A short urban wander from Greenwich to New Cross, taking in some lost pubs and ghostsigns on the way

 I've become slightly obsessed with this part of South London of late, first and foremost because of the excellent record shop, Upsidedown Records, on Deptford High Street, but also because it's not an area I have explored that much before. After filling my boots with lots of vinyl goodness, initially at Music and Video Exchange in Greenwich, I left Greenwich and headed towards Deptford. Rather than taking the main road as I'd done previously, I walked through a narrow path next to St Alfege Church called St Alfege Passage, which brings you out on the corner of Roan Street and Churchfields.

The first point of interest I spotted was Number 16. It looks like it was a boutique hotel but I'm not sure it still is given the fact that the online reviews are all several years old. Interesting signage nevertheless with the old Nectar Tea sign on the wall.

Number 16, St Alfege Passage and Roan Street, Greenwich, South London

Directly opposite Number 16 is a former pub, The Earl Grey, at 1 Churchfields. This old pub is now used as a private residence but still has the old pub sign, dated 1913, and the green tiling adorning the façade of the building. The buildings either side of the former pub look relatively new but I'm not sure whether the pub would have stood on its own, or whether the adjacent buildings have long since been demolished. 

Former pub, The Earl Grey, 1 Churchfields, Greenwich, South London SE10

Continuing on my journey to Deptford, I came across what is possibly still a school, with separate entrances for boys and girls, on Randall Place, complete with the original signage above the doorways.

Boys and Girls entrances for a school on Randall Place, Greenwich, South London SE10

One of the buildings which dominates this part of Greenwich, and has done so since 1897, is the Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills. The building, which sits on Deptford Creek, is now in residential use but the original signage still remains.

Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills, Deptford Creek and Greenwich High Road, South London SE22

Keeping on the old signage theme, although nowhere near as old as the mills sign, is what I assumed used to be some sort of internet café back in the days before everyone has internet connections at home. The building is in quite a sorry state of repair, with boarded up windows and a shuttered threshold.

Old sign for Internet Access, Greenwich High Road, South London

From here I headed up the Deptford High Street to get my vinyl fix at Upsidedown records. I didn't take any pictures on that part of the walk as I've already covered that in my post An Urban Wander from Deptford to Greenwich, when I walked in the other direction.

After leaving Deptford I headed towards New Cross with the intention of hopping on the London Overground to take me north for some more exploring. En route I came across these two simply wonderful ghostsigns on opposite side of the New Cross Road. I'd seen the first one before but somehow completely managed to miss the second one previously, Anyway, here they are in all their glory. The first one is a massive ghostsign, for Brymay Safety Matches, taking up almost the entire side of a building.

Ghostsign for Brymay Safety Matches, New Cross Road and Alpha Road, South London

I'm not sure how I managed to miss this one on previous visits as it's almost opposite the Brymay ghostsign, but anyway here it is, another wonderful example of a huge ghostsign, this time for Lipton's Tea, The Finest The World Produces, which is on the corner of Mornington Road and New Cross Road. I wonder what could have happened to the 'L'. The brickwork behind looks the same so that doesn't suggest any structural alterations. Maybe it was simply cleaned off?

Ghostsign for Lipton's Tea, Mornington Road and New Cross Road, South London

And finally for this blogpost, not a ghostsign, but certainly an old sign, for The New Cross House, still operating under the same name as a pub.

Old sign for The New Cross House, New Cross Road, South London

As usual, many thanks for taking the time to read the post, I hope you've enjoyed it. Until next time ...

A lunchtime wander to West Brompton

Despite the grey skies, and menacing clouds, I braved the elements and ventured out. A round trip to West Brompton is just about possible within a lunch hour, and there are fortunately various routes to get there, so plenty of scope for wandering along new roads. I have previously visited West Brompton but I think only from the opposite direction.

London has plenty of Peabody housing, courtesy of social visionary George Peabody. As well as being architecturally striking, many have interesting signage. I'd like to have taken a few more pictures here but I felt I was intruding too much into people's personal space.

Signage on the Peabody houses, Lillie Road, London

Along the same stretch of road was a former school, with the segregated school entrance signs still visible. Just a few yards away from the Girls & Infants entrance was the Boys entrance.

Girls & Infants entrance to former school, Lillie Road, London

When I first saw this ghost sign, I had assumed that I'd seen it before, but then realised that the one I had seen was at the other end of Lillie Road. I can only assume I'd never spotted this massive one before as I had always walked in the opposite direction. Quite pleased with my find though.

Brymay safety matches ghost sign, Lillie Road, West Brompton, London

With the Empress State Building to the left, and the London Overground railway approaching West Brompton station to the right, this piece of open land is in the process of being redeveloped. I'm sure next time I visit it will look completely different.

Wasteland between Empress State Building and London Overground line, West Brompton

On my return route I spotted this ghost sign on Chesson Road. I am fairly sure I had walked this way before but never noticed it. On closer inspection though, the fact that the main part of the sign is a different colour to the rest of the walls suggests it has, until recently perhaps, been covered by a more modern billboard. Unfortunately I cannot make out what it says. Maybe the last word is Hall?

Ghost sign, Chesson Road, Fulham, London

As often seems to happen, when I'm out hunting for ghost signs, almost anything can look like one. I originally took this photo to showcase the boarded-up shop, but also noticed above the shop what could perhaps once have been a ghost sign. Having blown the picture up though, I now think I was imagining it.

Boarded-up shop, Turneville Road, London W14

    

A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 5, Margate to Broadstairs)

And so we come to the final Margate post, which covers a walk along the coast from Margate to  Broadstairs. Once again there is a mixture of different vistas, ranging from the sunny view from the Turner Gallery, through some of the run down seaside attractions, ending up with a sunset and some doorway mosaics in Broadstairs.

After a wonderful breakfast at The Curious Cupcake, we headed to the Turner Gallery for an hour. My wife is the arty one in the family, but as it was free I found it ok, and quite nice to get out of the bracing wind.

Margate bay from the Turner Gallery

For those of you with eagle-eyes, you can just make out the big wheel at Dreamland in the background.

Margate bay from the end of the harbour arm

Unsure of our plans after the gallery, but in the need to walk off the breakfast, we started a drift along the coast, not really having a destination in mind. As we headed east from the gallery the area became more run down. We walked through the boarded-up lido area, which I covered in a previous post and continued along the coast. I couldn't decide what this derelict building was. Perhaps either a bus shelter or simply somewhere to sit and take in the sea view.

Derelict shelter, Margate, Kent

Not far from the shelter was Club Caprice. Although it's now boarded up, it does seems to have had a bit of a hey day from what I've managed to find on the internet, and a sad day when it closed for some I suspect.

Boarded-up building, Margate, Kent

Unfortunately many of the ghost signs facing the actual sea front have been battered by the weather and some are almost all gone. This one is a bit more legible that the one further below. The words I can decipher say

??? 

REMOULDED

24 ETHELBERT Rd

ANTIQUE

FURNITURE

BRIC A BRAC

CURIOS ETC 

Ghost sign, Ethelbert Road, Margate, Kent

This next ghost sign however, whilst once I suspect looking quite magnificent as it covered the entire side of the building, is completely unreadable.

Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

The Little Oasis Crazy Golf course at Cliftonville, Margate, has seen better days.

Abandoned crazy golf course, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

Again another abandoned building where I cannot determine the purpose. Possibly a shelter of some sort?

Derelict building, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

Derelict building, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

This lift takes people between the esplanade and the beach. I'm not sure if it's still in use, or maybe perhaps it's just closed for the off season.

Lift from the esplanade to the beach, Margate, Kent

Lift from the esplanade to the beach, Margate, Kent

Once we'd left the built up area of Margate, much of the walk was a bit barren if I'm honest, and it was blowing a gale so I didn't stop to take many pictures. By the time we'd arrived in Broadstairs however, the sun was out again and just in time to treat us to a wonderful sunset.

Sunset over Broadstairs, Kent

Sunset over Broadstairs, Kent

Unfortunately this meant that by the time we'd arrived in the town it was getting dark. I did manage to take a couple of doorway mosaic photos, but will have to return another day to do a proper visit of the town.

Doorway mosaic, Broadstairs, Kent

Doorway mosaic, Broadstairs, Kent

Well, that concludes the Margate section of the Kent wander. Previous instalments are available starting at a weekend wandering around Kent (part 2, Margate). I still have some photos from Whitstable and Canterbury to share, which hopefully I'll get around to doing later this week.

A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 4, in and around Margate station)

Hello everyone, thanks for returning. Today I'm back with the next instalment of my weekend wandering around Kent. I'm still working through the many pictures I have of Margate, so once again this post will cover Margate, specifically the area in and around the railway station. These pictures were taken on two different days as we made our way from Margate station to venture out to Whitstable on the sunny day, and Canterbury on the dreary day. Blog posts on those two day trips will follow.

First up we have a couple of wonderful ghost signs just outside the station car park. Both are for

ALBERT GARAGE
DOMINION MOTOR SPIRITS

with the one in the shade being in better condition as until relatively recently it would seem to have been protected from the weather as it was covered by a more modern advertising board.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

The Shell sign on the front of the building was only partially complete. I now wished I had ventured up the alley to take a closer look and perhaps a clearer photo of it, but was worried about missing the train.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

In compiling this latest blog post I now realise that I don't actually have any photos of the front of the station, which is a shame as it's quite a grand, grade II listed building. However what I do have are some pictures showing other aspects of the station's architecture.

The first couple of pictures show the former water tower at the east end of the station.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

The square looking building to the left of the picture is the main entrance to the station, and once again apologies for not having any pictures of the front or the interior to share.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

Platform Canopy, Margate Station, Kent

The Big Wheel at Dreamland from Margate Station, Kent

And so on to the second visit to the station, marred only by the dismal weather. When I first spotted this ghost sign I had not realised that the Albert Garage was in fact still an active operation just around the corner.

Albert Garage Ghost sign, Margate Station, Kent

During the previous day's trip out of Margate on the train, I noticed some abandoned looking platforms to the side of the station. With a bit more time to spare before the train left I ventured beyond the confines of the station to see what these were. A bit of internet research revealed these to be a former parcels depot and sidings, of which some parts were more derelict than others.

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Thanks for reading ... and so we come to the end of another Margate post, with probably just about enough material for one more. In case you missed the previous posts on Margate these can be found at a weekend wandering around Kent (part 2, Margate) and Margate again (from abandonment to Dreamland).

A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 3, Margate again, from abandonment to Dreamland)

As hinted at in my previous post, a Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 2, Margate), I had far too much material for a single blog post, so here's the 2nd instalment of the Margate section of my recent visit to Kent. Again this post covers all sorts of aspects of Margate, from abandonment to dreamland.

The pictures in today's blog post were all taken as we walked to Margate station, which will have it's own blog post later, on a day trip to Whitstable, which will also have its own blog post.

First up we have what seemed to be half a street of abandoned and boarded up buildings, I think along Bath Road. The one on the left looks as though it may have been a factory or warehouse of some description, whereas the one on the right looks like it may have been a shop. Hopefully the attractive brick buildings on the left will be restored and escape the bulldozer.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

The boarded up buildings continued for quite a way.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

This one was a little more curious. It may have been a shop but also reminded me, in a strange way, of electricity substations I have seen in London.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

As we left the abandonment behind us, we headed towards the station via the sea front, taking in Dreamland. Originally opened in 1880 but not using the Dreamland name until 1920. It's had a somewhat chequered history but I'm pleased to say that it now seems to be enjoying a new lease of life, with some attractions open even in the off-peak season. It's rise and fall and rise again is well documented in various publications, like Dreamland Revived: The Story of Margate's Famous Amusement Park.

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Roller Disco, Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

And finally for the 2nd Margate instalment, a quick doorway mosaic to finish off.

Doorway mosaic, Margate, Kent

I've now realised that the Margate post within the Kent post is likely to run to 4, if not 5 posts. My next Margate post will look at Margate station and the area around it, taken on two days, one beautifully sunny, the other unfortunately a bit grim. So stay tuned for more folks.