A return Urban Wander around Brackenbury, London W6

From our offices, I frequently used to take lunchtime wanders out towards Brackenbury, which is a residential area of London with a village-like feel, situated near Hammersmith and Ravenscourt Park. When I looked back through the notes from my various urban wanderings, or dérive, I was surprised to see that I had not been here since 2013. With the weather clear, but crisp and cold, I wrapped up warm and headed out.

It never ceases to amaze me that I always spot something new, even on familiar wanders, and this building was no exception. This is a former mission hall, sitting rather curiously in the middle of a row of neat terraced houses, and now home to the John Campbell Scenic Studio.

John Campbell Scenic Studio, former Mission Hall, Iffley Road, London W6

Not far from Iffley Road, although I'm kicking myself now for not noting down the road name, was an unexpected and isolated piece of street art in an otherwise pristine neighbourhood.

Street art, London W6

I took the photo for the combination of chimneys, towers and scaffolding.

Holy Innocents Church, Dorville Crescent, London W6

I'm now wishing I had taken a picture of the full doors rather than just the stained glass windows.

Stained glass windows, Ravenscourt Park Mansions, London W6

And finally on this short drift, a brightly painted bridge carrying the Piccadilly and District lines. I'm always curious about this road and wonder whether the road itself was dropped beneath the level of the houses to allow higher vehicles to pass beneath. 

London Underground railway bridge, near Ravenscourt Park, London W6

    

Another Urban Wander in and around Shoreditch, London (part 2)

Having been inundated with work over the past couple of weeks, and now having contracted man-flu, this second installment is later than planned. Purely by chronological serendipity this post seems to feature mainly street art, ghost signs and other signs.

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

When I first saw this sign I was a bit unsure whether it was old, new or renovated. However a quick bit of internet research revealed that it was in fact the sign for C.H.N. Katz, the string and paper bag wholesalers.

Former sign for Jewish shop sign, Brick Lane, Shoreditch

Ghost sign, corner of Brick Lane and Princelet Street, Shoreditch, London

This was easily my favourite piece of street art that I saw during this wander. Reminds me a bit of a early 1980's anarco-punk record sleeve.

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Not sure if this saree centre is still a going concern. I am assuming not as there was not sign of use and the phone number on the sign is an old London format.

Old sign, Shoreditch, London

Another fantastic, old sign on a re purposed building.

Old sign, Shoreditch, London

A distressed look, but I suspect deliberately so?

Old buildings, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

    

Part 3 will hopefully follow in the next few days.

Another return Urban Wander around Shoreditch, London

Well, firstly welcome back to the internet. I have been without proper broadband for over 2 weeks now, but now thankfully today we are fully connected again, and at a super speed. I have however been busy during my period off line, and activities have included several urban wanders, of which this post chronicles a small part, and also listening to my old vinyl records on my recently purchased Denon turntable ... more of which I will cover in a subsequent post pondering my mid-life crisis.

So, as alluded to above, this post will be split into two or three parts. All the contents are taken from a recent, return visit to Shoreditch and its surrounding areas, but there's quite a few photos so I thought it best to split into parts rather than blast you all with one large post. I did originally think of collating them into some sort of categorised grouping, street art, ghost signs, abandonment, etc., but instead just decided to post them in chronological order, so here goes ...

First up we have a mix of billboard posters and street art. Not sure what the building that's been adorned is but looks like it's been disused a while.

Street art, Osborn Street, Shoreditch, London

Either this next building a little further down Osbourn Street has been recently abandoned, or the corrugated iron is temporary and allows access to whatever is hidden behind it. 

Abandonment, Osborn Street, Shoreditch, London

I particularly like this street art, possibly commissioned by the cocktail bar whose shuttered doorway it adorns.

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Unfortunately this next picture did not come out quite as I'd have liked and the lettering in the brickwork is only barely visible, but I think it says

YE FRYING PAN

which I presume was once a pub, and is now a Bangladeshi restaurant.

The old and the new, Shoreditch, London

As Osborn Street becomes Brick Lane, it's still not especially bust at this end of the road.

 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London

Presumably an old theatre or cinema, now home to an Indian restaurant and a lettings management company.

Old cinema or theatre, Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London

I'm not sure how long this old sign has been exposed for, but it has been impeccably preserved behind whatever newer signage more recently covered it.

Ghost sign, corner of Brick Lane and Fashion Street, Shoreditch, London

Ghost sign, corner of Brick Lane and Fashion Street, Shoreditch, London

Ghost sign, corner of Brick Lane and Fashion Street, Shoreditch, London

Having been completely distracted by the ghost sign on the corner, I almost overlooked the view down Fashion Street.

Fashion Street, Shoreditch, London

Another old meets new with a new(ish) sign for an Indian restaurant affixed on top of an old pub sign, well I think it's a pub sign as the first word looks like it says

WATNEYS

Hidden ghost sign, Shoreditch, London

And now on to the street art part of the wander ...

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Street art, Shoreditch, London

Thanks for reading. Second and third installments to follow in the next few days now that I have an internet connection again.

    

An Urban Wander from Shoreditch to Islington, London

With the evenings firmly in the grip of winter darkness, it's very difficult to manage to do any urban wandering after work, but fortunately this week I had some time on my hands during daylight hours. For this particular Urban Wander, I have returned to one of my favourite haunts, Shoreditch, from where I drifted northwards until I hit the Regents Canal. The whole of Shoreditch and surrounding area is home to a wide range of ever-changing street art. Here are just a couple of examples that I'd either not seen previously, or not photographed before.

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

I'm not quite sure what this fabulous old building is used for now, but pretty sure it's no longer the Haggerston Branch of the Shoreditch Library.

Former library, Shoreditch, London N1

This ghost sign is not as old as many I've seen in this area, but I like it all the same.I can make out some of the writing, but not all of it.

Medallion
Homes

? Borders Limited
? Orford Road
Walthamstow

Ghost sign, Mill Row, Hoxton, London N1

Now we come to the part of the wander where I turned my attentions to the Regents Canal, walking from Kingsland Road to Islington. The first thing that struck me about this canal was how busy the towpath was. I really had to pick my timing to get some of these pictures to avoid the passing pedestrians and cyclists. Secondly, I had stumbled across a district in London that was new to me, De Beauvoir. I only really saw it from the canal, and like so many other places I only scratched the surface, so have made a mental note to return.

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

This ghost sign on the former Rosemary Works building, or rather two separate ghost signs, is across the canal from the Thomas Briggs factory above. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to decypher any of the words.

Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Back to the Thomas Briggs factory once more, which seemed to have something interesting on every facade.

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1 

Conscious that I was running out of time, I made my way quickly along the canal towpath towards a chimney tower I could see in the distance. Initially I thought this was the one on the Diespeker building that I'd been to before, but was pleased to discover this was in fact another one at Eagle Wharf. Unfortunately the weather was rather overcast and I'm sure this tower would look much better with a blue sky background. Next time maybe.

Eagle Wharf, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

So this next chimney tower is the one on the former Diespeker marble works.

Diespeker Wharf, Islington, London

Having now run out of time, as I left the towpath near Islington, the sun had finally managed to burn through the early morning mist, allowing me to get at least one photo with a blue sky. This is an abandoned pub, just off the canal in Islington.

Abandoned pub, Islington, London

    

An Urban Wander around Paddington and Edgware Road, London

Still very much inspired by the world of Psychogeography, my Urban Wanders around London continue as and when I can find time, and if the weather allows. This week I only managed a brief drift around the Paddington and Edgware Road areas. The gray skies were not filling me with optimism but I was pleased with my haul for the day.

Most of the Paddington Basin area has now been redeveloped, leaving few traces of its past, but there are a few reminders of its more industrial past here and there.

Old canal side buildings, Paddington Basin, London

Old canal side buildings, Paddington Basin, London

Heading west from Paddington, across the Regents canal, I crossed the Edgware Road and made my way down Church Street with its various Friday market stalls. I had walked down this road before but, as often happens, I spotted things I'd never seen before, like this piece of street art.

Street art, Church Street, London NW8

These next two photos show the changing times of the street. The first picture shows the former Duke of York pub, now a Halal food restaurant, but still preserving the original pub sign.

Old pub sign, Church Street, London NW8

Further down Church Street I spotted this old sign for a sweet shop, appropriately perhaps now sitting above a vintage shop.

Old shop sign, Church Street, London NW8