soon became one of the east end’s most popular boozers, and its design and position made it a noticeable landmark in the East Ham area.

As the decades progressed through the 20th century, the pub was acquired by the large ‘Bass Charrington’ brewery chain.

But it is in terms of ‘music’ that the Ruskin Arms wrote itself into the history books.

In early 1965 two local aspiring teenage musicians by the names of Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane had a chance encounter with an older local lad by the name of Jimmy Winston.

Marriott & Lane mentioned to Winston that they were in the process of forming a ‘band’ with their mate Kenny Jones – and Jimmy Winston just happened to mention that he too was in a band that actually had a regular residency at a local pub – the Ruskin Arms in High Street North-East Ham.

In fact, Jimmy Winston’s family actually owned the Ruskin Arms at that time – and so it was convenient and easy for Jimmy’s band to perform gigs at the pub.

Steve Marriott was already familiar with the Ruskin Arms as his Dad ran a fish stall directly opposite the pub.

Seeing an opportunity to secure a venue for their newly formed band, Marriott & Lane ventured down to the Ruskin Arms to check out Jimmy Winston and his band performing on the pub’s stage – and apparently, as legend has it, by the end of that evening Steve Marriott ended up on stage accompanying the band on harmonica.

Following that nights events, Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane asked Jimmy Winston if he would like to play keyboards in the new band that they had formed with their drummer mate Kenny Jones.

Although Winston was a few years older than Marriott, Lane & Jones – his appointment to their band came in very handy, as Winston’s brother owned a van, which could be used by the band to transport their equipment from gig to gig – also, they could use the Ruskin to rehearse in, and also do a few gigs in there whilst cutting their teeth.

And that is how the now legendary iconic ‘Small Faces’ were born.

The Small Faces used the top floor of the Ruskin Arms as their rehearsal base – and in their very early days, played many of their gigs down in the Ruskin Arms bar, slowly building up a large and continually growing audience and fan base.

The Small Faces rise to fame was very swift, particularly when the legendary promoter ‘Don Arden’ (e.g. Sharon Osborne’s dad) became their manager.

Sadly, as the bands reputation and popularity grew, Jimmy Winston’s position in the band was soon in jeopardy, and by the end of their first year in existence, Don Arden had recruited the more accomplished ‘Ian (Mac) McLagan’ to replace Winston as keyboardist for the Small Faces.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The Small Faces were (and still are in many respects) considered one of the legendary forerunners of the ‘Mod’ movement and genre of music – and of course, Ronnie Lane – Kenny Jones  & Ian McLagan went on to join Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to form the brilliant ‘Faces’ who were extremely successful all over the world.

Following the demise of the Small Faces and the Faces, the Ruskin Arms still clung on to its music heritage – because in the late 90’s the pub started to host annual Small Faces Conventions – which were really popular and well attended by ex-Mods from all over the country.

However, the Small Faces were not to be the only band to put the Ruskin Arms on the music map – because move on a decade to the late 70’s, another iconic band to be, cut its musical teeth down at the old Ruskin Arms.

In the mid 1970’s a local lad by the name of Steve Harris formed a heavy/hard rock band – that he named after a medieval torture device – and that band is the now globally renowned “Iron Maiden” who to date, have released over 40 albums, 12 of which have been ‘live’ recordings – an output that also includes EP’s, singles, bootlegs, compilations, box-sets and music videos.

Back in 1975 Iron Maiden had secured a residency at the Cart & Horses pub in Stratford–London E15 and were building up a big reputation for their brand of heavy metal music.

By 1978 Iron Maiden had made their debut at the Ruskin Arms – and throughout the immediate following years they made many appearances down at the Ruskin, drawing in punters from far and wide.

Throughout the 1970’s & 80’s the Ruskin Arms was run by former champion boxer ‘Joe Lucy’.

East ender Joe Lucy held the British Lightweight championship belt between the years 1953 to 1955 & again in 1956 to 1957.

Now – this is where I personally have a sort of tenuous link to the Joe Lucy (and the Ruskin Arms), because back in the early 1950’s, my dear old late dad Bill, claimed that he did his National Service at the same Royal West Kent Regiment’s barracks in Folkestone, as boxer Joe Lucy.

My old dad was a good story teller, and he claims that when he newly arrived at his barracks, he was showed to his billet and introduced to his fellow billet residents.

The story goes (as relayed to me many times by my old man) that his new billet colleagues set my dad a sort of initiation task, and that task was to ‘have a word’ with the bloke down the end of the hut, and tell him to turn his bloody radio down or off, as the constant noise was getting on everyone’s nerves. So – being an obedient chap, and wanting to impress his new fellow soldier colleagues, my dad wandered down to this guy’s area of the billet and asked him in no uncertain terms to turn his radio off – to which this fella calmly squared up to my dad and lamped him one on his ‘boat’ knocking my dear old dad out sparko – and of course, that person just happened to be the one and only Joe Lucy!!!

Now – I don’t know how true that tale is, but I have no reason to disbelieve me old dad, and so I felt that this little diversionary tale was worthy of inclusion in this article – albeit a very tenuous link.

Turning back to Iron Maiden and its association with the Ruskin Arms – the pub soon became one of London’s go-to places to hear ‘live’ metal music and throughout the late 70’s and throughout the 1980’s, bands from all over the country would play the ‘Ruskin’ drawing in punters from all over the place – putting the venue well & truly on the music history map.

However, as time progressed, so did music tastes and fashions, and by the late 1990’s the popularity of ‘live’ metal down at the Ruskin Arms started to fade, and the pub started to diversify its ‘live’ entertainment more toward stand-up comedy.

Sadly the Ruskin Arms closed down completely as a pub in 2008.

There were attempts to revitalise the building by turning it into a hotel  and high-end eatery, but to be fair, the surrounding area wasn’t really the ideal place for such project – and so that venture was short lived.

However, this impressive local landmark pub building is still in situ today, but is now sadly all boarded up and abandoned, and looks a sorry state.

Now – followers of ‘Shoes’ will know that I usually end a blog visit by taking in a ‘cheeky’ beer at a pub near to the subject matter – however, with the Covid19 pandemic situation still lingering about, I didn’t really fancy entering into any unknown East Ham pub.

However, having spent time photographing the Ruskin Arms, I thought that I would walk just a little further down High Street North to check out the site of what was once the East Ham branch of Barclays Bank, located on the corner of Sibley Road and High St North – a place where I worked as a Personal Loans Officer for a couple of years in the mid 1980’s – a role I thoroughly enjoyed and a branch that holds happy memories for me.

The bank building dates back to 1909. The Bank branch actually closed some years ago, at which time the premises was converted into a pub with the great name of ‘The Overdraft Tavern’. Sadly the pub is now closed too, and from what I could see, the premises now appears to be some sort of spiritual healing business – but, just like the old Ruskin Arms, at least this structurally unique old building is still standing and not redeveloped into flats.

So – that completes the ‘Ruskin Arms’ blog – an old closed down pub building in today’s world, but with a fantastic heritage, that makes it a bit special as one of London’s “Lost Music Venue’s”.

Hope you enjoyed this piece.

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See below the full gallery of photographs accompanying the Ruskin Arms blog

East Ham tube station – on the District Line – the nearest station to the old Ruskin Arms pub

 

High Street North-East Ham – which runs from the Romford Road in Manor Park, right through East Ham and beyond – and is where the Ruskin Arms pub can be found, as well as the old Barclays Bank East Ham branch building

 

The Ruskin Arms pub as it was when it first opened in 1899

 

The Ruskin Arms pub – as it stands today

 

Me – outside the legendary but now abandoned Ruskin Arms pub

 

The Ruskin Arms pub as it was in 1962

 

The Ruskin Arms pub is situated on the corner of Ruskin Avenue and High Street North – E12

 

The original design structures of this magnificent 3 storey building displayed all the architectural features of the pubs that were built during the late Victorian period – with timber frames, large oriel designed windows and plenty of small gables

 

Me – outside one of the old entrances to the Ruskin Arms pub

 

Another view of the now abandoned Ruskin Arms pub

 

Reminders of better days, can still be seen on the walls of the Ruskin Arms pub

 

One of the old entrances to the Ruskin Arms pub

 

Me – outside the bar entrance to the Ruskin Arms pub

 

In the late 90’s there were attempts to revitalise the old Ruskin Arms building by turning it into a hotel and high-end eatery, but to be fair, the surrounding area wasn’t really the ideal place for such project – and so that venture was short lived.

 

One of the very first promo shots of the ‘Small Faces’ – with original keyboard player ‘Jimmy Winston’ 2nd from the right 🙂 From L to R:- Steve Marriott – Ronnie Lane – Jimmy Winston – Kenny Jones

 

Another early promo shots of the ‘Small Faces’ – with original keyboard player ‘Jimmy Winston’ 1st left From the right 🙂 From L to R:- Jimmy Winston – Kenny Jones – Ronnie Lane – Steve Marriott

 

By late 1965 at the end of the 1st year in existence of the Small Faces – the experienced Ian McLagan had replaced Jimmy Winston on keyboards. From L to R:- Ian McLagan – Ronnie Lane – Kenny Jones – Steve Marriott

 

Following the demise of the Small Faces, Ronnie Lane-Kenny Jones & Ian McLagan recruited Rod Stewart & Ronnie Wood – and the excellent ‘Faces’ were born 🙂 From L to R:- Rod Stewart – Ian McLagan – Ronnie Wood – Kenny Jones & Ronnie Lane in front.

 

Just a short walk away from the Ruskin Arms pub – the legacy of the Small Faces and their past association with the area – still has an influence today

 

A photo of me taken earlier this year – in ‘Ronnie Lane’ Manor Park

 

 

Throughout the 1970’s & 80’s the Ruskin Arms was run by former champion boxer ‘Joe Lucy’. East ender Joe Lucy held the British Lightweight championship belt between the years 1953 to 1955 & again in 1956 to 1957

 

In 1978 Iron Maiden made their debut at the Ruskin Arms – and throughout the immediate following years they made many appearances down at the Ruskin, drawing in punters from far and wide.

 

Into the 1980’s, and now an extremely popular act amongst ‘metal’ fans – Iron Maiden never forgot their Ruskin Arms roots

 

An old photo from the 1980’s that shows just how popular ‘live’ metal music was down at the Ruskin Arms – coach parties and tour buses parked outside every week

 

London Shoes – Blogs Published by Geoff Clements · 2 hrs · Edited · As Iron Maiden’s success ascended, they never forgot their Ruskin Arms roots:-

 

Despite changing times the Ruskin Arms clung on to its music heritage – and in the late 90’s the pub started to host annual Small Faces Conventions – which were really popular and well attended by ex-Mods from all over the country

 

A view of a Covid19 impacted ‘High Street North’ looking south towards East Ham – photo taken from outside the Ruskin Arms pub

 

Just a little further down the road from the Ruskin Arms pub is the site of what was once the East Ham branch of Barclays Bank, located on the corner of Sibley Road and High St North – a place where I worked as a Personal Loans Officer for a couple of years in the mid 1980’s

 

The lovely old Barclays Bank East Ham branch building dates all the way back to1909

 

Another view of the site that was once the East Ham branch of Barclays Bank, located on the corner of Sibley Road and High St North – a place where I worked for a couple of years in the mid 1980’s

 

When the Barclays Bank East Ham branch closed and moved to a new location in High Street North – the premises was converted into a pub with the great name of ‘The Overdraft Tavern’. Sadly the pub is now closed too

 

Me – outside the entrance to what was once the East Ham branch of Barclays Bank – where I worked for a couple of years in the mid 1980’s

*Poplar-London E14 & the ‘Upper North Street School’ bombing tragedy of WW1 – London’s first ever day-time air attack

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Last week saw London Shoes venture out  to do a blog, on public transport for only the 3rd time since the start of the Covid19 pandemic lockdown in March. Not essential travel, I know – but ‘Shoes’ personally believes there is a need to return to some sort of normality, and public transport is part & parcel of a Londoner’s everyday life.

Anyway – this particular blog topic is one of those instances where, when re-tracing steps and events relating to the subject matter – you can’t help feel and be touched by the emotional vibe & sadness attached to the event.

So – this particular publication goes back 103 years to 1917 and the very first ‘day-time’ air attack on London, and re-visits the terrible tragedy that beset the ‘Upper North Street School’ – Poplar–London E14. A very sad story it is too.

We tend to think of air attacks on Britain as being something that happened in WW2 because of well documented historic events such as the Blitz and the Battle of Britain.

What history tends to forget at times is that we, as a nation, were attacked from the skies for the very first time, in WW1 and the death and carnage caused, was equally as devastating and fatal, as that experienced in the subsequent WW2.

At the commencement of the First World War in 1914 motorised winged & manned flight had not long been invented – the American Wright Brothers having been the first to successfully launch and fly a motorised fixed winged aircraft in 1903.

Germany had developed their large Zeppelin airships – a sort of massive floating balloon – which, just before the start if WW1, were being used to transport people via the skies.

However, in January 1915, just one year into WW1, Germany launched the very first ever attack from the skies on Britain, when a Zeppelin loaded up with a cargo of incendiary bombs, ‘sailed’ across the skies from Belgium, across the English Channel, and dropped its weapons on Great Yarmouth & Kings Lynn on the eastern side of England.

A few months later In May 1915, whilst London slept – a German Zeppelin once again ‘sailed’ across the skies above the English Channel, then cruised down the Thames Estuary and along down the River Thames – and then proceeded to drop 90 incendiary bombs on East & North East London – the very first air attack on London.

As WW1 progressed, so did German advancements in the development of flying machines that were now being designed to carry weaponry.

Previous Zeppelin air-raids had always been undertaken at night, to help avoid obvious detection – however, in June 1917, London experienced its very first ‘day-time’ bombing attack – with a devastating outcome.

On the Wednesday 13th June 1917, at around noon on a clear and sunny summer’s day, a squadron of 14 newly designed and developed German ‘Gotha GV’ fixed wing air-craft – dropped their cargo of incendiary bombs on east London’s docklands district.

This air-raid claimed the lives of 104 Londoner’s and left over 150 more, seriously injured.

If that wasn’t bad enough, of the 104 killed, 18 were school children, all pupils of “Upper North Street School” in Poplar–E14, right close by to Docklands.

Upper North Street School was a typical three story Victorian designed school building. The top floor held the girls classes – the middle floor was the boys classes – and the ground floor was where the infants held their classes.

One of the bombs from the German ‘Gotha’ air-craft missed its intended Dockland’s target, and proceeded to score a direct hit on the School.

The bomb fell through the roof of the girl’s class – then through the boy’s classes on the 1st floor – and exploded when it eventually hit the ground floor where the infants held their classes.

18 children were killed, 16 of whom were aged between 4 to 6 years old.

One week later, on the 20th June 1917, one of the biggest funerals London has ever seen, was held for 15 of the 18 children. (the 3 remaining children were buried following private services)

The burial service was conducted by the Bishop of London, at the Poplar Parish Church – and there were over 600 wreaths plus personal messages of sympathy from the King George V and other members of the Royal family.

After the service, thousands of people lined the streets of Poplar and east London. Blinds were drawn – shutters were closed, and flags flew at half-mast as 8 hearses carrying the 15 little coffins, made their way to the ‘East London Cemetery’ just up the road in Plaistow, where military personnel then carried the children’s coffins and placed them into to a mass-grave that had been designed especially for them – one of the saddest days in east London’s history.

The shock, outrage and horror felt by the general public following this incident – caused a knock-on effect, particularly in terms of improvements to Britain’s air defences, as tube train stations were immediately made available for Londoners to take shelter in down on the platforms, during further German air-raids throughout WW1. Look-out points and stations, with search-lights and armoury, were positioned all over London, to defend against future attacks.

In 1919, two years after the Poplar school tragedy – a memorial to the lost children of Upper North Street School was unveiled at the Poplar Recreation Ground.

This memorial bears the names of each of the 18 children who lost their lives on that fateful day.

Quite rightly, the memorial has been well looked after during the decades following it’s unveiling – and it stands prominently today on its original site, as a constant reminder of the tragedy that affected so many lives of the residents of Poplar and beyond.

The tragedy still resonates with the people of Poplar, to this very day, as in 2014 the Mayor of Poplar unveiled a commemorative plaque to the children who lost their lives – and at the same time, planted 3 new poplar trees, in Trinity Gardens, a small plot of public land right next door to Upper North Street School (now named Mayflower Primary School).

All in all, a very sad event in east London’s history – but one which is clearly still remembered and respected by future generations and I have no doubt will continue to be.

Now –even though Boris gave the green-light for the boozers to re-open on 4th July, I decided, on this occasion, to abstain from partaking in the usual mandatory cheeky beer, before leaving Poplar and heading off back home – but will be looking to recommence that particular avenue of pleasure when blogging in future weeks.

However, what I did notice throughout my time in Poplar, was that I was constantly being looked down on, by my old workplace – the Barclays Bank Head Office at no.1 Churchill Place-Canary Wharf, where I worked for a number of years before I retired in 2017 – It’s so close to the Poplar streets, that I swear I could see my old desk up on the 24th floor :-))

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See below for the gallery of all the photos taken to accompany this ‘Upper North Street School’ bombing tragedy blog

 

‘Upper North Street’-Poplar-London E14 – the scene of one of the most shocking outcomes of the very first ‘day-time’ air raid on London on 13th June 1917 🙁

 

Upper North Street School – in 1917 at the time of the bombing, was a typical three story Victorian designed school building. The top floor held the girls classes – the middle floor was the boys classes – and the ground floor was where the infants held their classes.

 

An illustration of the German ‘Gotha GV’ fixed wing fighter plane – dropping its bombs on London in WW1

 

The commemorative plaque at the entrance of what was then ‘Upper North Street School’-Poplar (now known as Mayflower Infants School) – scene of one of the worst tragedies on home soil in WW1

 

Me – alongside what was ‘Upper North Street School’ Poplar – now known as the Mayflower Infants School

 

A German ‘Gotha GV’ plane in action during WW1

 

At the commencement of the WW1 in 1914, motorised winged & manned flight had not long been invented – the American Wright Brothers having been the first to successfully launch and fly a motorised fixed winged aircraft in 1903. By 1917 Germany had developed their ‘Gotha GV’ fighter plane, that was designed to hold bombs and other armoury.

 

A photo from June 1917 showing the aftermath of the devastating bomb hit on the Upper North Street School-Poplar

 

A commemorative brass plaque on display inside the Upper North Street School (now named the Mayflower Infants School)

 

On the 20th June 1917, one of the biggest funerals London has ever seen, was held for 15 of the 18 children killed in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy.

 

After the funeral service, thousands of people lined the streets of Poplar and east London. Blinds were drawn – shutters were closed, and flags flew at half-mast as 8 hearses carrying the 15 little coffins, made their way to the ‘East London Cemetery’ in nearby Plaistow

 

In 1919, two years after the Poplar school tragedy – a memorial to the lost children of Upper North Street School was unveiled at the Poplar Recreation Ground.

 

Poplar Recreation Ground as it is today – with the Upper North Street School disaster memorial, just visible in the distance.

 

The memorial to the children killed in the Upper North Street School bombing, that stands in Poplar Recreation Ground – bears the names of each of the 18 children who lost their lives on that fateful day.

 

The memorial has been well looked after during the decades following it’s unveiling – and it stands prominently today on its original site, as a constant reminder of the tragedy that affected so many lives of the residents of Poplar and beyond.

 

A close-up of the memorial to the children killed in the Upper North Street School – in Poplar Recreation Ground

 

A close-up of the memorial to the children killed in the Upper North Street School – in Poplar Recreation Ground

 

A close-up of the memorial to the children killed in the Upper North Street School – in Poplar Recreation Ground

 

An old b&w photo of Upper North Street School pupils laying wreaths and floral tributes to their class colleagues at the memorial to them in Poplar Recreation Ground

 

Me – alongside the memorial to the children killed in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy in June 1917

 

Upper North Street-Poplar as it is today – with Trinity Gardens in the background

 

Me – at the entrance to the small public area ‘Trinity Gardens’ in Upper North Street-Poplar

 

The Upper North Street School tragedy of 1917 still resonates with the people of Poplar to this very day. In 2014 the Mayor of Poplar unveiled a commemorative plaque to the children who lost their lives – and at the same time, planted 3 new poplar trees, in Trinity Gardens, a small plot of public land right next door to Upper North Street School (now named Mayflower Primary School).

 

A view of the Upper North Street School tragedy commemorative plaque and the newly planted poplar trees – in Trinity Gardens-Upper North Street-Poplar-E14

 

Me – alongside the Upper North Street School tragedy commemorative plaque in Trinity Gardens-Poplar

 

The entrance to the ‘East London Cemetery’ – Plaistow where 15 of the 18 children, who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School bombing, were laid to rest in a mass grave.

 

Me – at the ‘East London Cemetery’-Plaistow – seeking out the grave of the children who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School tragedy.

 

The ‘East London Cemetery’ and the grave of 15 of the children who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy of June 1917.

 

A close-up of the grave of 15 of the children who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy of June 1917. The names of the children are inscribed on the headstone.

 

A plaque was added to the children’s grave in June 2017 to commemorate the centenary of the tragedy.

 

Another view of the East London Cemetery grave of 15 of the children who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy of June 1917.

 

Me – at the East London Cemetery graveside of the 15 children who lost their lives in the Upper North Street School bombing tragedy of June 1917.

 

 

The Canary Wharf corporate skyline – clearly visible from the streets of Poplar – (the Barclays HQ, my old workplace – is on the far left)

My old workplace – the Barclays Bank HQ – clearly visible from the streets of Poplar – (the 24th floor where I worked from – can be seen)

 

Me – down on the streets of Poplar ,with the Barclays Bank HQ in the background – where I worked for quite a few years up until my retirement in Jan 2017 🙂

 

 

*the legacy of “Thomas Barnardo” – his ‘Barnardo Village-Girls Home’ & the ‘Ragged School’

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This week London Shoes ventured out onto public transport for only the second time in the 3 months+ during these strange Covid19 virus pandemic travel restricted times – and headed off to Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge and also  Mile End in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets  – for the purpose of finding out about an amazing man who left his mark on the development of social care of children and young people – “Thomas Barnardo”

Thomas John Barnardo was born in Dublin in 1845. His father was a furrier from Jewish decent and his mother was English. By the time Thomas Barnardo reached the age of 17 he was a practicing Christian, and had aspirations of becoming a missionary in China.

In 1866 he moved to London to train as a Doctor at the London Hospital in Whitechapel.

Living and working in the heart of London’s east end, he got to experience first-hand the squalor, deprivation and horrific poverty that the working classes in that area of London were living  and working in – and it had a profound effect on him.

Training as a doctor at that time he witnessed the carnage of a cholera epidemic that claimed the lives of over 3,000 east-enders. He also got to understand that without any formal schooling throughout the area, there were literally no opportunities for London’s youth.

Outside of his medical studies he still had a massive to become a missionary, and really wanted to do this work in China – but having been totally shocked by the poverty that he saw all around him – he felt that he had clearly found his ‘China’ in London.

So – in 1867 Barnardo decided it was time to jack-in his medical studies and become a full-time missionary on his own east London door-step.

Basing himself in the Stepney Causeway area, he started his mission by opening his very own School where east-end children would get a basic education for free.

This school was based in Copperfield Road-Mile End (now London E3) alongside the Regent Canal, and was named “The Ragged School”. The building had originally been 3 warehouses that were used to store goods being transported by barges up & down the Regent Canal.

Apart from a general education, the boys at his Ragged School were trained in carpentry, metal work and shoe making – in an effort to give them a decent start in their eventual working life.

The Ragged School operated for the next 31 years, and throughout that time over 300,000 children were educated there. The Ragged School finally closed its doors in 1908, when the British Government introduced mandatory formal education with purpose built schools.

 

By 1870 Thomas Barnardo had become Director of the “Dr. Barnardo’s Charity” that he had set-up, and based his head-office in Stepney Causeway, close to his Ragged School.

His Barnardo’s charity bought-up 12 east-end properties that were then used to house the children – and his charity’s mantra was that “No destitute boy or girl will ever be refused admission”

In 1873 Thomas Barnardo married ‘Sara Louise Elmslie’ who was known as ‘Syrie’.

As a wedding present, they were given a massive plot of land in Essex known as ‘Mossford Lodge’, which today, is now part of Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge.

Syrie Barnardo shared her husband’s interests in evangelism and social work, and together they set-out to build up their charity to provide a better start in life to those children who had been forgotten, and never really stood a chance.

The newly married couple set-up home in a house on the Bow Road, located between Bow Road Station and Mile End Station.

In 1879 Barnardo and his wife moved from their Bow Road home and set-up home on their Mossford Lodge estate that they had been given as a wedding present (it’s actually just down the road from Ilford, where I grew up) and came up with an idea to build an ‘village of cottages’ that would be used to house destitute & difficult girls with a ‘crime record’, of all ages from London’s east-end.

Each cottage within the ‘Barnardo’s-Girl’s Village Home’ would have its own ‘House Mother’ who would look after the girls, and the ‘Victorian’ style cottages would create the effect of a sort of village community – with an aspiration of housing up to 1,000 girls.

By 1880, 26 of these cottages had been built – with all the construction costs financed from charitable donations.

In 1887 the construction of the ‘Cairns Memorial Cottage’ was completed at the site, notable for its distinctive clock tower – this building would be the new admin center for the Dr. Barnardo Charity.

By 1892 a Children’s Church had been added to the site, where the pews and the stained glass windows were specifically designed to attract and appeal to the children resident there.

Sadly, in September 1905 Thomas Barnardo died from an angina attack, at the age of 60.

His body was taken to Stepney Causeway – the site where he had originally set-up his charity back in 1867.

From there, with thousands of people lining the streets, his coffin was paraded through the east end onward to Liverpool Street Station, where it was put on a train and taken to Barkingside Station, which had only just been built and opened in 1903.

Thomas Barnardo’s body was then cremated and his ashes were buried in the Barnardo Village grounds.

From the foundation of the Barnardo’s children’s homes in 1867 to the date of his death, nearly 60,000 children had been taken in. At the time of his death, his Dr.Barnardo’s charity was caring for over 8,500 children in a total of 96 homes

In 1908 a memorial statue of Thomas Barnardo was built by the same person who designed the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens – and the statue was placed on the site of Barnardo’s grave.

The Dr. Barnardo Charity continued to operate after Thomas Barnardo’s death and by 1930; boys were also allowed to live at the Barnardo Village.

By 1964 the Barnardo Village in Barkingside had 60 cottages housing up to 600 boys and girls.

In 1967, the Village Orchard had been cleared to make way for a new Barnardo’s HQ.

In 1969, 30 acres of the Village was sold off to the London Borough of Redbridge, who then sold it off so that a supermarket could be built.

It was around the late 1960’s early 1970’s that my personal tenuous link to the Barnardo Village was created – because, living in Ilford, just down the road from the Village, the church youth club that I belonged to, used to take us kids away on an ‘activity’ holiday every year – and we would always take a few of the ‘Barnardo’s Village kids along with us.

By 1986 there were only 44 children housed in the Barnardo Village – as the operation of child care had altered significantly throughout the preceding couple of decades.

It was around this time that I sort of had a link to the Ragged School. At that time I was working at the Barclays Bank branch in Whitechapel, and one of its sub-branches was Mile End, just a couple of minutes down the road from Barnardo’s Ragged School building.

During the 1980’s, having been used for industrial purposes for a number of decades – Barnardo’s former ‘Ragged School’ became disused, run down and dilapidated. The famous old building was due to be demolished, but a local action group formed a ‘heritage trust’ and fought long and hard against its demolition.

In 1990, this heritage group won its battle for the building to remain, and they converted it into ’The Ragged School Museum Trust’ – an education centre where school children come to learn all about its history, and the social history of the east-end – in authentic Victorian style classrooms.

Today, around 16,000 children per year visit the museum to experience what school lessons and school conditions were like back in Victorian times – it’s a very popular attraction.

Sadly, in 1991 the Barnardo Village in Barkingside officially closed as a children’s home, as officials considered it “too isolated and outdated for modern child care” – and the land was sold off to developers.

However – one of the Barnardo Village Green’s still survives today, with 11 of its original Victorian style cottages still in situ, along with its original Victorian water fountains plus its original Scots Pine and Oak trees.

These 11 cottages are now leased out to a Housing Association and fortunately the green is an official conservation area.

London Shoes had a great time seeking the remains of the Barnardo’s Girls Village as it is today, and also tracing the origins of the Barnardo’s charity and the formation of the Ragged School

So – that’s Dr Thomas Barnardo for you – an amazing man whose legacy left an indelible mark on the development of social care and practice with children and young people.

 

See below – the full gallery of photographs taken to accompany this ‘Thomas Barnardo’ blog

___________________

Thomas John Barnardo was born in Dublin in 1845.

 

An old photo of the famous ‘London Hospital’ in Whitechapel – where Thomas Barnardo commenced his studies to become a Doctor.

 

Barkingside Station on the Central Line – the nearest stop to the Barnardo Village

 

An aerial photo of the ‘Barnardo Girls Village Home’ in Barkingside – taken back in Edwardian times. The ‘Cairns Memorial Cottage’ with its noticeable clock tower can be seen in the center of the picture.;

 

One of the Barnardo Village Green’s still survives today, with 11 of its original Victorian style cottages still in situ, along with its original Victorian water fountains plus its original Scots Pine and Oak trees.

 

In 1887 the construction of the ‘Cairns Memorial Cottage’ was completed at the site, notable for its elegant clock tower – this building would be the new admin centre for the Dr. Barnardo Charity.

 

11 of the Barnardo Village Home for Girls, Victorian style cottages are still in situ, along with the Victorian water fountains plus its original Scots Pine and Oak trees. These 11 cottages are now leased out to a Housing Association and fortunately the green is an official conservation area

 

By 1880 Thomas Barnardo had completed his ‘Barnardo Village-Girls Home in Barkingside – a ‘village of cottages’ to house destitute & difficult girls of all ages from London’s east-end, to save them from a life3 of crime, exploitation and prostitution. 11 of these cottages remain today, as does the village ‘green’ they were built around.

 

An old b&w photo of the Barnardo Village Girls Home in Barkingside

 

By 1892 a Children’s Church had been added to the site, where the pews and the stained glass windows were specifically designed to attract and appeal to the children resident there.

 

The Barnardo Village Girls Home ‘Children’s Church’ as it was back in the day.

 

One of the Barnardo Village Green’s still survives today, with 11 of its original Victorian style cottages still in situ, along with its original Victorian water fountains plus its original Scots Pine and Oak trees.

 

The Barnardo Village-Girls Home site-Barkingside – as it is today

 

An old enhanced photo of the Barnardo Village Girls Home in Barkingside

 

The Barnardo Village-Girls Home site-Barkingside – as it is today

 

An old b&w photo of the Barnardo Village Girls Home in Barkingside

 

The Barnardo Village-Girls Home site-Barkingside – as it is today

 

 

An old b&w photo of the Barnardo Village Girls Home in Barkingside

 

Me – in the middle of one of the original Barnardo Village-Girls Home ‘village greens’ – as it is today

 

The Barnardo Village-Girls Home site-Barkingside – as it is today

 

An old b&w photo of the Barnardo Village Girls Home in Barkingside

 

Me – in the middle of one of the original Barnardo Village-Girls Home ‘village greens’ – as it is today, with the original girls home cottages in the background

 

In 1908 a memorial statue of Thomas Barnardo was built, and the statue was placed on the site of Barnardo’s grave within the grounds of his former ‘Village Home for Girls

 

A close-up of the 1908 a memorial statue of Thomas Barnardo that was placed on the site of Barnardo’s grave within the grounds of his former ‘Village Home for Girls

 

A close-up of the inscription on the Thomas Barnardo memorial statue – that is sited on Barnardo’s burial spot within the grounds of his former ‘Barnardo Village-Girls Home

 

A close-up of the 1908 a memorial statue of Thomas Barnardo that was placed on the site of Barnardo’s grave within the grounds of his former ‘Village Home for Girls

 

Me – at the Holy Trinity Church close to the old Barnardo Village Girls Home site – where a significant number of the children’s home resident are buried

 

A close-up of the inscription on the memorial stones on display in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Cemetery close to the Barnardo Village Children’s Home site in Barkingside. The memorial display lists the names of all the Barnardo children laid to rest there.

 

The memorial stones on display in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Cemetery close to the Barnardo Village Children’s Home site in Barkingside. The memorial lists the names of all the Barnardo children laid to rest there.

 

Another memorial stone close to the Barnardo Village Children’s Home site in Barkingside.

 

Throughout the many decades following Thomas Barnardo’s passing – fund raising for Barnardo’s Homes has been a continual activity for the Dr. Barnardo’s Charity

 

Throughout the many decades following Thomas Barnardo’s passing – fund raising for Barnardo’s Homes has been a continual activity for the Dr. Barnardo’s Charity – this is one of their retro ceramic money boxes

 

Throughout the many decades following Thomas Barnardo’s passing – fund raising for Barnardo’s Homes has been a continual activity for the Dr. Barnardo’s Charity

 

In 1967, the Barnardo Village orchard was cleared to make way for a new Barnardo’s HQ.

 

The new Dr. Barnardo Charity HQ on the site of the old orchard of the original Barnardo Village Children’s Home – Barkingside

 

A blue plaque is displayed on the exterior wall of a retail shop within a housing estate off Ben Johnson Way-Stepney – to commemorate the site where Thomas Barnardo started his children’s home charity back in 1866

 

A close-up of the blue plaque displayed on an exterior wall of a retail shop within a housing estate off Ben Johnson Way-Stepney – that commemorates the site where Thomas Barnardo started his children’s home charity back in 1866

 

Me – alongside the blue plaque in Stepney that commemorates the site where Thomas Barnardo started his children’s home charity back in 1866

 

Thomas Barnardo’s ‘Ragged School’ in Copperfield Road-Mile End (now London E3)

 

Thomas Barnardo’s ‘Ragged School’ building had originally been 3 warehouses that were used to store goods being transported by barges up & down the Regent Canal.

 

Having been used for industrial purposes for a number of decades – Barnardo’s former ‘Ragged School’ became disused, run down and dilapidated. In the late 1980’s the famous old building was due to be demolished, but a local action group formed a ‘heritage trust’ and fought against its demolition. This heritage group won its battle for the building to remain, and they converted it into ’The Ragged School Museum Trust’ – an education center for school children

 

The back of the ‘Ragged School’ building – viewed from the Regent Canal

 

Me – outside the building that was formerly Barclays Bank-Mile End Station branch, where I worked in the late 1980’s – and its very near to Barnardo’s Ragged School

 

The house on Bow Road-London E3 where Thomas Barnardo & his wife Syrie lived between the years 1875 to 1879

 

A blue plaque is displayed on the exterior wall of the house on Bow Road where Thomas Barnardo & his wife once lived.

 

Me – outside the Barnardo’s residential home on the Bow Road.

 

The great man himself who certainly left his mark on the development of social care of children and young people

 

*Dame Vera Lynn – a tribute to one of East London’s finest

Posted on by Posted in Music, People .

As a tribute to one of east-London’s very finest, the wonderful ‘Dame Vera Lynn’, who sadly passed away on the 18th June last week, at the grand old age of 103 – ‘London Shoes’ ventured onto public transport for the first time in 3 months throughout the current Covid19 pandemic lockdown, and took a short tube journey over to East Ham-London E6, to check out the east-end origins and life of this remarkable lady.

Vera Lynn was born ‘Vera Margaret Welch’ on 20th March 1917 at her family’s home in Thackeray Road–East Ham-London-E6  (now in the London Borough of Newham).

Her dad Bert Welch, was a plumber and her mum Annie, a dressmaker – Vera had an older brother named Roger.

Vera’s father Bert was the ‘Master of Ceremonies’ (MC) at the ‘East Ham Working Men’s Club’ in Boleyn Road, just a 5min walk from the family home, and located right near to West Ham United FC former home ground.

In 1921 aged 4, Vera’s family moved from their Thackeray Road home, to 38 Ladysmith Avenue, just a few streets further down the Barking Road.

Vera Lynn undertook all of her schooling at the local Brampton Road School, just a couple of mins walk from home. She left the school in 1931 aged 14.

Family sing-alongs were common entertainment throughout her childhood, as every Sunday afternoon the extended family would congregate at the her grandparents’ home for a get together and a good old sing-song.

In 1924 Vera Lynn made her very first public performance aged just 7, at her dad’s ‘East Ham Working Men’s Club’.

By the time she was 8 she was becoming a regular performer at the Working Men’s Club venues throughout east & north London, and sometimes venturing out as far as the fringes of the Essex/London border.

Vera Lynn left Brampton Road School in 1931 and started work in the ‘rag-trade’ sewing buttons – but she very soon realised that she could make more money singing for a living than sewing buttons – so she soon jacked that job in.

In 1932, aged just 15, she got her first job as a pro singer – performing with 2 of London’s most popular bands at that time – The ‘Billy Cotton Band’ & the ‘Howard Baker Band’ – and it is at this time she dropped her surname Welch and adopted her maternal grandmother’s maiden name of ‘Lynn’.

By 1934 she was singing all over the country for the extremely popular and accomplished ‘Joe Loss Band’, and got to appear on radio for the very first time.

1935 saw Vera Lynn enter a recording studio for the first time making records as a singer for the Joe Loss Orchestra and the Charlie Kunz bands.

In 1936 she released her very first record as a ‘solo’ artist, when she recorded “Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire”, that was released on the ‘Crown’ label (Crown records were bought out by Decca Records in 1938)

Also, 1936 saw Vera Lynn’s first venture into the movie business with a bit-part in the film “A fire has been arranged’. She went on to appear in several films throughout her life.

By this time Vera Lynn was one of the principal singers with the popular ‘Bert Ambrose Band’, a position that saw her perform ‘live’ in concerts all over the country, plus appear in many radio broadcasts.

In 1938 Vera Lynn experienced her first hit record when she sang the lead vocal on the Bert Ambrose Band numbers ‘The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot’ & ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’.

1938 was also the year in which Vera Lynn appeared on TV for her very first time, singing with the Bert Ambrose Band.

By this time her success and its financial rewards enabled enable her to be in a position to purchase a house for her mum & dad at 24 Upney Lane-Barking, just a mile or so up the road to the east of their former Ladysmith Avenue home in East Ham.

In 1939, a young east-ender by the name of ‘Harry Lewis’ joined the Bert Ambrose Band as a saxophonist and clarinetist – and very soon Harry & Vera were dating – they were to marry in 1941.

By the end of 1939 war had broken out in Europe, and Harry Lewis and other members of the Bert Ambrose Band joined the RAF, where they went on to form a band called the ‘Squadronaires’.

During the early dark days of the ‘Blitz’ Vera Lynn would often entertain the hundreds of people taking shelter down in the London Underground tube stations, by performing a song or two, in an attempt to keep everyone’s spirits up.

During the early 1940’s Vera Lynn continued to tour concert venues with the Bert Ambrose Band, at a time when performers were continually putting their lives at risk during evening air raids.

Vera Lynn left the Bert Ambrose Band in 1941, and during the same year she appeared as a solo performer at the London Palladium.

A song that she had recorded in 1939 just before the commencement of WW2, all of a sudden became very popular amongst the public – the song was “We’ll Meet Again”.

She would regularly perform concerts for the Armed Forces, whether it be at military barracks, concert halls or during hospital visits – where she would sing emotive numbers such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ – ‘The White Cliff’s of Dover’ & ‘There’ll always be an England’.

In an opinion poll conducted by a national newspaper at that time, Vera Lynn was voted the British Armed Forces favourite performer, and she became affectionately known as ‘The Forces Sweetheart’.

She had her own prime-time radio show ‘Sincerely Yours’, which was very popular with the troops as she would broadcast messages from loved ones to the ‘boys’ serving overseas. At its peak, her radio programme was receiving up to 2,000 letters per week. However, after a run of 18mths the BBC bosses pulled the programme, on the basis that they considered the show to be just ‘sentimental slush’!!!

In 1944 Vera Lynn joined ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) and travelled overseas to the front-line to give outdoor concerts to the troops in places such as Egypt and India.

She also volunteered to go to Japanese occupied ‘Burma’, where the British troops were fighting a terrible war with the enemy in inhumane conditions. Vera did a 4 month stint in the Burmese jungles performing to the ‘boys’ – something that they never ever forgot.

Throughout the WW2 years Vera Lynn recorded & released lots of material. One of her most popular tunes was ‘Lili Marlene’ which was a big hit, not only with the Allied Forces, but ironically, also with the German Armies!!.

In 1943 Vera Lynn’s husband Harry was invalided out of the RAF and became his wife’s full-time manager.

In 1944 they bought a massive country house in Clayton Holt in the Sussex Downs, near Brighton.

1946 saw the birth of Vera & Harry’s only child – a daughter, who they named Virginia. That very same year they moved from Sussex and relocated the family home to North Finchley-London N12.

Following the end of WW2, in 1952, Vera recorded & released a song entitled “Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart” which became the first record by a British performer to top both the UK & USA charts, where it stayed for 9 weeks. The success of this particular record lead to Vera Lynn performing on prime-time US radio and tv stations.

In 1952 the UK published its first music record charts, and the very first chart that was compiled had 3 Vera Lynn records in its top 10.

In 1954 Vera Lynn clocked up another no.1 hit with a song called ‘My Son, My Son’ which she actually co-wrote.

In 1955 she was commissioned her very own first TV series with the BBC.

Vera Lynn left Decca Records in 1960 and signed for EMI subsidiary MGM Records. She recorded 13 albums in total and also released 14 songs that were translated into German – again, rather ironic considering we had just been at war with them.

In 1960 Vera Lynn recorded Lionel Bart’s “The Day After Tomorrow” which was a hit song from the west-end musical “Blitz” that was all about the recent WW2 experiences in London.

Throughout the 1960’s & 1970’s Vera Lynn regularly appeared as a guest on prime time tv programmes like the ‘Morecombe & Wise’ show.

In 1969 Vera Lynn was awarded the OBE and in 1975 she was made a ‘Dame’ for her services to the RAF and to charities such as ‘The Stars Organisation for Spastics’ – the ‘Vera Lynn Breast Cancer Research Trust’ – the ‘Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy’ all of which she either founded or patronised.

Throughout the 60’s & 70’s she continually appeared on the bill of the ‘Royal Variety Performances’.

In 1978 Vera Lynn was awarded the ‘Freedom of the City of London’.

Following the cessation of the Falklands War in 1982, Vera Lynn recorded & released the single ‘I Love This Land’ in commemoration of the victory.

For her contribution and support to the WW2 Burma campaign, Vera Lynn was awarded the prestigious ‘Burma Star’ medal in 1985.

In 1992 she was awarded an ‘Honorary Degree in Master of Music’ by the University of London.

To mark the Golden Jubilee of VE Day in 2005,  Vera sang a few of her famous and nostalgic WW2 songs outside Buckingham Palace –an event that was televised.

In 2005 she made a surprise appearance at the VE Day Anniversary event held in Trafalgar Square – where she sang the opening lines to her famous & much loved hit ‘We’ll Meet Again’, whilst the audience took over and sang the rest.

In 2009, at the grand old age of 92, Vera Lynn became the oldest living artist to make no.1 in the UK Charts with her compilation album “The Very Best of Vera Lynn’.

Three days before her monumental 100th birthday in 2017, Vera Lynn released a new album entitled ‘Vera Lynn 100’ on which her original vocals on her classic and most popular songs, were pitched against newly orchestrated backgrounds – by the end of that year she was the bestselling female artist of 2017, selling more albums than modern artists such as Dua Lipa.

In 2018 the famous & long standing 2 Woolwich Ferries that operate north & south across the River Thames, were replaced  and one of the new ferries was named ‘Dame Vera Lynn’ in her honour.

2020 saw the unveiling of a portrait of Vera Lynn at the Royal Albert Hall in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of peace in Europe since the 2nd World War. Throughout her life time Vera Lynn performed the Albert Hall an astonishing 52 times.

In April 2020, just a few months before her passing, the lyric to her famous WW2 song ‘We’ll Meet Again’ was echoed by Queen Elizabeth II in her television address to the British nation at the height of the Covid19 pandemic.

On Thursday 18th June 2020 Dame Vera Lynn sadly passed away at her home in East Sussex at the grand old age of 103.

The east-end of London and the entire nation lost one of its true legends – an amazing woman who led an amazing life that will never be forgotten.

I hope you enjoyed London Shoes little tribute to Dame Vera Lynn and hope my accompanying photos compliment this remarkable lady’s life. RIP Dame Vera.

________________________________

See below – all of the photos & images relating to the Dame Vera Lynn blog

 

 

East Ham Tube Station – Vera Lynn’s local station, when she was growing up in the area.

 

Vera Lynn was born ‘Vera Margaret Welch’ on 20th March 1917 at her family’s home in Thackeray Road-East Ham-London-E6 (now in the London Borough of Newham).

 

Thackeray Road-East Ham-London-E6 where Vera Lynn was born in 1917 – as it is today

 

Me – alongside the Thackeray Road sign, that commemorates the fact that Vera Lynn was born there in 1917

 

In 1921 aged 4, Vera’s family moved from their Thackeray Road home, to 38 Ladysmith Avenue-East Ham-London E6, just a few streets further down the Barking Road.

Ladysmith Avenue-East Ham-London-E6 where Vera Lynn lived at no.38 throughout her childhood

 

38 Ladysmith Avenue-East Ham – the family home where Vera Lynn grew up

 

A Covid19 pandemic conscious me – outside Vera Lynn’s childhood home at 38 Ladysmith Avenue-East Ham

 

Vera Lynn undertook all of her schooling at the local Brampton Road School, just a couple of mins walk from home. She left the school in 1931 aged 14.

 

Vera Lynn undertook all of her schooling at the local Brampton Road School, just a couple of mins walk from home. She left the school in 1931 aged 14.

 

Me – outside Vera Lynn’s old Brampton Road School which she attended throughout all her schooling years. Many of the schools original buildings that were around in Vera Lynn’s time, are still in situ & use today.

 

In 1924 Vera Lynn made her very first public performance aged just 7, at her dad’s ‘East Ham Working Men’s Club’ in Boleyn Road-East Ham, close to her family’s home. Vera’s father Bert was an MC (eg Master of Ceremonies) at the Club

 

The site of the old East Ham working Men’s Club as it looks today. The building has recently been demolished to make way for residential housing.

 

Living so close to what was once West Ham Utd football club’s home ground – it was inevitable that Vera Lynn would record her version of the Club’s famous ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ anthem.

 

Having served her ‘apprenticeship’ ‘ singing with the big bands of the day, Vera Lynn set out as a solo artist. This advertisement is for a gig that she undertook in Ilford – just down the road from her East Ham family home

 

Vera Lynn as a solo performer

 

Vera Lynn became a regular performer at the world famous ‘London Palladium’ theatre in London’s west-end.

 

During WW2 Vera Lynn would regularly perform concerts for the Armed Forces, whether it be at military barracks, concert halls or during hospital visits – where she would sing emotive numbers such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ – ‘The White Cliff’s of Dover’ & ‘There’ll always be an England’.

 

In 1944 Vera Lynn joined ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) and travelled overseas to the front-line to give outdoor concerts to the troops in places such as Egypt and India. She also volunteered to go to Japanese occupied ‘Burma’, where the British troops were fighting a terrible war with the enemy in inhumane conditions. Vera did a 4 month stint in the Burmese jungles performing to the ‘boys’ – something that they never ever forgot.

 

For her contribution and support to the WW2 Burma campaign, Vera Lynn was awarded the prestigious ‘Burma Star’ medal in 1985.

 

 

She would regularly perform concerts for the Armed Forces, whether it be at military barracks, concert halls or during hospital visits – where she would sing emotive numbers such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ – ‘The White Cliff’s of Dover’ & ‘There’ll always be an England’.

 

In 1944 Vera & her Husband Harry moved away from London and bought a massive country house in Clayton Holt in the Sussex Downs, near Brighton.

 

Following the decades after WW2 Vera Lynn continued to be a popular performing artist, regularly releasing albums

 

Following WW2 Vera Lynn continued to be a popular performing artist, regularly releasing albums

 

Three days before her monumental 100th birthday in 2017, Vera Lynn released a new album entitled ‘Vera Lynn 100’ on which her original vocals on her classic and most popular songs

 

In 2018 the famous 2 old Woolwich Ferries that operated north & south across the River Thames, were replaced – and one of the new ferries was named ‘Dame Vera Lynn’ in her honour.

 

In 2018 the famous 2 old Woolwich Ferries that operated north & south across the River Thames, were replaced – and one of the new ferries was named ‘Dame Vera Lynn’ in her honour.

 

2020 saw the unveiling of a portrait of Vera Lynn at the Royal Albert Hall in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of peace in Europe since the 2nd World War. Throughout her life time Vera Lynn performed the Albert Hall an astonishing 52 times.

 

To commemorate Vera Lynn’s 100th birthday in 2017, the London Borough of Newham dedicated a street name to her

 

To commemorate Vera Lynn’s 100th birthday in 2017, the London Borough of Newham dedicated a street name to her

 

Me – in ‘Vera Lynn Close’ – Forest Gate-London E7 (June 2020)

 

 

How Dame Vera’s funeral on 11th July 2020 – was covered-off in the media

 

How Dame Vera’s funeral on 11th July 2020 – was covered-off in the media

*London’s “Lost Music Venues” – Part 3-the Chalk Farm Roundhouse & the Dagenham Roundhouse

Posted on by Posted in Historic Buildings, Music .

Because of the Covid19 pandemic travel restrictions, London Shoes has had to vary its approach to publishing regular articles on its website-facebook-twitter portals. Its done this by either utilising photos extracted from previous blogs, to create new topics – or alternatively, venturing out ‘locally’ to cover-off topics of historic interest within its London Bor. of Havering base.

This week’s publication is one such example where I’ve trawled through archived photos to create a totally different subject matter from that which these photos were originally taken to support.

So – this posting is Part 3 of the existing London Shoes feature entitled “London’s Lost Music Venues” – and what an interesting instalment it is too, as it looks specifically at 2 of London’s unique ‘Roundhouse’ music venues:-

The “Chalk Farm-Roundhouse”
                 &
The “Dagenham-Roundhouse”

To be fair, these 2 iconic & historic venues, can’t really currently be classed as ‘Lost’ as they once were, because a lot of time, effort and finance has been invested in them over recent years to try and reinstate them to their previous standing and popularity.

So – kicking-off firstly with the ‘Chalk Farm-Roundhouse’ – a magnificent surviving example of Victorian civil engineering!!!

The ‘Roundhouse’ venue in Chalk Farm-London NW1 is situated between Chalk Farm tube station and the very popular Camden Town district of London.

The construction of this circular building was commissioned at the very begining of rail transport, by the famous railway engineer Robert Stevenson (he of “Stephenson’s Rocket” fame). The original building was a rail engine terminus for holding, & maintaining the train engines, and more importantly for ‘turning them round’ to face the other way, to complete a return journey to and from the London’s mainline Euston Station a couple of miles down to track. It was completely circular building 160 ft in diameter, with a cone-shaped louvered roof supported by cast iron girders. Inside it consisted of 24 ‘bays’, and a huge turntable wheel that engines could be rolled on to, then spun round and rolled out to a bay for either servicing or storage. Each bay had an inspection pit to allow engineers to work underneath the engines.

At the time of its opening in 1847 the ‘Round-House’ at the Chalk Farm railway sidings was considered to be one of the finest examples of Victorian civil engineering – and thousands of people would visit Chalk Farm for a day out, just to see it.

Sadly, because of the rapid advances in rail travel and the rail network at that particular period in time – the effectiveness of the ‘Round-House’ as a train maintenance shed, only actually lasted for around 20yrs, and by 1870 it was considered useless as by then, all the trains were now far too big for the ‘turntable’ and the bays.

The empty building was then purchased by “Gilbey’s Gin” in the early 1870’s – who, for the next 80 odd years, used the Chalk Farm Roundhouse as their main distillery, warehouse and depot.

In the early 1960’s, the building was bought up by the then ‘Greater London Council’ who wanted to use it to create a permanent cultural centre with a theatre, cinema, art gallery and workshops, committee rooms for local organisations, library, youth club, restaurant and dance-hall.

Throughout the 60’s, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse gained a reputation for its staging of controversial ‘underground’ art projects and revues that had been banned from mainstream theatres, such as the Andy Warhol’s production “Pork” – the ‘nude’ play “Oh Calcutta” – the ‘rock’ version of Othello “Catch My Soul” are just a few of the well-known ‘dodgy’ reviews that were performed there.

During the 1960’s, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse also became one of London’s leading music venues with legendary bands such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Who – plus hundreds of other bands of the day, all playing there on a regular basis. In the mid 1970’s the Roundhouse became the ‘go-to’ venue to see ‘punk’ and ‘post-punk’ bands such as The Clash, The Stranglers, The Damned, Patti Smith, Blondie, The Police and The Ramones (who I saw perform there in the late 70’s!!).

However, after enjoying almost 20yrs as a music/arts venue, the Roundhouse started to become a little too costly a business to maintain, and sadly, in 1983 it closed down.

The Chalk Farm Roundhouse then remained unoccupied and neglected for several years – although it was a regular haunt throughout the early 1990’s for illegal ‘raves’ and other illicit gatherings.

However, in 1996 the building was purchased for £6m for the purpose of creating a venue to ‘enhance the lives of young people through creativity’. A ‘Roundhouse Trust’ was set up to help raise funds to renovate and maintain the site – big hitters such as Bob Geldoff, Suggs (from Madness) and Terry Gilliam (of Monty Python fame) plus many more, were all involved in the re-generation of the Roundhouse.

The Roundhouse re-opened again as an arts venue in 2006 – and one of the first artists to play the venue was the late great George Michael who held a free concert for NHS nurses as a thank you for the care given to his mother, who had recently died of cancer. Since its re-opening in 2006, the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse has become one of London’s main centres for all aspects of the ‘arts’, not just music.

In fact, I visited the Chalk Farm Roundhouse as recently as March this year, just a couple of days before the formal Covid19 pandemic ‘lockdown’ restrictions were imposed – when I went to see the band ‘Holy Holy’ perform the late David Bowie’s material from his iconic ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ & ‘The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars’ albums, plus many more Bowie classics – a brilliant gig and experience.

So – although the Roundhouse building itself might not have spent much time fulfilling its original purpose, this iconic landmark has certainly ‘lived’ a life and seen some action – and hopefully will now continue to do so for many years to come.

The 2nd ‘Roundhouse’ music venue is the possibly lesser known ‘Dagenham-Roundhouse’ which, at one time, was viewed as being East-London’s premier ‘live’ music venue – and a place where I spent many memorable evenings in my early to mid-teens, as it was located just down the road from where I grew up.

The Dagenham Roundhouse pub was built and opened in 1936 and was located on the outskirts of the massive ‘Becontree Estate’.

The Becontree Estate was a colossal council estate built between 1921 & 1932 – and with 27,000 houses it was the largest social housing complex in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

The estate residents were mainly folk who had been re-housed from the east-end slums, and most were employed at the huge Ford Motor Company plant in Dagenham, or they worked for the many local ancillary industries & businesses connected to Ford’s motor car production.

The Roundhouse pub was designed as an art-deco structure and was deliberately built on the outskirts of the estate in order to keep any potential trouble away from the estates residential areas.

Between the years of 1969 to 1975 the Dagenham Roundhouse was home to the “Village Blues Club” which operated from the hall attached to the pub.

During those years all of the top bands of the day played the Dagenham-Roundhouse Village Blues Club – in a period of time before the advent of big corporate sponsored area/stadium gigs.

The very first Village Blues Club gig at the Dagenham Roundhouse took place on 23/3/1969 where the headline act was a band called ‘Blodwyn Pig’ fronted by ex-Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams. The entry fee that night was 7s 6d – 37.5p in today’s money.

The final Village Blues Club gig at the Dagenham Roundhouse took place on 8/11/1975 when the band ‘Sailor’ was the headline act. Readers of a certain age may remember Sailor as having the top 10 singles ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ and ‘Glass of Champagne’.

In its hey-day the Dagenham Roundhouse-Village Blues Club, was the ‘go-to’ venue for live rock music in east London, where the weekly gigs hosted bands such as:- Led Zeppelin – Status Quo – Deep Purple – Thin Lizzy – Rory Gallagher – Jethro Tull – Procal Harem – Humble Pie – Mott the Hoople – Pink Floyd – Fleetwood Mac – The Groundhogs – Wishbone Ash – Hawkwind – ELO – Man – Atomic Rooster – Genesis – The Average White Band – Stray – Focus – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Cockney Rebel – Queen – Slade – Dr.Feelgood – Motorhead…..to name just a few of the more commonly known ones.

I personally look back and consider myself lucky enough to have frequented the place between the years 1971 o 1974 where witnessed some of these legendary bands and performers in the intimate surroundings of the Roundhouse – and when these bands got bigger, and the small venues started to become less popular (& less economically viable) I then went on to see a number of these bands at lager venues such as the old Empire Pool-Wembley and the Hammersmith Odeon and the Rainbow Theatre-Finsbury Park.

Following its closure in 1975, the Village Blues Club hall took on a number of different uses. It became a snooker hall, a church, a bedding warehouse, before it fell into disrepair and eventually became abandoned.

However, the venue’s popularity and the nostalgic memories it held for the music fans that frequented the place, never died.

In 2008 a Dagenham Roundhouse–Village Blues Club Facebook group was created which soon accumulated many followers (and still does to this very day) – all sharing their experiences and memories of great times spent watching all the bands play the Dagenham Roundhouse.

In May 2012, an ex-Villager by the name of Ken Ansted, with music business connections – organised an official Village Blues Club-‘Reunion’ event, which was held in one of the bars of the Roundhouse pub, rather than the old Blues Club hall, which was standing abandoned and in need of some serious renovations.

Topping the bill for this prestigious Village Blues Club ‘Reunion’ was Del Bronham’s band ‘Stray’ who held the accolade of being the band that played the old Village Blues Club a record number of times – 13 in total.

This 1st Reunion event was well attended and created a lot of interest locally and with the media.
It proved to be so popular, that further ‘Reunions’ were organised and held throughout the subsequent years – sometimes 2 per year.

The 10th Reunion event in May 2017, saw a return to the original Village Blues Club hall at the back of the Roundhouse pub – which had now been cleaned-up and renovated back to its former glory. Headlining that significant gig that night were the brilliant r&b band ‘Dr. Feelgood’.

To date, there have now been a total of 13 Village Blues Club Reunion gigs at the Dagenham Roundhouse, where bands such as:- Stray – The Groundhogs – The Green Ray – The Pink Torpedoes – Landmarq – (Son of) Man – Atomic Rooster – Wishbone Ash have entertained the old ‘Villagers’ plus all the other attendees.

A 14th Village Blues Club Reunion gig was scheduled for March 2020, where Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash were booked to headline – but with the arrival of the global Covid19 virus pandemic, the event had to be cancelled, but has been rescheduled for January 2021 – hopefully this time it will go ahead.

 

 

____See below – all of the photos supporting this ‘Roundhouse’ blog____

 

The ‘Chalk Farm’ Roundhouse-London NW1. At the time of its opening in 1847 the ‘Round-House’ at the Chalk Farm railway sidings, was considered to be one of the finest examples of Victorian civil engineering

 

A commemorative plaque displayed on an exterior wall of the Chalk Farm Roundhouse – that references this magnificent buildings past connections to the development of London’s railway network.

 

An old b&w illustration that shows how the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse turntables used to operate.

 

With the rapid development of the railways from the mid to late Victorian era – an empty Chalk Farm-Roundhouse building was purchased by “Gilbey’s Gin” in the early 1870’s – who, for the next 80 odd years, used this magnificent building as their main distillery, warehouse and depot.

 

Throughout the 1960’s, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse also became one of London’s leading music venues with legendary bands such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Who – plus hundreds of other bands of the day, all playing there on a regular basis.

 

Me – lingering alongside the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse, as it stands today.

 

Throughout the 60’s, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse gained a reputation for its staging of controversial ‘underground’ art projects and revues that had been banned from mainstream theatres, such as the Andy Warhol’s production “Pork” – the ‘nude’ play “Oh Calcutta” – the ‘rock’ version of Othello “Catch My Soul” are just a few of the well-known ‘dodgy’ reviews that were performed there.

 

July 1976 – the American punk band ‘The Ramones’ headlined at the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse………I am in that crowd somewhere!!

 

Me – necking down a ‘cheeky’ beer in the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse bar

 

In 1996 the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse was purchased for £6m for the purpose of creating a venue to ‘enhance the lives of young people through creativity’. A ‘Roundhouse Trust’ was set up to help raise funds to renovate and maintain the site.

 

Me – inside the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse in March 2020 (just days prior to the implementation of the Covid19 virus ‘lockdown’) – Headlining the gig that night were the band, ‘Holy Holy’ – who performed material from the late David Bowie’s iconic ‘Man Who Sold the World’ & ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums.

 

‘Holy Holy’ on stage at the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse – (March 2020)

 

The Dagenham’s Roundhouse pub was built and opened in 1936 and was located on the outskirts of the massive ‘Becontree Estate’. The Becontree Estate was a colossal council estate built between 1921 & 1932 – and with 27,000 houses it was the largest social housing complex in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

 

Between the years of 1969 to 1975 the Dagenham Roundhouse was home to the “Village Blues Club” which operated from the hall attached to the pub.

 

The very first Village Blues Club gig at the Dagenham Roundhouse took place on 23/3/1969 where the headline act was a band called ‘Blodwyn Pig’ fronted by ex-Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams. The entry fee that night was 7s 6d – 37.5p in today’s money.

 

‘Live’ music 1970’s style down at the Village Blues Club, in the Dagenham-Roundhouse pub

 

Following its closure in 1975, the Village Blues Club hall took on a number of different uses. It became a snooker hall, a church, a bedding warehouse, before it fell into disrepair and eventually became abandoned.

 

From 1969 to 1975 the Dagenham Roundhouse-Village Blues Club, was the ‘go-to’ venue for live rock music in east London.

 

In May 2012, one of the ex-Villagers organised an official Village Blues Club-‘Reunion’ event, which was held in one of the bars of the Roundhouse pub, rather than the old Blues Club hall, which was standing abandoned and in need of some serious renovations. Topping the bill for this prestigious Village Blues Club ‘Reunion’ was Del Bronham’s band ‘Stray’ who held the accolade of being the band that played the old Village Blues Club a record number of times – 13 in total.

 

2013 – a third Village Blues Club-Reunion event was held in the bar area of the Dagenham Roundhouse – which saw The Pink Torpedoes headline

 

Although not held in the original Village Blues Club hall – it was great to hold the Reunion events in the main bar of the Dagenham Roundhouse pub

 

Martin Turner’s ‘Wishbone Ash’ headline the 6th Village Blues Club event – in the main bar of the Dagenham Roundhouse pub (May 2015)

 

Whilst all the Village Blues Club-Reunion events were taking place in the Roundhouse pub’s main bar – the old Village Blues Club hall was slowly and surely being renovated back to its former glory.

 

One of the streets round the back of the Dagenham Roundhouse, has been re-named ‘Bragg Close’ after the local ‘Bard of Barking’….”Billy Bragg”

 

The 10th Reunion event in May 2017, saw a return to the original Village Blues Club hall at the back of the Roundhouse pub – which had now been completely renovated back to its former glory. Headlining that significant gig that night were the brilliant r&b band ‘Dr. Feelgood’.

 

Dr. Feelgood delivering a fantastic set at the 10th Villiage Blues Club-Reunion (May 2017)

 

Ex “Villager’s” plus many other punters – enjoying the return of ‘live’ bands playing the ‘Village Blues Club’

 

Top late 60′ early 70’s band the ‘Groundhogs’ – on stage at a Village Blues Club-Reunion event

 

A backstage photo of ‘live’ music at a Village Blues Club Reunion gig

 

March 2019 – saw the 50th anniversary of the opening of the ‘Village Blues Club’ at the Dagenham Roundhouse – To celebrate this remarkable achievement a 13th Reunion event was held with the iconic early 70’s band “Atomic Rooster” headlined with the band ‘Landmarq’ as support.

 

 

The old ‘Village Blues Club’ stage awaiting the arrival of ‘Atomic Rooster’ for the 13th Reunion event (March 19)

 

Atomic Rooster ‘live’ on stage at the Dagenham Roundhouse ‘Village Blues Club’ 13th Reunion event (March 19)

 

Atomic Rooster ‘live’ on stage at the Dagenham Roundhouse ‘Village Blues Club’ 13th Reunion event (March 19)

 

Atomic Rooster ‘live’ on stage at the Dagenham Roundhouse ‘Village Blues Club’ 13th Reunion event (March 19)

The crowd lapping up the music at the 13th Village Blues Club Reunion gig (March 19)

 

Me – with my ‘Villiage Blues Club-Reunion gigs buddies, Tony G & Vince 🙂

 

A 15yr old me at the Dagenham Roundhouse-Village Blues Club (1972)

 

A 62yr old me at a Dagenham Roundhouse-Village Blues Club-Reunion event (2019)

 

*all about the old “Hornchurch Airfield”

Posted on by Posted in Military, WW1, WW2 .

For this week’s publication onto its website/facebook & twitter feeds, London Shoes continued to adhere to the Covid19 lockdown doctrine of non-essential travel, by selecting a ‘local’ subject matter of historic interest, to trek out to and explore.

Just one & a bit miles down the road from London Shoes home base in Romford, is the town of Hornchurch within the London Borough of Havering – and its where this particular article’s subject matter is located – and it’s a topic that has had a massive influence, past & present, on the town.

So – this week’s publication onto the London Shoes website/facebook & twitter portals is all about the history of the old Hornchurch Airfield.

Before it was designated an airfield, this plot of rural Hornchurch land was known as Suttons Farm – and it still retained that title when 90 acres of the farm were commissioned by the military at the start of the WW1, for the specific purpose of protecting London’s skies from potential attacks from enemy airships & zeppelins.

Because of its close proximity to central London (14 miles), and its closeness to the River Thames, Suttons Farm was considered the ideal place for an air defence airfield, as it was on the flight path of any enemy attacker using the Thames Estuary to navigate its way towards London.

Motorised flight had not long been invented prior to the commencement of WW1, and the development of fighter planes was a little way off – and so the German enemy sent zeppelin airships loaded with bombs, across the English Channel, which were then dropped on London.

The very first ‘victory’ of an air attack in Britain took place on 2nd Sept 1916 and originated from the Suttons Farm airbase in Hornchurch – when Lt.William Leefe Robinson shot down one of a 16 strong fleet of German zeppelins on their way to bomb London. Lt. Robinson was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross medal, and became a national hero.

During WW1 two other pilots operating from the Suttons Farm airbase in Hornchurch were awarded the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) for their bravery and involvement in the destruction of German zeppelin airships.

After WW1 ended the Royal Air Force (RAF), as it was now known, decided that they had no further use for the Suttons Farm airbase, and so all its airbase buildings and fixtures were pulled down and destroyed, and the land went back to being a working farm again.

However, by 1920 following a programme of expansion by the RAF, serious consideration was given to the possibility of re-acquiring the Suttons Farm site, and converting it back into a military airfield again – because it was ideally placed to protect London from an enemy attack from the skies.

The newly built airfield was formally opened in 1928 and renamed ‘RAF Hornchurch’.

When WW2 broke, RAF Hornchurch became the ‘home-base’ of many squadrons, whose job it was to defend London and South East England.

RAF Hornchurch played a significant part during Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain conflicts – and some of the pilots operating from there became house-hold names, gaining a sort of super-star status with the general public – airmen such as Adolph ‘Sailor’ Malan – Raimund Sanders-Draper – Brendan Finucane – Robert Stanford-Tuck – John Mungo-Park – Alan Deere – the very famous Douglas Bader plus many more brave men (& women) who sacrificed everything for their country in its hour of need.

RAF Hornchurch also played its part in one of the most controversial incidents of WW2 when, in the very first few days of the conflict, two Spitfires from the Hornchurch airfield were dispatched to shoot down two Hurricane fighter planes from another base, that were circling the east London skies. There had been inaccuracies and errors made in the information being relayed which resulted in the pilots from RAF Hornchurch being misinformed by authorities that they were enemy planes. This incident was one of the very first tragic cases of fatalities caused by ‘friendly fire’ and the incident is referred to as ‘The Battle of Barking Creek’.

Throughout WW2 and the subsequent years, the pilots and ground-staff based at RAF Hornchurch, used to drink at ‘The Good Intent’ pub located right near the airbase site.

During WW2 there used to be a large concrete dome situated right next door to the pub, which had weaponry installed in its roof – this structure was used for training gunners.

After WW2 RAF Hornchurch became a ‘Flying Commands-Aircrew Selection Centre’ for many years, until such time the centre moved to the RAF Biggin Hill site.

Sadly, RAF Hornchurch was eventually decommissioned in 1962 – but its legacy and influence still lives on throughout the Hornchurch area.

A large part of the RAF Hornchurch base is now a housing estate known locally as ‘The Airfield Estate’ (obviously), where many of the roads such as Bader Way – Deere Avenue – Malan Square – Robinson Close – Tuck Road – Bouchier Walk, to name just a very few – are named after those brave airmen who once operated from the airbase.

The local Sutton School changed its name to ‘Sanders-Draper’ in commemoration of the WW2 pilot ‘Raimund Sanders-Draper’ who one day suffered engine failure upon take-off from RAF Hornchurch – his plane was descending rapidly towards the school with all the children in it, so rather than bail-out to save himself, he deliberately stayed at the controls to steer his plane to a spot away from the school, thus sacrificing himself to avert a major disaster and loss of many children’s lives.

Another local school was renamed ‘R.J. Mitchell’ after the man who designed the ‘Spitfire’ plane.

The ‘Good Intent’ pub is still in situ today, and its pub-sign commemorates its association with the WW2 fighter pilots, and there are loads of items of RAF Hornchurch memorabilia on display inside the pub. (Obviously, the pub is currently closed due to Covid19 ‘lockdown’ restrictions – so I couldn’t venture inside for a ‘butchers’)

 

Many of the RAF Hornchurch administrative buildings such as the ‘Officers Mess’ – the ‘Officers’ living quarters – the married Officers & RAF Personnel’s houses etc, are all still in situ, and being used for different purposes these days – and they all have been given listed protection status.

Apart from the ‘Airfield Estate’, a big chunk of the old RAF Hornchurch airfield was extensively landscaped to create the massive ‘Hornchurch Country Park’ recreation and conservation area.

The majority of the old RAF structures and buildings such as aircraft hangers and disposal huts etc, were destroyed to make way for the Hornchurch Country Park, but there are some of the old WW2 structures that still remain today as a sort of reminder of just how important the RAF Hornchurch site was to the defence of Britain in war time.

Tucked away in seclusion throughout the Park there are a few ‘Pill-Boxes’ that were originally situated on the perimeters of the air-base.

There are also a few of ‘Tett-Turrets’ that can be found in the undergrowth. ‘Tett’ Turrets are small circular tube shaped pill-boxes sunken deep into the ground, so that only the top part is visible. They were installed at the very beginning of WW2 when a land invasion by the Germans was believed to be a distinct possibility. A gunner would situate himself inside the sunken turret, and would not be easily seen by any enemy on foot – thus enabling him to take aim and fire.  

In the middle of the children’s playground at the Hornchurch Country Park, there’s a kids climbing structure that represents a Spitfire plane up in the clouds.

There are also many ‘story-boards’ scattered throughout the Park area providing background info and graphics on what certain areas of the old RAF base were used for.

 

Some of the old Dispersal Huts are still in situ, and can be found scattered around the Hornchurch area – these are today used as halls for local community organisations such as Cubs/Scouts/Guides etc, and one is actually home to a boxing club.

The public car park used to be a ‘Dispersal Pen’ where the planes would be ‘parked’ whilst preparing to be scrambled for action – these Pens had an underground air-raid shelters attached to them, for the pilots to use. The entrance to one of these shelters can still be seen in the car-park, although its entrance has long been filled in.

So – that’s the story behind RAF Hornchurch – maybe not one of the bigger and better known war-time airfields, but one that most definitely played its part throughout both World Wars, and one that still, to this day, continues to leave its influence on the Hornchurch area.

Hope you found this interesting 🛩😉

__________________________________________

Summarised below are ALL of the photographs supporting this blog

 

One of the entrances to the Hornchurch Country Park – the former site of Suttons Farm Airfield, and then RAF Hornchurch.

 

A large part of the RAF Hornchurch base is now a housing estate known locally as ‘The Airfield Estate’ (obviously), where many of the roads such as Bader Way – Deere Avenue – Malan Square – Robinson Close – Tuck Road – Bouchier Walk, to name just a very few – are named after those brave airmen who once operated from the airbase.

 

An old photo of RAF Hornchurch in WW2

 

In the children’s playground inside Hornchurch Country Park, there is a climbing structure of a WW2 Spitfire plane up in the clouds

 

Me – alongside an old WW2 ‘Pill-Box’ – just one of a few to be found in the undergrowth of Hornchurch Country Park – these defence structures were once sited along the perimeter of the Airbase

 

One of the many ‘story-boards’ scattered throughout Hornchurch Country Park – commemorating its previous life as an RAF base

 

Another old photo of RAF Hornchurch in WW2

 

One of the old WW2 ‘Pill-Boxes’ still in situ in Hornchurch Country Park – this one has its own story-board nearby

 

One of the old WW2 ‘Pill-Boxes’ still in situ in Hornchurch Country Park

 

Me – at the entrance of one of the old WW2 Pill-Boxes scattered throughout Hornchurch Country Park – once the base of RAF Hornchurch

 

Another of the old WW2 ‘Pill-Boxes’ still in situ in Hornchurch Country Park

 

Me – alongside one of the old WW2 Pill-Boxes scattered throughout Hornchurch Country Park – once the base of RAF Hornchurch

 

An old WW2 photo of RAF Hornchurch pilots outside a Dispersal Hut – awaiting a ‘shout’

 

The car park at the Hornchurch Country Park, used to be a ‘Dispersal Pen’ fighter planes would be ‘parked’ whilst preparing to be scrambled for action – these Pens had an underground air-raid shelter attached for the pilots to use. The entrance to one of these shelters can still be seen in the car-park, although its entrance has long been filled in.

 

The entrance to the WW2 Dispersal Pen air-raid shelter in the Hornchurch Country Park car-park. You can clearly see that its entrance has long been filled in

 

Me – outside the entrance to the old WW2 Dispersal Pen air-raid shelter – in Hornchurch Country Park

 

An old illustration of a ‘Tett-Turret’ and how they operated

 

Two of the WW2 ‘Tett-Turrets’ that are still situated in the undergrowth within Hornchurch Country Park – formally the RAF Hornchurch airbase

 

Another of the ‘story-boards’ that can be found within Hornchurch Country ark – formally the RAF Hornchurch airbase.

Another photo of the ‘Spitfire’ climbing structure in the kids playground at the Hornchurch Country Park

 

A commemorative ’roundel’ in Hornchurch Country Park – referencing the Park’s association with RAF Hornchurch

 

Many of the old RAF Hornchurch operational huts are still in situ throughout the Hornchurch area – many have been renovated and are now used for other community purposes

 

 

A decommissioned piece of RAF Hornchurch armoury still in situ

 

Many of the old RAF Hornchurch operational huts are still in situ throughout the Hornchurch area – many have been renovated and are now used for other community purposes

 

Another of the old Hornchurch airfields ‘Disposal Huts’. This one was relocated about a couple of miles away from the airbase, and is just around the corner from where ‘London shoes’ lives – It is sited next door to the ‘Ardleigh’ pub and was once used as a mini-cab office – but has been left abandoned & derelict for a few years now.

 

Several references to RAF Hornchurch can be seen scattered throughout Hornchurch

 

Following WW2 the local Sutton School changed its name to ‘Sanders-Draper’ (now just called ‘Sanders’) to commemorate the WW2 pilot ‘Raimund Sanders-Draper’ who suffered engine failure upon take-off from RAF Hornchurch – his plane was descending rapidly towards the school with all the children in it –  rather than bail-out to save himself, he stayed at the controls to steer his plane to a spot away from the school, thus sacrificing himself to avert a major disaster and loss of many children’s lives.

 

Following the decommissioning of RAF Hornchurch in 1962 – a big chunk of the airbase land was sold off and rebuilt as a residential housing estate – known as the ‘Airfield Estate’.

 

The majority of the roads/streets of the ‘Airfield Estate’ are named after the brave RAF pilots who operated from RAF Hornchurch. This road is named after ‘Cecil Bouchier-KBE-CB-DFC’ and who then rose through the ranks to the role of ‘Air Vice Marshal’

 

The majority of the roads/streets of the ‘Airfield Estate’ are named after the brave RAF pilots who operated from RAF Hornchurch – This road is named after the globally recognised & legendary pilot ‘Douglas Bader’

 

Tuck Road is named after ‘Robert Stanford-Tuck’ one of the most accomplished pilots in WW2, having achieved the most ‘hits’ in the Battle of Britain and the Dunkirk battles. He was shot down twice – incarcerated in the infamous Stalag Luft prisoner of war camp – which he escaped from and he ended up fighting for the Russians. Tuck was also a technical consultant for the blockbuster film ‘The Battle of Britain’!!!!

 

Deere Avenue is named after ‘Alan Deere’ who flew with the 54 Squadron based at RAF Hornchurch. Deere was awarded the ‘Distinguished Flying Cross’ medal by King George V1 at the RAF Hornchurch base

 

The old RAF Hornchurch ‘Officers Mess’ as it is today – now a medical centre.

 

The buildings that were once used as living quarters and administrative offices for RAF Hornchurch, are still in situ. and are now mainly used for residential purposes.

 

Me – outside one the buildings that were once used as living quarters and administrative offices for RAF Hornchurch. These buildings are now mainly used for residential purposes

 

The buildings that were once used as living quarters and administrative offices for RAF Hornchurch, are still in situ. and are now mainly used for residential purposes.

 

The buildings that were once used as living quarters and administrative offices for RAF Hornchurch, are still in situ. and are now mainly used for residential purposes.

 

The buildings that were once used as living quarters and administrative offices for RAF Hornchurch, are still in situ. and are now mainly used for residential purposes.

 

Me – outside one of the old RAF Hornchurch living quarters

 

The pilots, groundstaff and air-base personel would use ‘The Good Intent’ pub situated right alongside RAF Hornchurch, as their ‘local’. The pub is still around today, but obviously currently closed down because of the Covid19 restrictions

 

‘The Good Intent’ pub situated right alongside the old RAF Hornchurch airfield. The pub is currently closed down because of the Covid19 restrictions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* The “Romford Brewery”-its history & legacy

Posted on by Posted in Historic Buildings, Pubs, Quirky Topics .

Because of the Covid19 virus lockdown situation, London Shoes has obviously had to temporarily suspend the weekly jaunts out to the big ‘Smoke’.

Fortunately, during this current ‘lockdown’ period, ‘Shoes’ has still been able to post regular articles to its Website-Facebook & Twitter portals, by utilising material that had been collated but had not yet published.

However, this week’s publication ‘is’ actually a topic that London Shoes was able to get out there on-the-road and physically do, by incorporating the task into my ‘daily exercise’ activity – all because the subject matter in question was right on my ‘home turf’, in Romford within the London Borough of Havering.

So – this week’s London Shoes blog is all about the history of what was, for over 200 hundred years, Romford’s main industry and biggest employer…..the “Romford Brewery” !!!

The once iconic Romford Brewery was founded in 1708 by one Benjamin Wilson.

It originated as an extension to the already long standing ‘Star Inn’ that was situated in the old ‘High Street’ on the main road out of the City of London, that lead onwards towards Chelmsford, Colchester and eventually on to Norwich in the east.

The Star Inn was the ideal location to set-up a brewery, as it was located alongside the ‘River Rom’, allowing the brewery to take advantage of the river’s free flowing water, a necessity in the brewing process.

 

In 1799 the brewery was bought up by a reputable brewer by the name of ‘Edward Ind’.

With the opening of a mainline railway network at Romford in 1839 – travel and transportation of freight and people to and from the brewery, became much easier to manage, and allowed the business to expand rapidly. In fact, the brewery was so big that it even had its very own bespoke railway sidings connected to the main-line Romford Station.

In 1845 renowned London brewers Octavius & George Coope bought in to the business – and as a result, the brand name of ‘Ind Coope’ was born. By the early 1900’s the Romford Brewery employed over 450 people.

Fast forward several decades to the late 1960’s-early 1970’s the brewery employed over 1,000 workers and the site covered 20 acres.

One of the Romford Brewery’s most popular beers was ‘John Bull-Bitter’, named after the historic English farmer character – and his distinctive caricature logo displayed on the product.

However, in the late 60’s early 70’s real-ale started to become increasingly popular, and by the end of the 70’s there was a certain enthusiasm and kudos around the quality of real-ales in the market, particularly with the formation of CAMRA (Campaign for Real-Ale) organisation in the early 1970’s.

It’s probably fair to say that the Romford Brewery’s ‘John Bull Bitter’ didn’t always go down too well with the majority of the CAMRA enthusiasts – as it was often described as being too watery, and full of suds – and as a result, the popularity of the product started to fade, which in turn had an adverse impact on the Romford Brewery’s business.

Sadly, in 1993 the long standing Romford Brewery closed and was subsequently shut- down for good – causing an adverse economic and employment impact to the area.

So – my London Shoes quest this week was to try and track down any of the Brewery’s historic landmarks or fixtures or references that might still be in situ – and this is what I found.

Following the Brewery’s closure, the old Brewery site was completely re-developed and then re-opened in 2001 as a massive retail shopping complex called ironically “The Brewery”. However, down one side of the old Romford ‘High Street’ where the Brewery once stood, there remains a row of some the original factory buildings, which retain many of their original design features and fixtures & fittings. One of the old brewery buildings is now, quite fittingly, the home of the ‘Havering Museum’ (Havering being the London Borough in which Romford is situated).

In front of these buildings, there is a distinctive ‘hump’ in the road where the bridge across the River Rom was once situated – the river where the Brewery acquired its water supply from.

The Brewery’s ornate iron gates at one of the original entrances to the Brewery site are embellished with magnificent ‘hop & vine’ emblems.

Situated at what was once another entrance to the brewery (now the entrance to the shopping complex car-park), is a huge copper ‘brewing tun’ (a sort of large vat) once an integral part of the brewing manufacturing process – and now situated there as a historic landmark to commemorate just how important the Brewery once was, and the factory’s influence on the town of Romford during its 200 year tenure.

In the car-park of the now shopping complex, there stands a huge obelisk that reaches to the sky like a giant chimney that pays homage to the many large brewing chimneys that once stood on the original Brewery site.

Now – having completed a blog, I would normally trot off to a nearby pub for a couple of ‘cheeky’ beers – but obviously under the present global pandemic lockdown circumstances, that particular avenue of pleasure has been taken away from me, as all the pubs are closed.

However, what I did do was wander on up the road a little bit from the old Brewery site, to have a gander at the local landmark that is the famous and iconic ‘Golden Lion’ pub situated at the head of the Romford Market Square.

The ‘Golden Lion’ holds the amazing accolade of being one of the oldest pubs in continual use, in England.

Historic archives show that there has been an inn/tavern at its present site since 1440.

Throughout the 16th Century and beyond, the Golden Lion was a famous and popular coaching ‘halt’ (e.g. stopping-off point) on the main route between the City of London and Colchester in the east.

Most of the buildings structure today dates back to the 17th Century, although its frontage was re-built in the early Victorian era.

Inside the pub itself, a couple of the original wooden beams from the 17th Century are still in situ – and it is claimed that the building is haunted by 7 spirits – but I guess the only spirits you are likely to see in there are alcoholic ones (if the bloody place was open of course)

So – that concludes my little story about the old Romford Brewery, a topic right on my doorstep, literally a 15min walk from my home. Shame I couldn’t finish it off with the customary ‘cheeky’ one, but it is what it is, and it was good to get back out on-the-road and do something constructive – so I may publish a few more ‘local’ blogs whilst living in these strange times.

Stay safe everyone

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Summarised below are the full range of photographs accompanying the ‘Romford Brewery’ blog

One of the original entrances to the old Romford Brewery

 

A photo of the old Romford Brewery site in the 1940’s

 

Some of the old Romford Brewery buildings still in situ along the old ‘High Road’ – the hump in the road where the bridge over the River Rom was once located – is quite noticeable

 

The Romford Brewery buildings as they were back in the factory’s heydays

 

The very same buildings as they are today

 

Another view of the old Brewery buildings still in situ – again, the ‘hump’ in the road where the River Rom flowed into the brewery site, is clearly visible

 

Me outside one of the original entrances to the old Romford Brewery

 

An old b&w photo from the 1920’s – showing just how prominent the Romford Brewery was on the local landscape

 

An old ceramic tile advert promoting the Brewery’s “Ind Coope’ brand, that originated in 1845

 

An old advert promoting Romford Brewery’s ‘John Bull-Bitter’

 

One of the original entrances to the Romford Brewery

 

One of the old Brewery buildings is now the home to the ‘Havering Museum’

 

An flagstone embedded into the Brewery buildings wall – commemorating the demolition of the bridge that once crossed the River Rom and led into the brewery.

 

Another commemorative plaque displayed upon a wall of the old Romford Brewery building – this recognises an act of bravery by a local Romford PC

 

One of the original entrances into the Romford Brewery site

 

The ornate ‘hop & vine’ emblems ton the gates leading into what was once the main entrance into the Romford Brewery

 

Me – in front of one of the Brewery’s old ‘hop & vine’ entrance gates

An old ‘bar-towel’ advertising Romford Brewery’s ‘John Bull-Bitter’

 

An old ‘brewing tun’ from the Romford Brewery factory, now stands outside the main entrance to the now ‘Brewery’ shopping centre!

 

A ‘past & present’ view – showing the old ‘brewing tun’ vat with The Brewery Shopping Centre obelisk in the distance

 

Me – with the old ‘brewing-tun’ vat and the current ‘Brewery’ shopping centre obelisk in the background

 

An old can of the Romford Brewery’s ‘John Bull-Bitter’

 

The entrance to what is now the ‘Brewery’ shopping centre

 

The ‘Brewery’ shopping complex, built on the site of the old Romford Brewery – that was formally opened in 2001:-)

 

Inside the ‘Brewery’ shopping complex, built on the site of the old Romford Brewery – that was formally opened in 2001:-)

 

Another view of the ‘Brewery’ shopping complex, built on the site of the old Romford Brewery – that was formally opened in 2001:-

 

A close-up of the top of the obelisk located in the ‘Brewery’ shopping centre car-par – depicting the old brewery chimneys that used to operate on the site.

 

Me – in the ‘Brewery’ shopping centre – that used to be the site of the famous Romford Brewery

 

The ‘Golden Lion’ pub, situated at the entrance to Romford Market – holds the amazing accolade of being one of the oldest pubs in continual use, in England. Historic archives show that there has been an inn/tavern on this site since 1440.

 

Romford’s historic ‘Golden lion’ pub – just a couple of hundred yards down the road from the site of the old Romford Brewery

 

Another view of the ‘Golden Lion’ pub

 

Another view of the ‘Golden Lion’ pub

 

A quite recent photo from Inside the ‘Golden Lion’ pub, where a couple of the wooden beams in its structure, date back to the 1700’s

 

Me – all socially distanced & masked up – outside the ‘Golden Lion’ pub – Romford

 

A retro beer mug – with the Romford Brewery’s ‘John Bull-Bitter’ logo on it

 

A socially distanced& masked-up me – outside the Golden Lion pub, and with the old Romford Brewery buildings in the background – Stay Safe everyone x

 

 

London’s “Ghost Signs” – Part 2

Posted on by Posted in Art, Quirky Topics .

During these strange Covid19 lockdown times, London Shoes has clearly had to curtail its weekly jaunts out to the ‘Smoke’ for obvious reasons. Fortunately ‘Shoes’ has still been able to continue posting material regularly on to its website–facebook & twitter portals, by utilising material in storage, but not yet published.

This specific article is a typical example of material that has been gathered-up along the way whilst ‘Shoes’ has been on-the-road covering off other topics – and this particular blog is actually a ‘Part 2’ feature of a subject matter that was first published way back in March 2017, just a few weeks into the roll-out of my London Shoes initiative.

So – this posting is the 2nd London Shoes feature on the topic of “London’s Ghost Signs”.

What is a ‘ghost sign’ I hear you ask?

‘Ghost sign’ is a term given to old advertising signs or pictures or slogans that have been painted to on exterior walls of buildings, to promote a brand, product or company.

This method of advertising has actually been around for centuries – but only really came into prominence, especially in Britain and Europe, from the late 1800’s – and from thereon it remained a popular mode of advertising right up until the early 1960’s.

The more prolific and brash style of painted adverts originated from the USA at the end of the 19th Century where the sign-writers were known as ‘Wall Dogs’.

These huge advertising murals were artistically coloured with leaded paint, and that’s probably the reason why some of them have lasted reasonably clearly to this very day.

At one time these ‘paintings’ could be seen emblazoned everywhere on the exterior walls of commercial buildings throughout London & the rest of Britain – and were a testament to the artistic skills of the sign-writers of the day.

It’s amazing to think that, against all odds’ some of these magnificent works of street-art, are still around today, having survived  wars, decades of re-development, massive social changes and have been bombarded with all kinds of weather and pollution – and those that remain in place today continue to provide a sort of historical street-art, cultural backdrop to the hustle & bustle of everyday life.

In most cases (but surprisingly not all) these ‘ghost signs’ have ‘outlived’ the products and companies that they originally advertised.

It might surprise you to know that there is a massive global interest in ‘Ghost Signs’ – a bit geeky I know, but there are clubs, societies, magazines, blogs, vlogs produced all over the world, particularly in the USA, UK, France & Australia – discovering them, logging them, photographing them, filming them, constructing ‘walking tours’ to view them and then discussing them, is an extremely popular ‘hobby’ for thousands of ‘Ghostie’ enthusiasts worldwide.

So – for this 2nd ‘Ghost Sign’ article, London Shoes has collated photos of a number of additional ghost signs its stumbled upon whilst on-the -road since it published its fist article on the topic 3 years ago – and have also added a little narrative on the history of some of the ‘signs’.

London Shoes will continue to capture and collate photos of any more ghosts signs it stumbles upon, as and when the current ‘restrictions’ allow non-essential travel – but in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this little article, and its accompanying photos.

See below, the full summary of photos accompanying this ‘London’s Ghost Signs’-Pt 2 blog

 

The ‘Bovril’ product was once widely advertised on the sides of buildings throughout London – this one remains quite prominent down in Brixton-London SW2

This unusual ‘ghost sign’ that once advertised ‘Peterkin Custard’ – can be found down in Clapham-London SW4. This product was launched in 1905 by the Peterkin Mill company who produced self raising flour-normal flour & custard, which it was still selling in the 1920’s. The Peterkin Mill used to be owned by one “J Arthur Rank” who sold it off when it wasn’t doing so well, and then he moved into ‘films’.

 

A well preserved ‘ghost sign’ on display down in Kensington. ‘Lidstone & Co Butchers’ had operated in the Kensington area since the early 1800’s.

 

Across the road from the famous Churchill Arms pub in Notting Hill, is a building whose exterior walls are still adorned with the business of its original occupants – who were still trading in timber right up until recently.

 

Displayed on the side of a building on the Romford Road in Manor Park E12, is an old ‘ghost sign’ that once advertised Bovril (awful stuff!!!)

 

A ‘ghost sign’ that once advertised Players Cigarettes – can be found in Mitcham Rd-Tooting-London SW17. Everyone smoked in those days.

 

An old marmalade ‘ghost-sign’ in Notting Hill Gate-London W11 – just opposite the tube station.

 

One of the many ‘ghost signs’ that can be found on buildings down in Stoke Newington-London N16

 

One of the many ‘ghost signs’ that can be found on buildings down in Stoke Newington-London N16

One of the better conditioned ‘Ghost Signs’ is displayed on an old warehouse buildings down at Trinity Wharf-London E14. In 1794 ‘Mathers’ were given a licence to boil whale blubber at the London Docks, to extract whale oil, that was then used in the manufacture of many products.

 

Another well preserved historic ‘Ghost Signs’  displayed on another old warehouse buildings down at Trinity Wharf-London E14. ‘Ditchburn & Mare’ became the distinguished ‘Thames Ironworks Company’ – whose works football team became my beloved ‘West Ham Utd FC’…………’Come on you Irons’!!!

 

A ‘triple’ Ghost Sign on display down in Southwark-SE1. ‘Rose Brand Fine Teas’ – ‘Ashby & Sons Ltd’ & another company to do with manufacturing ventilators.

 

A close-up of the ‘Rose Brand-Fine Teas’ element of the ‘triple’ Ghost Sign on display down in Southwark-SE1

 

Not exactly a ‘Ghost Sign’ by definition as such – but a magnificent wall painted mural advertising the ‘Lord Morpeth’ pub and its connections to the plight of the Suffragettes – this magnificent painting is displayed on an exterior wall of the Lord Morpeth pub in Bow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*London’s “Lost Music Venues” – Part 2

Posted on by Posted in Music .

During these strange lockdown, stay at home, social distancing times, London Shoes is still able to continue publishing its popular weekly blogs – by simple recourse to unpublished material held in its vaults, stored there specifically for rainy-day situations.

So-this week’s blog represents Part 2 on the topic of “London’s – Lost Music Venues”.

First cab-off-the-rank is a pub I used to frequent regularly in my mid-teens, throughout the early 1970’s.

>>The “Green Man” pub-Leytonstone-E11
The Green Man pub in Leytonstone-London E11 is a place that is steeped in history.

Records show that there’s been a tavern & coaching inn on its site since the late 1600 – mainly because its location was once on the main roadway between London and Cambridge.

Back in the day, the ‘Green Man’ was a popular stopping off and meeting point for highwaymen, and in its folklore it is said that the building is haunted by the ghost of legendary highwayman ‘Dick Turpin’.

Anyway – throughout the 1970’s, the pub had a resident band by the name of ‘Deep Feeling’ that would play their every week, drawing in crowds from all over east London and beyond – a very popular band.

Deep Feeling were a ‘covers’ band – but with a bit of an unconventional twist. This bunch of exceptional musicians did not simply bang out covers of popular chart hits of the day – instead they played covers of classic album tracks, mainly from the more progressive bands of the day – a very unusual and some might say risky approach – but one that was extremely popular with the punters.

At any weekend down at the Green Man in the early 70’s the band would be up on stage banging out all time legendary classic tracks from the likes of super groups such as Yes – Genesis – Pink Floyd – Led Zeppelin – plus many more, to a very appreciative audience – and many would say that their ‘covers’ were often better than the ‘live’ versions played by the original groups themselves.

I do have a slight personal tenuous link to the Green Man, because in Aug 1973 I started work at Barclays Bank-Leytonstone branch, just a couple of hundred yards down the road from the pub, and I got to know some of the bar staff when they used to come into the branch to do the banking and collect their change orders – and I often used to head back to Leytonstone at the weekends to have a beer with them, whilst watching the excellent Deep Feeling do their stuff up on stage.

The Green Man pub is still around today, but now it is one of the O’Neill’s pub chain, and sadly no more ‘live’ music.

>>The ‘Hammersmith Palais’:

This famous old London venue was first opened in 1919 as the ‘Hammersmith Palais de Danse’ – the very first ‘Palais’ dancehall venue in Britain. Throughout the following decade the venue became a roller-skating rink and an ice-skating rink – before reverting back into a dancehall in the 1930’s.

In the late 1950’s the renowned and extremely popular ‘Joe Loss & his Orchestra’ were the resident band there, and in fact, at one time, the band’s vocalist was one Ross McManus – Elvis Costello’s dad.

On a good night, the Hammersmith Palais could hold up to 2,000 punters – and in the early 60’s both the Beatles and The Rolling Stones played there. Throughout the mid to late 1970’s and beyond the Hammersmith Palais was a popular venue for the top ‘punk’ bands of the day with bands like The Police and The Jam and The Clash all recording ‘live’ albums from their performances there – and the Palais was also one of the main London venues hosting different genres of African & Afro Caribbean music with everything from artists like King Sunny Ade, Delroy Wilson & Toots & the Maytals just to name just a few, performing there.

One of the early singles released by The Clash is “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”, and just so happens to be my personal favourite of theirs.

Sadly in 2007, the Hammersmith Palais closed its doors for the last time as a music venue, and this wonderful historic building was demolished. In its place today is a student accommodation building, but at least on its external wall there is a commemorative plaque to remind people of the historic importance of the old Palais.

>>The “Alexandra Palace”-North London:

Another venue that has hosted some significant music events, but is historically famous for much more significant stuff than that is the “Alexandra Palace” in North London.

The ‘Ally Pally’ (as it is more commonly known as) is a massive iconic building that looks down on North London and because of its location, is a landmark that can be seen for miles around.

It was first opened in 1875 as ‘The Peoples Palace’ and throughout its life time it has been famous for a number of things, mainly as the once home of TV and Radio broadcasting – and also as a major exhibition centre.

However, in terms of ‘music’, it has its own little place in the history of rock music.

In 1962 it was renowned for hosting all-night ‘Carnival of Jazz’ gigs, and in 64 The Rolling Stones first played there.

But it is mainly as a result of an event held there back in 1967 when it hosted the now legendary “14 Hour Technicolour Dream” that the Ally Pally gained its little niche in ‘live’ music history.

The ’14 Hour Technicolour Dream’ event was held during the heights of the so called Summer of Love, and was a multi-artist gig held for the purposes of raising funds for the infamous and controversial ‘underground’ counter-culture newspaper the ‘International Times’.

The likes of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Soft Machine, The Move, Pete Townshend, The Pretty Things, plus many more, offered their services for the event, and an estimated 10,000 attended. Pink Floyd was the headline act and they took to the stage at 5am in the morning. The gig has subsequently gone down in music history and is even talked about to this very day.

In 1969 The Who performed their rock opera ‘Tommy’ there to a massive audience.

In recent decades the likes of Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Jam, the Stone Roses, Bjork, Blur and Jayzee have all played the Ally Pally, and the venue has also been used for such events as the ‘Brit Awards’ and the ‘Mobo Awards’ – so quite a musical heritage for a multi-purpose venue.

>>The ‘Rainbow Theatre’-Finsbury Park:

The ‘Rainbow’ in Finsbury Park north London – probably my favourite ‘lost’ music venue, as it is a place that had many a great night out in my youth.

The ‘Rainbow’ first opened as the ‘Finsbury Park Astoria’ cinema back in 1930.

In the 60’s it hosted gigs by music legends such as the Beatles, The Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix.

In 1971 the venue was given over entirely to music and renamed the ‘Rainbow Theatre’, and for the next decade it hosted the best of the best in terms of music of all genres, especially rock music – literally anyone who was anyone, played the Rainbow – the list is endless:- The Faces – Pink Floyd – Yes – Eric Clapton – James Brown – Genesis – Stevie Wonder – Van Morrison – Queen – Kool & the Gang – Deep Purple – The Jackson 5 – Wings – David Bowie, are just some of the many legendary gigs at the Rainbow.

As I mentioned earlier, this was my personal favourite venue – and I went to quite a few times particularly in the early 1970’s.

One gig that I attended there has now gone down in music history and is referred to even to this day.

In August 1972 the Rainbow hosted a gig by David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars. His now iconic album “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars” had only been released a couple of months earlier, and this gig was part of his very first ‘Ziggy Stardust’ tour – a tour which had commenced in February that year, when Bowie was generally an unknown in the rock hierarchy stakes.

Opening for Bowie that night were a reasonably ‘new’ band by the name of ‘Roxy Music’, who themselves had only just released their very first album.

Bowie pulled out all the stops for this Rainbow gig. The stage was set-up with scaffolding and walkways everywhere, for Bowie to strut his stuff around on – there was a large screen backdrop that displayed various images – the lightshow was exceptional – and to cap it all, the now late mime artist Lindsay Kemp & his Troupe accompanied Bowie & the Spiders on stage as they ran through their set of selected tracks from his ‘Man Who Sold the World’ – ‘Hunky Dory’ & ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums – it was without doubt one of the best gigs that I have ever experienced, and one that will be forever etched on my memory .

Sadly, the Rainbow closed down in 1981 and stood disused for over a decade, prevented from being demolished because of its Grade II listed protection status. However, in recent years it has become the home of ‘The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’.

>>‘Flamingo Club’ – Wardour Street-Soho-W1:

The ‘Flamingo Club’ first opened in 1957 in the basement of an old grocery store deep in the heart of London’s Soho district.

It started life as a jazz club, and in fact the legendary ‘Ronnie Scott’ who went on to open a jazz club of his own under his own name – was once the saxophonist in the Flamingo’s resident band.

The Flamingo soon attracted a solid following and was well known for its Jazz Weekend all-nighters.
By the time the 60’s began, the club had started to develop a bit of a bad reputation, as it was a regular haunt for London’s gangsters, pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers.

In 1962 the Flamingo became more widely known because of its tenuous connection to the Profumo Affair scandal, as it was the place where Christine Keeler’s two lovers ‘Lucky Gordon’ and ‘Johnny Edgecombe’ came to blows (this particular incident was covered off in detail in the recent TV drama about Keeler).

By 1963 the Flamingo had become the centre of the ever growing and popular ‘Mod’ culture – and it was also the sort of place that the likes of the Beatles, Stones & Hendrix plus other current stars, would regularly hang-out.

Apart from just the Mod’s, a lot of US Servicemen also used to gravitate to the Flamingo Club, which by now was well known for hosting music events that played genres such as R&B – Ska – Bluebeat & Reggae – attracting multi-cultural audiences.

Throughout its heyday the stars such as Ella Fitzgerald – Billie Holiday – Stevie Wonder – John Lee Hooker – Otis Redding – Rod Stewart – Pink Floyd – Eric Clapton – The Small Faces – all performed down at the Flamingo Club.

The resident band throughout the majority of these times was ‘Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames’ backing all the top US stars of the day, and they themselves went on to secure commercial success in their own right.

Sadly, times changed and the Flamingo Club as it was closed down in 1972 – but ‘live’ music continued to be performed there, as its upstairs was converted firstly to the ‘Whiskey-a-Go Go’ club and then in the 80’s the ‘Wag Club’ – a popular haunt of the ‘New Romantics’ movement.

In 2001 major renovation was undertaken and the site became an O’Neill’s pub – which it remains today.

Inside the pub today there are numerous items of memorabilia that refer to its old life, and on its exterior wall there is a plaque that commemorates just how important the old Flamingo Club was to the London music scene.

So – that’s Part 2 of London’s ‘Lost Music Venues’ – London Shoes ‘lockdown’ publication for this week, which I’m sure the music aficionados in particular will enjoy.

_________________________________

 

Below is a full summary of all the photo accompanying Pt2 of  London’s ‘Lost Music Venues’ blog

An old photo of the ‘Green Man’ pub – Leytonstone-E11. It very much looked like this when I used to frequent its music nights down there in the early 1970’s

 

Me – across the road from the old Green Man pub-Leytonstone as it is these days – now an O’Neill’s pub

 

An old photo of the Hammersmith Palais, when it was the ‘Hammersmith Palais-de-Danse’

 

The commemorative plaque displayed on the building that today stands on the site of what was once the iconic ‘Hammersmith Palais’

 

In the late 1970’s The Clash released their 5th single “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” – one of my favourite records

 

‘The Jam’ – just one of the many bands to have played the Hammersmith Palais

 

In the late 1970’s The Clash released their 5th single “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” – one of my favourite records

 

The site today, where the Hammersmith Palais once stood – its now a student accommodation premises, but at least there is a commemorative plaque displayed (just to the left of the door) – that acknowledges the importance of the old venue to London’s music scene

 

Me – (with ‘lockdown’ barnet) with my personal fav single by The Clash – ‘White Man in Hammersmith Palais)

 

The ‘Alexandra Palace’ – first opened in 1875 as ‘The Peoples Palace’ and throughout its life time it has been famous for a number of things, mainly as the once home of TV and Radio broadcasting – and also as a major exhibition centre!

 

In terms of ‘music’, the ‘Ally Pally’ has its own little place in London’s music history, when in 1967 it hosted the now legendary “14 Hour Technicolour Dream” event.

 

Scenes from the “14 Hour Technicolour Dream” event at the Alexandra Palace in 1967

 

 

Pink Floyd took the stage at 5am for their headlining performance at the “14 Hour Technicolour Dream” event at the Alexandra Palace in 1967

 

Me – outside the Alexandra Palace as it looks today

 

The iconic ‘Rainbow Theatre’ first opened as the ‘Finsbury Park Astoria’ cinema back in 1930

 

In 1971 the Finsbury Park Astoria was given over entirely to music and renamed the ‘Rainbow’ Theatre, and for the ensuing decade it hosted the best of the best in terms of music of all genres, especially rock music – literally anyone who was anyone, played the Rainbow

 

In 1971 the Finsbury Park Astoria was given over entirely to music and renamed the ‘Rainbow’ Theatre, and for the ensuing decade it hosted the best of the best in terms of music of all genres, especially rock music – literally anyone who was anyone, played the Rainbow

 

Crowds gathering outside the ‘Rainbow’ in Aug 1972 – for the David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars’ gig – I’m in there somewhere

 

For his gig at the ‘Rainbow’ in Aug 72, Bowie pulled out all the stops – the stage was set-up with scaffolding and walkways everywhere, for Bowie to perform on – there was a large screen backdrop that displayed various images – the lightshow was one of the most advanced ever used – and to cap it all, the now late mime artist Lindsay Kemp & his Troupe accompanied Bowie & the Spiders on stage as they ran through selected tracks from his ‘Man Who Sold the World’ – ‘Hunky Dory’ & ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums

 

Sadly, the Rainbow closed down in 1981 and stood disused for over a decade, prevented from being demolished because of its Grade II listed protection status 🙁 However, in recent years it has become the home of ‘The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’.

 

The ‘Flamingo Club’ first opened in 1957 in the basement of an old grocery store deep in the heart of London’s Soho district.

 

In 2001 major renovation was undertaken at the old Flamingo Club site, and the premises became an O’Neill’s pub – which it remains today – and in this photo you can just about see the commemorative blue plaque to the right of the entrance – that acknowledges the importance of the Flamingo Club to London’s music history

 

On the exterior walls of the O’Neill’s pub at the site today, and also throughout the interior of the pub – there are many references to its previous existence as the Flamingo Club

 

The commemorative plaque outside the O’Neill’s pub in Wardour St-Soho – the once site of the famous ‘Flamingo Club’

 

Me – necking down a ‘cheeky’ one inside the O’Neill’s pub in Wardour Street – once the site of the iconic Flamingo Club

 

Me – back in the early 1970’s when I used to regularly frequent some of the ‘Lost Music Venues’ I’ve written about in this article – as you can see, even back then, I was partial to a ‘cheeky’ one (or two)

 

 

*London’s “Lost Music Venues” – Part 1

Posted on by Posted in Music, Quirky Topics .

In these unprecedented times and because of social distancing and the understandable travel restrictions, London Shoes has obviously had to considerably re-invent itself and its activities.

No longer can I just trot off into the ‘Smoke’ and do what I’ve been doing for the past 3 years.

However, all is not lost in terms of continuity, as fortunately I already had a few topics stockpiled – and with the advantage of photos I’ve held ‘in-the-vaults’ plus the migration of some that had been included in previous ‘Shoes’ publications – I am fortunately still able to knock-out a few blogs (for now anyway).

So – the subject matter for this particular publication, just so happens to be a topic that is very close to my heart, as it involves some places where I spent some fantastic and memorable evenings. The topic in question is probably gonna be covered-off in a small series of publications and is entitled……London’s “Lost Music Venues”

To kick-start Part 1 of this topic we firstly travel back to a tiny insignificant little venue tucked away in Old Compton Street-Soho – that, quite simply, is viewed nostalgically by some as the birthplace of rock’n roll in this country – “The 2 I’s Coffee Bar”. The 2 I’s Coffee Bar opened in 1956 and in the late 50’s its basement was a venue that hosted live ‘Skiffle’ music, which them morphed into early rock’n roll music.

The likes of Tommy Steele (once billed as Britain’s answer to Elvis Presley) – Cliff Richard & the Shadows – Adam Faith – Joe Brown & the Bruvvers plus many more early rockers, all cut their teeth at the 2 I’s making the venue extremely popular, and packed to the rafters most nights. The place, and the music performed there, influenced many of the stars that followed in the late 60’s and 1970’s, such as Marc Bolan and David Essex plus many more.

The 2 I’s Coffee Bar as it was, closed down in 1970, but a Café still remains on the site today, which has been specifically designed as a tourist attraction – and there is a green plaque on display on its exterior wall, to commemorate just how important the venue once was to the birth of Britsh rock’n roll.

Next up is the famous “Hammersmith Odeon”. The Hammersmith Odeon first opened in 1932 as the ‘Gaumont Palace’ seating 3,500 people.

Anyone who’s anyone in the music world has at one time or another played the Hammersmith Odeon.

In the late 1950’s Buddy Holly headlined there shortly before his untimely death.

During the 1960’s the likes of the Tony Bennett – Ella Fitzgerald – Duke Ellington – Louis Armstrong all played the Odeon – and the Beatles headlined an astonishing 38 shows in 21 nights there.

Throughout the 1970’s the major rock bands from all over the world headlined at the Hammersmith Odeon – bands like The Who – Queen – Thin Lizzy – Black Sabbath – Eric Clapton – Paul McCartney – Frank Zappa – Status Quo – Bruce Springsteen plus so many more.

In July 1975, the late David Bowie unexpectedly announced his ‘retirement’ on stage during his ‘Rock ‘n Roll Suicide’ encore – and announcement that made the media headlines the next day. In fact, what he was saying was that the gig was going to be the very last ‘Ziggy Stardust’ show that he would perform.

The entire event was very well staged managed by Bowie, as a film crew captured the whole gig, and it was subsequently released as a full length feature film.

Throughout the future decades, the top bands and artists of the day still continued to headline at the venue – and the Hammersmith Odeon even hosted monumental stage performances such as: – Joseph – Riverdance – Doctor Doolittle – Mama Mia – The Royal Variety Performance – Britain’s Got Talent plus many more.

Over 60 ‘Live’ albums have been recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Today, the venue is more popularly known as the ‘Hammersmith Apollo’ & is still one of London’s most popular music venues.

Half way down Wardour Street in London’s Soho district there once stood one of London’s most legendary ‘live’ music venues – ‘The Marquee Club’.

The Marquee first opened in 1958 as a jazz club and operated from a site in nearby Oxford Street.

It moved to its more popular Wardour Street venue in 1964, and remained there until 1988.

The Marquee was quite simply pivotal in the launching the careers of most of the top bands of the 60’s & 70’s.

The Rolling Stones first played there in 1962, and following that, all the legendary greats such as The Who – Jimi Hendrix – Pink Floyd – Jethro Tull – Led Zeppelin – David Bowie – Genesis – right through to the Punk era and far beyond, all cut their teeth down there, covering off all genres of music from early rock’n roll, psychedelic, reggae, heavy metal, glam, soul – every night of every week – such an iconic venue.

Interestingly, there is a little bit of a tenuous link between me and the Marquee as between 1974 to 1978, I worked at the Barclays Bank branch in Wardour Street – just a couple of hundred yards down the road from the Marquee.

Anyway, next to the venue is The Ship pub where all the top muso’s of the day used to hang out and partake in a little pre-gig tipple or two before appearing the Club – and so I used to head down to the pub in my lunch hour(s) or after work, and often found myself propping up the bar with the bands and their crews – great memories.

Also, I was at the Marquee on the evening of 9th July 1976 when Southend pub rock band ‘Eddie & the Hot Rods’ were appearing there, and the gig was recorded and 4 tracks issued on a EP entitled ‘Live at the Marquee’ – a brilliant atmosphere, and the memory of their encore of Bob Seeger’s ‘Get out of Denver’ is so accurately captured on this record.

Another ‘live rock-music’ pub, that’s still around today, but now as a jazz venue, is the ‘Red Lion’ in Leytonstone-E11.

There’s actually been a pub on the site of the Red Lion since the late 1600’s – it a very popular landmark amongst east-end pubs.

The current Red Lion building was built in 1891, and in the late 1960’s early 1970’s the hall at the back of the pub was the home of the ‘Chez Club’, a venue on the ‘live music’ circuit where many of the top bands of that era such as Genesis, Yes, Groundhogs & even Slade played.

In fact, the Red Lion goes down in history as being the venue where the newly formed Led Zeppelin made their London debut.

Again – there is another tenuous link between me and a music venue, because back in the Summer of 1972, I ventured down to the Red Lion in Leytonstone, to see a newly formed band called ‘Roxy Music’ make one of their very early performances – little did I know then that 1 year later, I would be starting work at the Barclays Bank branch in Leytonstone, just a few yards down the road from the pub.

So – that’s Part 1 of my London’s ‘Lost Music Venues’ that I’ve put together during these lockdown times – further instalments on this theme will continue, and I hope you enjoy reading all about them, as much as I have putting it together.

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Below is the full gallery of all the photos aligned to Part 1 of this London’s “Lost Music Venue” blog

Me – as I looked at the time I frequented the ‘Lost Music Venues’ I’ve mentioned in this blog

 

The “2 I’s Coffee Bar” in Old Compton Street-Soho, as it is today

 

The “2 I’s Coffee Bar” in Old Compton Street-Soho, as it was in its heyday in the early 1960’s

 

The “Hammersmith Odeon” as it is today – not as prolific in rock music as it was in the 60’s 70’s & 80’s – but still one of London’s most iconic entertainment venues

 

In July 1973, at Hammersmith Odeon, and the final gig of his current Ziggy Stardust tour, David Bowie announced his ‘retirement’ just before his encore of ‘Rock n Roll Suicide’ – the announcement was splashed all over the media the following day.

 

Me – outside the Hammersmith Odeon – a couple of years ago

 

An example of just one of the 60+ ‘Live’ albums that have been recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon

 

Another example of just one of the 60+ ‘Live’ albums that have been recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon

 

The site of what was the old ‘Marquee Club’ down in Wardour Street-Soho. This iconic club was located there from 1964 to 1988

 

A commemorative plaque displayed on an external wall of what was the famous ‘Marquee Club’ in Wardour Street

 

An early photo of The Sex Pistols outside the Marquee Club – in the mid 1970’s

 

Me (with lockdown ‘barnet’) – with my copy of the ‘Eddie & the Hot Rods’ EP that was recorded ‘live’ at the Marquee Club in 1975

 

“The Ship” pub Wardour Street – next door to what was the ‘Marquee Club’. A regular drinking den’ of all the bands (& me) prior to a gig at the Marquee Club

 

Me – a couple of years ago, necking down a ‘cheeky’ beer (just like the old days) in The Ship pub in Wardour Street, that was located right next door to the Marquee Club

 

The ‘Red Lion’ pub on Leytonstone High Road-London-E11, with the once ‘Chez Club’ hall to the rear of the building

 

Another view of the ‘Red Lion’ pub in Leytonstone High Rd – once the site of the ‘Chez Club’ music venue – and where I first saw ‘Roxy Music’ way back in 1972

 

Me – from a couple of years ago, necking down a ‘cheeky’ one inside the ‘Red Lion’ pub-Leytonstone, as it is today