I just pulled together a montage of some of the nice things I spotted in the Wandsworth and Vauxhall area last week, and added it to that post see here. Whilst doing that, I rediscovered a couple of pics I'd snapped from the top deck of that No.88 bus, just north of the Stockwell station junction.
Facing the street outside the house at No.247 South Lambeth Road I spotted what looked like railings at that resembled co-joined spectacle frames:
Here's the view from checked on Google Streetview:
My guess is that this was his home and workshop where he performed eye tests etc, and No.159 was the shop/showroom were customers could choose frames and make appointments.
The Stockwell Partnership is at No.159 on the corner of Tradescant Rd today, complete with some interesting nature-inspired pavement mosaics – these two pics I photographed back in 2009:
I wonder how many people in the Stockwell area walk past these things without noticing them...?
Erm... that's my flat! I was aware vaguely of the optician background, but not the finer details. Thank you so much for filling in some gaps. We're very protective of the railings and currently looking at giving them a little TLC.
ReplyDeleteI started to do some research on South Lambeth Road at the Lambeth Archives last summer. It's fascinating stuff. I've only touched the surface going back from 1876 to 1901.
247 was originally called 9 Rugby Villas in 1868. In 1886 the wonderfully named Fleetwood Shrapnel lived at 247 through until 1894. He was a descendant of Lt. Gen. Shrapnel, the inventor of the shell which bears his name. Their son played cricket for Surrey at The Oval.
Charles Herbert Tidman was my grandfather. He and his family lived at 247 and it was also his optician's practice. His sons and one of his daughter's also became opticians, as did some of his grandchildren. I'd forgotten about the railings depicting spectacles.
ReplyDeleteOh how lovely. I really appreciate it when people with family connections join the conversation. Thanks for clarifying my assumptions. I hope those railings are appreciated by the people who own the house now. Some friends who have lived locally for years, and who travel up and down that exact street often, tell me they they had never before noticed the big metal specs until I showed them earlier this year. They have since shared this with their neighbours who admit that they also hadn't ever spotted them. Perhaps they all need glasses!!
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