Category Archives: Oval

The Little Church that Could

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If you’re reading this then you’re a survivor of the total mess that has been the past year. St. Mark’s Church Kennington is another survivor that has narrowly dodged fate over the years and we’re here to give you the story. In case you don’t know, St. Marks is the church across the street from Oval tube and site of the very epicurean Oval Farmers Market. 

From the 1600’s the area where St. Marks is situated was part of Kennington Common and was a place of notorious public executions. It was also the site of public fairs and boxing matches and gained a reputation as being a pretty dissolute and riotous place. Since there were a huge number of people fundamentally just hanging about and having a party, it attracted a large number of public speakers, many of whom were there to spread the word of God and deliver these doomed revelers from an eternity of damnation. A few centuries later a different kind of reveler there would rejoice at scoring heritage Enoki mushrooms out of season. 

The Duchy of Cornwall sold this corner of Kennington Common, known frighteningly as ‘Gallows Corner’, in 1822 and work commenced on the building we see before us today. The jury is out as to whether a church being placed on this spot was coincidence or design. Over the years the church grew and evolved, reflecting the changing demographic around it. At it’s height it was a hub of the community and served by a vicar, three curates and 250 church workers.  1,500 children were taught in the Sunday Schools by 125 teachers.

Our little church was almost completely destroyed by a direct bomb hit in 1940 and only the Grecian façade, pillars and cupola survived. It was partially restored in 1949 but the Southwark Diocese found further restoration unfeasible and it was earmarked for demolition, as there were more important things to rebuild at the time.  The building remained open to the elements until 1960 when it was sensitively restored. The church now reflects the much more diverse and multicultural environment which it surrounds, and has adapted in ways we all have recently.

“A busy south London crossroads formerly notorious for death and vice has become a place of life and renewal”. 

St. Marks on the left with Kennington (Park) Common in the middle. The building on the right is the famous Horns Tavern, now ‘Job Centre Plus’.

Max and Melia – X Mas shopping in Kennington #1

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If you’re anything like us (and trust us, you are) you would rather have raisins crammed into your ear canal than shop on Regent/Oxford St at the moment. And also like us, you might prefer holding things in your sparklingly clean hands than buying everything online. Well have you ever thought about Christmas shopping in Greater Kennington? 

Sandwiched incongruously between a betting shop and a minicab firm in Oval, Max and Melia is a gift and home accessories shop full of things that look lovely but you don’t really need. We recently undertook a masked, incognito visit and here’s what we found.  They stock an array of household adornments such as cushions, candles, vintage glassware, bookends, old photographs, and pictures. At the moment they have a definite Christmassy vibe and stock ornaments, wrapping, cards, and other festive baubles to make your pad looking shiny and merry. They are open six days a week and apparently right up to Christmas

If you wander around our sanctified abode it’s amazing what you can discover by serendipity. Max and Melia has been around for eight years, but we only just discovered the place. It isn’t exactly on the cheap side but lets be honest – it’s been a pretty shitty year and we deserve to treat ourselves and our loved ones. Next week we’ll have a rundown of further places where you can pick up some presents or general Christmas joy.

Fun at Oval Farmers Market

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We’re not proud of this, but since The Event took hold in March we haven’t darkened the door of Oval Farmer’s Market. After a brief period relegated to a community hall it’s been back in St. Mark’s Churchyard for a while now, and for obvious reasons is much more spread out, basically wrapping around the whole of the church. 

If you haven’t been to the Market in a while all of the old standards are still on offer; olives, biltong, a range of gluten free things, cheese stalls, fresh fish, coffees, organic wine, and meats. The large veg stall that used to be there is no more, but the proliferation of smaller ones compensate for it. There was also a French/Caribbean food stall that looked pretty delicious and had the buzz. 

Even if farmers markets aren’t your cup of chai, it offers folks a safe way to feel somewhat connected to society again and is a nice place to stroll around. For those still a bit queasy about larger crowds the market also provides a click and collect service.

Afterwards we revisited an old favourite,  Mimis Deli, which we reviewed earlier this year after eating a sandwich there the size of a childs’ leg. The former seating area at the back has been converted into a very tempting Italian food market/gift shop scenario, which is more experimental than Italo Vauxhall. We ate our mighty ciabatta wrapped sandwiches snugly in Kennington Park in the company of runners who had obviously never eaten a child leg sized meatball marinara sandwich in their lives. 

Long lost lido

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A picture tells a thousand words #2

The second of your photos was taken during the great heatwave of 1932 in Kennington Park. Believe it or not, between 1931 and 1987 the park had it’s own lido, and some of you might have lived here long enough to remember it. 

Built in 1931 by the LCC, the lido and an adjacent paddling pool measured 165 x 66 feet and contained 350,000 gallons, with a deep end of 7ft 6ins. The pools were high-tech for the day, offering continuous filtration and aeration. The substantial buildings on the site included staff accommodation, first aid rooms, refreshment kiosks, plus individual and group changing rooms.

In it’s heyday the lido attracted an estimated 1800 people a day and was free to all. As one swimmer remembers ‘a whole day would be spent at the park culminating with a dip in undeniably the coldest water it has ever been anyone’s misfortune to swim in’. Oops!

The lido was closed in 1987 but the remains lived on behind a fence in a zombie like fashion until 1995.  The remains were removed in 1995 and replaced by the current tennis courts. The only trace of the lido is an oval (how apt) shaped area of grass between the tennis courts and Camberwell New Road where the edge of the paddling pool can be seen. 

24 The Oval – the place to be for Sunday roast

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If you’re a regular reader you are probably aware of two things. First, we have a serious addiction to eating out. Second, we would rather be jabbed with rusty ice pick than give a biased review. If we feel passionate about something or it’s quirky we write about it. If it isn’t reviewed here we either didn’t like it or it just isn’t on our radar. 

The restaurant 24 The Oval seems to have been on the radar of everyone but ourselves for ages, so recently we went to sample their Sunday menu. Early in lockdown they converted the front of the restaurant into a farm shop. It ‘s still going strong and we reviewed it here.  The setting of the restaurant at the back is unpretentious and the open kitchen and wealth of cookery equipment attest to a restaurant that is led by confident chefs. And 24 defies the current ‘small plates’ trend proudly.  

As it was still warm we were sat in the garden with orchids and succulents and a nice 80’s soundtrack. In an attempt by the staff to sabotage our dream of washboard abs, as an ‘amused bouche’ we were given four mini yorkies and served a further four between courses – and between us we downed nine of them….Moving on…your scribe defied convention and had the seared Cornish cod. It was very meaty and delicately cooked slab served with peas, dill, and preserved lemon. Your scribe was also getting flavours of celeriac..

My very ambitious associate had the lamb roast, which consisted of a pink leg and slow cooked breast, served with a pot of mint sauce (homemade, not Coleman’s). This is definitely posh roast territory so there was some artful piling in the centre of the plate with a construction of various roast vegetables (including some lovely cabbage) and crisp roasties. Then, if that wasn’t enough, there was a separate dish of extra veg and roasties plus a pot of cauliflower cheese. Although at the pricier end of Sunday roasts, this was super quality – and super quantity. 

The crowd at 24 was an eclectic and diverse mix of white middle class people with lots of hair who were under the age of 45. If this describes your good self then you’ll fit right in. If, like us, you do not fit that category you’ll still be greeted heartily. As for the service, it was very causal yet well drilled. 

Getting a bit botanical in Montford Place

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The Beefeater Distillery became an ‘experience’ in 2014 and since then the Runoff has been keen to visit.  However, we rather balked at the notion of shelling out £16 a head to tour what is in essence a factory, even with the added benefit of getting sozzeled in the end. So when we saw that #beinvauxhall were offering two for one tickets we leapt at the chance. We wrote a little missive about the history of Beefeater in Kennington last year. 

The Beefeater experience starts self guided, with a very slick history of the sauce, covering everything from the ‘gin lane’ era of Hogarth and unregulated spirits, to US prohibtion and the rise of the speakeasy. Intertwined are fun little videos about how gin is produced and the propagation of gin distilleries in London over the years. 

Our enthusiastic Italian tour guide Maria took over for the second part of the tour and put more depth into the gin making process. In the tasting room we sampled different kinds of gin and the botanicals that give different varieties their unique flavour. This included not only juniper but also orange peel, coriander, tea, licorice, and angelica seed. Our only slight digression was when Maria asked ‘so what does that remind you of’ and your scribe shouted ‘Bombay Sapphire’. Moving on…

The last part of our journey was indeed the most fascinating as we had a very informative tour of the stills and learned more about the distillation process. Maria was also able to verify a long held Kennington urban myth-…..only five people are employed and produce all of the Beefeater gin sent around the globe. 

The event ended with a G&T in their tasting room and we left with the best of both worlds – feeling cerebrally enhanced and a bit tipsy. With the added benefit of being able to say to our mates with confidence – ‘yeah, I’m really getting heavy notes of angelica seed here’. 

The Be in Vauxhall deal runs at least until the end of the year, and details can be found here.  Even if Be in Vauxhall is a faceless marketing company they still seem to know what’s going on, so its fun to have a root around their website if nothing else.

Moore for the people

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Did you know there’s a Henry Moore sculpture in Kennington Park? You did? Well we didn’t, so we’re here to tell you moore about it.

The sculpture is called ‘Two Piece Reclining Figure #3′ and it isn’t actually in Kennington Park, but rather nests peacefully in the Brandon Estate (the tall buildings to the back of the park). It is one of five that were cast by Moore, probably in 1961. It was purchased in 1962 by Southwark under a scheme to place artworks in post war estates called ‘The Abercrombie Plan’. The plan was surprisingly modern in hindsight; acknowledging that the psychological perception of a place isn’t just down to basic amenities, but also creative detail. We wrote about other works of art purchased by the plan a few months ago. 

For those of you not familiar with Henry Moore, he is best known for his semi abstract bronze and marble works, usually depicting women at rest. He was from Yorkshire, and it is speculated that his figures were influenced by the rolling hills of his birthplace. To us, ‘#3’ appears to be influenced by the female sculptures of the Elgin marbles, but who are we to put ideas in your head. A well known Socialist, Moore believed that art was to be enjoyed by the masses and he must have been very proud that this casting of ‘#3’ can be seen by everyone on the Estate. 

Sadly a number of pieces of public art have been stolen and in 2012 Southwark council had to take some quite expensive measures to prevent our Moore from the same sad fate. The residents of Brandon Estate also deserve credit. A bit of free culture while the museums are shut, and It’s a perfect place for a serene picnic without the worry of getting hit on the head with a non socially distanced football. 

KR visits the Oval Village show home

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If you’re  a regular reader you are probably aware that we have been closely following the development of Oval Village and the surrounding area, which we call ‘Uptown KenVo’. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that the marketing suite is now open on Kennington Lane, and we just went on a guided tour for you.  

We were determined to approach our visit in a more mature and nuanced manner than when we visited the site previously. On our first visit an architect was imagining an independent bike shop on site, and we asked if the shop could also contain a small concession of ‘Subway’. On our second visit another architect was telling us about the flats to be erected inside the gas holder, and we commented ‘oh, so THAT’S what they mean by life behind bars’. 

The first building to be completed, ‘Phoenix Court’, will occupy roughly the same footprint as the former Tesco, and the ground floor will be the site of a new Tesco. Estimated completion is the first or second quarter of 2023. However, our chirpy tour guide let us know that Tesco will be opening next year. Flats range from £565k for a studio at 423 sq. ft. (!!!) to £1.56 million for a three bedroom at just over 1,000 sq. ft. As you can see from the pics the finish is high and the ceilings are over three meters. When all of the buildings are complete there will be public walkways through the development linking the Oval to Kennington Lane.  

The sales and marketing video can be found below. However, if you want a real giggle then watch the hilarious video  ‘A day the life of Oval Village’ at the bottom of their homepage and here. The video depicts a typical day in the life of a young man who goes about his day eating at Sally Whites, reading at Durning library, and then attending a lecture. He’s smiling throughout and you would be to if, at 25, you could shell out over half a million quid for a 400 square floor flat.  

https://youtu.be/Qy0YVogP-zI

Blitz Children

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The other day we were on our permitted one hour perambulation in Vauxhall and stumbled across a quite poignant sculpture. We put it on Instagram (where we’re much more clever) and that started a small conversation about its origins. This spiked our curiosity, so we decided to step back from trying to remember what day of the week it is our hectic schedule of Zoom meetings, to undertake some research. 

Following the war there was a shift from commemorative to public sculpture as a way to lift spirits and add to public enrichment. However, after the war Lambeth were seriously short of cash. Equally skint was Hungarian artist Peter Peri, who was able to make works cheaply by means of applying moulded concrete onto wire mesh. When local authorities began commissioning artists to create works in newly constructed housing estates, he put has name forward and he was commissioned to create three works in Vauxhall and Oval. 

The sculpture in Vauxhall is called ‘Following the Leader’ and was created between 1949-1952. This moving composition depicts children holding hands in a spiral to the sky, as an homage to children killed during the blitz.  Fortunately it is Grade II listed. The other two sculptures are in Oval are of slightly lower quality but still very interesting (both below). ‘Boys Playing Football’ depicts a group of lads doing just that, kitted out in their awkward leather boots. ‘Children Playing’ depicts a mum playing ring o’roses with her children. Curiously, all three works face internal courtyards. Perhaps this testifies to Mr. Peri’s background as a socialist and champion of everyday folk. 

One of our goals as the Runoff is to get people out of the house and explore, but of course this is largely not possible at the moment. But if you find that your daily exercise is getting a tad bit monotonous, set these little gems as your destination:

Following the Leader – on Darley House, Laud St. 

Boys Playing Football – on Wareham House, Carroun St. 

Children Playing – on Horton House, Meadow Road. 

The pieces in Oval are very close to one another.