Estate Agent ghostsign at Fulham Broadway Station.

I can’t be the only one now singing “I could be the ticket man at Fulham Broadway Station” from Ian Dury’s What A Waste. 

It was about 15 years ago when I first noticed this sign at the top of the stairs that links the platforms to the original Grade II listed station building at street level. When the station was built, this area was known as Walham Green.

On that occasion I hung back and waited to let the other travellers pass me as I took some snaps, thinking I’d look into it when I got home.  But it got shelved. It got lost in the 'To Do' folder. I got distracted by other things. Life got in the way.

I’ve since used the station often and almost every time I'm there I take a quick pic to nudge myself into action but it still festers in my In tray. Yesterday, I was back again and, whilst taking these photos, it occurred to me that fewer people notice it since the station entrance was relocated to the other end of the platforms within the modern shopping centre, this original exit staircase now acting merely as a means to access the opposite platform. 

Having done a quick google and, found nothing but a few photos out there, and with 15 years of procrastination under my belt, I think it's about time I had a go at deciphering it, so here goes... 

At the extreme top left, a section is headed ‘Phone Nos’:
KENSINGTON 2513
CITY 3559
RICHMOND 843.
There are also some faded words at an angle to the left of that which could be ‘Selected… at… ton’ 

At the top right are the addresses of the ‘Offices’:
THE BROADWAY, WALHAM GREEN
28 ST MARTIN'S LANE, CANNON ST
AND AT ACTON.
To the extreme right at an angle: NORBURY / NEW MALDEN

Most of the advertisement looks to have been covered, and indeed protected by, posters of various sizes and shapes. The centre section in particular, below ESTATE AGENT, still has lots to offer. This area was looking really grubby covered in a mix of glue and dust, as shown in StockCarPete's 2011 pic, but it was cleaned, which is great but this has meant we've lost some of the hand-painted letters. 

The words I can't quite decipher are in [square brackets]:

PROBATE & [M..R..E..G]

INCOME TAX ADJUSTED

Freehold & Leasehold Houses

can be Purchased [ov?] Pav[inor?]

£50 down & Balance as Re[nt?]

Businesses Sold & Transferred

INSURANCES EFFECTED

[?..] Principal Offices.

Freehold Building Land for

[?..] Sale[?] & Advance In[?vestment/surance]

I'm pretty sure the company advertised here is John Crawford Platt, auctioneer, who was at No.561 Fulham Road (opposite side to the station, near the Town Hall) in the 1890s until at least 1915. 

I'm struggling to understand the second address listed as St Martin's Lane, Cannon St, which surely cannot be one and the same – 28 St Martin’s Lane is The Chandos public house near Trafalgar Square. The ref to Cannon Street might suggest an offce within a building by the name of St Martin, but there are no churches of that name in The City of London except St Martin's Le Grand which I am ruling out because that's other side of St Pauls to Cannon Street.

J.C.Platt seems to have quit Walham Green/Fulham Broadway, and all other branches, by the 1930s to consolidate the company's efforts in Hammersmith, as shown in the1939 directory, below. There are a couple of lovely J.C Platt wall signs to be found in the Hammersmith and Fulham area here and here.  

I know realise that I need to go back and have a closer look at the bottom right section of the sign because, as with the panel deciphered above, there surely must be something discernible in there. But until then, my work here is done until I find more/better info – any additional reference welcome.

Read about other ghostsigns for estate agents here in Hendon. and here in Goldhawk Road and here

An update on the renovation of Hornsey Town Hall and the surrounding site

Yesterday I went up to Hornsey Town Hall to see what's happening at the Town Hall site adjacent to Crouch End Broadway. As you can see, there's still a fair bit to do but the future looks good.

I met up with the lovely ladies at the marketing suite, which is housed within the old electricity showrooms building on the left as you face the town hall, and they talked me through what's happening with the 1930s buildings and, after studying a marvellous 3D map of the area (ooh don't you just love a scale model?!), we went for a nose about at the new builds at the rear, accessible via Weston Park.

A collection of residential blocks is being constructed, each named after the architects and sculptors who designed the Town Hall and the gas and electricy showrooms. This space had orginally beein designed for car parking and tradesmen but over the past few decades had become a wasteland littlered with broken deckchairs and the like. 

I was shown a 2-bed flat and a one-bed flat and they are lovely. In fact, if I didn't have so much stuff, such as books, furniture and other guff, I would be rather tempted to move there myself. I only took one pic from the lounge of the 2-bed flat, which faces the town hall, see below

As regards the town hall building itself, I am told it's being renovated to a high standard; cleaning up and restoring the existing parts as much as possible, and replacing with like-for-like where necessary. For instance, the metal window frames throughout have been stripped back and repainted and the glass within them replaced. It's looking great and I can't wait to see the end result. I will be going back for another visit once the construction company says it's safe to do so.

Find out more about Uren's municipal buildings and Arthur Ayres' sculptural pieced here.  

Some of my cards and prints feature Crouch End – a guided walk visiting many of the places in the photographed, plus lots of other interesting items of inderest, will be available soon – pleaese keep an eye on my walking tours here.

The New Adelphi – an Art Deco masterpiece

A magnificent example of Art Deco architecture overlooks the River Thames.
Built in 1936-8 on the site of Adam brothers' original Adelphi this quietly impressive masterpiece with its clean lines and classical detailing still looks almost brand new today.

Today's architects should learn lessons from this efficient and functional yet attractive building and move away from the clip-togther panelled monstrosities that are being constructed as I write this. Though I expect, having shorter shelf lives the new builds are a constant source of revenue... hmmm.
The Adelphi boasts exquisite carvings and motifs at strategic places such as around the doors plus four large sculptures on the corners of the river-facing side each commissioned from less well-known artists of that era including Edward Bainbridge Copnall, Donald Gilbert and Arthur JJ Ayres who is the artist behind these fabulous panels on and adjacent to Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End:

All these Ayres reliefs are available as greeting cards and some can be printed up as larger prints – please enquire

The Adelphi Story here.
The interior of the Adelphi building is just as marvellous as the exterior. See here for more.