An Urban Wander from King's Cross to Hackney and Back Again

 Up in London recently for an evening event, I decided to travel up early to make the most of the day. I didn't have any real plans, other than to pay a visit to Atlantis Records in Hackney to fee my vinyl addiction, and to return to the Parcel Yard in King's Cross for my evening event. So, I decided to walk to Hackney from King's Cross and back again, in a loop of some description. The weather was a bit grey to start with but fortunately it brightened up along the wander. Below you can see a few pictures I took along the way.

First up it's one of my favourite subjects, ghostsigns. This ghostsign can be found over what is now a Nando's, on York Way, just to the north of King's Cross station. Pleasing that the old signage has been left intact. I wonder what sort of REFRESHMENTS it would have provided, perhaps Italian given that it was the Celestino Bertolini refreshment Rooms, which operated from 1916 to the 1960's.

Ghostsign for Celestino Bertolini's Refreshment Rooms, York Way, King's Cross, London

Next up, on the Caledonian Road, we have an old shop sign for SIMMONS DINING ROOMS, with some wonderful, green ceramic tiling either side of the shop front. Still going by the same name, but judging by the signage that can be seen just below the Simmons banner, which reads COCKTAILS DISCO OPEN TIL 3 FRIDAY& SATURDAY, I imagine this is no longer a dining room but more of a trendy cocktail bar.

Old sign for Simmonds Dining Rooms, Caledonian Road, King's Cross, London

As I made my way towards Hackney, I came across another old sign, or ghostsign, for the engineering company, C. LINDLEY & CO., LTD on Englefield Road. According to an old advertisement I found they provided bolts, screws, studs, nuts and pins for the aircraft, motor, shipbuilding and general engineering trades.

Old sign for C. Lindley & Co Ltd., Englefield Road, London N1

Just a bit further along the Englefield Road, on the corner with De Beauvoir Road, is another ghost sign for COLLINS & HAYES, which as far as I can tell was a factory for the production of sofas. If it's the same company then it would appear that they still exist but are now in Nottinghamshire.

Ghostsign for Collins & Hayes, De Beauvoir Road, London N1

There's no doubt as to what purpose the next sign would have served. This is the premises of the former pub THE DE BEAUVIOR ARMS on Stamford Road. Closed for business in 2004 it is now used for residential purposes.

Old sign for the former pub, The De Beauvoir Arms, Stamford Road, London N1

My wander now took me to Dalston, not an area I have really spent much time in previously, but come up with this delight. This is the former building of REEVES & SONS LTD, ARTISTS' COLOUR MANUFACTURER. in Ashwin Street, London E8

Old sign for the former Reeves & Sons Ltd building, Dalston, London E8

Old sign for the former Reeves & Sons Ltd building, Dalston, London E8

Old sign for the former Reeves & Sons Ltd building, Dalston, London E8

After a quick look around Atlantis records, and picking up a handful of records, I started to make my way back. Ideally I would have liked to spend more time in Hackney but time was not on my side so I probably on scratched the surface. I was pleased however to have spotted this wonderful ghostsign before I left. I can't quite make out the top line, possibly A.HANWELL, but despite searching through my usual sources of London ghostsigns I cannot find any mention of this one. The rest of the sign though is quite clear.

HOUSE FURNISHER

ESTABLISHED OVER 50 YEARS

LOWEST CASH PRICES

EASY TERMS CAN BE ARRANGED

Ghostsign, Mare Street, Hackney, London

When I came across this next building, I assumed that given the tiling and windows that it was a former pub. However after a bit of research it seems to have been the premises of the City of Dublin Bottling Co Ltd.

Former premises of the City of Dublin Bottling Co Ltd., Croston Street, Hackney, London E8

As my walking time, and my legs, were both now running out, I now headed to the Regents Canal for a more direct route back to King's Cross. I'd walked past the former Hackney /Bethnal Green gasworks plenty of times previously but they never cease to impress me. I'm not sure how much longer they will still be in their current state as there seems to be a new, large development on the horizon. It seems like the external structure may be retained in some form, like the ones at King's Cross (see further down this page). It's a bit of a shame but better I guess than losing them completely. For anyone with a thirst to know more about London's lost power stations and gasworks, check out this excellent book by Ben Pedroche.

The Hackney / Bethnal Green gasholders

Heading further along the canal is part of the 2020 controversial art installation by the architect Jaimie Shorten. Controversial because of apparent lack of planning permission. Originally there were 5 sharks in the installation and they were located in a different place in the canal. It seems this is the only one still on display.

Part of the Shark art installation on the Regent's Canal, by architect Jaimie Shorten

And so, as the light was fading and my feet were aching, I finally made it back to King's Cross. As mentioned above, here is one of the preserved / redeveloped gasholders at King's Cross. Again it's a shame they cannot be seen through, but again this is better than them being demolished.

Repurposed gasholder, King's Cross London

Finally, the last picture, at the very end of my wander, a ghostsign in Coaldrop Yard for the COAL OFFICE. This whole area has been massively redeveloped over the past few years, from once was a huge industrial area consisting mainly of disused and unoccupied buildings, to a thriving cultural, eating and shopping district. The majority of the old buildings have been kept in some form or other, which again is pleasing to see. More about the history and dramatic transformation of the King's Cross area in The King's Cross Story, 200 Years of History in the Railway Lands.

Ghostsign for COAL OFFICE in Coaldrop Yard, King's Cross, London

Once again, many thanks for taking time to read my rambling wanders, always In Search of Space.

An Urban Wander around Kings Cross

Regular readers may remember my first Urban Wander around Kings Cross back in the summer when the weather was simply glorious. Today's urban wander could not have been more different. There were moments of blue sky and sunshine, and I was fortunate enough to be able to get some pictures, but the wind was blowing ferociously.

First up here's an old sign for 

Robert Porter & Co Ltd

Some suggestions on the web that this may have been a brewery at one time.

Old sign in Crinian Street, Kings Cross London

Of all the disused London Underground stations I've seen, this is probably one of my favourites. Unfortunately the howling wind meant that the frayed edge of my iPhone cover kept flapping across the lens, so please excuse the blurry black towards the top of the picture.

 York Road disused London Underground station, Kings Cross

As anyone who's been anywhere near Kings Cross recently will know, the whole area is undergoing a massive redevelopment. The next few pictures all show various aspects of this.

 Redevelopment at Kings Cross, London looking south from Stable Street

This next picture shows some before and after. On the left we have the about to be renovated buildings, and on the right is the former grain store, now occupied by the College of Arts and Design.

 Renovation in progress, Stable Street, Kings Cross, London

Massively disappointed by the over exposure on this picture. There's actually a ghost sign on the building which reads

COAL OFFICE

but alas this does not show very well at all in the picture.

 Old Coal Office, Kings Cross, London

Leaving the main hub of the redevelopment, my wander took me along the canal towards Camden, which presented some good photo opportunities along the way.

 Looking south towards the Kings Cross redevelopment

As my drift continued I came across one of my latest, mild obsessions, a gas tower.

 Gas tower on the Regent's Canal

Continuing along the Regent's Canal is the St. Pancras basin, just before the canal flows under the main line out of St. Pancras station, carrying trains to the continent.

 St. Pancras Basin, London

 Walking beneath the train line out of St. Pancras

I featured this water tower more prominently on my previous wander around Kings Cross, from much closer up, but I though this view of it across the canal was worth sharing.

 Old water tower, Kings Cross, London

    

Urban Wandering: a return visit to the north of King's Cross

Having been hugely impressed with what I discovered on my previous Urban Wander to the north of King's Cross, and with the weather as good as it was during my first visit, I decided to make a return trip. I am fascinated by the building in the middle of this picture, but have absolutely no idea what it is. I found something similar in Tower Hill which turned out to be a hydraulic accumulator tower, but I'm not sure this is the same at all.

St. Pancras Basin, London

And here we have the mystery building again, but from the other side. If anyone knows what this might be, please shout.

St. Pancras Basin, London

Further along the Regent's Canal, past the now completely redeveloped Granary Square, which I blogged about last time, I spotted these two buildings which were presumably part of the former King's Cross goods yard. The red roofed building on the right looked particularly impressive from a distance.

 

Buildings undergoing redevelopment, King's Cross, London

Unfortunately this was the nearest I could get to the red roofed building from the other side as the site is all boarded up as part of the ongoing King's Cross redevelopment.

Buildings undergoing redevelopment, King's Cross, London

Urban Wandering: south of King's Cross, London WC1

For some reason I have managed to get a bit out of sync with my postings. These pictures actually pre-date my previous King's Cross post by a day or two. On this particular urban wander I ventured south of King's Cross, along the Grays Inn Road, on the look out for ghost signs. Howver, I found myself drifting back towards a few mews off the main drag. For those of you who read this blog prior to my fairly recent, minor obsession with ghost signs, will know that tracking down quiet London mews was probably my first excursion into the world of psychogeography. Mews generally look good on any day of the year, but with a near perfect blue sky as a back drop, they are unsurpassed ... and to have no cars in sight is also a rare bonus.

 Brownlow Mews, London WC1

Brownlow Mews, London WC1

Thought this double-arched entrance looked unusual and interesting.

 

Wren Street, London WC1

This last shot is probably my favourite of the batch, but more for its subject matter rather than for any photographic skills (or lack of). This is a garage just to the south of King's Cross station. The sign above the door reads, "C.E.Norris & Sons Ltd. Offices 73/5 Kenton St., Phone. TER 4577". The letters "TER" which prefix the four digit phone number relate to the telephone exchange name, in this case Terminus.

Old sign on a garage in Whidbourne Street, King's Cross, London, WC1