Redundant railway bridge across the Bow Creek
2024 Updates Page
Welcome to the Derelict London 2024 page. It's all a bit DIY this website as I've been adding bits all along the past 21 years. I was brought up on fanzines and prefer the non-polished look. I still have thousands of pictures on my hard drive to upload to this website, but that will have to wait while I work on a new book. More about the book later this year...
Join the mailing list HERE to find out about Derelict London, London's Lost Music Venues and London's Lost Rivers guided walks as soon as tickets are released, plus news on my latest books and website updates. Please note that my public walks do not involve entering any buildings.
Join the mailing list HERE to find out about Derelict London, London's Lost Music Venues and London's Lost Rivers guided walks as soon as tickets are released, plus news on my latest books and website updates. Please note that my public walks do not involve entering any buildings.
One of London's many abandoned sofas - Thornton Heath, CR7
Northwood HA6 - The Old Pump House
The Old Pump House near Ruislip Lido
Ruislip Lido is a reservoir and artificial beach within the London Borough of Hillingdon originally created as a feeder basin for the Grand Junction Canal in 1811 and was reopened in 1933 as a lido, with facilities for swimming and boating. Adjacent to Ruislip Lido in Park Woods is this small pumping station once used to draw water straight from the Lido up to Haste Hill Golf Course supplying each green directly. The pipes, pumps & plant required to draw water were laid in 1934 at a cost of around £700. Within the pumphouse are the points for pipes that lead underground from the lido. Outside are water tanks.
The Old Pump House near Ruislip Lido
Abolish Work Grafitti in Holborn WC2
Northwood HA6 2RN - Mount Vernon Hospital
Derelict parts of Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood
The hospital was founded as The North London Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in a mansion in Hampstead in 1860. In 1880 a purpose-built hospital was constructed at Mount Vernon in Hampstead. In 1904 a new Mount Vernon Hospital was opened on part of the Northwood Park Estate in Northwood. The area was considered most beneficial for tuberculous patients being 400 feet above sea-level with fresh air and contained farmland, woods and grassland. During the 1920s it became a general hospital with special reference to the treatment of cancer.
In 1968 a new building for the Out-Patients Department, the Accident & Emergency Department and offices for social workers was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester but these buildings closed over 15 years ago and remain in a derelict condition. In 2009 a new treatment centre opened, providing surgery facilities in four new operating theatres. There is also a new outpatients department located in the treatment centre.
In 1968 a new building for the Out-Patients Department, the Accident & Emergency Department and offices for social workers was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester but these buildings closed over 15 years ago and remain in a derelict condition. In 2009 a new treatment centre opened, providing surgery facilities in four new operating theatres. There is also a new outpatients department located in the treatment centre.
Derelict parts of Mount Vernon Hospital
Northwood HA6 2RN - Mount Vernon Hospital Gatehouse
The Abandoned Gatehouse of Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood
Vacant arches in Limehouse under the c2c line from Fenchurch Street to Essex
New End Hospital- Hampstead
New End Hospital, Hampstead circa 1990
Derelict wards of New End Hospital, Hampstead circa 1990
|
Derelict corridor inside
New End Hospital, Hampstead circa 1990
|
Opposite the Duke of Hamilton pub on New End is the site of an old Hampstead Union Workhouse dating back to 1800. The workhouse was for the unemployed, the homeless and unmarried mothers and their children. The workhouse was rebuilt in 1849 as a large symmetrical Italianate block. More blocks were added later, including an infirmary in 1869. From 1915, the workhouse and its infirmary were used as a military hospital during World War I for the treatment of wounded and shell-shocked soldiers. After the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1929, the buildings were taken over by the London County Council and used by them as a general hospital with 260 beds and renamed the New End Hospital.
The Hospital joined the NHS in 1948 under the control of the Archway Group Hospital Management Committee. In 1968, the Hospital joined the Royal Free Hospital Group but, when the new Royal Free Hospital opened in 1972, acute services gradually moved there and the New End Hospital eventually became a geriatric hospital. Following further reorganisation in the NHS, the Hospital came under the control of the Hampstead District Health Authority before closing down in 1986.
Most of the major hospital buildings were retained and have now been converted into apartments. Various buildings including the boiler house, laundry block, wash house, garages and stores were demolished.
These photographs of the New End Hospital, kindly supplied by David Christie, were taken around 1990. David, a member of the Heath & Old Hampstead Society, set up the New End Committee during the late 1980s in response to the architect commissioned by the developer proposing to demolish some of the main hospital buildings and the boiler house chimney. The Committee, paying £4000 for another architect, commissioned an alternative scheme which retained practically all the historic buildings, including the chimney. The developer eventually gave a blessing to this alternative scheme despite objections by Camden Council, who were later overruled by the Department of Environment.
The Hospital joined the NHS in 1948 under the control of the Archway Group Hospital Management Committee. In 1968, the Hospital joined the Royal Free Hospital Group but, when the new Royal Free Hospital opened in 1972, acute services gradually moved there and the New End Hospital eventually became a geriatric hospital. Following further reorganisation in the NHS, the Hospital came under the control of the Hampstead District Health Authority before closing down in 1986.
Most of the major hospital buildings were retained and have now been converted into apartments. Various buildings including the boiler house, laundry block, wash house, garages and stores were demolished.
These photographs of the New End Hospital, kindly supplied by David Christie, were taken around 1990. David, a member of the Heath & Old Hampstead Society, set up the New End Committee during the late 1980s in response to the architect commissioned by the developer proposing to demolish some of the main hospital buildings and the boiler house chimney. The Committee, paying £4000 for another architect, commissioned an alternative scheme which retained practically all the historic buildings, including the chimney. The developer eventually gave a blessing to this alternative scheme despite objections by Camden Council, who were later overruled by the Department of Environment.
Evening Post 1994: "Peter O’Toole’s five-year search to find a buyer for his Hampstead home is finally over. The actor has accepted just over half the original asking price for Guyon House which he has owned since 1961. The late-18th century pile was first put on the market in 1989 with an asking price of £lm. Potential buyers were put off by the derelict former New End Hospital site at the back of the house"
|
|
The large, symmetrical Italianate block is the best surviving example of the workhouses built in London under the Poor Law Act of 1834. The above two photographs of New End Hospital converted into apartments were taken by Paul Talling in 2024. Next time I am in the area I shall go around the back and get a shot of the retained chimney.
The pigeons love this derelict building in Greenford, West London
Clerkenwell, EC1 - New River Head
Control Panel in New River Head Engine House
New River Head, located adjacent to Sadler's Wells Theatre, was the London terminus of the New River, an artificial watercourse opened in 1613 to supply water from Hertford to London. Subsequently, the site also became the headquarters for the New River Company, the owners of the New River, and for its successors, the Metropolitan Water Board, the Thames Water Authority and Thames Water plc. These days the overground waterway ends at Stoke Newington, though there are some ornamental waters along its former route south of Stoke Newington.
The buildings below have been mainly redundant since the 1950s. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration have purchased the site and plans are underway to restore it and create the UK’s first national centre for illustration and it will open to the public in 2025.
The buildings below have been mainly redundant since the 1950s. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration have purchased the site and plans are underway to restore it and create the UK’s first national centre for illustration and it will open to the public in 2025.
New River Head Windmill
Remains of New River Head windmill
At New River Head, a circular reservoir known as the Round Pond collected the water. From here it was fed into a network of wooden mains which conveyed water to the cisterns of London. From 1709 to 1720, a new Upper Pond was constructed on higher ground where Claremont Square lies today, in order to give a better head of pressure to serve more distant areas around the West End of London. Initially water was pumped to this from the Round Pond by a windmill. Later a horse gin was used until 1768 when it was superseded by a steam engine. A horse gin harnessed the power of horses consisting of a large wheel around which a horse would walk in a circular motion. In the 1770s, the sails of the windmill were removed, and it was truncated to 2 storeys and converted into a store. By the 1850s it had been demolished down to the base.
From 1768 an engine was installed on the site in a purpose-built engine house designed by civil engineer John Smeaton and extended in 1786 and 1795. A 98-foot tall chimney to remove the smoke that was produced by the burning of coal was added in 1849, which became a dominant feature in the local skyline until it was demolished in 1954 when the steam engines were replaced by electric power. Around the yard outside are turncock covers in the ground. One from the New River Company and the other from the Metropolitan Water Board.
New River Head Engine House
New River Head Coal Stores
Rail track into the now derelict New River Head Coal Stores
In the 1840s, coal stores and boiler houses were added.Tracks of a light railway still remain in the stone cobbles. These would have been used for moving coal around the site.
Abandoned Cuddly Toy - New Cross, SE14
Abandoned suitcase. Mudlarking along the Thames foreshore on the Isle of Dogs...
East Dulwich, SE22 - Dulwich Constitutional Club
Dulwich Constitutional Club
The Dulwich Constitutional Club was established in 1888, operating in a semi-detached, early Victorian town house that was extended by the addition of two large interconnected halls to its side. Further small extensions were added to the rear during the Edwardian period and mid-20th century. The building complex is Grade II listed. The club was used as a first aid depot during the Second World War
Until closure in 2019, this was a members only drinking club with facilities including a bowling green, five snooker tables, two function halls and two fully licensed bars, cheaper than anywhere else in East Dulwich. Planning permission to convert this into a 195-capacity nursery for children was approved in 2021, though no work has started on the building yet. The empty premises were squatted for a while in 2023.
Until closure in 2019, this was a members only drinking club with facilities including a bowling green, five snooker tables, two function halls and two fully licensed bars, cheaper than anywhere else in East Dulwich. Planning permission to convert this into a 195-capacity nursery for children was approved in 2021, though no work has started on the building yet. The empty premises were squatted for a while in 2023.
Croydon, CR0 - The Windmill Public House
The Windmill, Croydon
The Windmill pub stands on land that was formerly Croydon Common near the site of a windmill called the The Black Mill which was demolished in 1855. Records of the pub go back to the early 19th Century and rebuilt into its current form (albeit with subsequent alterations) later in the Century. Since 2011 the Indian landlord served home made curries along with pints which was particularly popular with Crystal Palace fans during match days.
The Windmill closed in 2022 and the following year was broken into and locals reported of loud parties taking place inside the building. As a result the owners bricked up and all the doorways and windows although this did not stop an arson attack during the summer of 2023 causing severe damage to the upper floors. Coincidently there was also a fire at the nearby derelict Drum and Monkey the same morning.
A good alternative pub these days is The Bedford Tavern, 16, Sydenham Rd, Croydon.
The Windmill closed in 2022 and the following year was broken into and locals reported of loud parties taking place inside the building. As a result the owners bricked up and all the doorways and windows although this did not stop an arson attack during the summer of 2023 causing severe damage to the upper floors. Coincidently there was also a fire at the nearby derelict Drum and Monkey the same morning.
A good alternative pub these days is The Bedford Tavern, 16, Sydenham Rd, Croydon.
The George Tavern, Stepney, E1. The pub is still going strong but the cigarette machine is redundant since they were banned in 2011
Shoreditch, E1 - The iconic British telephone box
|
Mile End, E3 - Post Office
|