Third in our series of historic photos of Kennington takes us to St. Anselm’s church. This photo was taken during the summer of 1933 and depicts the frieze above the Romanesque doors being carved. The artist is Alfred Gerrard, who at the time was head sculptor at the Slade School of Art and is at the bottom of the photo. Carving must be very good exercise, as Mr. Gerrard lived to be 99, 65 years after this photo was taken.
Do you recognise the festive, festooned building below? The date is 1935, and the kiddos outside are eagerly awaiting a visit by King George V to their home. The building still very much stands at the base of central Kennington, but is now largely empty except for a video production company around the back.
The neo-classical, Grade II building you are looking at below was built in 1852 and was the Vestry Hall (essentially the Town Hall) for Lambeth until things started getting a bit tight at the turn of the century. That’s when the Town Hall abandoned us for bigger spaces in Brixton. Lambeth then leased the building to the Church of England Children’s Society as their headquarters. Also known as the Waifs and Strays, the charity arranged pastoral care and fostering for poor and destitute kids who lived there, and the kids feature in this photo. It served this noble purpose until another Charity, the Countryside Alliance, moved in behind the columns in 1986.
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! 
Most of you are aware that the world famous Beefeater Gin is distilled right here in mighty Kennington, but have you ever wondered why? Well we’re about to tell you.
As Gin became newly acceptable and ‘on trend’ in the 1860’s (much like the 2010’s) a pharmacist named James Burrough bought an old school distillery in Chelsea and decided to add ‘London’ and ‘Beefeater’ to it’s name as a break from the past and as an homage to it’s origin. By 1908 the factory in Chelsea was proving too cramped and they packed up and moved near the Royal Douton factories in Black Prince Road. The move was strategic, as Doulton made many of the kilns in which the ‘mother’s ruin’ was brewed.
By the mid 1950’s the premesis was again proving too old and cramped and Beefeater decided to move to an old pickle factory in Montford Place, where it remains to this day (this is not how we get the phrase ‘getting pickled’, but wouldn’t that be fun). This is when Beefeater really took off and became a global brand. At the time the site was much larger as Beefeater also bottled it’s gin on site. In 1988 the Burrough family sold out to a brewing chain who quickly moved the bottling facility to Scotland. This left a lot of excess land, which was sold to Tesco (and then to Berkeley Homes but lets not open that can of worms again). The company is now owned by French giant Pernod Ricard.
A number of years ago we visited the distillery, before the visitor centre and shop were introduced in 2016. It is a fascinating place. Apparently it employs ‘about 5 people’ which might explain the desolate atmosphere around the place. However, The £15 charge for touring the place might also explain the desolate atmosphere around the place. On the upside, the shop offers a range of unusual gins that you won’t find in places elsewhere in London. Shame more Kennington pubs don’t fly the Beefeater banner proudly!
We imagine that a on a daily basis a large number of you think ‘will the Runoff EVER do a feature on sewage and foul smells’? Well dear reader, your time HAS COME!
The Victorians gave London many architectural gems; the Houses of Parliament and St. Pancras to name a few. In Kennington they endowed us with probably London’s most attractive example of a Stinkpipe, and it’s right above your nose in central Kennington. If you’re wondering what we’re talking about, the Victorians solved many problems but struggled with sewage for years. This was called The Great Stink of London and resulted in some radical methods to solve it.. Stinkpipes were one such method and were installed around London to divert the smell of poo and their more noxious byproducts. The idea was to elevate the odours from sewers and subterranean rivers above sensitive Victorian noses.
So while the Great Stink might have been deplorable, it realised great advancements later in the industrial age, such the creation of the Embankment and cleaning up of the Thames. More recently the Stink has also been credited with a number of interesting and slightly unsettling blogs dedicated to Stinkpipes and other above ground sewage devices.
You could probably spend a day few days, or in our case years, exploring the BFI Film Archive of old films about London. We recently discovered this treasure called ‘We Are the Lambeth Boys’ and it gives a fascinating insight into Kennington circa 1959.
The film depicts the lives of the girls and boys of Alford House youth club, which still flourishes in Aveline Street, pictured below. To 2019 eyes the 49 minute film appears slightly condescending, but it was in fact intended to dispel conceptions of ‘Teddy Boys’ (hence the conversation about apparel early in the film) and the culture of youth clubs in general.
Examining the (nerd alert!) outside shots of the estates, we think they were filmed around Newburn Street. If you are a fellow fan of ‘ohh, I know where that is’ viewing, scroll to (nerd alert 2!) 33:30 for a distinct view of 50’s Kennington Cross (shown below). If you’re still on board scroll back to (nerd alert 3!) to 26:10 for a glimpse of Cleaver Street toward Cleaver Sq. If you have any further nerd revelations please drop them in the comments box….
I need some nicer clothes…..
Next time you’re walking up the west side of Kennington Road take a look up at the plane trees just beyond Tesco Metro and up to the IWM. If you look closely you’ll notice the names of all 12 Apollo astronauts who walked on the moon on metal plaques (Buzz Aldrin is hangin’ on for dear life in front of Texaco) plus 3 other Apollo astronauts. No one appears to know how the plaques turned up there, but the very handy Londonist website speculated in 2017, and the dearly departed Smoke magazine had a go a few years prior. If you dig deeper into the web you’ll also find some pretty cray cray theories, including one claiming that seeds for the (100+ year old) trees were actually on the Apollo missions. Hey ho..
The plaques appear to have been there for at least 25 years, so their creator might have moved on or indeed joined the heavens. If you have any theories please leave a comment. Best of luck looking, and may god’s love be with you………..
Last photos for now from the soon-to-be relaunched Lambeth Archives website
Kennington Cross, 1960. That lady looks like she’s moving at a leisurely pace. No way she’s going to make it all the way across in one journey.
from Kennington Cross towards Imperial Court, 1930
the Elephant end of Kennington Lane, 1970
pretty much the other side of the top of Kennington Lane, 1905
The Windmill Fish Bar, 1972 – they should have kept that wonderful frontage
Kennington Theatre, later a cinema, now a block of flats, Kennington Park Road, 1930
The Salvation Army Citadel, 93 Kennington Lane, 1966
what is now Pelican Nursery at Kennington Cross, 1972
more shops at Kennington Cross, 1972
amazing mural depicting a mediaeval village scene in Durning Library, 1952
Granada Bingo, Kennington Road, 1960, now Tesco Express
from the soon-to-be relaunched Lambeth Archives website
The Roebuck, 1972, now The Dog House
The King’s Arms, 1972
The White Hart, 1972, now the Tommyfield
The Cricketers, Kennington Park Road, 1945
the derelict Lamb & Hare public house, 41 Kennington Lane, 1950
The Black Prince, 1974
The Tankard, 1880
The Horns Tavern, which stood on the corner of Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road until 1965
from the soon-to-be relaunched Lambeth Archives website
The Old Red Lion in the late 1930s
Kilner House protest squat, Clayton Street – more info here – plus ca change
Methley Street, 1975 – nothing has changed except the cars
Kennington Road, 1950
Cleaver Street, 1975 – bit of a different vibe from today
‘Reclining Figure’ by James Butler A.R.A. – bring this back to Cleaver Square please!
Brook Drive, 1985 – looks tranquil right?
Bonnington Square, 1981 – the year the squatters moved in
More soon.
