Helix Bridge, Paddington

2 June 2004 • Looking east beside the eastern end of the Paddington Arm of the Regent’s Canal. The Helix Bridge was completed late 2003, designed by sculptor Marcus Taylor and engineered by the Sheffield-based firm Davy Markham. It spanned the arm of the canal and could be retracted, to allow canal barges to pass through. The mechanism to operate the bridge was mounted under the raised steps on the left which made the bridge to retract by thee spiral and the glass exterior rotating. The walkway inside the glass remained horizontal at all times.

 

2 June 2004 • Looking into the bridge from the southern end. Construction work for a new office block was in progress behind the hoarding.

 

1 October 2004 • The mechanism of the Helix Bridge was tested every Friday by activating the mechanism to open it. Mike Swain, one of the site managers, is operating the unlocking mechanism before the opening cycle is started – operated by the man in the high-visibility vest using a remote control.

 

1 October 2004 • The Helix Bridge seen in its ‘open’ position.

 

22 October 2003 • View of the Helix Bridge when it had been completed but was awaiting the footpath to be added. Sadly the bridge was not considered to be suitable and it was removed around December 2013. At the time of writing (2016) a temporary bridge is in place and plans are in hand for a new type of lifting bridge to be erected. Sadly, the Helix Bridge is no more.

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Tooley Street

10 April 2016 • Looking east along Tooley Street, with Hay’s Galleria on the left. When the image was taken the South Eastern Railway Offices were about to be demolished – to make way for the rebuilding of London Bridge Station. The elegant offices, with their really narrow end (facing the camera) were a feature of Tooley Street and will be greatly missed by those who knew them.

 

5 May 2016 • View looking east along Tooley Street near its western end. In the distance is a cream-coloured building known as Cotton’s Centre (with the footbridge running into it). Beyond that building is Hay’s Galleria.

Street Name Plates

31 March 2007 • The name plate is mounted on the corner of a large stone building and proclaims one of London’s grand squares. London ‘Post Codes’ were introduced in 1857 – with areas defined as ‘W’ (like this one), ‘E’, ‘SW, ‘NW’ and so on. In 1917 a further refinement was made with numbers being added to indicate smaller areas within the main area – for example ‘W1’ and ‘W2’. We can conclude therefore that the name plate here dates from some time earlier than 1917. This plate is quite high up which means that it is away from everyday wear and tear. Name plates in situ are quite rare today and show how elegant London must have looked in the early 1990s.

 

26 February 2005 • Careful inspection of the image reveals that the name plate is in fine condition. Sadly, peeling paint behind it and the insensitive placing of a building alarm have conspired to ruin the elegant effect of this name plate.

Blackwall DLR Station

9 August 2001 • View of Blackwall DLR Station from East India DLR Station. The DLR trains navigate around spectacular bends on some of their routes. This bend, on a concrete viaduct, is a good example. When the image was taken the remaining part of the old red-brick Brunswick Wharf Power Station was still in the background. That building has since been removed and replaced by modern apartment blocks.

St George the Martyr

22 July 2012 • View from a point almost in the middle of Borough High Street, opposite the Police Station. The church in the fore-ground is St George the Martyr which stands almost opposite Borough Underground Station. The architect of the Shard of Glass, Renzo Piano, is on record as having said that his design was a modern interpretation of the shape of the spires on churches in London. It was with this sentiment in mind that this picture was taken – to highlight the similarity of the shape of the Shard when compared to St George’s spire.

Sydenham Wells Park

24 January 1979 • Digitised 35mm slide. Thick snow in Sydenham. The beautiful park is situated on the Lewisham side of the ridge along which the road called Sydenham Hill runs.

 

24 January 1979 • Digitised 35mm slide. Thick snow around and ice on the ornamental pond. In those days several flamingoes were kept in the park. In their natural habitat flamingoes live in cold water and they are used to the water freezing over.

West India Quay Footbridge

6 February 2017 • A long view looking west at the footbridge floating on the surface of the old West India Dock, supported by ‘scissor’ struts. With almost no wind to disturb the surface of the water, the bridge and the people crossing it are reflected in the dock. The figures have an almost ethereal appearance when looking at the water’s surface.

City of London from Rotherhithe

26 May 2015 • View from the shopping precinct called Surrey Quays, in Rotherhithe, of the City of London, with its tall offices. The tallest building in the view is 122 Leadenhall Street – a slender wedge-shaped building commonly known as the ‘Cheesegrater’. Partly obscured by it is Tower 42 – built as the NatWest Tower. The curved lines of 20 St Mary Axe – commonly called the ‘Gherkin’ – is shining in the sun. The Heron Tower (far right) completes the ‘line up’ of tall buildings.

Riverdale Mill

16 Apr 2015 • The water in this view is part of the River Ravensbourne which, from medieval times, had many water-mills along its length. This one was last rebuilt in 1828 and is complete with its water-wheel. In the 1970s the derelict mill was restored and became part of a large office complex. In 2016 the nearby offices and the mill were refurbished and have become a housing complex. The site stands beside Molesworth Street, along with the old mill and its millpond.

St Andrew Undershaft and the Gherkin

12 March  2005 • The view put two contrasting buildings in close proximity. The pre-Great Fire church tower of St Andrew Undershaft stands near the junction of a street called St Mary Axe with Leadenhall Street. The office block called ‘The Gherkin’ whose proper name is ’30 St Mary Axe’. The Gherkin had not long been completed when the picture was taken.