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A Hundred and One Little Histories

Writer's picture: Dave GobleDave Goble

Updated: Apr 1, 2024


Well, there are a hundred and one of them, (had to stop somewhere), and they are for the most part about local history in the little corner of south-west London where I live. This said, I must concede the early posts are light on history as the theme was yet to fully take hold. Not obvious from the title is the fact this all came about because of Covid.

 

The pandemic hit the UK "officially" late in January 2020. Recently retired, I was among the fortunate ones who came through relatively unscathed, and what follows describes my somewhat contorted arrival at the beginning of an unexpected series of small adventures during grim times.

 

In early April, a few months after its arrival, Covid closed the pools and I found myself looking for alternatives to swimming as my daily exercise of choice. After a frankly feeble attempt at running left me sore and limping following barely a couple of miles, I realised I needed something different; I was pretty sure I had a bike! On searching the garage, a dark, damp and distant corner revealed that was, indeed, the case. In hope more than expectation I "cleaned it up", oiling the gears and chain, and applying a pump to the flat tyres which happily survived the assault. To my surprise I found myself with a serviceable bike: time to find out if my legs would be less reluctant to pedal than they were to run. Turned out OK., and from that moment on everything changed. I began taking daily rides, exploring various routes in the area.

 

After a few weeks I grew reconciled to the pools not re-opening any time soon, and realised cycling was likely to be my main exercise for some considerable time. I thought about how I might make my outings more interesting, and with the wealth of candidates I identified within a ten / fifteen mile or so radius of home I plumped to concentrate on local history, setting a different target for, and posting a record of, each trip. This turned out to be my personal silver lining to the dark cloud beneath which we all found ourselves.

 

Over a hundred and one days between April 5th and July 14th during the first lockdown I covered about 1,800 miles, setting off each morning on my (t)rusty old bike to visit a different place of interest. I even bought, and wore, a helmet. On arrival I'd take one or more photographs to accompany the text I'd write on returning home, and then create a post for Facebook. This Blog followed later.


I typically covered 20 to 25 miles each trip in and around the Hampton, Sunbury on Thames, Kingston, Teddington, Richmond, Petersham, Kew, Brentford, Isleworth, Chiswick and Twickenham areas, hugging the River Thames as often as possible for the views - not to mention to avoid the traffic, though the roads were relatively quiet during lockdown.


I learned a lot from my trips: some of the Little Histories aren't so little at all; and while some may be quite well known, others are relatively obscure. There are surprises too. Though the early posts that preceded targeted trips were random and more about scenery and other bits “n” bobs I happened upon en-route rather than local history, I include them as a kind of gentle introduction to the area. Things evolved fairly quickly thereafter, and most subject matter required research on returning home, such as the curmudgeonly Henry Labouchère, who I confess I’d never heard of until his blue plaque caught my eye, (while I was looking for someone else, I might add). There’s also a famous late 19th Century novelist who was more proud of his champion swedes than his best writing. And you may be surprised to know there were once "Diddlers" on the loose in Fulwell.

 

If you followed my original posts on Facebook during the first lockdown, you may notice some have been updated as I’ve reflected on them and learned where there are connections / links. Other additions include summary maps showing the location of posts relative to each other, and a timeline mapping historical events against people of interest in the area over time, mostly from around 1700 to the early 2000s, though the oldest is 1175.

 

Daily posts concluded with a visit to Horace Walpole’s Gothic Gaff, Strawberry Hill House, on trip number one hundred and one, and I’d like to offer a big THANK YOU to everyone who supported me by following my progress on Facebook, often commenting kindly on my posts, and in so doing helping with motivation.

 

You, the reader, will be the ultimate judge of the results of this effort at bringing them all together. I hope you will at least agree there is plenty of variety, and if you find yourself in the area you might consider visiting a few destinations you may otherwise not have been aware of.

 

I've since grown quite interested in the idea of self-publishing a Kindle version, or versions, of this Blog after friend Mike Gorton made me aware of the possibility. Subject to overcoming some technical challenges I might get there.



In the meantime there's a book in all of us, apparently. Or as Christopher Hitchen put it:


"Everyone has a book in them ..."

adding

"... and that, in most cases, is where it should stay". 


I think he’s probably talking mainly about fiction. But hey, for better or worse, a lack of a publisher needn’t stymie ambition.



Contents













The Bike

I grew very fond of this cheap old mountain bike that, as I mentioned and am ashamed to say, stood neglected for most of the previous 15 years at the back of my old garage. Still can't quite believe how after a bit of long overdue TLC it just went. Well, mostly. I kept up the basic routine maintenance, i.e. the oil thing, but I did have to pay a visit to Burts Cycles [stet] in Hampton to replace my rear tyre after about 800 miles (see Post 55). The front tyre is still the original.


You’ll see it pop up in most of the photographs that follow


Despite everything, the bike was still usable, and with Burt’s brutal assessment still ringing in my ears I was disinclined to throw money at it, carrying on until, and including, the final and concluding post at Strawberry Hill House. Oh, and for the last thirty-ish posts, (the last 500 miles or so), the luxury (arguably overkill) of 18 gears was reduced to three, or four on a good day. Never really got to the bottom of that other than to suspect the chain might be a little loose, or there was some sort of cog misalignment caused by general wear and tear, and / or cheap parts and / or simply past neglect.


I am still more inclined to cycle than I used to be, and have since treated myself to a new bike. This all said I can’t complain, the old bike did the business (and I've still got it).



Posts, Navigation and April 2024 updates

Posts appear in chronological order of daily cycle trips, and not historically.

To view a particular post from the full list, or from my top ten later, just click on the title; to get back click the return / back button or arrow. Alternatively exit this introductory post and simply scroll through the posts as they appear, sequentially, in reverse chronological order in the Blog.

Eighteen posts have been updated after a revision of all of them in April 2024, almost four years having passed since they were originally written and posted. Those updated are distinguished below by an asterisk after the post number. The updates themselves appear towards the end of each post in question.



A Hundred and One Daily Posts

In chronological order (cycle trips, not historically)

* = Post revised / updated in March 2024



















18 Sundial 









































58 Balls 














































My Top Ten


Post 29, Sunday, May 3rd

Just 23 years of age, he spent the second half of 1876 living in Isleworth eagerly pursuing religious endeavours in and around S. W. London. Sadly not a paintbrush in sight.


Post 61, Thursday, June 4th

Hidden gem. Made from white Carrara marble, they were temporarily covered with grey sludge in WWII to reduce, if not eliminate, their usefulness as a navigation aid to the Luftwaffe.


Post 89, Thursday, July 2nd

Top to bottom, front and back – tucked away on a quiet residential street in Chiswick, artist Carrie Reichardt’s house is covered in colourful mosaic tiles.


Post 85, Sunday, June 28th

Heavily camouflaged US military base in Bushy Park, where it served as European Headquarters for General Dwight Eisenhower and the US Army Air Forces from July 1942 to December 1944.


Post 56, Saturday, May 30th

Curmudgeonly old bugger who held questionable views. English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner Henry Labouchère was at least anti-war, and generous with fruit.


Post 101, Tuesday, July 14th

Gothic treasure. Love it for its sheer beauty, and balls. Love too the image of a hopping mad Horace Walpole surveying the remains of his stained glass windows after (yet) another explosion at The Shot Tower two miles west.


7   Île de Paix 

Post 26, Thursday, April 30th

John Mayall, Long John Baldry, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Ivor Cutler, David Bowie, The Who, The Rolling Stones and more appeared at this major venue for jazz, blues, rock and r&b bands in the ‘60s.


Post 99, Sunday, July 12th

That’s how Charles Dickens described it. At over 40 feet high and weighing about 250 tons, the London Museum of Water and Steam is home to the largest working Cornish engine in the world.


Post 58, Monday, June 1st

Explosions, shattered glass and damaged buildings, including Strawberry Hill House. Lead musket balls were also successfully produced, as actually intended, along the way.


Post 34, Thursday, May 7th

First prize for swedes at a local horticultural event trumped being author of Lorna Doone for this great novelist of the second half of the 19th Century.



What Is This Thing About Hills?

You may notice hills crop up quite a lot in One Hundred and One Little Histories. And if you’re not familiar with this part of the world you’d be forgiven for crediting me with an appetite for cycling beyond that to which I would lay claim. Apart from Richmond Hill, which I necessarily incorporated into a couple of trips, (for the posts on Virginia Woolf and THE View), there are none to speak of: Strawberry Hill has no hill, nor strawberries for that matter; Marble Hill too is bereft of hills and, you guessed it, there are no rich veins of marble in the local geology; as for Hampton Hill it's as flat as a pancake. Just wanted to clear that up.



Examples of Preferred Routes

In each of the upcoming two photographs red marks the route, with A and B showing setting off from, and returning to, home respectively. Numbers show direction of travel, not places where I stopped and had a picnic.


1. A decent section of riverside cycling, though on the road between points 2 & 4 and 8 &10 it can get busy with traffic.


2. Probably the most riverside cycling away from traffic. The section clockwise, from near Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, (2), to Hampton Court Bridge, (just after 11), is virtually unbroken, with some great views, marred only by some bone-shudderingly uneven track between Twickenham and Richmond.



Post Summary Maps

Posts 1 to 20


Posts 21 to 40


Posts 41 to 60


Posts 61 to 80


Posts 81 to 101



Timeline



Charities

*** This section appears for information only, applying solely to the Kindle version of this Blog if / when it comes ***


In memory of Mum and brother Nicholas, who both passed away within weeks of one another in the summer of 2021, (not forgetting Dad in 1999), any profit from this publication via Kindle e-book or hard copy form will go to charities in the Stafford area who, in a variety of ways, enriched Nicky's life so much over the years:


New Directions

Supporting adults with learning disabilities since 2013

Riding for the Disabled

Specifically RDA's Ingestre base four miles N.E. of Stafford


Oak Tree Farm

A sense of purpose for adults with learning disabilities on a 15 acre smallholding near Hilderstone, eight miles north of Stafford



Shop

Some of the images that appear in A Hundred and One Little Histories are for sale on T-shirts, smartphone cases, etc from a collection named "101 Little Histories" in an online shop known as Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/davidgoble/shop


Examples follow. Again, any money taken goes to the charities identified earlier.

A Hundred and One Little Histories - cover

Lockdown Landmarks in S. W. London

The Jolly Coopers, Hampton


Reduce Speed Now


THE View, Richmond Hill


Pedal Puddle


Flower Seed, Barge Walk


Kempton Steam Museum


Dust and Distance, Hampton Court Green


Camp Griffiss, Bushy Park



And There You Have It

If you made it this far without skipping any, or many posts, I hope you felt it was worth it, and many thanks for finding the time to take a ride with me through some local history in this south-west nook of London.


Before I pop off, and with all due respect to everyone featured, I’d like to wave a flag for three local people who stood out for me as I learned and wrote One Hundred and One Little Histories.

 

Dr John Langdon Down

Father of Down’s Syndrome, gifted with enlightenment and compassion for those disadvantaged by learning disabilities. His wife Mary played a key role, as did their sons who are remembered here.

 

Horace Walpole

He lived a life of privilege, but created, and lived in, an extraordinary Gothic castle of “gloomth”, which he also, albeit begrudgingly, opened to the public. On top of that inconvenience, he endured the shock of shattered stained glass windows and flooded meadows. Lady Frances Waldegrave deserves credit for saving and safeguarding much of his legacy after his death.

 

R.D. Blackmore

Fame as author of Lorna Doone buttered few, if any, parsnips, for this keen gardener, preferring to be remembered as the winner of first prize for swedes at a local horticultural event. Grounded.




The End

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