Category Archives: North West Kennington

The last great epidemic of Greater Kennington

History has an unusual system of circularity, and The Event that has engulfed the world is in many respects very similar to one experienced in early Victorian Greater Kennington. So bring those sparklingly clean hands forward boys and girls, as we are going to tell you about another misunderstood epidemic borne out of a need for greater hygiene. 

In the first half of the nineteenth century Lambeth’s waterfront was the industrial hub of London, with factories  such Royal Doulton lining the waterfront between Black Prince Road and Spring Gardens and disgorging pollutants into the air and water. The area behind the factories was populated primary by migrants from the countryside and a famine stricken Ireland (and now ironically populated by multizillion pound flats, but moving on..) who struggled for survival and lacked basic sanitation. As the area was built haphazardly on damp marshland (this was before the embankment of the Thames) there were no standpipes for water and the folks had no choice but to obtain their drinking water directly from the Thames. And we’ll leave it up to you to imagine what kinds of matter were deposited in the river at the time.

The Thames was the source of contagion when cholera struck Lambeth in October, 1848, resulting in the death of almost 2000 local men, women and children. At the time it was believed that cholera was transmitted through the air in foul smells, and foul smells were abundant in this industrial wasteland. Our patch of Lambeth was one of the first places studied by pioneering epidemiologist John Snow (no, not that one) who, after seeing people dipping pails into the river for drinking water, began his path to discovering that cholera was a water borne illness. Proof that science can prevail in times of darkness. 

A headstone of the time of cholera

Of the people who perished, many were buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery of St. Mary’s church (now the Gardening Museum). The graveyard is now Old Paradise Park and is a little gem of solitude behind the high rises. On your daily and now unlimited walk stop to notice the headstones of the many residents of Lambeth who were contemporaries of those 2000 who perished, but who had a more dignified send off.  And in the middle of Paradise Gardens you’ll encounter a solitary standpipe, which acts as a fitting monument to those buried beneath it. 

The Migration Museum

The other day we toddled over to Lambeth High Street to revisit the Migration Museum, only to discover that they are only open to special events ahead of moving. We reached out and discovered that while they aren’t technically closing, they just need a new venue, but in the meantime have a range of activities to titillate our Kennington senses.

 

Political events in recent months and years have cast a vivid light on migration and how it has shaped this country. The Museum certainly embraces the notion that migration has been beneficial to Britain, and uses examples of the real lives of immigrant groups to explain not only how they integrated into British society, but also how they incrementally changed it. This is achieved through photos, graphics, quotes, and art.

 

You might be asking, ‘why am I reading about a museum that is about to leave our area?’. After it’s deportation from our area the Museum will be living a very lively life online (especially Facebook and Twitter), with resources including links to about how to trace your lineage,  the impact of immigration in the UK, and refugees.

 

Before its departure, the Migration Museum is hosting a number of free activities (have we mentioned how much we love free stuff?), and some are kiddo friendly. We will definitely be at a few, so just wave wildly and we might spot you….But you won’t spot us as you don’t know what we look like…So just wave at everyone

A Judge’s Journey; John Dyson (the Hoover guy) in conversation with Shami Chakabarti, 31.10 18:30 – 20:00. And yes, tickets are still available!

Family History Day; a day to explore genealogy and local history (kid friendly) 2.11 10:30 – 16:30

Special Opening; A final opportunity to explore the collection, including Caribbean Takeaway and Room to Breathe. 23.11  12:00 – 18:00. This will be your last gasp before the Migration Museum flees our shores!

#migrationmuseum

Merano Cafe and the Looming Towers at Albert Embankment

Believe it or not, the new towers on Albert Embankment, those looming  sentinels over the western reaches of greater Kennington, are actually within the KR catchment area. The other morning we decided to pop over and check out a curious new café as oligarchs have to eat somewhere  it seems to be developing a bit of a buzz. It’s located on the ground floor of one of the new buildings: We don’t recall the name of the specific building, but they all seem to be named after luxury cars from yesteryear so take your pick. Roller? Corniche?

Merano Rose bar café is a buzzy and airy joint that doubles as a cocktail bar/restaurant in the evening. It mostly caters to people who work in Vauxhall, with a small smattering of locals. We had a very flaky and buttery croissant, but could have chosen from a range of other pastries and muffins. We also indulged in a very rich but satisfying eggs benedict on sourdough served with parma ham. If you are a fan of hollandaise sauce you are going to love this place, as half of the menu items seem to feature it in copious volumes. If you are of a healthier bent, they also serve granola and porridge…

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On the drinks front, Merano serves fresh squeezed orange juice, espresso, and a range of coffees and teas. When we were there some people had just popped in for a quick bite and others were working assiduously (they have wifi). They are open throughout the day from 8, including weekends, and also have a lunch and dinner trade.

Merano is a good little, moderately priced outpost on the periphery of our society so worth checking out. And at the end of the day, where else could you wash down your 8:30am scrambled eggs with a G&T?

Merano is at 31 Albert Embankment, SE1 7GR. It is just beyond the arches at Vauxhall and is more or less at the back of Spring Gardens. Happy eating!

A Brief History of Lambeth Workhouse

As promised, this next piece is about the ground around the Cinema Museum and its former life as Lambeth Workhouse. The workhouse was founded in Black Prince Road in 1726 and moved to Renfrew Road in 1871. The Cinema Museum occupies the former master’s house and chapel. The only other building of note is the water tower, which was converted into a bonkers house in 2011 and featured on ‘Grand Designs’. If you ever want to tour it, the home seems to be on sale about four times a year. You  can easily spot the tower in North Kennington

lambeth-workhouse

The Workhouse was a home to 800 inmates (as they were actually referred to) who entered the house as a result of abject destitution. People also came with children if they were unable to care for them. Charlie Chapin was one of these unfortunate lads. It was referred to as a ‘total institution’ as it provided accommodation, food, healthcare, vocational training and a school. Inmates could come and go but had to work some miserable tasks in order to keep a roof over their head.

While offering safety and food, The Lambeth Workhouse was a stifling place to live and deliberately so. Its small, dank rooms were intended discourage anyone except the truly needy from taking a bed. Some of the degrading tasks of the workhouse included breaking stones and crushing bones to produce fertiliser. Some found escape by actually learning a skills, but many languished at the Workhouse for years. Boys and girls who arrived without a parent had it a bit easier, as they were trained to either be domestic servants or join the navy.

About the time of WW1 the demographic of Lambeth Workhouse was evolving and was mostly populated by the elderly, infirm and sick as opposed to the poor, and from 1930 the day to day running of the Workhouse was handed down to Lambeth council.  From the Metropolitan Archives it appears that our workhouse was in operation until 1948 when the National Assistance Act saw that the last vestiges of workhouse life were dealt with, making Lambeth find more suitable places for it’s most vulnerable people to live. More about Workhouses can be found here.

The picture below is from inside the women’s section of the Workhouse

Screenshot 2019-09-29 at 17.18.28

Vauxhall Cross – 1958

We have a shameless obsession with old photos of greater Kennington here at the Runoff and here is a little mid week fix for you, the first of a series over the next month. My predecessor Jamie put up quite a few  last year and they are delightful.

This picture is of a very different Vauxhall Cross circa 1958. The shot is looking east up Albert Embankment, and might have been taken on the top floor of the building were Starbucks now resides. The buildings on the left are now occupied by the bus shelter, and were the billboards are is now an expanded approach to Albert Embankment.  So changes to the flow of traffic is not a new occurrence in Vauxhall! Lambeth13877

The Mighty Hercules (Pub)

Up we go to the very northern fringe of Kennington, (formerly known as LAMBETH NORTH). Across from the tube there’s a new pub (OK it’s been there 5 weeks, but we’re busy) in a building that used to house the most depressing Chinese restaurant on earth. It’s called ‘The Hercules’ and KR gave it a visit on Sunday for some daytime boozing and roasting.

The Hercules features 24 cask beers (each described on a handy LED screen) and an impressive array of wines and spirits. For roasts, one of us had beef and the other pork belly. The portions were generous and the meat well cooked. The roast potatoes were also browned and just the right side of charred. The cauliflower cheese was commendable and the Yorkshire pud was huge and crispy. The butternut squash, however, was liquefied and didn’t work. As for the crowd, it’s a mix of youngish locals and tourists trying to figure out the contents of sticky toffee pudding while also figuring out how they ended up in Lambeth North when their hotel is advertised as ‘Waterloo’. The atmosphere is the upmarket ‘old school meets new school’ of the White Bear. Overall, great atmosphere and drinks, but there are better roasts in SE11 and environs. But try it out if you tire of your favourite roast.

Finally, *expects hate mail from millenials*  kale is lovely but it has no place in a Sunday roast. Bring us savoy cabbage!

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The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 1 – The Garden Café at the Garden Museum

Positives: This is simply one of our favourite ever London restaurants. The seasonal menu changes every day and has never let us down. Hearty, flavoursome, unfussy food, just brilliantly executed.

The Garden Museum cafe interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: Their only evening openings are Tuesdays and Fridays. They’re not particularly flexible with substitutions and such like, but only because they take such pride in their plates. The food is expensive but totally worth it. As for the building, we can’t still can’t believe the Garden Museum destroyed their beautiful, tranquil knot garden as part of the development that led to the new Garden Café. If this restaurant had been able to serve diners in the old knot garden on a summer evening, it would have been unbeatable.

Pappardelle, courgettes and parmesan at The Garden Cafe Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

Spring Gardens Nursery

Spring keeps threatening to spring so we’ve been stocking up on plants from Spring Gardens Nursery at the junction of Black Prince Road and Newport Street, to the side of Beaconsfield Gallery.

Spring Gardens Nursery - kenningtonrunoff.com

Andy and Alan will give you detailed, friendly advice about which plants to buy (maybe a bit too detailed – we were overwhelmed with choice so gave up and let our toddler choose loads of random flowers), and they may well give you a little freebie if you spend enough. They grow a lot of their own plants, their stock seems to be growing all the time and their prices are very reasonable.

Spring Garden Nursery plants and flowers - kenningtonrunoff.com

It’s open daily including Sundays from 10am to 6pm.

Shank’s Pony Nursery was previously on the same site and this article links them to some of the lovely plants you can see in beds around West and North West Kennington.

The Migration Museum and The Workshop

The Workshop is the former fire engine workshop on the corner of Lambeth High Street and Whitgift Street.

The Workshop - kenningtonrunoff.com

It previously played host to VIP parties and the Scumoween illegal rave before the developers Vauxhall One took it over and turned it into a temporary community and events space. It’s becoming an increasingly vibrant destination, playing host to the monthly Vintage Vauxhall Market, and seeing queues stretching all the way around the block when it hosted the Art Car Boot Fair.

The Art Car Boot Fair at The Workshop - kenningtonrunoff.com

The Workshop also has two more long term residents – the Fire Brigade Museum:

London Fire Brigade Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

And a timely arrival in the area, the Migration Museum:

The Migration Museum figurines - kenningtonrunoff.com

We are big fans of migration and found this a thoughtful and moving museum with a lot of relevance to the local area:

Outside Bar Estrella, July 2006, after Portugal won World Cup Quarter Final against England at the Migration Museum

Outside Bar Estrella, July 2006, after Portugal won World Cup Quarter Final against England at the Migration Museum

The Migration Museum is on the first floor of the Workshop with no step free access. It’s open to the public Wednesdays–Sundays (plus bank holidays), from 11am–5pm.

The Migration Museum exhibit - kenningtonrunoff.com

Address: The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7AG.

The Tankard

This pub used to be the Grand Union, and before that it was Bar Room Bar, but is now under new ownership – The Draft House – and has reverted to its original 1825 name of The Tankard – bravo.

The Tankard exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

It was always a great site – at the junction of Brook Drive and Kennington Road, the other side of Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park from The Three Stags, which is invariably busy. Bar Room Bar’s stock-in-trade was opening late night on weekends (rather unusual up this end of Kennington), and the later it got, the dodgier the crowd got. But its greatest asset has always been its terrace, once used as a viewing platform for the curious to observe patients in the grounds of the original “Bedlam” next door, now the Imperial War Museum. And, in common with every other old pub in Kennington, Charlie Chaplin and his dad used to hang out there.

So what have Draft House done with it? Well, for one they’ve built roofing on the terrace – great for a summer’s day, even if rain is threatened:

The Tankard roof terrace - kenningtonrunoff.com

Downstairs the layout is the same but there’s lots of pale wood and bright red paint:

The Tankard main room - kenningtonrunoff.com

They have a big selection of craft beer in bottles and on tap, the latter of which can be bought in paddles (a little flat when we tried their three bitters – teething troubles no doubt – they’d only just opened after a super quick refurb):

Beer paddle at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

And for the teetotallers they do Brewdog’s Nanny State:

Brewdog Nanny State at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

We’d described the food as “comfort gastro”, heavy on grease, salt and beige colouring. This was beer battered cod and chips (you can see the salt):

Beer battered cod, fat chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

This was buffalo cauliflower (go easy on the Frank’s hot sauce):

Buffalo cauliflower and Frank's Hot Sauce at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

Chicken schnitzel – no complaints here:

Chicken schnitzel, buttered new potatoes and rocket salad at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

They do a good veggie burger with smoked cheddar:

Veggie burger, smoked cheddar and fries at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

We’d like to see them add a few more green items to their menu, but they do do veggie scotch eggs, moist on the inside:

Veggie scotch eggs at The Tankard - kenningtonrunoff.com

As you can see from the above, the pub was packed and noisy when we were there, so we’re optimistic that The Tankard and The Draft House will be in Kennington for a long time to come.