IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Charwood, Leigham Court Road, LONDON, SW16 2SA

There are a few pockets of 1920s/1930s houses in this area. The one on the right is an immaculately preserved example with a lot of original features, including the Crittall windows. In most cases these have been replaced by modern uPVC windows which unfortunately mar the appearance even if the reasons for installing them are understandable.

If I'd thought about this at all, I'd vaguely assumed it was an old street lamp, albeit without the lamp part. That is, until an internet search elicited the fact that this is probably one of the better surviving examples of a stink pipe, used to carry away noxious gases from the sewers. Despite its utterly unromantic function it is highly decorative with a crown at the top and a number of gilded bands. A plate at the bottom indicates that it was built by "J. Stone & Co, Engineers, Deptford, London SE". A close-up of the base can be seen here: Image

The decorative base of the stink pipe at the top of the road. It shows that no structure was too humble for decoration to be lavished upon it. A fuller view can be seen here: Image

I'm not sure what happened here, except that a Polo ended up in the front garden of the best-preserved 1930s house in the area. Fortunately the house was untouched, and temporarily boasts a new vista of the junction of Leigham Court Road and St Julian's Farm Road.

There are a few pockets of 1920s/1930s houses in this area. (Note how the windows continue round the curve of the bay.) The one on the right still has the original metal Crittall windows. In most cases these have been replaced by modern uPVC windows which unfortunately mar the appearance even if the reasons for installing them are understandable. This is at the top end of St Julian's Farm Road near the junction with Leigham Court Road.

One of the houses within the Leigham Court Road (South) Conservation Area. Leigham Court Road was laid out in 1839, and while development began in the early 1840s, it didn’t really take off until after the building of the Crystal Palace and West End Railway and the opening of Streatham Hill station in 1856. Quite a number of the original, large Victorian houses survive at either end of the road, and even though their grounds have in some cases since been built on, the remaining mature trees and general landscaping have enabled the area to retain “much of its original arcadian character.” Information from Lambeth Council (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/exeres/CE4B5CE1-0387-40ED-B5A9-273A5160C34A.htm )

One of the houses within the Leigham Court Road (South) Conservation Area. Leigham Court Road was laid out in 1839, and while development began in the early 1840s, it didn’t really take off until after the building of the Crystal Palace and West End Railway and the opening of Streatham Hill station in 1856. Quite a number of the original, large Victorian houses survive at either end of the road, and even though their grounds have in some cases since been built on, the remaining mature trees and general landscaping have enabled the area to retain “much of its original arcadian character.” Information from Lambeth Council (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/exeres/CE4B5CE1-0387-40ED-B5A9-273A5160C34A.htm )

A leafy road in Streatham, South London.

Flats commissioned by London Borough of Lambeth from architect, Kate Macintosh, designed for older tenants. The Estate was opened in 1975 and given a Grade II Listing, 29 May 2015.

Winter December 2010