E16: Out of the strong came forth sweetness

E16 is Victoria Docks and North Woolwich and I have to say this postcode is quite unlike any other I have visited. It is a strange mix of industrial dereliction and modernity. Even though there has been a lot of building going on, much of it is still rather a wasteland.

We start our walk at the North Woolwich Post Office which is at 17 Pier Road, E16. This is just along the road from King George V Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station. Turn right out of the Post Office and go over the cross roads. Head towards the Woolwich Ferry. Our first stop is just on the left.

Stop 1: Royal Victoria Gardens

The area is a bit run down but suddenly – and rather unexpectedly – you come across a proper little park with grass and trees. This is Royal Victoria Gardens.

According to the London Gardens Online site:

“Royal Victoria Gardens were opened by the LCC in 1890 on land acquired with funds raised through public subscription. The former marshland had been acquired by George Bidder’s North Woolwich Land Company in the 1840s and was rapidly developed for industrial use, encouraged by new rail and ferry links. In 1850 the proprietor of the Pavilion Hotel expanded his hotel and laid out tea gardens, which he opened in 1851 as the Royal Pavilion Pleasure Gardens. Crowds of visitors were attracted to its numerous entertainments but in the early 1880s it began to make a loss, but the site was saved from development. The public gardens were completely redesigned, with little remaining of the pleasure gardens apart from the riverside terraces and central walk. There were a series of cells of a different character or activity, and a bandstand in the centre of the southern terrace. The Gardens suffered bomb damage during 1940 and little of the Victorian layout remains today.”

There is more about these gardens on the attached link: http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.asp?ID=NEW027

Now you will see a concrete ramp close to the entrance. Go up here. This leads onto the riverside walk.

From the riverside walk you have a great view over to new developments on the other side of the river to the east of Woolwich.

And go to the right and you will see another concrete walk way with our next stop peeking up beyond the flood wall.

Go up these steps and view the building over the road.

Stop 2: Former North Woolwich Station

This was once North Woolwich station.  And if you look closely you will also see the words (or at least many of the letters of the words) “Great Eastern Railway Museum”

The station first opened in June 1847 at the southern end of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway from Stratford.

The route became an extension of the North London Line in 1979 and the line was electrified in 1984. But this end of the line became in effect a single track. The original station building here ceased to be used and was replaced by something rather more basic just along the way.

The station and the line to Stratford closed in December 2006 to allow for conversion of the North London Line between Stratford and Canning Town to become part of the DLR. But the far end of the line through Silvertown to North Woolwich did not become part of the DLR and so was abandoned – though we shall see much of it (but not this far end) is going to get a new lease of life. The area was not left isolated as it was served by King George V DLR station which opened in December 2005.

For over twenty years (from 1984 to 2008), the original North Woolwich station buildings and one disused platform became the North Woolwich Old Station Museum which was dedicated to the history of the Great Eastern Railway.

But as we can see this too is no longer. Here is what the Great Eastern Railway Society had to say about the closure:

“The Society regrets that the North Woolwich Old Station Museum closed at the end of November 2008.

Although the Great Eastern Railway Society had a significant interest in the Museum, and had contributed much to its opening and some of its displays it had no involvement in the Museum’s management. This was in the hands of the London Borough of Newham who, unfortunately, were no longer in a position to financially support the facility.

The contents of the Museum have not been moved together, but have been dispersed to various other locations:

* Some items have been returned to their owners who had placed them there on loan.
* The bulk of the smaller artefacts have gone to the East Anglian Railway Museum at Chappel.
* The GER horse-drawn parcels lorry has gone to Mangapps Railway Museum at Burnham-on-Crouch.
* Many documents have passed to the GERS and have been placed on loan and deposited at the Essex Record Office at Chelmsford.”

Kind of sad that this did not survive, but perhaps there were just not enough people interested in the Great Eastern Railway to justify it having a dedicated museum.

Now turn and look over towards the river for our next stop.

Stop 3: Woolwich Ferry

The Woolwich Ferry is a strange kind of relic that ought not to be here in the year 2016.

There has been a ferry operating in Woolwich since at least the 14th century, and commercial crossings operated intermittently until the mid 19th century.

Today’s ferry operates as a free service under an 1885 Act of Parliament. Originally the service was operated by paddle steamers. New vessels came into use in 1923 and these in turn were replaced in 1963 by the present fleet of “Roll On Roll Off” ferries.

The three boats are named after prominent London politicians of the past:

*John Burns (1858 – 1943) – a Liberal politician who was at one time MP for Battersea.

*Ernest Bevin (1881 – 1951) a Labour politician who at the time of his death was MP for Woolwich East

* James Newman who was Mayor of Woolwich from 1923 to 1925.

 

Normally the service is operated by two boats and in recent years they have carried around 20,000 vehicles a week. This translates to about 2 million people when you count vehicle passengers and the odd traveller on foot.

The Woolwich Ferry is where the South and North Circular Roads meet in the east. The continued existence of a ferry here is because of the inability of successive Governments (national and local) to address the issue of building more road crossings across the Thames in the east of London.

Additional links such as the Thames Gateway Bridge and the Gallions Reach Crossing have been proposed as replacements, but the schemes have come and gone and nothing has been built. So there are no immediate plans to discontinue the Woolwich Ferry as long as there is a demand. But given the boats are now well over 50 years old, I guess there must come a time when a decision has to be taken to replace them or withdraw the service.

Interestingly Tolls cannot be levied on the ferry without changing the 1885 Act of Parliament, but that may be necessary if the ferry continues after new East London crossings have been created as these will have tolls in order to pay for them. And this means the ferry could not realistically be left as a free crossing.

Pedestrians do not have to wait for the ferry as there is also the option of using the Foot Tunnel – which is our next stop.

Stop 4: Woolwich Foot Tunnel

This tunnel opened in 1912 and was in part due to the efforts of East End politician, Will Crook who we heard about in E14. The surface building is now Grade II listed.

Inside there is a lift and a spiral staircase. The lift has been automated but still has the old wooden panels inside, even if it no longer has a lift attendant.

The number of people using the foot tunnel has declined particularly since the opening of the DLR service to Woolwich. It was eerily quiet when I was there.

Back on the surface, there is probably the most depressing bus terminal in London.

And just across the road is probably the most depressing riverside park in London. Clearly some money was spent on this once, as there are these various bits of industrial heritage artfully distributed.

But the area is strewn with litter and in many places it is overgrown. Have the authorities forgotten that this exists? Maybe once the vacant land near here gets built on, someone will find the money to rehabilitate this riverside garden.

Continue along Pier Road and then turn up Henley Road walking away from the river. Turn left into Factory Road.

As we walk along Factory Road we see indications of some Crossrail works, which are where the old railway line to North Woolwich used to be. Here the line is on the surface and about to go into a tunnel under the Thames to get to Woolwich and Abbey Wood.

As we head down Factory Road, a strange sight looms up. It is a chinese style canopy.

And it turns out to be announcing the entrance to a Chinese cash and carry supermarket. It looks like it is closed, though, judging by the signs.

There does seem to be quite a random selection of business down here. Just along a side road here there is a bus garage.

This is the home of Docklands Buses which is actually a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London.

Continue walking along Factory Road and you will see our next stop up ahead on the left.

Stop 5: Tate & Lyle Silvertown refinery

This is the Thames Refinery operated by Tate and Lyle and one of the largest sugar refinery in the world and possibly the largest in the European Union.

It was opened by Henry Tate and Sons in the late 1870s. They manufactured sugar cubes here. Tate had not invented the sugar cube. In 1872, Henry Tate purchased the patent from a German called Eugen Langen and it made Tate’s fortune. That year he built a new refinery in Liverpool and later he opened a refinery here at Silvertown which remains in production.

Curiously there is a sign for Lyle’s Golden Syrup. It seems odd to find it here as we shall see.

Stop 6: site of Silvertown station

Just here we are walking along side the old railway line that went to North Woolwich which was closed in 2006. As we saw this section is being reused for the Abbey Wood branch of Crossrail. There is a little gap in the wall where you can peek through to see the work in progress.

Ahead you will see a footbridge on the right. If you go up onto that you can look at the line below. The tracks are laid but the overhead power lines have yet to go up.

Just about here was the site of Silvertown station – no sign of this survives today. And there will be no station here when Crossrail opens in a couple of years. However there is what is called passive provision for a station, so one may get built at some point in the future – presumably once more of the land round here gets redeveloped.

And looking the other way (to the west) the line curves off to the right and heads towards the Connaught Tunnel, which has been rebuilt for Crossrail.

You can also see a strange looking building to the left that looks like it might have escaped from Disneyland. That is our next stop which you reach by returning to Factory Road, turning right and carrying straight on.

Stop 7: Brick Lane Music Hall

This was St Mark’s Church dedicated in 1862. It is in gothic revival style and was built to stand out amongst the docks and industry.

The church was declared redundant in 1974 and bought in 1979 by Newham Council, with the intention of turning it into a museum. A major fire in 1981 largely destroyed the roof, which was replaced between 1984 and 1989. Wikipedia says that “the building could have been destroyed by fire had it not been for the weight of pigeon-muck on the roof which fell and quickly extinguished the flames.”

On closer inspection this building is no longer a church but a venture called the Brick Lane Music Hall.

Their website claims it is “the only permanent home for music hall, we have a range of shows including traditional music hall bills as well as freshly devised production shows with more up to date and innovative material.”

As the name suggests it started life in Brick Lane – that was in 1992. It then moved to Shoreditch and ended up here in 2003/04. And what a good use for the building.

However it does feel quite out of the way for a place of entertainment. I am sure many people would not feel safe here at night, even today when the area is at last getting some new development.

Continue walking straight ahead. You will see the DLR viaduct coming in from your right. Past the roundabout the road continues as North Woolwich Road. Follow the DLR viaduct. 

Our next stop is just to the left.

Stop 8: Thames Barrier Park

The Thames Barrier is a movable flood barrier which has been operational since 1984. Its aim is to protect London wast of here from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up river from the North Sea. You first see the barrier in the distance along a road behind a gate..

But then you come to a park with great views of the Barrier. This park which dates from 1995 was apparently built on the site of a chemical factory and this land was highly polluted.

There is a visitors’ centre for the Barrier but it is on the other side of the River. but on this side there is a cafe and a rather lovely “Green Dock”

Now head away from the river towards the DLR viaduct and Pontoon Dock station.

Stop 9: Millennium Mills

Our next stop can be seen from  the station. This is the imposing Millennium Mills.

Apparently this area was important for flour milling. This particular building is one of the few reminders. It dates from the mid 1930s and was built for Spillers. There have been many plans to redevelop or reuse this site since the docks were closed in 1981, but it does look like something is finally about to happen.

Now continue along North Woolwich Road past Pontoon Dock Station and turn left down Bradfield Road. Ahead of you on the left you will see a little park.

Stop 10: Lyle Park

In 1924, Sir Leonard Lyle, a grandson of Abram Lyle (the Lyle of Tate and Lyle), donated the land to the local council to be used as a park for the benefit of local residents.

As you approach the park, the first gate you come to may be locked but if you carry on to your right, there is another gate near the children’s play area and you can get in there.

It is worth a detour as there are a couple of interesting things to see.

As you walk in the park widens out and there is a single football pitch. Go to the right and in the far corner you will come across this little monument.

This is a First World War Memorial in the form of a water fountain.

And amazingly the tap actually works. When pushed it produces water!

Now walk the length of the football pitch and go up the steps. Ahead is another item of interest – a set of ornamental gates leading to nowhere.

The sign explains these gates stood at the entrance to the Harland and Woolf shipyard in Woolwich Manor Way – which confusingly is actually on the north side of the river in E16 and not in Woolwich.

Harland and Woolf is most famously associated with Belfast and their shipyard there was where the ill fated Titanic was built. I had not realised the company had a number of other locations, including here in North Woolwich.

You can walk over to the riverside here and see the odd mix of wharves and other industrial buildings with a sprinkling of new housing developments.

And there is a nice touch on one of the benches.

I guess a fairly recent addition, but frustratingly whoever sponsored the seat did not think to put a date or dates on the little plaque.

Now retrace your steps to the main road. Notice how this little park is hemmed in by industrial sites even today – in fact on the west side there is a construction waste processing plant which you can see in a couple of places looming over the boundary. You can also hear the noise of the operation with the odd boom shattering the otherwise tranquil park.

Stop 11: Tate & Lyle’s other works

Having left Lyle Park go back under the DLR and turn left. Follow the main road (with the DLR above your head) past the new housing developments going down to the river.

Ahead is West Silvertown DLR station and when you get to the station you can see on the other side of the viaduct the other Tate and Lyle factory here.

We are around a mile from the Thames Refinery and this is Plaistow Wharf. It is the home of Lyle’s Golden Syrup and was first opened by Abram Lyle in the 1880s. And it still makes Golden Syrup today.

In 1921 Lyle’s business merged with Tate, to become Tate & Lyle. In 2010 Tate & Lyle sold its sugar refining and golden syrup business to American Sugar Refining, although Tate and Lyle still exists as a business – it just does not refine sugar anymore.

What is so odd is that with all the closures and rationalisations that happen in business, the Tate and Lyle empire have kept the two factories here, even though they are so close together.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup tin bears a picture of a dead lion with a swarm of bees and the slogan “Out of the strong came forth sweetness”. This is a reference to a Old Testament Biblical story (Judges – Chapter 14) This has Samson travelling to the land of the Philistines in search of a wife. During the journey he killed a lion, and when he passed the same spot on his return he noticed that some bees had colonised in the carcass.

Samson later turned this into a riddle: “Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness”. Abram Lyle was a religious man, and it has been suggested that the use of this quote refers either to the strength of the Lyle company or the tins in which golden syrup is sold. But no one actually knows for sure.

And according to Guinness World Records Lyle’s Golden Syrup is Britain’s oldest brand, its imagery being almost unchanged since 1885.

While we are here do look ahead from the station.

You get a great view of Canary Wharf and also the cable car.

We are now at the end of our E16 walk which has proved a walk of contrasts. A new world is slowing emerging from the industrial dereliction but it still has pockets of working industry which makes for an interesting mix. But there is more to see in E16 – we did not manage to get to Canning Town or London City Airport for example.

We are right by West Silvertown station here for onward travel.

 

E15: Robert and the Railway Tree

E15 is Stratford, a place which grew because of the railway and more recently became the location of the 2012 Olympics – though the Olympic Park is now a separate new postcode (E20) which we shall come to in due course. But Stratford was here long before the railway, when there was an Abbey.

We start our walk at Stratford’s main Post Office which is at 26 – 28 The Broadway. Outside is one of those postboxes painted gold following the 2012 Olympics. This one is slightly different from most of the others in that it does not celebrate a particular athlete but rather the Games themselves. (The paint job hasn’t weathered too well though)

Walk as if you have turned right out of the Post Office and soon you will come upon the Langthorne pub.

I am sure the drinkers in here have no idea about where the name of this pub came from. It comes from the name of the medieval Abbey that stood nearby until the 1530s. Sadly there is nothing of the Abbey left to see, so far as I am aware.

Continue walking and ahead you will see a traffic island. Go onto that.

Stop 1: The Railway Tree

Here in the middle of the road is our first stop. It is an artwork made out of rail shaped metal and it is called “The Railway Tree”. This celebrates Stratford’s railway history as a major railway centre for both passengers and freight and also as the locomotive works of the Great Eastern Railway.

There is a plaque below which explains this is by Malcolm Robertson and dates from 1996. It was commissioned by Stratford City Challenge – City Challenge was a now largely forgotten scheme of the 1990s to encourage regeneration.

Keep heading away from your start point and cross the carriageway to your right.

As we head over the bridge, look out for this Meridian marker in the pavement on the bridge. We saw some different style markers when in E11. We also saw a building called Meridian House in E14 which turned out not to be on the Meridian at all!

Now look over the road.

Stop 2: Sync (former Rex Cinema and Borough Theatre)

The first theatre here was opened in 1896 as the Borough Theatre and Opera House. It seated 3,000 and was designed by Frank Matcham. Look up and you will see the name of the original theatre.

And now look down and you will see a little head.

This is apparently Beethoven, though quite why I have no idea. He did write a couple of Operas –  Fidelio being the best known. But I wouldn’t have thought he would be first choice on a building that called itself (however briefly) an Opera House.

The first incarnation of this building closed in 1933 and then well known cinema designer George Coles created a modern cinema here with a new corner entrance and a 1,889 seat Art Deco auditorium. It reopened as the Rex Cinema in 1934. In 1935 it was taken over by Associated British Cinemas who operated it until closure in 1969.

According to the wonderful Cinema Treasures site, it was converted into a bingo club which remained until 1974 when it briefly became a cinema again for a few months, screening Asian movies. The building then lay empty and decaying for 21 years.

In 1996, the original stage house and dressing room block were demolished and a new high-tech unit was built. The rest of the building was restored to its 1934 condition and became a multi-use venue for concerts, live performances and a nightclub with a capacity of 2,500 patrons.

Since then it has had a somewhat chequered history having closed in 2007 and again in 2009. In late October 2012, it reopened as Sync, but it seems to be closed again now.

Now cross the main road. There is no actual crossing nearby but there seem to be big gaps in the traffic so it is quite easy.

Stop 3: Stratford High Street Station

This looks like a railway station and indeed it was. It also now appears to be the entrance a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station but all is not quite what it seems – as we shall see.

The first station here was built by the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in 1847 on the line from Stratford to Canning Town. The line was leased to the Eastern Counties Railway which itself became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. Initially it was called Stratford Bridge station but it was renamed Stratford Market station in 1880 after the nearby fruit and vegetable market.

In 1892 it was rebuilt for the Great Eastern Railway, so that is the date of this building. The station closed in 1957 although the line however continue to function until 2006. It was rebuilt as part of the Stratford International extension of the DLR and a station was put back here which opened in 2011. But interestingly the station building did not get reused for the new station, as can be seen when one actually walks round.

The DLR station is completely separate from the old building.

Return to the High Street and turn right. Out next stop is a little way along on the right.

Stop 4: Stratford Town Hall

First you will see the old Fire Brigade building. Architectural expert Pevsner suggests that all that remains of the original 1860s building is the small section with the carved inscription. the rest of the building to the right is slightly later dating from the 1870s.

Note these old telephone boxes which I believe are of the K6 variety. They are available to let as very small shops!

But the main attraction here is the Old Town Hall itself. The first section was completed in 1868 and then it was enlarged in the 1880s. Pevsner describes this as a “confidently Victorian version of arched cinquecento”, in other words in the style of the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century,

By the way look over the road. In the middle you will see a plain obelisk.

This dates from 1861, and is dedicated to Sir Samuel Gurney who lived at Ham House. The grounds of that house are now West Ham Park as we saw when we were in E7. He was one of the many Quakers to contribute to the area’s civic and charitable life in the 19th century.

Keep walking along the main road.

Stop 5: King Edward VII pub

Just along here on the right there is an older interloper which is the two storey King Edward VII pub. Pevsner describes this as an 18th establishment remodelled in the 19th century with “ornate and bumptious doorcases”.

This is quite an unusual name for a pub and it turns out that this pub was called “The King of Prussia” until the beginning of the First World War. Obviously not a great name to have then so it got changed. But it did not get the name of the then current monarch but the previous one. Presumably it was felt it was not quite proper to name the pub after a living British King.

This is quite an interesting survivor of an old style pub and feels like it should be in some small country town and not in East London.

Continue walking along the main road. Our next stop is on the right.

Stop 6: Number 55 – 57 Broadway (site of Empire theatre)

This modern building was the site of the Stratford Empire theatre.

The Empire Palace of Varieties was opened on 3rd April 1899. Initially part of the London and District Empire Palaces it soon became part of the Moss Empire chain.

The building was designed by noted theatre architect W.G.R. Sprague, From 1906, the Empire Theatre was equipped to screen films as part of the variety programme and this continued for many years.

The building received a direct hit from German bombs in October 1940. The wreck of the building stood until it was demolished in 1958. At one point the office building here was named Empire House but that does not seem t be the case anymore.

Continue along The Broadway and cross over at the junction with the lights. This is the start of Romford road. Our next stop is ahead on the right.

Stop 7: Stratford Library

This modern building, dating from 2000, need not detain us. The focus here is immediately outside the Library where there are a couple of memorials.

First is to the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 – 1889)

The reason for this stone is that he was born in a house near here and it was his childhood home until 1852. He was brought up in the High Anglican tradition but converted to Catholicism and became a Jesuit priest.

I do not know much about poetry but apparently much of Hopkins’s historical importance is about how he challenged what had hitherto been the conventional rhythyms of poetry.

The second memorial seems to have two dedications. The upper panel relates to a woman called Edith Kerrison (1850 – 1934) and below there is the inscription: “Erected by many friends in memory of a life of service to others”

She was the first woman councillor to be elected to West Ham Borough Council and was an advocate for women and children. Today there is a nursery school named after her in E16.

But below this is a reminder that there was at one time gardens here. According to this plaque they were damaged in the Second world War and were restored for the 1951 Festival of Britain.

No sign of these gardens now!

Cross the main road and head for the big church you can see ahead of you. Go past the church and into the driveway on the left to find our next stop.

Stop 8: The Martyrs Monument

Here in front of St John the Evangelist Church is a rather large Victorian memorial.

This commemorates the burning at the stake of 11 men and 2 women in the 1550s under Queen Mary. They were protestants who refused to recant their beliefs. . There seem to be a few more people who were killed for their protestant beliefs who get a mention on this memorial.

It is not exactly clear whether this was the site of the actual burning. It might have been at the Fairfield in Bow – we stopped by there when in E3. Even St John’s own website suggests that this bit of Stratford may not have been the actual location: http://www.stjohnse15.co.uk/fabric/martyrs.html

Although it says erected in 1878, it was actually inaugurated in a ceremony on 2 August 1879, presided over by the Earl of Shaftesbury.

Now return to the street and our next stop is just over the road.

Stop 9: Broadway shops

Long before the arrival of the Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford was once an important suburban shopping centre. It had a couple of department stores. One was called Boardmans which was at numbers 64 – 76 The Broadway and seemed to go round the corner into a side street built over by the Stratford Shopping Centre in the early 1970s.

There is a photograph on the Newham Council website which shows the store in 1971 when it was celebrating its centenary.

http://www.newhamphotos.com/p607709718/h2334BAA9#h1b03ae4f

It was taken over by a Southend Department Store called Keddies later in the 1970s but closed down in 1984. The building was demolished and an office block was built on the site, called Boardman House, with a few shops on the ground floor.

Then just a little further east at Numbers 78 – 102 was another large store, the Co-Op. This is a 1950s building which has survived.

Today it is mostly taken up by Wilkos but there is also a Poundstretcher and a pub called The Goose.

Return towards the Library and before you get there, take a turn down Salway Place (Maplins is on the corner). It looks like just an alley but keep walking and you find yourself in Stratford’s “cultural quarter”. We pass an arts centre called Stratford Circus on our left, which opened in 2001. And on our right is the Picturehouse cinema dating from 1997.

Keep on and you get to a little piazza called Gerry Raffles Square. Gerry Raffles (1928–1975) worked with director Joan Littlewood on such productions as A Taste of Honey and Oh! What a Lovely War. But he was also her partner for many years. But we are jumping ahead.

Stop 10: Theatre Royal

We cannot come to E15 and not visit this veritable institution.

This theatre dates from 1884. It had a make over by renown theatre architect Frank Matcham in 1902. For most of its life it has been known as the Theatre Royal Stratford East, presumably to distinguish it from other Theatre Royals, notably Drury Lane and Haymarket.

It seems to have been a rather struggling enterprise, opening and then closing though the 1920s and 1930s. But its survival today is down to what happened after the Second World War when Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop company took a lease on the theatre in 1953.

Theatre Workshop had been formed in 1945 as a touring company.  They presented a mixed programme of classics and modern plays with contemporary themes. But the theatre they took on in Stratford was virtually derelict and no funds were available for renovation. The actors cleaned and painted the auditorium between rehearsals – and to save money the cast and crew slept in the dressing rooms, although Joan Littlewood had a home to go to – which she apparently did.

Many well known actors began their professional careers at Theatre Workshop under Littlewood. They included Harry H. Corbett, Richard Harris, Nigel Hawthorne and Barbara Windsor.

“Fings ain’t wot they used t’be” also started off here. Originally it was as a play about East End low life written by a man called Frank Norman but after Joan Littlewood read it, she asked Lionel Bart to write the music and lyrics. It was first performed by Theatre Workshop, produced and directed by Littlewood in February 1959. And the next year Bart produced his most famous work, the musical Oliver! based on the Dickens’ story of Oliver Twist.

This sculpture of Joan Littlewood outside the theatre is by Philip Jackson (1944 – ) and dates from 2015. We saw another of his works in our E13 walk – he was responsible for the World Cup statue near the old West Ham Football Ground.

I have to say though it reminds me of those real life “statues” you see in tourist places usually painted gold or else as a character from Star Wars or Tolkien. There is something decidedly odd about sticking the figure on a little pole like this.

Now head onto the main road and turn left, following the main road round until you get to the crossing. Go over that and ahead is our next stop.

Stop 11: Stratford Station

Stratford was an early railway centre and today it is one of the major transport hubs in London, with not only a major rail interchange but also a large bus station.

Outside there is an old steam engine called Robert.

But all is not what it seems. This engine has nothing whatsoever to do with Stratford’s railway history, so why is it here?

As the sign explains, it was built in Bristol for an industrial railway in Northamptonshire. It ended up in London because it was bought by the London Docklands Development Corporation as an example of a 20th century industrial steam engine. It was put on display in Beckton initially but was moved here in 2011 “to commemorate the area’s association with railways which began when the first station opened here by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1839.”

The railway has been an important part of the development of Stratford. But the story of the building of the various lines though Stratford is as tangled as the railway lines themselves and I cannot do justice to the story so here is a link to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratford_station

However I will just mention the eccentric platform numbering.

Platforms 1 and 2 were added in 2009 and are on the north side of the station, next to platform 12. They were built for the London Overground North London line which now runs from here to Richmond and Clapham Junction.

At one time the North London line ran between North Woolwich and Richmond via a pair of low level platforms which were numbered 1 and 2. But the DLR took over the most of route south from Stratford and these platforms after being rebuilt for DLR became numbered 16 and 17.

That is because they are next to the Jubilee line platforms opened in 1999 which were numbered 13 to 15. That meant all the low level platforms could be numbered in a single group. I guess the alternative would have been to keep platforms 1 and 2 next to platforms 13 – 15, but then the new London Overground platforms would have to be numbered 16 and 17 but next to platform 12.

But it does not stop there. If you then go on to the high level platforms you discoverpPlatforms 4a and b are not between platforms 3 and 5 as you might expect. As you enter from the main ticket hall, they are off to the left before you get to platform 3. This is because there used to be a little bay platform numbered 4 between platforms 3 and 5. This was taken over when the DLR first got to Stratford from Poplar. However the end of this line was all single track and when capacity had to be increased some of the single track was doubled and a two platform station created at Stratford.

The original platform 4 was abandoned and the new DLR platforms (which were no longer between platforms 3 and 5) were numbered 4a and 4b.

So hopefully should you be wandering round Stratford station and wondering why the platforms numbers are not in a logical order, that is the reason.

So that brings us to the end of our E15 walk – a bit of theatrical history, a bit of railway history, a bit of shopping history plus some monuments including one which is probably not in the right place. As we are at Stratford station, I hardly need to tell you about onward travel!