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The former Royal Masonic Hospital site, recently marketed by Savills as “a landmark development opportunity”, is currently under offer. Sitting in a conservation area, surrounded by listed housing and overlooking Ravenscourt Park, the Grade II* hospital building and its later additions occupy a plum site in the heart of Hammersmith.
Opened by King George V and Queen Mary in 1933, its steel-framed modernist architecture by Tait & Lorne famously won an RIBA Gold Medal as the best building of 1933, while its interiors, fixtures and fittings were custom designed throughout in the same Art Deco style.
But times changed, and after a controversial sale in the 1990s, although its Art Deco interiors continued to make frequent appearances in films and in television series like Poirot, subsequent owners proved unable to find a viable healthcare use. And after standing empty for 15 years, the main building will need considerable investment in refurbishment and restoration.
A short promotional film made in 1970 gives us a fascinating glimpse into the hospital in its heyday. Fifty years ago, it was a self-contained organisation with its own kitchens, laundry, laboratories and a nursing school and staff accommodation, all set in 10 acres of immaculately kept grounds.
Following discussions with Council planners, the agents, Savills, are now saying that ‘medical use’ covenants need no longer apply and suggest a range of alternative possibilities for future development. Only the main building, with its twin entrance pillars representing Healing and Charity, is listed. The site also contains several smaller buildings which are described as targets for demolition and redevelopment – even “possible upward extensions”.
Any development on this scale and in this location will have a significant impact both on the park and the local community, so it is vital that we should all have a say in the future of this important part of our Hammersmith heritage.
Anyone living near Olympia will be all too aware of the scale of the building works going on. When we first looked at the plans in late 2017, we couldn’t envisage the true scale of the project. At that time, the visualisations showed mezzanine decks added to the halls to increase floor area, and the rest were just outlines. We’re now told that the mezzanines are not going to be built as exhibitors have shown a preference for more open floor area. There are, after all, existing galleries around the halls.
Recently, the developers Yoo Capital/Future Olympia have invited the public to visit and overlook the site via the roof, as we advertised in our diary, the featured tour being led by construction director Tony Palgrave. From Hammersmith Road one can see the huge steel structure supporting the Art Deco frontage, but what’s not so obvious is the size of the hole behind it. The original building as you can see is now gone, but it had limited value having been chopped about for decades as previous owners tried to make it relevant, even becoming the “UKAY Olympia” furniture shop in the 1980’s. The concrete is being ground up and recycled for the new buildings, a modern way to reduce waste, but not perhaps as green as some might have it, due to limited re-use of the embodied carbon.
The music venue at the rear of the site (shown adjacent in the distance with white crane alongside) is now built to it’s final height and the foundations for the theatre in front if it are now being built (far right of the main panorama); this will be followed by the foundations for the offices that will appear behind and above the Deco frontage over the next year or two. The proposed phased opening will be in 2024-5.
The model on display in the Pillar Hall where the tour started, which we first saw at our AGM in 2019, shows the scale of the development, with the theatre frontage onto Hammersmith Road to the left of the office block behind the Deco frontage. Committee members have been active in helping to improve the theatre frontage and public realm by meeting periodically with the developers over the last 2 or 3 years.
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We mentioned the government’s long-awaited Heat and buildings strategy in the article about Zero carbon homes a couple of months ago. Now published ahead of COP26, the direction of travel is a little clearer. Here we summarise what it says, looking at how it will affect you and your decisions as your existing heating system reaches end of life – we’re not looking at standards for newbuilds here – they have their own paths. A third-party summary written by Building Design is a useful primer along with a cautionary reader comment from Finland highlighting the intricacies of vapour barriers when adding new insulation inside or out. A recent Guardian article usefully lays out the “hydrogen landscape” and the ongoing tests.
The strategy says many good things, with good aspirations, but the thing that really stands out for existing homeowners is that a hydrogen infrastructure remains a work-in-progress. The issue is still: Can it be made economically and ecologically “at scale”, and deployed using existing gas mains? The government has said it needs more time to run research projects and decide – another 5 years. Can the climate wait ?
As we said previously, the heat-pump route is more involved, and has more finely tuned parameters for success. You might therefore want to nurse that old boiler gently into its dotage until the infrastructure research is done, because a replacement hydrogen boiler (already designed with prototypes available from, for example, Worcester-Bosch, with a negligible cost premium) would be a trivial replacement by comparison, especially in a typical Hammersmith period home. Installation of so-called hydrogen-ready boilers could be a way to prime the pump for a national switchover, like the switch from town gas from 1967 – 77.
If you’re interested in a no-nonsense discussion between a boiler manufacturer involved in government-sponsored hydrogen trials, their ins and outs, plus heat pumps, and someone who’s actually installed both in the real world, then the video adjacent is for you. It should open your eyes to most issues homeowners are about to grapple with, and discusses many of the points here in more detail.
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We were pleased to announce our 2021 Awards at the AGM at Riverside Studios on Wednesday 29th September, introduced by committee member Derrick Wright and presented by our patron, Cllr P J Murphy, Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham. The large number of members and supporters present were provided excellent hospitality in the River Room. Full details and a narrative are posted on our 2021 Awards page; more AGM photos and administrative documents are posted on our 2021 AGM page.
(AGM Photos: Louisa Whitlock. Click for full-size versions)
Our Guest Speaker was Sherry Dobbin, from FutureCity, who spoke about unlocking the potential of city places with some fascinating ideas for how this might work for Hammersmith Town Centre. She showed several existing examples from around the world and an installation opened at The Shard on the same day.
Our Environment Award was given to The Quaker Meeting House in Bradmore Park Road. We first visited as it was completed in October 2020, and were immediately impressed with the quality of design and construction, its environmental credentials, and the feeling of serenity. Our original article is here
The Tom Ryland Award for Conservation was given to the Mission Hall in Iffley Road which has now been given a new lease of life through a major conversion and refurbishment to provide office, meeting and community facilities.
The Nancye Goulden Award was given to the landscaping of 245 Hammersmith Road. The unusual stairs & inclined lift immediately set it out as something different. The landscaping and recreational benefits provided by this very substantial development set a great example of how we can restore people priority in the bustle of traffic and commerce which makes up the town centre.
Wooden spoons were awarded to two utilitarian horrors – 5G masts and their associated street clutter, and the ugly Thames Water fountains.
After the Awards, we turned to our usual AGM business, including Chairman’s report. Finally we reminded all present that in 2022, as our new banner and anniversary logo shows, the Society turns 60. We are seeking ideas to celebrate the occasion next summer – please send us your thoughts.
Her Majesty’s Government has decided that Gigabit broadband (FTTP) will help overcome recent economic woes, bridge the digital divide, and level up, and has declared £5 billion public funding for the first million homes and businesses. Initially, it correctly prioritises those most in need – often in rural or semi-rural locations – but at £5000 a pop, it needs to be worth it. Time to look closer to home, and see how this relates to Hammersmith – and our conservation areas – if and when it’s promoted widely here. Some green markings have appeared adjacent to “Post Office” manholes hereabouts, so this may be sooner rather than later.
You’ll doubtless know that so-called “fibre broadband” is already here – but what might “Fibre To The Premises” (FTTP) mean – and should you opt for it ? Below, we look at the implications for you and the streetscape, the technologies being deployed, and, by running the numbers, show that provided you and the Telcos are doing the right thing – several of which are mentioned – your home would be hard pressed to need the virtues of FTTP for a good many years to come – if ever.
The slowest 20% get 17M, the average 56.7M, and the top 20% get 150M
Currently if you have “fibre” and aren’t on Virgin, you’re unlikely to have FTTP, you probably have fibre to a green cabinet less than a few hundred metres away, known as “Fibre To The Cabinet” (FTTC). Then, most often, the familiar phone wires, but somewhat shorter than before, which, with some updated tech in the green box and your home router, yields a big speed-up.
Here in Hammersmith, as one of the denser areas of London, we’re quite well served for broadband, with one or two known not-spots (the Western side of St. Peters Square being one, where our affiliate SPRA is exploring FTTP provision), but generally above London average speeds Published stats show that the slowest 20% get 17M, the average is 56.7M, and the top 20% get 150M. That suggests most are already on FTTC – or better. Several companies are now offering FTTP, Openreach (BT) being just one.
Prompting this article, your correspondent recently sat in on an IET Zoom presentation “Holes & poles : fibre to the home”, exciting stuff if you’re into that kind of thing. The clear message was that the industry has managed to wring out as much as it can from the ancient pair of copper wires that provide landline phones – now rarely used – and diggers are needed for what comes next.
There’s been a substantial discussion about the problematic last few metres from your garden wall or gate to front door. In fact the last 5-10m – never mind the last mile – is often the biggest hurdle, as we discuss later. Logistical, cost and maintenance reasons mean wireless is ruled out, and, as the existing wires have had it, digging up the garden is likely if there are no usable ducts, followed by new holes in the front wall for a fibre “cable” and boxes on the wall. Fortunately fibre being fibre, it’s completely safe, and the consequences of an errant garden fork are inconvenient rather than dangerous, so it need not be buried as deep as main services.
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We’re pleased to see that a ferry operator has finally been appointed, and conversely disappointed at a low proposed (peak) capacity of 800/hr. total, i.e. 400 each way, cost – not free – £1.55 proposed, though included in hopper & concessionary fares, restricted operating hours of 6am-10pm, and of course the service delay until later this year.
But as the tale below shows, a temporary bridge was the right solution 140 years ago when the original bridge was falling down through neglect, and remains so today, on the second anniversary of bridge closure.
Accordingly, we wrote to the Prime Minister recently.
Last month we were sent a copy of the lavishly illustrated hardback ‘John Dixon’ by Ian Pearce, published in 2019 (cover shown), which has a fascinating chapter illuminating the design & construction issues of the original Tierney Clark suspension bridge, and its rebuilding as the current bridge, which John Dixon’s company took over in the 1880’s, under Bazalgette and his son Edward.
Readers may order the book direct from the author at the much reduced price of £18 (including UK p&p) using this link.
Here we also need to mention the joint endeavour by the Fulham and Hammersmith, and Barnes and Mortlake Historical Societies in recently updating Charles Hailstone’s 1987 book: A History of Hammersmith Bridge.
To say that the various accounts show history repeating itself would be rather an understatement. Included in Pearce’s book are warnings writ large for those again contemplating tolls and ferries.
A comparative list between then & now:
✔ A toll that irritated residents both sides of the bridge.
✔ Ownership issues preventing adequate finance & oversight.
✔ Lack of maintenance leading to near collapse.
✔ Concerns over bridge loading capacity, weight.
✔ Questionable strength of bridge chains and hangers.
✔ Roadway disintegration.
✔ Use of inappropriate materials for cost reasons.
✔ Engineers reports unheeded, or “disappeared”.
✔ Plan for a temporary ferry with low capacity & limited hours.
❌ Effect on navigation and the Boat Race.
❓ Temporary bridge, 23ft wide with a separate walkway.
It’s of note that Tierney Clark’s Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest, of similar design to his one in Hammersmith and earlier in Marlow, is also currently closed – for repair and rebuilding – not for the first time, perhaps with some familiar issues ?
During Bazalgette’s 1880’s bridge reconstruction, a temporary bridge was built both wide enough for traffic, and with spans sufficient for navigation and to allow the Boat Race to continue as shown here, in response to the inadequacies of a proposed ferry, an outcry from the residents of Castelnau (@TfL take note), and at the time, a statutory duty to maintain a crossing, needing an Act of Parliament to circumvent. Eventually though, the rebuilding was done in just 30 months, and at a cost of £82,177 which is about £10.5M in today’s money.
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The Ravenscourt Park Tea House, a popular stopping point in the park, has been in a dilapidated condition for some time, and been a concern of the Friends of Ravenscourt Park, as well as being on Historic England’s Buildings At Risk register. It closed in 2019 largely because of its increasingly poor condition.
The Friends, chaired by our committee member Annabelle May, had a very informative and encouraging meeting recently with senior planning officer Steve Hollingworth and head of capital projects Nilesh Pankhania. Two architects from Burrell Foley Fischer also attended, and showed their detailed plans for total external refurbishments, using the approved materials, with the aim of making the building weather proof and usable again. A stark revelation was the neglect and inappropriate patching-up of past decades.
These works also include the much-needed total redesign and refurbishment of all the public toilets on the site. The planning application has been lodged, and they hope to be able to start works in early summer. We were told that funding has been identified.
As the Friends have campaigned for a long time about the deteriorating state of this important 200 year old Grade II historic building, this was all extremely good news, and as a focal point in the Park we all look forward to seeing it in use as a café again before too long.
Garages are an endangered species, locally and across London. Where once council flats would have had rows of garages below – often beloved of British spy and detective dramas where exclusively bad stuff happens – new developments are mandated not only to have bicycle storage, but also to be car-free, meaning garage-free too.
Free-standing garages and similar small industrial buildings are being demolished for housing, and as we’ve experienced locally, offices too.
The car is next on the endangered species of course, and current bogeyman of every level of government and social media alike. One can only wonder when the car is completely green, producing no emissions – tailpipe or otherwise – running on tyres made of waste plastic designed to shed no particulate matter, what will the Twitterati and government have to berate us old dinosaurs with? Don’t laugh – it’s only a decade or so away.
Lest we disappear down that rabbit hole, let’s focus on garages, and why they might be important for a range of socio-economic reasons, not as just car storage, which few ever used them for anyway. The site pictured above is from our 2012 collection of 50 favourite places, and true to form, was redeveloped soon after and became the location of a Nancye Goulden Award of 2015 – with not a garage in sight.
We are reminded by last week’s Last Word that Sidney Alford, the maverick explosives expert who created methods of defusing the terrorist’s preferred weapon – the Improvised Explosive Device – started in a garage. Locally, Shepherds Bush, to quote our follower @sbcalling …nowhere else on the planet has a richer history of rock & roll, TV, film and pop culture than Shepherd’s Bush, White City & Hammersmith, and where the NME has claimed one rock star to every 1,222 of the population, may have significantly benefited from garages. Many an act has started in one, often for practice, away from others, making as much noise as they like, there’s a plethora of terminology relating to garage bands, a garage rock genre and so-on. It certainly worked out for locals The Who, punk icons The Clash (Garageland) and the maverick Sex Pistols, with Danny Boyle’s new drama Pistol filmed last week in The Cross Keys, 45 years on. Not much more than a glorified garage at the time, the laundry behind the 2009 award-winning 22 St Peter’s Square, AKA Island Studios, became rather significant to a huge swathe of the music industry in the 1960’s and 1970’s as Chris Blackwell’s Island Records.
Maybe no longer to your taste, but while pondering a misspent youth fixing cars in parent’s garages, including a less-fondly remembered side-line of garage rock, think of the economic benefits of garages:
Proving that being in the USA and the world of technology isn’t a pre-requisite, Brewdog is a recent Scottish garage success, now valued at nearly £2,000,000,000. They even have a bar in the aforementioned ‘Bush.
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