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 ...

An Urban Wander from Deptford to Greenwich

 Until recently I'd never really spent any time in Deptford in South London. However, of late, thanks mainly to the wonderful Upsidedown record shop on Deptford High Street, I've made a couple of visits. This blog post features some pictures and commentary from a recent urban wander I did, starting in Deptford, walking along the Thames path to Greenwich.

First up we have Manze's meat pie shop on Deptford High Street. I was immediately drawn to this shop by its wonderful signage. Many shops that have similar signage have long since been re-purposed but it was good to see that Manze's is still an active pie shop, and has been since 1902 apparently.

Manze's Meat Pie Shop, Deptford High Street, South London

Also on, or rather just off, Deptford High Street, are a couple of old signs, pointing people in the direction of the nearest air raid shelters in which to take cover during World War II. The first one looks as though it could still be the original one, although a shame about the 'alteration'. The second has clearly been restored at some stage.

Former air raid shelter sign, Deptford, South London

Former air raid shelter sign, Deptford, South London

As I headed north out of Deptford to the river I came across this wonderful piece of graffiti, 

STEVE NOLLER WEARS FLARES

which is perhaps the ultimate insult, or not.

Graffiti, Deptford, South London

Beyond the graffiti, the road narrowed and turned into a narrow, cobbled street, aptly named Watergate Street, leading to the River Thames.

Watergate Street leading out from Deptford to the River Thames

Although most of November and December 2023 were just grey and wet, I was fortunate enough to be walking on one of  the rare, cold and clear days. As Watergate Street reached its end, it opened out on to the river, affording some impressive views. I always find Canary Wharf quite soulless when I'm there, but seen from a distance it is quite impressive, particularly against the beautiful blue sky.

Canary Wharf as seen across the River Thames from Deptford

Just along the Thames is the former Paynes Paper Wharf building, which is now some sort of design studio. It's hard to make out in this picture but the lettering of its former purpose can just be seen above the arched windows, which incidentally are the only remaining feature of the original building. There are some pictures showing it in various stages of renovation here. 

 The former Paynes Paper Wharf building

As the walk continued along the Thames I came across the southern entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel, engineered by Alexander Binnie and opened in 1902, which takes pedestrians and bike beneath the river to Island Gardens on the north side.

Southern entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel

Having been to Greenwich itself many times before, I didn't really stop there but as I reached its eastern edge, I came across the Trafalgar Tavern, looking resplendent with all the flags blowing gently against the backdrop of Canary Wharf in the winter breeze.

The Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich, South London

Beyond the more commercial part of Greenwich is the former Greenwich power station and its former coal jetty. London's lost power stations have such a rich history, much of which is lost but some still remains for the curious explorer. Inspired by this, and my visit to similar sites such as the Lots Road power station, I bought a book on London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks, by Ben Pedroche, which I can highly recommend for anyone with a thirst for industrial history.

Former coal jetty at Greenwich power station

Further along the river, beyond Greenwich is the former Harbour Master's Office. 

Former Harbour Master's Office, Greenwich

And finally in this post, a view across the River Thames, taken as the sun was beginning to set.

View across the River Thames from Greenwich

Many thanks for reading this post. Hopefully I will continue to post new material on a more frequent basis than recently.

An Urban Wander from Deptford Bridge to Greenwich, London

Having stayed up in London one or two nights per week on-and-off for the past few years, since changing jobs it's quite a rarity I get to London these days, and staying over is even more unusual. However, there was a very special reason we were visiting the capital ... to see The Orb at the Royal Festival Hall, for an ambient evening with them and some of their friends, one of who was Youth who I'd last seen at the Stroud Leisure Centre in 1982 as part of Killing Joke (but that's another story). Whilst the majority of this post will be about the Urban Wandering we did the following day, I couldn't resist sharing just a couple of pictures from the evening.

The Orb, playing live at the Royal Festival Hall, April 21st 2017

The Orb, playing Little Fluffy Clouds live at the Royal Festival Hall, April 21st 2017

Anyway, enough of the ambient-dub diversion, and on to the urban wandering. I've been to Greenwich plenty of times before but never really to the nearby Deptford Bridge, nor to the parts of Greenwich we ended up wandering around. My only real association with Deptford was through the 1970's record label Deptford Fun City, which was the label who released the very first single by Squeeze, Packet of Three, and also a vast array of records by Alternative TV who I have only recently discovered.

Our wander started from just outside the hotel where we stayed for the gig and soon we were into areas of London I'd never seen before but started firing up my psychogeographical yearnings once more.

First up we have the former Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills. I had seen this before but only ever from the Docklands Light Railway. Whilst this has now been converted into some fairly luxurious apartments, it's good to see that the exterior architecture and signage remains in place.

Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills, Deptford Bridge, London

Deptford Bridge is an area of contrasts. It's undergoing a fairly major redevelopment with flats being built everywhere, so I guess it's only a matter of time before this property is updated. If you ever wondered why your internet connection was a bit slow, then this may be the reason why.

Derelict building, Deptford Bridge, London

Trying to find a way to walk along the side of Deptford Creek we cam across more abandonment, this time in the shape of a former pub, The Thames.

Abandoned pub, Deptford Bridge, London

Abandoned pub, Deptford Bridge, London

After wandering through some more of Deptford Bridge, we headed back into Greenwich. I have deliberately not included any pictures from the more usual parts of Greenwich, although I did try and take a shot of the entrance to the foot tunnel but there were so many tourists posing there to have their picture taken I gave it up as a bad job. Instead we continued on along the bank of the Thames, past the Cutty Sark towards Greenwich Power Station, which I was very surprised to find is still in use today. Those of you who have read my previous blog posts will know that at one stage I was slightly obsessed with power stations and gas works, driven mainly by the fantastic book, London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks by Ben Pedroche. The power station is quite magnificent and can be seen from a good distance away.

Looking towards Greenwich Power Station from the west

Sitting beneath the shadow of the power station, but predating it by centuries is the Trinity Hospital and Alms Houses, originally built in 1613, rebuilt in 1812 and still in use today providing sheltered accommodation.

Greenwich Power Station and the Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

The next set of pictures are all of the former coal jetty attached to the power station. Despite trying a variety of angles I couldn't quite get the picture I was hoping for.

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

A little further along the Thames from the power station is the former Harbour Master's Office, still displaying the signage.

Former Harbour Master's Office, Greenwich, London

Not as if anyone needed it, but there are reminders of Greenwich's maritime heritage everywhere. Here we see a quaint little row of houses in Union Wharf.

Union Wharf, Greenwich, London

Union Wharf, Greenwich, London

You may have noticed the sky becoming increasingly duller in each photo, and sure enough it started to rain so we headed back for the warmth of Greenwich itself. Having completed a circuit around the

power station, this is the view from the back. And as a bit of a bonus there was a sundial on the back of one of the Trinity Hospital buildings. Alas however the sun was not shining.

Greenwich Power Station, Greenwich, London

Sundial on the back of Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

As we headed back into Greenwich the heavens really started to open so pictures are few and far between, but I was determined to take this one despite the rain running down my neck into my shirt.

Canary Wharf through the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

As way of reward after battling our way through the rain, we treated ourselves to spot of lunch at the really rather wonderful Champagne et Fromage in Greenwich. I have to confess that initially we only went in there to get a hot drink, get out of the rain, and plan the next part of our day, but having seen the food we simply couldn't resist.

Lunch at Champagne et Fromage, Greenwich, London