Paul's Popular Poplar Perambulation - Part Two - Sunday 30th March

Luck was once again with us on the second leg of the tour round the borough Poplar and the sun shone as we made our way back to Limehouse to resume our journey thought part of the East End. Close by Westferry Station on the DLR is the Dragon's Gate, a nice piece of modern artwork, located at the corner of Mandarin Street and reflecting the area's Chinese connection as do many of the immediate street names.

Proceeding up the West India Dock Road we were reminded of the area's nautical past by a number of the buildings still clinging on gamely in an area of much change in recent years. A sail-makers and chandlers building , four storeys high to accommodate the sail making, bears testament to an old art. Built in 1860, the building may not have had a long working life, as steam ships were already taking over from sail. At the junction of West India and East India Docks Road stand the old Eastern Hotel - or so you would think! The shell of the building remains, surrounded by hoardings painted with an image of the building as it was - very much a 'ghost' of the past . The area is also dominated by what were once seamen's hostels, the Sailor's Palace, headquarters of the British and Foreign Sailor's Society and the Sailor's Mission, the latter now having been restored and like many of the large warehouses in the docks, converted into luxury flats. There are also two surviving operational gas lamps outside the Star of India public house, though the 200 year old funeral parlour next door has sadly disappeared.

After a brief encounter with one of the locals in need of an audience, we went down the steps onto the towpath of the Limehouse Cut (built to allow shipping between the Thames and the Lea to avoid having to go around the Isle of Dogs) and popped up to street level in Newell Street , a nice row of houses in front of St Anne's Church. Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, St Anne's became the parish church of Limehouse on completion in 1729 and was named after Queen Anne. Because of its location, the church became a Trinity House 'seamark', a place put on navigational charts to guide ships pilots, and is one of the very few buildings allowed to fly the White Ensign - a red cross on a white background with the Union Jack in the upper corner. The ball on the spire of the church is designed to replicate the one at Greenwich and the clock is synchronised with Greenwich as it is in a direct line of sight. There is also a mysterious pyramid in the churchyard, possible designed to have been placed on the roof of the church at the opposite end to the tower. Many stories have been suggested of why Hawksmoor chose a pyramid shape, from devil worship to the masons, but no one really knows!

As we discovered at the end of the last walk, the DLR now occupies the line of the old London and Blackwall Railway, and by a small shop that is now the only remains of Limehouse Station it was a good time to learn about the fact that the original line was powered by a cable, attached to the carriages and with winders at both ends, Blackwall and the Minories respectively, known as the 'four penny rope'.

At the point where we reached Narrow Street it was possible to see how the docks and the warehouses dominated the area in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Even though the Thames was barely a stone's throw away, access was severely limited by the warehouses and docking areas. A row of Georgian terrace houses on Narrow Street is a rare survivor in London, particularly considering that the other side of the street was heavily damaged during the Second World War, so much so that only one building - a public house - was left standing. This is now known as "The House They Left Behind"!

After a quick lunch stop in the Ropemaker's Field park (another remnant of the area's nautical past) we made our way to Limehouse Basin, still populated with boats of many shapes and sizes, and from which stems the Regent's Canal. The canal was another useful link, this time to take goods through Camden and thence to the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal and on to Brentford, saving considerable time and money in freight shipping. We met a group of people here using canoes to clear litter from the canal, and thought that we might try to establish a link with them, perhaps to help out sometime. They were the Lower Regents Coalition and for more informatin click here.

We followed the canal up past Salmon's Lane lock, then up to Ben Johnson Road, where we left the canal to cross into Mile End Park. Here still stands the Ragged School, opened by Dr Barnado in 1877 to give the poor children of the area a basic education. The building is now a museum and is open on some weekday and weekend afternoons.

Mile End Park was originally planned as a green space to link Limehouse with Victoria Park in Hackney during Queen Victoria's reign. Most of the plans were abandoned, but the part with the 'broad road with tree lined avenues' did come to pass after a fashion. Burdett Road - named after another Victorian philanthropist, Angela Burdett Coutts - does indeed run all the way up to Hackney. It took until 1996 for the rest of the plan to catch up; the industrial land that had been heavily bombed during WWII was cleared, and the the park - including a green bridge crossing the Mile End Road - finally made it to link with Victoria Park.

We didn't follow that route though, but went sideways, to stay in Poplar. After all it is still a Poplar perambulation! That manoeuvre led us to Bow Common Lane which, as the name suggests, was once common land for farming and some small industries such as rope making. The original Victorian houses there, although small, are nowadays considered highly desirable and are now priced way beyond the working class families who once lived there. A dog-leg led us into Tower Hamlets Cemetery, one of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries in London (the others being Highgate, Kensal Green, Brompton, Abney Park, Nunhead and West Norwood). It is a lovely space and a pleasant walking place for the locals and, although less that 100 yards or so from the Mile End Road, is remarkably quiet! That distance is marked by the back of the St Clements Hospital - formerly a workhouse, then a psychiatric hospital, and soon to become - like many of the more attractive large buildings in the area - housing. In this case, though, the Trust which is developing the site wants to make the housing affordable.

Leaving the cemetery we continued along a lane called Hamlets Way and, crossing to Wellington Way, we passed the Wellington Buildings which were built to house people displaced by the construction of the railway. Our route now took us over the District and Metropolitan Underground line and then under another railway arch past some nicely designed new houses, including a converted electricity substation. We turned into Campbell Road, with its mix of terraced and more widely spaced but all very nice houses, and ultimately reached the Bow Road.

Well it had to happen - not only because you have to touch Bow Road at some point but because a short distance to the right of Campbell Road stands Bow Church DLR station where we started our journey at the beginning of the month. We are very much better informed about some of the local urban history now - who knew that Poplar could be so Popular?!

Leader and Group: Paul Ferris, with Amina, Duncan, Fozi, Fred, Jill V., Lynne, Sue U.   Distance 3 miles

Sue Ullersperger, April 2014

A Copped Hall Weekend for EFOG - Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th March 2014

It was another interesting weekend for EFOG, both days involving Copped Hall, the Georgian Mansion near Epping which is being restored.  

On Saturday, 8th March, over 20 walkers from EFOG (and including a few of Peter B's. Scouts Troop) met at Copped Hall for a rather muddy evening walk in the surrounding fields and forest, led by Peter G. Thankfully the route had dried out a bit with the better weather over the last few days. It was a lovely evening with a beautiful half-moon - and were they deer silhouetted against the clear sky? Yes, they were! Epping Forest has large herds of Fallow Deer. Duncan lit a welcoming fire in Copped Hall, and upon their return, the group enjoyed a meal of fish and chips in the warm, eaten out of the paper, and tasting all the better while sitting in a partly restored mansion. They do actually have plates there, but who wants to do the washing-up?! 

As part of EFOG's community work, on Sunday, 9th March, I had arranged a work morning at Copped Hall. The volunteers there meet every Sunday morning to continue the ongoing work, and 10 of our members joined them to help. The 10 were in addition to the 4 EFOG members who are regulars there most Sundays.  Most helped in the grounds, clearing the lawns of leaves and twigs which had accumulated over the winter. It was a beautiful warm morning, which resulted in much stripping off of winter clothes! Katie, my Greyhound, was overseeing the work, making sure no-one slacked - from her reclined position sunbathing on the grass! Others helped in the mansion, moving bricks by wheelbarrow from inside the house to an area outside where they were going to be used. After a strenuous morning, most were pleased to go to the "Forest Gate" Pub in Epping, for a welcoming pint and some lunch!

The work achieved over the years at Copped Hall has been amazing, but there is still a long way to go. The mansion had burnt down in 1917, and the Copped Hall Trust took over the derelict building in 1995. They hold regular events to raise money. For more information, the website is www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk

Maz.,   10th March 2014       Photos by Peter Gamble

Paul's Popular Poplar Perambulation - Saturday 1st March

Who knew just how popular the Borough of Poplar could be? Last Saturday a small group from EFOG were to find out, on a highly interesting walk through the east end of London, led by Paul Ferris. From our start at Bow Church DLR, we headed back 700 years to the 'church in the middle of the road', Bow Church, now perched at the western end of the Bow flyover, a much busier route than the pastoral scene depicted in a portrait inside the church. We were lucky to find the church open, preparing for a coffee morning (just a little later than we could offer our participation in) and were able to have a look round, purchasing some very interesting guide books while we were there. Nature also put in an appearance in the churchyard with a lovely mistle thrush perched on a yew tree attempting to get at the berries.

The "Bun House" in Devons RoadThe group headed down Bromley High Street to the parish of St. Leonard, roughly following the line of the Blackwall tunnel approach road heading south and west. In our view though for much of the time was the Bryant and May match factory, best seen from the DLR train as it turns the corner to head south towards Canary Wharf. The factory girls famously went on strike after some of the workers who refused to sign a statement made by management that they were happy with their working conditions were sacked by the company. With the help of Annie Beasant, a social reformer, the girls organised themselves into a union, got the company to agree to re-employ those girls who were sacked and drop some of the stringent work conditions they applied, and won a famous victory, helping to introduce unions to other work forces around the country.

Paul told us about the site of St Andrew 's hospital, a large complex serving the east end. This has now gone, replaced by flats, but there is a health centre still on site serving the local population, and still called St Andrew's.

Walking down Devons Road, the group passed by the Widow's Son public house and heard the sad tale of a mother who lodged a hot cross bun at the pub for her son, who was lost at sea and never returned for his treat. Above the bar and still in view is a netting bag containing buns, one of which is added each year in commemoration of the missing son.

Just around the corner in Violet Road, had the industries that populated that road still been in existence, the hospital would no doubt have a lot more visitors. Oil and motor spirits and a gas company all operated along this road, polluting the atmosphere. Quite amazingly, Paul also told us that there had also been an open air swimming pool there. One wonders what the water was like!

The Angel memorial to 18 children killed in a bombing raidHeading down the road towards the Limehouse Cut we came across a much more famous blast from the past - and a happy memory for all pet owners: Spratts pet food factory. This lovely building is still in use, partly as flats , but also as studios for artists who make good use of the light provided by the large factory windows. Who recalls the Spratts logo, the wondrous stretched-out letters that formed the shape of a Scottie dog? An employee of Spratts during the 1870s was Charles Cruft, who was later to found the famous dog show. On the corner of Violet Road and Fawe Street still stands a public air raid shelter (according to the locals filled with rubbish and rats and causing damp) a fairly rare example of a "Morrison Sandwich", and although built above ground, not turned into flats!

We crossed over the DLR line - once the North London Railway - and headed down St. Leonard's Road to view the lovely Victorian Church of St Michael and All Angels, then crossed back over the railway at the ultra-modern Langdon Park DLR, an odd experience as the station is completely open to the street.

We then headed into the Lansbury Estate, built as the "Live Architecture" exhibit for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and into Chrisp Street Market. The group took a break for lunch in good east end style, split between a fish and chip shop and a pie and mash shop, then viewed the still-modern looking primary school which replaced the Victorian schools still prevalent (unless bombed!) in 1951.

Gas worker's cottages and gas-lights in Malam StreetAfter lunch we swung along the East India Dock Road a short distance to All Saints Church and the lovely Georgian houses nearby, then into old Poplar High Street to see the original town hall and library buildings and a house belonging formerly to one of the managers of the East India Company. Concealed behind this was was another rarity - a church built during the Commonwealth reign of Oliver Cromwell. In the park behind the church is a very touching memorial to 18 children, many of them only five years of age, killed during a German air raid in 1917 when a bomb dropped through the roof of their school and passed through two floors to the infant class on the ground floor.

All the while the walk had been taking us closer to the docks, and the maritime influence on the area is still clearly discernable. Lastly, street names reflected the once notorious area of Limehouse, inhabited by - among others - many Chinese workers; this had once been London's famous "China Town". After a very entertaining walk we returned to Stratford from Westferry DLR station.

Leader and Group: Paul Ferris, with Amina, Cliff, Jill V., Lynne, Madeleine, Pam, Sue U., Val.   Distance 3.5 miles

Sue Ullersperger    5th March 2014

The Green London Way.  Part 1 - Sunday 23^rd February

In 1991 I bought the newly-published book by Bob Gilbert – indeed my copy is signed by him, although I can't remember how that came about. I'd seen that it had recently been revised and re-published – many changes have taken place in London since that time.

The Green London Way is a long-distance footpath around London; it was first long-distance footpath around London and one of the very first entirely urban long-distance footpaths in the country. It proposed to be a new way of looking at London, at its culture and history but perhaps more than anything at its natural history.

The Group leaving StratfordI told Pam about this book, as I fancied re-walking it myself, having completed much of it back in the 1990's. Pam bought the book, and began the first section on Sunday 23rd February – the first of a possible series of walks for the Group.

Eight of us set out from Stratford Station to walk Section 1 of the route - “From the Lea to the Levels”. In fact, Pam had advertised it as from Stratford to Cyprus, as Cyprus (in Beckton) was to be our return point, rather than the Woolwich Ferry. After passing through Stratford itself – the original part, not E20 - the route follows a section of The Greenway, the promenade along Bazalgette's sewer embankment. That never sounds very pleasant (and occasional whiffs act as a reminder) but in fact is an open, breezy and easy walk passing such wonders as “The Cathedral of Sewage” and “Beckton Alps”. 

The Cathedral of Sewage

Eventually, coming off the Greenway and crossing the A13 by way of a footbridge, Beckton District Park is entered, complete with crocuses, a lake and ducks, gulls and swans – but no toilets. The Victorian 'Cyprus' estate – which was named originally to commemorate the British capture of Cyprus - was rebuilt in the 1980s and to my mind is an example of how housing estates could be planned, with lots of parks, open spaces and green connecting ways for pedestrians and cyclists. If in places there was an undue amount of litter and other disturbance around, that perhaps reflects inhabitants rather than design?

Wasting good walking time!The day had been dry, but a little cloudy and as much of our walk had been on the Greenway and exposed to a somewhat chill wind, we were pleased to find a snack bar in the local superstore. After, we walked a relatively short distance more to return by the DLR. It was interesting to note that not only were we in Cyprus, but we probably would have been just about in Kent, too – except that that certain boundaries that brought Kent north of the river have since been re-drawn!

Leader and participants: Pam, Cliff, Fred, Fozie, Lynne, Marilyn, Paul, Sue S.

Distance: 5.5 miles

Paul Ferris, March 2014