Lavender Hill & Wandsworth Rd: On Sunday twenty eighth Might 1989 I once more took the prepare to Clapham Junction, with time for a fairly longer stroll than I had made the day past.
A brief stroll up Lavender Hill from the station introduced me to Altenburg Gardens and this outstanding Grade II listed ‘Arts and Crafts’ Reference Library. Preliminary designs by Borough Surveyor 1924 T W A Hayward had been handled to appreciable enhancements by his architectural assistant Henry Hyams who was appointed in January 1924 and was chargeable for the weird constructing we see at present.
Hyams was – because the Survey of London at UCL Bartlett suggests “an obscure however intriguing determine, who had frolicked in central Europe within the Edwardian decade earlier than settling in Devon. He had superior views – Esperanto, theosophy – maybe atypical of a Hackney publican’s son, and had frolicked in Wandsworth jail in the course of the First World Struggle for his trenchant pacifism”. His fairly eclectic “Arts and Crafts” design got here nicely after the model had gone out of vogue and included some uncommon ornament in addition to the Council’s motto ‘ NON MIHI, NON TIBI, SED NOBIS’ (Not for Me, Not for You, However for Us) over the principle doorway.
Altenberg Gardens had been developed within the late Eighties, and has some substantial late Victorian housing however I didn’t proceed alongside it to {photograph} these however returned to Lavender Hill.
The reference library was an extension linked to the principle Battersea Central Library on Lavender Hill which had been inbuilt 1889-90, shortly after Battersea had managed to achieve its standing as a separate sacristy from Wandsworth.
Battersea Sacristy held a contest for the constructing of the central Library and the winner was native architect Edward Mountford who had submitted the one design of ten submissions that was throughout the Sacristy’s funds of £6,000.
Edward Mountford went on to win an extra competitors towards designs by one other 11 architects to design a brand new city corridor for the Sacristy of St Mary Battersea which was erected in 1891-3 and continued to serve the native authority till 1965. Right here the funds was significantly bigger and it exhibits on this Grade II* constructing, which in accordance with the itemizing textual content has “Aid sculpture by Paul R Montford. Ornamental plasterwork by Gilbert Seale of Camberwell. Mosaic flooring by the Vitreous Mosaic Co, Battersea.“
That is the Grand Corridor Entrance on City Corridor Highway, of which I made a number of footage. The design was described by Mountford as ‘primarily English Renaissance, although maybe handled considerably freely’. And it had included this separate entrance on the east aspect to the big public corridor on the rear of the constructing. There are detailed descriptions of the constructing within the Survey of London on the UCL Bartlett Faculty of Structure web site.
When Battersea turned once more united with Wandsworth within the London Borough of Wandsworth in 1965, this constructing was made redundant. Wandworth’s plans to demolish a lot of it had been defeated by a public marketing campaign by the Victorian Society and Battersea Society and it was Grade II* listed in 1970. It turned a group arts centre in 1974 and regardless of a serious hearth in 2015 which required intensive rebuilding continues in use as Battersea Arts Centre. I appeared briefly on stage there in 2017 in a after-performance panel dialogue ‘Artwork & Unintentional Activism’ after a Lung Theatre efficiency of ‘E15’.
This entire part of Lavender Hill together with the scrap steel retailers Chase Metals at 92 has been demolished. There’s a constructing courting from 2015 at 100 Lavender Hill however nothing on the road between this an No 66 besides a hedge in entrance of the 5 storey housing blocks on Wandsworth’s Gideon Highway Property.
I walked to the tip of Lavender Hill and continued alongside Wandsworth Highway, strolling a brief distance down Lambourn Highway to {photograph} these homes earlier than returning to Wandsworth Highway. This street was laid out initially of enormous scale improvement of the realm within the 1860s by Eken and Williams and the homes this terrace are bigger than most with three storeys and a basement.
I appreciated the steps up within the roofline, partly with an additional storey but in addition as the homes go up the hill, in addition to the repeated ornament abouve the home windows and doorways.
The Hibbert Almshouses had been inbuilt 1859 to offer lodging for older girls from the Historical Parish of Clapham, commissioned by Sarah and Mary Ann Hibbert, in reminiscence of their father William Hibbert, a long-term resident of Clapham.
The Hibbert Almshouse Charity was established in 1864 to take over the working from the sisters and nonetheless manages the buildings for his or her orginal goal, though married {couples} and single males of the suitable age at the moment are additionally accepted as residents – although desire is given to girls if there may be multiple applicant when a home falls vacant.
The architect of those Grade II listed almshouses was Edward I’Anson and the constructing is essentially unchanged though bogs had been added within the Nineteen Sixties. The charity is at the moment elevating funds for a manor renovation and donations are welcome.
The account of my stroll will proceed in a later publish.
Tags: 1989, Altenburg Gardens, Arts and Crafts, Battersea, Battersea Arts Centre, Battersea Reference Library, Clapham, Edward Mountford, English Renaissance, Grand Corridor Entrance, Henry Hyams, Hibbert Almshouse Charity, Hibbert Almshouses, homes, Lambeth, Lambourn Rd, Lavender Hill, London, London Pictures, peter Marshall, Scrap Steel Retailers, City Corridor Highway, Wandsworth, Wandsworth Rd
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