Derelict London - Photography, Social History and Guided Walking Tours
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  • Homepage
  • Author's Guided Tours of London
    • Minories to Poplar
    • Whitechapel & Bethnal Green
    • Derelict Limehouse & Poplar
    • Woolwich Alldayer
    • Lost Docks of Wapping
    • Isle of Dogs
    • Grand Surrey Canal
    • London's Lost Rivers Tours
    • Shadwell & Stepney
    • Silvertown
    • Bow Creek: River Lea from Bromley by Bow to Leamouth via Canning Town
    • Croydon Canal
    • Dartford guided walk
    • Hammersmith
    • East Finchley to Gospel Oak
    • London's Lost Music Venues
    • Specials
  • Spring 2020 New Pics
  • Summer 2020 New Pics
  • Summer 2020 New Pics part 2
  • Winter 2020/21 New Pics
  • Contact
  • Derelict London - The Book
  • Dereliction and Beyond...Then and Now Photos
    • Derelict London 2008 Book Then and Now Pics
    • Then and Now Pics South of the River
    • Then and Now Pics North of the River
  • London's Lost Rivers - The Book & Website
  • Factories and Warehouses
    • North of the Thames Factories and Warehouses
    • South of the Thames Factories and Warehouses
  • Derelict London Homes
    • Homes North of the Thames
    • Homes South of The Thames
    • Derelict homes now Demolished
  • Derelict London Cinemas
  • Derelict London Hospitals
    • Hospitals North of the River
    • Hospitals South of the River
    • Hospitals: Then & Now pics
  • Derelict London Pools and Baths
  • Music History
  • Various Derelict London Buildings
  • Derelict London Pubs
    • North London
    • Derelict East London Pubs >
      • East London Pubs from Dereliction to Demolition
      • East London Pubs - Dead Pubs to Conversion
      • East London Pubs Back from the Brink
    • Central London
    • West & South West London
    • South & South East London Pubs
  • Derelict London Cemetery & Churches
  • Derelict London Hotels and Restaurants
  • Graffiti & Streetart
  • Misc London Derelict pics
  • Derelict London Cafes
  • People
  • Porticos and Pillars
  • Shopping Trolleys
  • Derelict London Shops
  • Signs and Murals
  • Derelict London Sportsgrounds
  • Post Offices
  • Derelict London Toilets
  • Toys
  • Derelict London Telephone Boxes
  • War - Bunkers and Pillboxes
  • Waterways and Wharves
  • Wildlife
  • Vehicles
  • London Transport
  • Long Lost Burial Grounds
  • London Riots 2011: The Aftermath
  • Derelict London Boats
  • London's Long Lost Sports Grounds
  • Derelict Kent
    • Derelict Kent DA postcodes
    • Derelict Kent ME postcodes
    • Derelict Kent TN postcodes
  • Derelict Essex
    • Derelict Essex RM postcodes
    • Derelict Essex SS Postcodes
    • Derelict Essex CO postcodes
  • Derelict London Public Buildings
  • Derelict London Offices
  • Derelict London Tee Shirts
  • Sponsors wanted!
  • Cookies Info
  • Privacy Policy
Derelict London - Photography, Social History and Guided Walking Tours
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Spring 2020 New Pics
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Kentish Town, NW5
​Welcome to the Derelict London Spring 2020 updates page.

Join the mailing list HERE to find out about Derelict London guided walks as soon as tickets are released plus news on my new book: London's Lost Music Venues, released in June.

Check the agency website HERE for any available tickets for walks. Walks scheduled to take place during the lockdown have been postponed to dates later in Summer & Autumn. If the lockdown continues then the agency will contact you with confirmation that your tickets have been transferred to the postponed date.
Collage Picture of derelict London shopfronts

​United Reform Church - South Norwood, SE25

Picture of derelict interior of ​United Reform Church in South Norwood, SE25
​United Reform Church - South Norwood, SE25
The church opened in 1906 and closed in 2013. The Church Hall next door reopened in 2015 as the World Harvest Christian Centre who are also the owners of this main building but according to the property agents the building has subsided in part and will require extensive repair and refurbishment to meet modern requirements.The Centre appear to be using the old church as storage for chairs, etc. As with all the sites on Derelict London, the longer that this building is left vacant then the worse condition it gets due to damp, pigeons and vandalism. There is also brick and concrete air raid shelter here but I didn't find any clues as to it's existence.
Derelict and abandoned ​United Reform Church in South Norwood, SE25 near Croydon
​United Reform Church - South Norwood, SE25 needing refurbishment to meet modern requirements
Tower of derelict church in Ennismore Rd, South Nortwood
Decaying building of​United Reform Church in  South Norwood, SE25 now owned by World Harvest Christian Centre
Overgrown derelict church in South London in Borough of Croydon
dilapidated United Reform Church in South Norwood in Croydon
nature takes over vacant church in South London
neglected closed down church in South London now owned by World Harvest Christian Centre
Disused and derelict Christian church in South London
Dusty pews in vacant church in South London
according to the property agents the derelict building has subsided in part and will require extensive repair and refurbishment to meet modern requirements.
Pigeon mess on the pews and altar of derelict church in South London
Church organ in closed down church in South Norwood
neglected church organ in derelict site in South London
Unused church building in South London
dilapidated pews in derelict church in Borough of Croydon
dilapidated pews and cobwebs in derelict South London church
pigeon on organ pipes in abandoned church in South London
abandoned unisex toilets in South London disused church

Smithfield General Market and Tunnels - Farringdon, EC1

Picture by Paul Talling of dome in derelict Smithfield General Market in  Farringdon, EC1
Smithfield General Market - Farringdon, EC1
​Smithfield, originally known as Smoothfield, was, as its name suggests, once a large open space, famous for its horse market, and for jousting and sporting events – as well as public executions. It was also the site where one of the leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt, Wat Tyler, was killed in 1381. And since the early Middle Ages it has housed a livestock market.

Shown here is the General Market, originally built in 1883 to the designs of Sir Horace Jones. Bombed during the Blitz,causing 110 deaths,  it was repaired in the 1950s plus construction of the dome pictured above, but most of it has been vacant since the 1980s. At the time of the first  edition of the Derelict London book back in 2008 the future was bleak as the Market buildings faced demolition at the hands of developers who wanted to put office blocks here. Planning permission for demolition was refused and a later plan to gut out the interiors retaining just the facades was blocked by the Government after meeting opposition from heritage campaigners.

Positive news is that work has commenced to transform the buildings and the extensive basement areas into a museum for the Museum of London as part of a £337 million move here in 2024 from their Barbican site. The adjacent Central Market continues as a wholesale meat business but there are plans to move it, along with New Spitalfields and Billingsgate to the redundant Barking Reach Power Station site in east London.
Derelict London soon to be restored buildings of Smithfield General Market - Farringdon, EC1
Derelict London Smithfield General Market, Farringdon, EC1 which is to be restored by the Museum of London
Abandoned Catering Meats shop at Smithfield General Market, Farringdon, EC1
Derelict London sign for Smithfield London Central Market
empty desolate derelict market interior at Smithfield in City of London
Interior of abandoned and vacant building in Central London
work has commenced to transform the derelict Smithfield buildings and the extensive basement areas into a museum for the Museum of London as part of a £337 million move here in 2024 from their Barbican site.
Closed down site of Peters in the Village at Smithfield Market
Planning permission for demolition of Smithfield General Market was refused and a later plan to gut out the interiors retaining just the facades was blocked by the Government after meeting opposition from heritage campaigners.
​Smithfield, originally known as Smoothfield, was, as its name suggests, once a large open space, famous for its horse market, and for jousting and sporting events – as well as public executions.
Picture by Paul Talling of derelict Smithfield General Market Tunnels - Farringdon, EC1
Tunnels under Smithfield General Market - Farringdon, EC1
Beneath Smithfield is an extensive complex of tunnels. These were used for underground stores and for railway sidings for delivery of meat to the market. During the Second World War, an underground cold store here was used for secret experiments on pykrete, a mixture of ice and woodpulp, believed to be  tougher than steel and proposed to used in the construction floating airstrips in the Atlantic to allow refueling of cargo planes. The project was abandoned after it became obsolete with the development of longer-range aircraft. There is still a live railway running through the tunnels, with Thameslink passing by the south-west corner of the site.

Until recent years part of the tunnels were used as an area to store salt for use on the City's street during icy weather. During recent preparatory work on the site for Museum of London (see General Market, above)  many bricked up vaults and cellars were discovered containing  a large amount of rats. 
There is still a live railway running through the tunnels, with Thameslink passing by corner of the Smithfield basement site.
dilapidated tunnels in the basement of Smithfield by Derelict London
These abandoned tunnels were used for underground stores and for railway sidings for delivery of meat to Smithfield market
During the Second World War, an underground cold store here at Smithfield was used for secret experiments on pykrete, a mixture of ice and woodpulp
Work has commenced to transform the extensive Smithfield basement tunnels into a museum for the Museum of London as part of a £337 million move here in 2024 from their Barbican site.
Below Smithfield Market. During recent preparatory work on the site for Museum of London  many bricked up vaults and cellars were discovered containing  a large amount of rats.
Until recent years part of the Smithfield Market tunnels were used as an area to store salt for use on the City's street during icy weather.
Disused railway tunnels in Central London

Siemens Factory - Woolwich, SE18

Picture by Paul Talling of Derelict London of  Siemens Factory in Woolwich, SE18
Siemens Factory - Woolwich, SE18
Siemens Brothers and Company Limited was an electrical engineering design and manufacturing business.

The principal works were here on the Woolwich/Charlton borders adjacent to what is now the Thames Barrier, a site covering 35 acres, where cables and light-current electrical apparatus were produced from 1863. In it's final years , the Woolwich factory principally produced telephone exchanges for the General Post Office. After these became obsolete,  these Woolwich works in 1968 were closed and 6,000 employees lost their jobs bringing much hardship to the area particularly as the area's main employer the Royal Ordnance Factory closed the previous year

Several buildings were  damaged by bombs in World War II, including the oldest building of 1863-65. A range of two and three storey buildings (the white ones) from the 1870-90s are derelict. Across the road a number of larger buildings constructed in the first half of the 20th Century are also derelict. Many of the latter were used for light industrial and art studio purposes until recent years.

Plans have been submitted for nearly 500 homes at the former Siemens factory site. All but one of the derelict buildings will be restored. A large 5-storey L-shaped building built in 1911 will be demolished.
Picture by Paul Talling of derelict Victorian building at former Siemens Factory on the Woolwich and Charlton border by the River Thames in South London
Derelict Victorian Building at the former Siemens Factory in Woolwich, SE18
Plans have been submitted for 492 homes at the former Siemens factory site in Woolwich. All but one of the derelict buildings will be restored
Vacant Siemens Factory where cables and light-current electrical apparatus were produced
empty former industrial site in South East London
uninhabited former factory site in South East London
Plans have been submitted for nearly 500 homes at the former Siemens factory site in the London Borough of Greenwich. All but one of the derelict buildings will be restored
Netting over derelict factory to prevent falling glass and to  prevent pigeons
photo of derelict ruins of former industrial site in SE London
Oldest 2-storey section of derelict Siemens Woolwich works dating from 1871
dilapidated old building in the London Borough of Greenwich soon to be restored
dilapidated Siemens Factory buildings from Victorian times near the Thames Barrier
dilapidated Siemens Derelict factory buildings from Victorian times near the Thames Barrier on the Charlton and Woolwich border

The White Horse - Chadwell Heath, Romford, RM6

Picture by Paul Talling of Derelict London of derelict White Horse pub in Chadwell Heath . Only 20 pubs remain in the borough
The White Horse in Chadwell Heath, Romford, RM6
​More pubs have closed down in Barking and Dagenham in recent years than any other borough in London, according to data from the Inter-Departmental Business Register published in 2018. Between 2001 and 2017 the borough lost 25 pubs - a fall of 56%. With just 20 remaining the borough also has the least amount of pubs in London. Note to avoid confusion: Chadwell Heath is postally a part of Romford but administratively it is in the borough of Barking and Dagenham.

Drinks have been served on this site since the 17th century. The White Horse was a former coaching inn, on what was known as the Great Essex Road, with stables to the rear (more recently used as a function room) and a blacksmiths. Some of this existing building is from the early 19th century but underwent considerable reconstruction at the end of that century. Its claim to fame was that it was said to the only pub in the country to have its own set of traffic lights in order to exit the car park onto the busy main road.

The pub closed in 2017 and the site which includes a large car park and gardens which in total is the best part of an acre went on-sale for £4 million. The development company want to retain and reopen the pub alongside approximately 50 new homes.
Pub sign for the White Horse in Chadwell Heath near Romford, RM6
More pubs have closed down in Barking and Dagenham in recent years than any other borough in London, according to data from the Inter-Departmental Business Register.
The now derelict White Horse was a former coaching inn, on what was known as the Great Essex Road, with stables to the rear (more recently used as a function room) and a blacksmiths.
The White Horse pub in Chadwell Heath closed in 2017 and the site which includes a large car park and gardens which in total is the best part of an acre went on-sale for £4 million. The development company want to retain and reopen the pub alongside approximately 50. new homes.
Overgrown pub garden and old benches at White Horse in Chadwell Heath, another dead pub

​West Ham Magistrates Court - Stratford, E15

Picture by Paul Talling of dilapidated Derelict London of ​ West Ham Magistrates Court in Stratford, E15
​West Ham Magistrates Court - Stratford, E15
​Built in 1884 and closed exactly 100 years later. This Grade II-listed courthouse owned by Newham Council  has deteriorated significantly since closure.

An arson attack in 2013 gutted a court room  and destroyed  upper floors resulting in  emergency conservation work such as scaffolding &  a temporary roof to prevent further decay to the buildings. Renovation works have now commenced with the building to be used as a 'community asset' once completed.

After a gig at the ABC in Romford in 1965, The Rolling Stones were on their way home when they stopped at a petrol station in Romford Rd, Forest Gate for a toilet break. The attendant didn't like the look of them, so he refused to let them use his loo and told them to clear off. They then started to swear and replied "We'll piss anywhere man!" and urinated up his wall. This resulted in Jones, Jagger and Wyman appearing at West Ham Magistrates Court when they were fined £5 each for insulting behaviour. Mick returned to Stratford 53 years later when the Stones played a concert at the London Stadium.
This Grade II-listed courthouse in West Ham Lane, east London owned by Newham Council  has deteriorated significantly since closure.
Danger Unsafe Structure. Keep Out. Derelict east London building.
Renovation works have now commenced with the West Ham Magistrates building to be used as a 'community asset' once completed.
An arson attack in 2013 gutted a court room  and destroyed  upper floors of West Ham Magistrates resulting in  emergency conservation work such as scaffolding &  a temporary roof to prevent further decay to the buildings.
abandoned court house in Stratford,  east London
The Rolling Stones appeared at West Ham Magistrates Court when they were fined £5 each for insulting behaviour after urinating in the forecourt of a local petrol station
Paul Talling's Derelict London - all photographs are copyright © 2020
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