Last week, under a rare, but very welcomed sunny London sky – my London Shoes crossed over the River to ‘Saaf Lundun’ (referred to by me as the ‘Dark Side’) to visit a place I hadn’t been to for a few decades…..“BALHAM”– and what a pleasant enjoyable day out it was too.
“BALHAM” is situated approx 4.5 miles from Central London and primarily it comes under the SW12 postcode within the London Borough of Wandsworth (although I believe that some of its southern borders sit within the SW17 postcode).
Transport wise it is served by London Underground and also National Rail.
Its first rail station was opened in 1856 and was named ‘Balham Hill’. It was renamed ‘Balham & Upper Tooting’ in 1927 – but reverted back to ‘Balham’ in 1969.
Its tube station opened in 1926 as part of the Morden extension to the Northern Line(the Black tube line on a standard London Underground map)
Its tube station building is built with Portland stone with glazed screens, and was designed by the great London Underground architect of that time ‘Charles Holden’ and the station was built in a sort of art deco style, as were many others at that time.
However – there is a very sad story attached to Balham tube station.
On the 14th October 1940 at around 8pm – a 1,400lb German bomb fell onto the road that sat directly above the northern end of the tube station. That night, the tube station was being used as an air raid shelter.
The bomb exploded 32ft underground, fracturing water and sewage mains pipes – damage which very quickly caused serious underground flooding.
The northbound platform collapsed completely and filled with earth and water. The extensive flooding crossed over to the southbound platform and went off down the tunnel that headed towards the next station ‘Clapham South’.
There were believed to be roughly 600 people taking shelter down on the station platforms when this terrible disaster happened, and the number of fatalities estimated range from 64 to 68, with many more injured, some very badly.
The bomb damage created a massive crater in the street above the station causing a number 88 London Transport bus to crash head first into the hole.
Following the incident, the tube station remained closed to enable the track, tunnelling and platforms to be repaired and rebuilt – it fully reopened again in Jan 1941.
In 2000 a memorial plaque to commemorate those that died that night, was put up on display in the Balham station ticket hall.
However – there was an on-going dispute and difference of opinion on the exact number of fatalities from that dreadful night, and as a result, in 2014 a new plaque was erect with revised info re: the number of fatalities – but the disparity in official numbers continued to be challenged and disputed.
Therefore – to solve the issue, a new 3rd commemorative plaque was erected in 2016 – with the 2 previous plaques removed – they are now on display at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The current plaque on display in the station’s ticket office today does not quote any ‘numbers’ re: the fatalities.
Tucked away on the same section of the tiled wall as the memorial plaque, is a list of the names and ages of those that were killed that awful night – the list is not prominently displayed – its simply typed up on a Word document and enclosed in a standard plastic sleeve – but it makes very sad reading when you see that, in some cases, entire families were wiped out – when all they were doing was trying to keep themselves safe from the bombs.
So – having visited Balham station to view the memorial – it was time for my London Shoes to leave the subterranean world of the tube station behind and head back to street level, to take a walk around to see what else I could find out about the town.
Displayed on a perimeter wall of the station are 4 quite large, bronze impressions – entitled ‘Impressions of Balham’. These 1991 installed bronze displays depict ‘everyday Balham folk in every day scenes’ – very impressive they are too.
A couple of hundred yards down the road from Balham tube station my London Shoes stumbled upon a place called ‘Du Cane Court’.
‘Du Cane Court’ is a large 1930’s built residential estate covers 4.5 acres and houses over 670 flats/apartments.
It was designed and built in an art deco style and when it was officially opened it was the largest ‘private’ estate of flats in Europe.
It is said to have over 2 miles of corridors – it has a 24hr concierge service – residents parking – and apparently, folklore has it that it is so distinctive from the air that the German Luftwaffe used it as a navigational landmark during bombing raids in WW2 – which could quite possibly explain why Balham station, just a few hundred yards away, took such a bad hit.
Du Cane Court still looks quite impressive to this day (in my opinion) – and it certainly had a nice vibe about it.
Right next to the unique Du Cane Court Estate stands ‘St. Mary & St. John Anglican Church’ – and next to the Church is a building that was once the site of Balham’s Social Security Office – where in 1974 an IRA bomb, that had been placed in a dustbin….exploded – causing slight damage to the building and the Church next door. Fortunately, no one was killed.
Its hard to believe nowadays but Balham was once quite a rural area, situated on the outskirts on London – a place where the rich upper classes lived in massive mansions. – but with the development of the railway in the mid 1800’s places like Balham became more accessible and as a result, began to develop quite rapidly.
Balham has had a few notable celeb residents in its past – for example:- the ‘Only Fools & Horses’ creator John Sullivan / famous actress Margaret Rutherford / ex footballer and football pundit Jimmy Hill / Captain Sensible of the Damned / Adele / comedian Jack Dee / Malcolm McClaren & Vivien Westwood……have all ‘hung out’ in Balham at one time or another.
Today’s Balham, with its culturally diverse community – is obviously a lot different to what it once was, but I have to say that during my London Shoes visit, I found it to be quite a friendly place with a good vibe and a nice little buzz about it.
Now – for this Shoes day out I was delighted to be accompanied by my mate ‘Pete’ – a good friend of mine for over 40yrs. Pete used to regularly be ‘out on the road’ with me, but has been involved in other stuff over the past few months – so it was good to have him back on-board again.
So – having spent a few hours pounding the Balham pavements – we decided to have a little liquid refreshment (as Shoes always does) before heading off back north to the ‘good’ side of the Thames – and, without any pre-planning, myself and Pete stumbled upon a pub that was like the gift that kept on giving in terms of its history and backstory.
“The Bedford” pub is situated on Bedford Hill, right near to Balham station – it was opened in 1876 as ‘The Bedford Hotel’.
It was rebuilt in the 1930’s in a neo-Georgian architectural style – full of art deco influenced design touches, including a circular bar and a domed roof.
It’s a massive pub with 5 bars / 4 private function rooms / 3 kitchens / its own comedy and music venue – and it also has a 2am licence!!!
The Bedford has a big history as a ‘live’ entertainment venue.
For almost 40yrs now the pub has hosted the ‘Banana Cabaret Club’ where a large number of comedians past and present, started their careers doing stand-up performances there. The likes of Eddie Izzard / Al Murray / Harry ill / Catherine Tate / Omid Djalili / Lee Mack / Frank Skinner plus many many more, all ‘plied their trade’ at The Bedford – and today there are photo portraits of the many comedy stars who played there, displayed on an interior wall.
Apart from comedy, The Bedford also has an interesting ‘live’ music past to it too – as bands like The Clash / U2 and even Ed Sheeran played the pub in the early days of their careers.
The pub building has been Grade II Listed since 2015, and quite rightly so. It also has 15 boutique bedrooms and a restaurant upstairs.
I have to say, The Bedford is very impressive pub indeed, and my London Shoes and Pete, my accomplice for the day – enjoyed a nice couple of cheeky Guinness’s before heading off back home, having enjoyed a good old day out in sunny Balham.
Hope you enjoyed this little read and its accompanying photos.
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“BALHAM” is situated approx 4.5 miles from Central London and primarily it comes under the SW12 postcode within the London Borough of Wandsworth (although I believe that some of its southern borders sit within the SW17 postcode). Transport wise it is served by London Underground and also National Rail.
Its first rail station was opened in 1856 and was named ‘Balham Hill’. It was renamed ‘Balham & Upper Tooting’ in 1927 – but reverted back to ‘Balham’ in 1969.
Its tube station opened in 1926 as part of the Morden extension to the Northern Line(the Black tube line on a standard London Underground map)
The ticket office concourse at Balham tube station – as it is today
Its tube station building is built with Portland stone with glazed screens, and was designed by the great London Underground architect of that time ‘Charles Holden’ and the station was built in a sort of art deco style, as were many others at that time.
Inside the old art deco type structure of Balham tube station
Me & my London Shoes – down by the old 1930’s glass panelling at Balham tube station
However – there is a very sad story attached to Balham tube station. On the 14th October 1940 at around 8pm – a 1,400lb German bomb fell onto the road that sat directly above the northern end of the tube station. That night, the tube station was being used as an air raid shelter.
The bomb exploded 32ft underground, fracturing water and sewage mains pipes – damage which very quickly caused serious underground flooding. The bomb damage created a massive crater in the street above the station causing a number 88 London Transport bus to crash head first into the hole.
There were believed to be roughly 600 people taking shelter down on the station platforms when this terrible disaster happened, and the number of fatalities estimated range from 64 to 68, with many more injured, some very badly
A storyboard type display in the station ticket office concourse – that tells details what happened on that dreadful night in 1940
In 2000 a memorial plaque to commemorate those that died that night, was put up on display in the Balham station ticket hall.
There were still on-going difference of opinions as to the exact number of fatalities from that dreadful night, and as a result, in 2014 a new plaque was erect with revised info re: the number of fatalities .
In 2016 – to solve the issue around the exact number of fatalities on that fateful night – a new 3rd commemorative plaque was erected – and the 2 previous plaques removed – apparently they are now on display at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The current plaque on display in the station’s ticket office today does NOT quote any ‘numbers’ re: the fatalities
a new 3rd commemorative plaque was erected in 2016 – with the 2 previous plaques removed – they are now on display at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The current plaque on display in the station’s ticket office today does not quote any ‘numbers’ re: the fatalities.
Tucked away on the same wall as the memorial plaque, is a list of the names and ages of those that were killed that awful night – It makes very sad reading when you see that, in some cases, entire families were wiped out – when all they were doing was trying to keep themselves safe from the bombs.
On display in the Balham tube station ticket office are story boards which tell the history of the station, including the terrible incident in 1940
On display in the Balham tube station ticket office are story boards which tell the history of the station, including the terrible incident in 1940
On display in the Balham tube station ticket office are story boards which tell the history of the station, including the terrible incident in 1940
Having visited Balham station to view the memorial – it was time for my London Shoes to leave the subterranean world of the tube station behind and head back to street level, to take a walk around to see what else I could find out about the town.
One of the 2 surface entrances to Balham tube station – (with a photo-bombing pigeon)
My mate, and accomplice for the day ‘Pete’ outside the other surface entrance/exit to Balham tube station.
Displayed on a perimeter wall of the station are 4 quite large, bronze impressions – entitled ‘Impressions of Balham’. These 1991 installed bronze displays depict ‘everyday Balham folk in every day scenes’ – very impressive they are too.
the ‘Impressions of Balham’ displays
The ‘Impressions of Balham’
Me & my London Shoes – alongside the ‘Impressions of Balham’ displays on a wall surrounding the station.
The Network Rail bridge that crosses Balham’s main street
My old mate ‘Pete’ under the Network Rail bridge, admiring some of the stations perimeter walls.the original art-deco tiling on one of
A couple of hundred yards down the road from Balham tube station my London Shoes stumbled upon a place called ‘Du Cane Court’.
‘Du Cane Court’ is a large 1930’s built residential estate covers 4.5 acres and houses over 670 flats/apartments.
It was designed and built in an art deco style and when it was officially opened it was the largest ‘private’ estate of flats in Europe.
Du Cane Court is said to have over 2 miles of corridors
Folklore has it that, because Du Cane Court is so distinctive from the air that the German Luftwaffe used it as a navigational landmark during bombing raids in WW2 – which could quite possibly explain why Balham station, just a few hundred yards away, took such a bad hit.
Right next to the unique Du Cane Court Estate stands ‘St. Mary & St. John Anglican Church’ – and next to the Church is a building that was once the site of Balham’s Social Security Office
In 1974 an IRA bomb, that had been placed in a dustbin of the Social Security Office….exploded – causing damage to the building and to the Church next door. Fortunately, no one was killed.
Me & my London Shoes outside Balham’s ‘St. Mary & St. John Anglican Church’
Before heading off to a local pub for a quick tipple – myself and my accomplice for the day – my mate Pete – frequented one of Balham’s more trendier cafe’s and treated ourselves to a few slices of sourdough & jam washed down with some infused tea
My old mate ‘Pete’ getting stuck in to his toasted sourdough & jam
Having spent a few hours pounding the Balham pavements – my London Shoes decided to have a little liquid refreshment (as Shoes always does) before heading off back home – and stumbled upon Balham’s “The Bedford” pub – a place with an interesting history and backstory
“The Bedford” pub is situated on Bedford Hill, right near to Balham station – it was opened in 1876 as ‘The Bedford Hotel’.
It was rebuilt in the 1930’s in a neo-Georgian architectural style – full of art deco influenced design touches, including a circular bar and a domed roof.
It’s a massive pub with 5 bars / 4 private function rooms / 3 kitchens / its own comedy and music venue – and it also has a 2am licence!!!
The Bedford has a big history as a ‘live’ entertainment venue.
For almost 40yrs now the pub has hosted the ‘Banana Cabaret Club’ where a large number of comedians past and present, started their careers doing stand-up performances there. The likes of Eddie Izzard / Al Murray / Harry ill / Catherine Tate / Omid Djalili / Lee Mack / Frank Skinner plus many many more, all ‘plied their trade’ at The Bedford
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
The Bedford’s ‘live’ entertainment venue – inside the pub
The stage of The Bedford’s ‘live’ entertainment venue – inside the pub
Me & my London Shoes in The Bedford’s ‘live’ entertainment venue.
Today, there are photo portraits of the many comedy stars who played there, displayed on an interior wall.
‘Lee Mack’ – just one of the many comedians who started their careers playing ‘The Bedford’ pub in Balham
‘Frank Skinner’ – another of the many comedians who started their careers playing ‘The Bedford’ pub in Balham
Rob Brydon – just one of the many comedians who started their careers playing ‘The Bedford’ pub in Balham
‘Catherine Tate’ – another of comedians who started their careers doing stand-up at ‘The Bedford’ pub in Balham
‘Harry Hill’ – another one of today’s established comedians who started their careers playing ‘The Bedford’ pub in Balham
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Apart from hosting ‘live’ comedy nights, The Bedford also has an interesting ‘live’ music past to it too – as bands like The Clash / U2 and even Ed Sheeran played the pub in the early days of their careers.
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Inside ‘The Bedford’ pub – Balham
Me & my mate ‘Pete’ – knocking back the Guinness at ‘The Bedford’ – Balham-London SW12
Another pint of the ‘black stuff’ just begging to be consumed – at The Bedford pub – Balham
Me & my London Shoes necking down another ‘cheeky’ Guinness at The Bedford pub – following an enjoyable few hour exploring Balham-London SW12
There was a 1958 broadcast of the Tony Hancock Half Hour entitled The Balham Special which extolled the virtues of the area and contained the famous phrase Balham! Gateway to the South!
Interesting place Balham, again so much history on public display in the underground station, but I wonder just how many people walking by and have never stopped for a few minutes to have a look and learn some local history.
Same goes for the Du Cane Estate and The Bedford Pub, both substantial buildings in the area.
Another good read Mr. Shoes – thank you.
Cracking pictures and great stories
Thank you – another amazing story about those times.
My dear mom and my big sister were huddled up in under ground stations many times during the Blitz.
I really hope people today give some thought to the horrors of war – especially today, in the times we currently live in…….. cheers from Canada
Fantastic, as usual
Immortalised by Peter Sellers as the ‘Gateway to the South’
Great info and pictures. Really interesting and has inspired me to visit “sarf” of the river
Excellent read! Thank you. I can’t see ‘Balham’ without thinking of the Peter Sellers skit of ‘Bal-ham, gateway to the South!’ As a fellow North Londoner, I am always wary when crossing the River. You call it the Dark Side. I call it Bandit Country! Keep on keeping on!
As ever – excellent Geoff Clements.
Keep ‘em coming.
Born in Balham,and started work in Balham at S&R Printers,then just up the high rd to Lundy Bro’s printers in 1974.Thanks for this posting very nice to hear.I live in the Midlands now but I will make a trip back to my early life sometime.
The 88 bus was static with passengers sheltering. The hole opened up underneath the bus. The bus, rebodied with a stored body was back on the road in December 1940. Clearly the chassis survived in good condition. John
Has anybody have any pictures of the houses knocked down to make way for the car park and Sainsbury’s on Bedford Hill. My nan lived at No 66