Art Deco Icons, programme 4 [of 4]

[salymap]

In about 1945/6 I visited that theatre in Woolwich to see the Ballet [?Royal Ballet] including Margot Fonteyn and several other young dancers, as she was then. I was so excited I don't remember the cinema
but it looks bautiful in the picture.

[Pegleg]

In about 1945/6 I visited that theatre in Woolwich to see the Ballet [?Royal Ballet] including Margot Fonteyn and several other young dancers, as she was then. I was so excited I don't remember the cinema
but it looks bautiful in the picture.

That's the good thing about this type of programme and any discussion that follows. It can trigger fond memories, make you re-evaluate familiar environments from past and present, and send you on new journeys real or virtual.

I was only vaguely aware of Eltham Palace until you mentioned it, and had no idea that the Courtaulds had built a home there. I'm mostly confined to barracks these days, so I made a virtual trip and here's a selection of the best photos I've found so far:

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/entrance-hall-eltham-palace.html

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/dining-room-eltham-palace.html

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/bedroom-eltham-palace.html

It seems fitting that the 66 Portland Place, home of the Royal Institute of British Architects, is another exceptional “art deco” building:

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/royal-institute-of-british-architects.html

[salymap]

That's the good thing about this type of programme and any discussion that follows. It can trigger fond memories, make you re-evaluate familiar environments from past and present, and send you on new journeys real or virtual.

I was only vaguely aware of Eltham Palace until you mentioned it, and had no idea that the Courtaulds had built a home there. I'm mostly confined to barracks these days, so I made a virtual trip and here's a selection of the best photos I've found so far:

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/entrance-hall-eltham-palace.html

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/dining-room-eltham-palace.html

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/bedroom-eltham-palace.html

It seems fitting that the 66 Portland Place, home of the Royal Institute of British Architects, is another exceptional “art deco” building:

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co....rchitects.html

Thanks a lot Pegleg, I too am 'confined to barracks'except for local shops and do appreciate your links.

Not art deco, but another interesting building is Hall Place, near me, once visited by Queen Elizabeth 1 and somewhere between BexleyVillage and Bexleyheath. Mustn't get too off topic though.

[Pegleg]

Thanks a lot Pegleg, I too am 'confined to barracks'except for local shops and do appreciate your links.

Not art deco, but another interesting building is Hall Place, near me, once visited by Queen Elizabeth 1 and somewhere between BexleyVillage and Bexleyheath. Mustn't get too off topic though.

What can I say? It's a pain.

Well that's another place I've never visited, and wish I could.

One of my one favourites is Ham House, supposedly “unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power.”, approached along the tow path from Richmond. Or if you're feeling energetic, take the long route up Richmond Hill past the Star and Garter Home, on through Richmond gate to Pembroke Lodge and exit the park via Ham Gate. Head for Ham common as you pass Ormeley Lodge ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormeley_Lodge) and approach the back of Ham House via the long straight “Ham Avenue”. By which time you'd certainly make straight for the tea rooms, unless of course you'd dallied in any of the pubs en route, and then it would be another room you'd want.

But back to “art deco”, it's got me thinking about the industrial landscape on London's western fringes at Gillete corner, and a few miles from me at Park Royal, the site of the old Guinness factory and another Charles Holden underground station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Corner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Mile_(Brentford)

http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Brentford

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~garycr/2001/firestone_factory/

http://www.forbidden-places.net/urban-exploration-park-royal-guinness-brewery#gal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Park_Royal_stn_building.JPG

Then there apartment blocks. My first Saturday and holiday job before leaving school was working for a builders merchant in Balham, which was convenient for nearby relatives too. Balham may have been lampooned in that classic 1950s sketch performed by Peter Sellers, “Balham, Gateway to the South” ( http://youtu.be/74aK8w2910c ) but according to my paternal Great Grandmother, who was interviewed by the local press on the occasion of her golden wedding anniversary in 1935, there was a time when it was less jaded: “Fifty years ago there were certainly shops here [Tooting], but if you wanted better class shops you had to go to Balham”. While much of the housing stock is late Victorian or Edwardian, one apartment block stands out, that's Du Cane Court:

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/images/objects/560/SW17.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Cane_Court

http://www.timeandleisure.co.uk/blog/80-blogs/1132-du-cane-court.html

One myth that appealed to small boys, born post-war:

It is said, for instance, that Hitler intended to use it for his headquarters when he invaded Britain; and that the German Luftwaffe may have found it helpful as a navigational aid – for, in spite of its size, the estate appears to have survived World War 11 completely unscathed

And of course, Du Can Court has appeared in Poirot:

http://spillingthebeansonbalham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/du-cane-court-coffee-shop-step-back-in.html

The second “art deco” apartment block in South London I've always liked the look of is “Hightrees House” close to Clapham South tube and overlooking the tennis courts on Clapham Common Westside.

http://goo.gl/maps/H8gYp

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wreckeddeco/2492895006/in/photostream/

If you have slightest interest in the doctrine of promissory estoppel, then Hightrees house will mean something more than “art deco” to you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_London_Property_Trust_Ltd_v._High_Trees_House_Ltd

I'll stick to the visual environment. I've wandered far and wide, and I think that's more than enough from me.

[vinteuil]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Cane_Court

http://www.timeandleisure.co.uk/blog/80-blogs/1132-du-cane-court.html

One myth that appealed to small boys, born post-war:

It is said, for instance, that Hitler intended to use it for his headquarters when he invaded Britain; and that the German Luftwaffe may have found it helpful as a navigational aid – for, in spite of its size, the estate appears to have survived World .

... Interesting. The myth that I grew up with was that it was the Whiteley's building in Queensway that had been identified by Hitler as his headquarters following a successful invasion.

The other myth (and I know these are all myths, but I like it) is that Edwardes Square off High Street Kensington was built by the French as Napoleon's base after a similar successful invasion...

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50323

[Pegleg]

Myth or not, the idea of the dreaded swastika flying over any building in the UK is chilling. In the end Whiteleys yielded to the master of retail therapy, rather than the master race. Being turned into yet another multi-unit shopping centre where individuality is lost. I vaguely remember the process involved a nasty fatal building accident. We've been left with a good deal of the original 1911 façade, and interior stairs and gallery.

http://imasinglelondongirl.com/2012/04/08/whiteleys-the-forgotten-shopping-centre/

Curving staircases at the main entrance:

http://owenbillcliffe.photoshelter.com/image/I0000C1aOeovg5Bc

Curving staircases, main entrance hall and three layers of shops:

http://owenbillcliffe.photoshelter.com/image/I0000WKN.S5FzNaY

Whiteleys, Mall:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whiteleys,_Mall,_04.jpg

I never had the pleasure of stepping inside Whiteleys prior to its revamp, and only a couple of times after that. I've not been able to find photos of the original interior, so can't say if any features remain from the pre-conversion days that might reflect it's Edwardian past.

You could spend a life time at http://www.british-history.ac.uk, with it's rich vein of historical nuggets. It's a good story: “cheap little houses’ for ‘the promenading tastes and poorly-furnished pockets of the ensigns and lieutenants of Napoleon's Army’. I must remember to try to use that lovely word “canard” ASAP. I wonder what Kenneth Williams would have made of this a la crepe suzette. It's a strange coincidence that Edwardes Square was once the home of Lord Holland and now many of his fellow citizen would like to chop the “e” off Monsieur Hollande.

[Pegleg]

A Whiteleys postscript. If you think that the ITV Selfridges drama is piffle ( it's not something I have watched – honest guv) then the real life story of William Whiteley, the department store's founder is melodrama at its best. See here:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=094-726&cid=0#0

"He provided on site accommodation for his staff who were expected to work from 7am until 11pm...

The unpopularity of Whiteley may explain why his shops suffered a number of fires...

... on 24 January 1907 William Whiteley was shot dead in his own office by a young man calling himself Cecil Whiteley who claimed to be his bastard son …"

And surprise, surprise:

In 1927 the store was bought by Harry Gordon Selfridge.

PS I gave up looking for old photos and I certainly won't be going to the National Archive.