Ye who have a spark in your veins of cockney spirit, smile or mourn acccording as you take things well or ill;— Bold Britons, we are now on Shooter's Hill!
I didn’t know that there was an old pet cemetery just off Shooters Hill Road near the Charlton Lido until I received an e-mail from Kathy at the Friends of Shrewsbury Park about the Pet Cemetery’s friends group. The friends group are looking for volunteers to help with a clean-up day on Sunday April 21st from 11am-4pm.
It’s not surprising I’d missed it because the cemetery is tucked away near Hornfair Park, but not accessible from the park. Although the walled and fenced area needs a little bit of care and attention it’s a calm, secluded place, and studded with a number of poignant, small pet gravestones from the 1930s and 40s. Several of the gravestones commemorate the pets as “Our Pal”, or “My Chum” and they all include their names – Ikkety Man, Flossie, Rags, Sadie, Kiki, Queenie, Barney – but not necessarily what kind of animal it was. Flossie’s seemed especially sad, with its epitaph:
From six weeks old we had her
But age crept on with time
A dear old girl that we loved so well
She will always be in our minds
Flossie was about 16 years old when she died in June 1939.
Another gravestone with letters eroded by the years, about a dog called Simba, recorded the animal’s 12 years of military service, with the 93rd, at home and in Jamaica, China and India. I wonder if the 93rd is a reference to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders?
Pet Cemetery
Kathy’s e-mail included the following information from the friends:
A community group has been set up, as a non-profit organisation, to enable the Pet Cemetery to be restored and maintained for all to enjoy.
Approximately 80 years ago, kennels were organised by the Blue Cross who ensured that the pets and working dogs of service men and women would have a safe haven while their owners were on active duty during the WWII. The kennels were also a place where injured animals were taken – especially those dogs that were used on the Front Line. There was also a cemetery here for animals that either did not survive, or simply died of old age. This place enabled service men and women to give a well-deserved resting place for their beloved pets.
There are over 240 gravestones, and some of the dogs buried here received medals for their service during WWII. The site is therefore of historical importance.
The cemetery is little known about, and less loved than it was back then, and this is why the Friends of the Pet Cemetery Group (FOPC) hope to improve the site, and make it a special place.
The group will also promote the area as a visitor attraction, encourage links with community groups, schools, colleges and other organisations to ultimately achieve a memorial garden for working animals and local pets to be remembered.
We will have a clean-up day on Sunday April 21st from 11am-4pm, to which all are welcome. The cemetery cannot be accessed from the park itself, but via the entrance on Shooters Hill, (just by the footbridge, and opposite ‘The Fox Under the Hill’).
We are also in the process of arranging an Open Day, and more details about this will be given in a newsletter to be produced later.
Contact details for the group:j-patrick@ntlworld.com (Secretary); Toni Hale (Chairperson) 07786 895 799. If you would like to become a member (subscription £2), please contact either of the above committee members.
We are also on Facebook – ‘Pet Cemetery Group Charlton’, and Twitter: @FOPC Group.
There has been more vandalism at Woodlands Farm. Just a few weeks after the last incident when a fence was broken down and a volunteer threatened, the fence has been broken again and a mini-motorbike ridden around one of the fields where sheep are often kept. Maggie from the farm sent me details of what happened:
Following the incident on 30 December, when the metal fence at the far end of the farm was broken into twice on one day, yesterday the bolts were cropped once again and metal staves removed. This time, however, we discovered it after two people were heard with a motorbike riding round the top of Hillview Field late in the afternoon.
When they realised they had been spotted they made a quick exit, the motorbike rider got through the hole in the fence first. The second youth was challenged as he hurried to the gap. He denied making the break in the fence and said that as the fields were part of the Green Chain Walk they could ride a motorcycle there. He then threatened the elderly volunteer with violence and the farm with further vandalism.
Fence was repaired before end of day and police informed.
Jackwood, Shooters Hill, the home of Nat C. Goodwin and his wife
Many thanks to reader Mike Smith for sending me a copy of an article entitled “The Splendour of the Modern Actor” from a weekly newspaper called The Sketch dated August 2nd 1899. The article was about the American actor Nat C. Goodwin and his wife, the actress Maxine Elliot, who lived in Jackwood at the end of the 19th Century and who I mentioned in a previous post about Jackwood. It includes a number of fascinating photographs of Jackwood as it was in 1899. The appearance of the house, shown in the photograph above, is the same as the Old English style mansion that was put up for sale in 1874.
Maxine Elliot and her sister Gertrude in their carriage in front of Jackwood House
The author of the article describes their journey by horse drawn buggy from Blackheath station up to the mansion in the woods of Shooters Hill. The description of the interior of the house matches that in the sales literature:
The interior is entirely lined with polished pitch-pine, and the great staircase with its open gallery is a triumph of workmanship, while the overmantels are of dark wood handsomely carved, many displaying the Arms of the first tenant, Sir William Plasted Wilde, whose crest and motto decorate the richly moulded ceilings, especially that in the drawing room, which is adorned with heavy pendants.
I think the Sir William Plasted Wilde mentioned should be really be Sir James Plaisted Wilde who became Lord Penzance, of the Mysterious P atop the gate leading into the walled garden in Jack Wood. Some of the details of the drawing room can just about be made out in the photograph below.
The drawing room at Jackwood: Miss Maxine Elliot and Mr. N.C. Goodwin
Much of the Sketch article is about the lifestyle of the tenants of Jackwood, and the way in which they had decorated the house, for example with Nat’s collection of native American artefacts which included the feathered head-dress of Indian chief Big Mouth and a selection of leather belts, one of which was fringed with a number of human scalps. There is a brief mention of the gardens:
But your hostess is insistent on showing you the grounds before luncheon, for the charming pleasances and the terraced rose gardens, enclosed on one side by a dwarf wall adorned by rounded Kentish gables and copied from Haddon Hall, are amongst the sights at Jackwood. These pleasant walks, paved in places with smooth red tiling, overlook the lawn tennis ground, at one end of which a mighty oak gives agreeable shade to onlookers, while further down the hillside the thistle-grown slopes are the playground of wild rabbits, which emerge from the thick underwood around in the cool of the evening. Through a vista in the forest, a favourite resort of the family, you may watch on Thursday nights Brock’s fireworks at the Crystal Palace far away in the distance.
Parts of the terrace shown in the photograph below are amongst the few remnants of Jackwood that survive today.
A fascinating glimpse into “society” life in Shooters Hill at the end of the nineteenth century. Thanks again Mike.
Miss Maxine Elliot and her sister Gertrude on the terrace at Jackwood From photographs by Thomas, Cheapside
2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment march through Woolwich
Shrewsbury House are holding a Big Curry evening in April to raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund, a charity that supports soldiers, former soldiers and their families. The Soldier’s Charity Big Curry has been running for 6 years and is supported by a number of celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Brian Turner and Heston Blumenthal. Since it started it has raised £860,000 for the ABF.
Len’s e-mail with details of the Shrewsbury House event said:
Shrewsbury House are holding a charity night for the Army Benevolent Fund, this charity has been going since the early 1900’s and they have been holding charity events all over the Country to raise money for those that need it.
We are restricted to 70 tickets which are on sale at £16.50 pp, this includes Curry, Entertainment, Complimentary drink on arrival and entry into a prize draw. The dress is smart casual and is to be held on Saturday 20th April from 7 pm to 11 pm. We have tried to make this coincide with St George’s Day and will hopefully bring out the best of British and aid and assist our soldiers that need that little bit extra.
If you wish to purchase tickets, either let me know by email or by going into Shrewsbury House.
Sounds like a great evening for a very good cause.
2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment march through Woolwich
The campaign to save Lewisham Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department have organised a march to object to the SLHT Administrator’s recommendation to close it to help sort out financial issues at the South London Healthcare Trust, which includes our local Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Why should we be concerned? Well apart from the effect on the health of people living near Lewisham Hospital who will have to travel much further if they need emergency medical help, and apart from the outrageous unfairness of closing a facility in a financially stable hospital to solve a problem elsewhere, and apart from the real terms reduction of the health care budget for south-east London and the flawed consultation process it will also add to the pressure on Queen Elizabeth A&E and increase the waiting time for patients there.
The demonstration will assemble at the main roundabout outside Lewisham Rail/DLR/Bus station at 12 noon on Saturday 26th January.
March through Lewisham shopping centre along to Lewisham Hospital, then up Davenport Road to Mountsfield Park for rally, music and giant petition. Details of the route will be available here shortly.
RALLY AT THE END OF THE MARCH
This will take place in Mountsfield Park in Catford. There will be speeches, music, food, and other entertainments.
Ian Bull, who led the Midnight Megawalk on the Green Chain last July, sent me details of another walk that he’s leading this Saturday, 26th January starting at 12 O’Clock. His e-mail said:
Thanks to renewed funding from TfL Walk London is able to resume its programme of free guided walks around the Capital’s footpath network.
On Saturday 26th I’ll be leading a walk on the Green Chain from Charlton to Plumstead via Maryon Park, Charlton House, Woolwich Common, Severndroog Castle, and Shooters Hill etc. All are welcome, no need to book. Meet 12.00 at Charlton railway station. Finish 17.00 at Plumstead railway station, seven miles long. Packed lunch essential.
The walk is one of a series being organised by WalkLondon this weekend – their Winter Wanders Weekend. The title of Ian’s walk is “The best landscape and views in London“, and the Walk 4 Life web site describes it as follows:
Many mistakenly believe that London’s best landscapes and views are found on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and, Epping Forest. This walk proves otherwise as it introduces you to the Capital’s remarkable South Eastern corner. It’s no surprise to participants that this is one of Walk London’s most popular walks. You won’t know you are in a City for much of this splendid course as we gently climb from Sea Level to almost the highest point in London. Through parkland, ancient woodland, and the principle location of the cult 60s film ‘Blow Up’, we’ll ascend Shooters Hill through wonderful scenery and one of the British Isles most important geological sites. On our descent to the hidden gem of Plumstead Common we’ll look down the Thames Estuary right out to the North Sea. Bring your binoculars! A packed lunch is essential. There’s no need to book but feel free to ask the Walk Leader, Ian Bull, for more details.
Woodlands Farm seem to be very busy organising events for the public. I’ve received three communications from them recently, two about conservation related events and one about activities for children during the February half term break.
Hannah, the farm’s Education Officer, sent me details of the half term activities. Her e-mail included the flyer below and the activity details.
Tuesday 19th February ? Felt Making
10am-3pm 50p
Did you know that felt is made from sheep?s wool? Join us at Woodlands Farm as we make some amazing felt flowers, butterflies and other animals using just wool. This is a fun and messy activity which everyone can enjoy. No need to book just come along.
Wednesday 20th February ? Get Wild in the Woods
11am-3pm FREE
Come and join us in the woods as we learn how to survive in the wild. Have a go at shelter building, wild cooking over a fire and learn what animals need to survive. Age 6+. No need to book just come along.
Friday 22nd February ? Help the sparrows: Build a Bird Box Day
10am-2pm £5 per box
Help the birds in your garden by putting up a bird box for them ready for the nesting season. In London the number of house sparrows is dramatically decreasing so make a box to encourage them back into your garden. Booking is essential for this event, to book call 020 8319 8900.
Woodlands Farm is located on the borders of the London boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich. At 89 acres, it is the largest city farm in the UK. Our priorities are education and conservation, and we are part of the Natural England Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. Our education programme attracts visitors from pre-school to third-age groups. The Trust aims to involve local community groups, schools, volunteers and businesses in farming and conservation, helping to bridge the current town-country divide. We are open 9.30am-4.30pm, Tuesday-Sunday (except Christmas Day). There is no entry charge except for special events, though donations are always welcome.
Nearest tube: North GreenwichNearest BR: Welling
Buses: 486 and 89
We are a farm so sensible shoes and clothing are recommended! We do allow dogs, but please note that these must be kept on a lead and not taken into any farm buildings.
Hannah Forshaw
I also received information from Lorraine, the farm’s Wildlife Officer, about a Winter Wildlife Walk to find out about the farm’s hedges, thickets and fields which is scheduled for Sunday 3rd February 2013 at 10.30am, and future Conservation Workdays at the farm. The workdays will provide an opportunity to get involved with hedge laying.
The farm is covered in snow at the moment, and a lot of the animals are in the barns. Even Aerial the farm cat is snuggled into the hay for warmth. I’m glad to see that a shelter has been built for Bob the pony so he can get out of the cold, though his thick coat should help keep him warm.
The bridge going nowhere in the photo above is known as the ski jump. It’s a section of road over in Beckton that was built in preparation for the Thames Gateway Bridge, but currently leads to nowhere apart from a dangerous drop. Maybe it’s a metaphor …
I’ve been enjoying reading about the various attempts to create a river crossing between Thamesmead and Beckton over the last few days. It’s a fascinating tale: from the Ringway suggestion back in the 1930s which became Ringway 2 in the 1960s, then the East London River Crossing in the 1980s and 90s, the Thames Gateway Bridge early this century and now TfL’s Gallions Reach Ferry proposal and the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s campaign for a bridge.
The historical background and story of People Against the River Crossing is well told in David Black’s “The Campaign to Save Oxleas Wood” which details the inquiries and court cases, both UK and European, that eventually led in 1995 to the dropping of plans to put a motorway through Oxleas Wood and Plumstead and build the East London River Crossing. A group of local residents known as the Oxleas Nine risked financial ruin from huge legal fees to appeal to the High Court against the compulsory purchase orders needed to allow the roads and crossings to be built.
Unfortunately the documents relating to the 2005 Thames Gateway Bridge Public Enquiry are no longer available online, but those I have seen show a similar level of opposition from local residents concerned about issues such as the health effects of air pollution and the risk to Oxleas Wood from the need for improved road links to the A2.
My reading about the bridge also led me to the Beckton ski jump. It can be seen circled in red on the Google Maps snippet below; it is also one of the possible routes for traffic to TfL’s proposed Gallions Reach Ferry. Its other claim to fame is that it appeared in a car chase in the TV series Bugs, which culminated in a car driving off the end of the ski jump to explode in the waste land beyond. It’s on YouTube here, starting at about 46minutes in.
Google Map snippet showing the Beckton ski jump
The map also shows another complication to building a bridge here – the proximity and orientation of the runway at London City Airport, which limits the possible height of the bridge. Campaigners in favour of east London river crossings make much of the disparity in the number of crossings to the west and east of Tower Bridge. Two obvious reasons for the difference are that the Thames is wider the nearer it gets to the sea, and large ships sail up the Thames to Central London (and potentially to a cruise liner terminal in Greenwich). Consequently bridges need to be wider and higher and are more expensive to build, which seems to lead to them having to carry more traffic. The artists impressions of the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge, below, from TfL’s brochure show the likely size of a bridge at this location.
Artists impressions of bridge from TfL’s The Thames Gateway Bridge A new bridge for East London
The required height of the bridge means that it has to have longer run-up roads so the overall length is much longer than just the distance across the river, making it very pedestrian unfriendly. Not to mention the high winds in the middle.
When I started writing this post I intended to focus on traffic modelling. I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that changes to the road infrastructure need to consider the whole network because increasing capacity in one place will simply move the bottlenecks to somewhere else in the network, so improvements should be across multiple sites to try to even out the flows. Also traffic management measures need to be included to discourage cars and lorries from small, residential roads. I’m still searching for some comprehensible detail on modelling, but I notice that the recently released East London River Crossings Assessment of Options mentions this issue and confirms my feelings about the impact that a Gallions Reach bridge would have on roads through Plumstead and Bexley:
6.285. The modelling for TGB suggested that it would provide relief for the Blackwall tunnel as well as opening up new travel opportunities further to the east. However, a key issue is that the road network on the southern side is much less developed than on the northern side, where the road would meet the grade separated A406 and A13 as well as linking (via the A406) to the M11.
6.286. To the south, the road would meet the east-west South Thames Development Route, a useful distributor road along the southern side of the Thames, but this is lower capacity than the northern access routes, and is generally not grade separated, with congested junctions in Plumstead, Woolwich and Erith.
6.287. Other routes on the southern side are poorer still, with the roads south into Bexley being largely two lane single carriageway roads, fronted by suburban housing. There was some strong local opposition to the scheme arising from concerns over the impacts in these areas. This led ultimately to the opposition of the London Borough of Bexley to the scheme.
This suggests that a ferry at Gallions Reach would be a better option than a bridge because there is a natural capacity limiting effect from a ferry that will reduce the amount of traffic heading in that direction, though additional action to encourage traffic along suitable roads and away from smaller roads may be needed too. And by analogy with west London perhaps having many smaller scale crossings would be better than one or two massive congestion generating grand projects like multi-lane bridges and tunnels; an argument in favour of keeping the Woolwich Free Ferry as well as the new one. I’d be interested to see the results of traffic modelling with this scenario.
Are there any other possibilities for small east London river crossings, I wonder, and what is the current state of technology for swing bridges?
Friends of the Earth have arranged two public meetings about the crossings – one north of the Thames tonight and another at the Forum in Greenwich next Monday, 28th. They e-mailed with the details:
North side of the river:
Monday 21 January 2013, 7-9 p.m.
St Matthias Community Centre, 113 Poplar High Street, E14 OAE
http://www.stmatthiascommunitycentre.com/contactus.jsp
Nearest station: Poplar DLR
South side of the river:
Monday 28 January 2013, 6.30-8.30 p.m.
Forum@Greenwich, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9EQ
City View Restaurant at Shooters Hill Post 16 Campus are holding a fund raising event on the evening of 7th February to help pay for a trip to Paris in April for their level 2 & 3 students. Most of the food will be donated by their suppliers, 3663, and other suppliers have either donated a raffle prize or given a discount. The Paris trip will also be funded by diners’ tips over the last year.
While in Paris the students will be having a go at croissant and baguette making, as well as seeing the sights of the city.
The evening costs £30, and starts with a tasting of some of the college’s French wines, with the opportunity to buy some to drink with your meal. The menu has a very French theme:
Wine tasting Reception
***
Escargots a l’ail Snails in Garlic Butter
Or
Cuisses de Grenouilles Provençale Frogs Legs Provençale
Second Course
Quenelles de Brochet avec Bisque Sc Quenelles of Pike with Bisque Sauce
Main course
Coq au vin
Plateau de Fromage Selection French Cheeses
Dessert
Tarte aux Citron Lemon Tart
Chocolat Tarte Chocolate Tart
Pot au Chocolat avec Madeleines Chocolate pot with Madeleines
***
Café & Petit Fours
Tables can can be booked through the City View web pages or by phone on 020 8319 9790. If the food is anything like my recent visit to City View then it will be an excellent evening, though best approached with an empty tummy.
Decorative Ironwork in the Octagon at the Crossness Pumping Station
I notice that the episode of Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys, London Victoria to Abbey Wood, on BBC 2 tonight (Wednesday) includes a sequence about the “Victorian cathedral of ironwork” that is Crossness Pumping Station. As I’ve mentioned before, seeing this amazing example of Victorian engineering fully steamed up and in action is an awe-inspiring sight and well worth a visit on one of their public steaming days.
However there will be fewer opportunities to see it in action this year because the volunteers of the Crossness Engines Trust are starting work on a number of improvements to the site funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant: there are pictures of the volunteers in action on their Facebook page. The Trust have announced just 5 public steaming days for 2013. As they say on their website:
… despite the ongoing building works, the Trust has decided that there will several public steaming days during 2013. The dates currently agreed are as follows:
Sunday April 21st – Local History Fair (in association with Bexley Civic Society)
Sunday June 23rd – Model Engineering
Sunday July 28th – Transport
Sunday September 1st – Local History
Sunday October 13th – Local History
Admission will be from 10.30am until 4.00pm and the admission charge will be £5.00.
No booking is required. People under 16: free.
It is recommended that visitors wear flat shoes. Please note that the Trust can only accept payment in cash or by cheque.
There will be no mini-bus service in operation from/to Abbey Wood BR station.
To whet your appetite here’s a brief video sequence of the massive steam engines in action from my visit on London Open House day a couple of years ago:
