William Tierney Clark
The small community of Hammersmith was situated on the peak of a huge bulge in the River Thames with houses along the main London road (A4 to be) and dotted along the river bank. Note the small community of Brook Green (upper right), Brandenburgh House (near the R of "River", centre) and Barn(es) Elms (lower left).
Brandenburgh House ...
... was once the residence of the unwanted Queen Caroline and demolished sometime after 1822. There is a modern development of apartments on part of the site, also named Brandenburgh House. Pre apartments-ville the area had become industrial with a sugar factory and brewery.
Barn Elms (also gone) ...
... was, at one time, owned by Queen Elizabeth I and was gifted to one of her favourites, Lord Walsingham. It later became the Ranelagh Club and is now replaced by housing with the name preserved in the modern use of just a small part of its extensive estates.
But, as Hammersmith grew, there was a demand for a bridge across the river - it was a long way round to Putney Bridge (east) or Chelsea Bridge (west).
So the worthy burghers of Hammersmith turned to William Tierney Clark.
A company was duly formed and in 1827 a magnificent chain suspension was opened.
It was very much the wonder of the age and began life as a toll bridge.
A new approach road was constructed at Hammersmith and the bridge company was obliged to purchase most of the Barn Elms estate where two new roads were built. Initially named Upper Bridge Road and (with great originality) Lower Bridge Road ...
... these were later renamed as Castlenau and Lonsdale Road respectively.
Later the Bridge company was able to sell off land between the two new roads for housing development.
The new Hammersmith Bridge was very popular particularly on Boat Race days when crowds would use it as a grandstand.
Reports on the day said that the bridge swayed violently as the crowd rushed from one side to the other "pooh sticks style". Yikes!
Tierney Clark went on to build a smaller chain bridge at Marlow (1832) ...
... and in 1840 a larger version in Budapest - the first bridge to link Buda with Pest.
The good bridge builder has a plaque in St Johns Church Hammersmith commemorating his local chef d'oeuvre!
But after a modest 60 years, it was clear that Hammersmith Bridge was not big enough or strong enough for increasing traffic and a rebuild would be necessary. And this was the man to do the job.
More tomorrow.
Bodge Number 5
fbb cut one of his legs a little short - not self amputation (!) - but part of the ongoing platform canopy project. Sensibly, he should have created another leg, but that would have been dispiriting. So ...
... a small plidget of plastic rod filled the gap under the right leg. It will be hidden by a milk churn or a pile of luggage, both popular preservation platform pieces beloved of Heritage Railways.
Routemaster Route Removed
Coach and Bus Week, a trade magazine for coach and bus buyers that is published weekly - clever name, eh? - reports:-
His Mayorship Is Embarrassed!
Tim Dunn (he of recent railway architecture programmes) has spotted this little beauty. It is, obviously, an artist's impression of a new Piccadilly Line train going all the way to Cockfosters.
But London Mayor Mr Khan is a bit squeamish about the name of the Piccadilly terminus. To avoid public sniggering, his various PR outputs for the train has replaced the supposedly smutty name with ...
... Arnos Grove!
It is a good thing Mr Khan is not developing a project a mile of so from fbb's former family home. This is ...
... Northampton's Lumbertubs pub at Buttocks Booth.
A Sheffield Thought
Buses have been banned from Leopold Street and Pinstone Street to "improve the environment". It has also made life more difficult for thousands of Sheffield residents who find it more difficult to get where they want to go.
Buses are banned ...
... but access has to be kept open so that motorists can drive their polluting vehicles to car parks along roads where buses are banned, to the detriment of Sheffield's population.
Logical, eh?
Blast Form The Past (c/o Twitter)
What is a Network SouthEast logo doing on unit 365522? It certainly is NOT a train in NSE Livery ...
... and other pictures of the unit do not show the logo.
Is Chris Green (erstwhile boss of NSE) snooping around sticking stickers on what were once HIS trains?
Next Hammersmith blog : Tuesday 27th April
Just to say that I'm delighted to see the Tierney Clark plaque. However it is in St Paul's church, not St John's = though last time I was there it was behind large display boards and invisible. St Paul's is closer to the bridge than St John's, which anyway closed in 2005 and is now used as a performing arts space.
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