ST JOHN'S WOOD Jubilee Line

A ‘pick and mix’ destination For Beatles fans – Abbey Road Studios and That Zebra Crossing. For cricket fans – Lords cricket ground For architects – Victorian buildings on a grand scale – plus a creepy folly.









The Beatles first. As soon as you come out of the station you know you are in a smart area of London because the Tube has its own little garden. Cross to Grove End Road. In five minutes you will be at Abbey Road. Go over by The Crossing to the Abbey Road Studios, and watch (or join in) Beatles fans doing silly things on the zebra. (Taxi drivers must be driven potty by the constant trickle of fans slowing them down.) Once at the studio, a few paces to the right, you can write a message on the low white wall. For those scratching their heads at this point, I should explain that the Beatles recorded some of their greatest albums at the Abbey Road Studios and the crossing just outside featured on the cover of their album ‘Abbey Road’ The wall is so popular that it is painted once a month to make way for fresh postings – no large graffiti allowed. At this point you can make your way back to the Tube the way you came or pick up one of the other trails.


Lords:
From the Tube station, walk right down Wellington Road. After about five minutes cross to Wellington Place. This is where most people enter on match days. Although security is tight, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the nets. You certainly can’t miss the Media Centre ‘capsule’ (Future Systems, 1995-8) which looks as if someone has decided to perch an enormous radio set on top of a tall pillar – appropriate, I suppose, but not particularly beautiful. (Incidentally, there are couple of lovely stuccoed houses at the end of Wellington Place, plus, a Penfold * pillar box.) If you wish to see a bit more of the cricket ground return to Wellington Road and follow the wall, peering through various gates to have a look behind the scenes. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. The modern ground is named after the entrepreneur Thomas Lord, who in 1787 had undertaken to organise the provision of a playing area. Lords moved to St. John's Wood in 1814. As you turn the corner into St. John's Wood Road you will discover a lively frieze depicting cricket fans (Gilbert Baye, 1934) and further on are the WG Grace memorial gates (1923). For entertaining early history of Lords click here (scroll down page)

On the other side of the road is the Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Of the 1925 building only the impressive ionic pillars remain, the site having been redeveloped to provide a smaller place of worship and - a block of flats.

Architecture: St Johns Wood, was named after the Knights Hospitallers, who held land here in medieval times. Many of the cream and white stuccoed villas and terraces we see today were built in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Subsequently blocks of flats appeared - constructed in brick and on a much larger scale, they contrast rudely with the earlier buildings.
















To begin the architectural trail turn right from the station and walk down Finchley Road. Cross at the lights to Marlborough Place, a mixture of styles, including castellated towers and other variation on Italianate themes. Just after Loudon Road, No.23 has an unusual arrangement of bow windows going up three storeys. Almost opposite are some of the many high-gabled Victorian Gothic villas you will see in the area. No. 28 has a plaque commemorating Alexis Soyer (1810-1858), celebrated chef and creator of the Soyer's Field Stove. Invented to help relieve the awful conditions of soldiers in the Crimea, it was so successful that the army used it for 120 years. Return to No. 23 and go to the right down Loudon Road then right again to Langford Place where there is a folly at No. 12. Once a sculptor’s studio, this is a creepy oddity where Darth Vader seems to be embedded in the structure. The house next door has a conservatory with glowing golden stained glass and the painter Dame Laura Knight lived at No. 16.

Continue and go right at Abbey Road, passing some monumental mansion flats. At the corner with Marlborough Place is a synagogue (1882) with grape motif terracotta reliefs. Further up the road at Nos. 46-48 is a another pair of Gothic villas. Walk a bit more, glancing down Blenheim Road which has its share of handsome buildings and then cross at traffic lights just after the bus stop to go left at Carlton Hill. Here giant pilasters adorn Nos. 60/62. Things get a bit out of hand when the house numbers get into the 70’s, with more enormous piles trying to be castles.

Turn into Hamilton Terrace on the left. This is a long wide street mainly of terraces and villas built between 1820-50. At Abercorn Place, go left past the Kentish ragstone church of St. Mark (1847). When you are back in Abbey Road go right. On the opposite side of the road is a late nineteenth- century Romanesque Baptist Church, partly converted to apartments. Soon you will come to EMI’s Abbey Road Studios. The studio building itself is a nicely-proportioned detached house of the 1830’s. The monument at the top of the hill is to the sculptor Edward Onslow Ford.

Using the famous crossing (see above), walk a few steps to the right to Grove End Road. At the top are some impressive houses – notably the huge Greco-Egyptian pile at No. 44 which belonged to the painter Alma Tadema. Sir Thomas Beecham lived at No. 31. The conductor was celebrated for his cutting remarks, and I could not resist adding this link for some examples.Walk the length of Grove End Road. When you reach Wellington Road turn right and walk as far as Wellington Place (see above).

Cross over to the continuation of Wellington Place where you will find the entrance to St. Johns Wood Burial Ground. Go into this and follow the tarmac path. Just before the children's play area is the grave of the prophetess Joanna Southcott (1750-1814), (a flat slab set in the grass opposite a memorial stone against the railings). To find the last resting place of the watercolourist John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), pass the playground and go left, then right into a shrubbery with a low wooden fence At the southeastern end of the park you will see the church itself. To get to it, turn left at the Park Road exit. St John's (architect Thomas Hardwick) has a stately classical facade, but its dignity is lessened by the necessity of using the space in front as a car park. The church and burial ground were completed in 1814, the site having been chosen by the St. Marylebone Vestry (Parish Council) as being ideal for an additional cemetery as it was then in a rural area. On the occasion of the consecration refreshments were available at Thomas Lord's newly opened cricket ground, he being a member of the Vestry. Happily the church is almost always open from 8am to 4-.30 as the interior is breathtakingly beautiful in its Regency simplicity, with original pastel painted box pews.

On an island in the road opposite the chapel is a dramatic statue of St. George and the Dragon, part of the local war memorial. Regent's Park lies beyond.

Time to return to the Tube via Wellington Road. Before reaching the inevitable flats there are a few pretty villas half-hidden behind high walls - Madame Tussaud of waxwork fame lived in No. 24.

St. John's Wood is a fascinating locality - try to choose a sunny day when the pristine cream stuccoed buildings look at their (sometimes quirky) best.


* the link leads to a useful article in a Dorset magazine

Photos left to right:
Villas in Abbey Road: 'castle' Marlborough Place
The Beatles crossing: Abbey Road Studios
Lords frieze:Penfold pillarbox
Carlton Hill: Blenheim Road
Folly, Langford Place
St.John's Wood Church

MAP

St. Johns Wood is just one walk from the many to be found at London Tube Rambles. There are architectural gems, beautiful country views, historic places and whacky buildings to be found, even in the most unpromising areas covered by the Greater London Underground stations. Usually the places listed are within a mile of the Tube - often only five minutes walk away. If you reached this as an individual page via a search engine, you might like to go to www.londontuberambles.co.uk to see the other destinations explored . You'll be amazed at what's out there!

© DR2008