UPTON PARK District Line, Hammersmith & City Line
Home of West Ham United Football Club

Not the richest of areas However, attempts have been made to cheer up the High Street (turn left out of the Tube) with huge decorative lights, and there is still a traditional Pie, Mash and Eel shop - so at least it is not so 'cloned' as more affluent places tend to be.


The home of WHU is in the other direction. Although most of the houses along the way are fairly rundown, the doorways retain their pretty plasterwork.














Do not miss the advertising clock with its 1930’s joke ‘ Don’t kill your wife, let us do it’ ( the laundry).
Now for the football club. Something of a surprise. The Disney-like castle frontage of the club is a reference to the fact that a servant of Henry Vlll owned an estate here and it is claimed that the king visited the house to court Anne Boleyn. Thus the stadium is known as The Boleyn Ground. The castle refers to a tower that once stood in the grounds. The logo of the club is a castle with two crossed hammers, a reminder of its origins as The Thames Ironworks team - fans still refer to it as The Hammers.

The ironwork in the photo is the insignia of the London, Tilsbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) which Upton Park served from 1877 to 1962.

If you want to avoid being in the area on a match day, go to the WHU fixture list

MAP

Upton Park 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!

© DR2007