Our Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington (+ One Sunday Roast) launches on Thursday and we are currently working assiduously on this highly scientific yet wholly subjective list. Ahead of that, we’ve unearthed a lovely Vimeo video we’d like to share with you
As Elephant and Castle is now undergoing a full on ‘Vauxhallization’ we’ve been recently waxing nostalgic for the old shopping centre. It was like that kooky great aunt you used to have in Leeds – you visited it only when you absolutely had to, was past its prime, and very fond of pink. And before you know it, they’re gone forever.
It’s OK to feel a bit conflicted about the shopping centre. On the one hand it harks back to a more innocent form of independent retail in which shopkeepers knew your name and you could be sexually aroused by a massage chair. But it was also a dangerous place rife with drugs. And not the drugs your kooky aunt took.
This uplifting and artistic video is from 2010 and makes you realise the centre was more like a community meeting for many.
When we recently yelled out in the office ‘who’d like a lunchtime drink’ Phil from accounts reflexively leapt out of his chair, but was crestfallen when we he discovered he’d be heading to brand spanking new coffee emporium ‘Capheum’. Capheum is nestled subtly in a former tattoo parlour in that sketchy bit of Kennington Park Road down from Tesco Express and the dreary pub Oaka. We love them already.
When we arrived, our first impressions were of a clean, bright and petite (four or five tables) boutique coffee/tea house with the usual range of coffees and a small but pleasing array of pastries. The owner explained that they are supplied by the award winning Celtic Bakeries which is all delightful but as they’re not based in Greater Kennington we weren’t interested. Your scribe had an Americano, and it was a full flavoured, rich and nutty blend. We gave Phil a sip and he unhelpfully commented ‘well it just tastes like a Guinness to me’. This was served as directed with cold milk in a clever, ribbed cup that never got hot.
Phil had a breakfast tea, which he described as ‘great’.
And in spite of Capheum having a name that sounds rather like the latest recreational party drug, it’s a very sedate place to work or just catch up with your bestie. The music is low in a kind of ‘Buddha Bar 2000’ manner and there is good wifi and plenty of plug sockets. We tested it a second time and stayed a while with a laptop, and the owners were fine with that.
Instead of seeing us as the best mythical online publishing powerhouse in Britain, recently people seem to be confusing us with a girl at Waterloo station with a ’can I help’ sash. The question at hand is how to get your hands on a Christmas tree, as the lovely Abraham over at Bouquets and Beans in Kennington Cross is not doing them this year. We’re sensing a middle class existential spasm about to happen here, and we’re on hand to help as we love you.
We can confirm that Windmill Flowers currently have a bevy of Christmas trees outside of their shop, and they can be found in Kennington Cross. Also, an oddly named outfit ‘Clickmas Trees’ is back in the churchyard at St. Mark’s church in Oval. Both places also stock Christmas accessories such as wreaths. If you know of any other places selling trees please put them in the comments section, as frankly we need to move on with our lives.
We would like to express a Runoff welcome to the newest arrival in Kennington Cross, Ink Beauty! While we’re not in a position to gauge the local market for bum contours, scalp tattooing and fat dissolving dermal fillers, we always support the little guy so long may you prosper.
Ever wondered about the existence and future of that giant gravelled eyesore of a vacant lot next to the Beefeater Distillery in Montford place? Well we’ve just been on a tour with the developers and we’re here to fill you in on what’s in store
For many years the site was occupied by Hayward’s pickle factory until it was partially destroyed in 1944. The bit that survived lives on as the Beefeater Factory. After changing hands a number of times, the lot next to it was purchased by TfL in order to have a place to store equipment and lorries working on the Northern Line extension. TfL have now partnered with Grainger Homes to deliver 139 homes, 40% of which will be dedicated to affordable living. It will be 11 floors and occupy most of the footprint of the site, with grasses and trees included. Construction will started by the end of 2023 and it will be called Montford Mews
Not what it will look like, This is the pickle factory
My first question to very peppy and well informed TfL developer Susanne is probably the question that almost all Runoff readers are thinking right now. Namely, what do you call ‘affordable’ and why is it that only people in high earning jobs appear to be living in these allegedly affordable flats? She said that Lambeth Living determine what is affordable and it is usually between 40 to 60% of the market rate. She added that people are allocated the flats based on their earnings the previous year and preference is given for people already living or working in Lambeth.
Gripping site photos
On our previous tours of Oval Village across the road we asked about access to the general public and if people will offer a short cut between Kennington Lane and the Oval. They confirmed that it will, and Susanne confirmed that the public will be able to walk through the Montford site as well. There will be businesses on the ground floor, but they will be light industrial (ie offices). We were heartened to discover that the affordable living people living in the affordable flats will have access to the same amenities (gym, etc) as folks paying the full whack.
Susanne also mentioned another very similar project that will see 450 (!!) new homes built above Nine Elms tube station. However, dear reader, it was long ago we became unable to keep up with the vertical insanity of Vauxhall, so if you want more details click here.
Planning permission has been granted for both the Montfort and Nine Elms sites. But please don’t ask us to weigh in on planning consent as we did that once and we still can’t get that toothpaste back in it’s tube.
Next time you pop over to the big Sainsburys at the top of Wandsworth Road in Vauxhall, look across the street and beyond the soulless high rises that surround you. If you were in that spot 150 years ago you would have been met by raucous female ex convicts and the smell of starch and soap. This is all due to an extraordinary enterprise by a campaigner named Sarah Meredith, and we’re about to tell you what she did.
When forced deportation of prisoners to Australia was outlawed in 1857, the government had to decide how to reintegrate people who had served their time. Work for men was plentiful in places such as factories, but a unique dilemma was posed for females. People didn’t want them working in their homes for reasons of trust, and Susanna was aware of this. She started Nine Elms Laundry in a disused and shabby Victorian building with a goal of giving jobs exclusively to women who were trying to piece their lives back together.
Some women lived at the laundry and others commuted to their daily 10 hour shift. The rules of the laundry were prominently displayed but not enforced punitively. These included no alcohol or money on site, and the expectation that they would not leave the premises without permission. Women who served a subsequent sentence were not judged and welcomed back into the fold after they’d served their time. Women from all denominations were accepted, which was unusual at the time.
The laundry was arranged as a self financing enterprise with mostly middle class patrons. Such was the success of the business that Sarah was able to offer to clean the clothes of poor people in Vauxhall at a discounted rate. This was crucial at a time in which your appearance alone could determine whether you could put food on the table. Susanna was also able to off free laundry services to people living with infectious diseases.
Records show that Susanna and her sister were living in South Lambeth Road at the time so were close enough to keep an eye on the shop and give a little extra support to the vulnerable women in her employ. We all need a Susanna Meredith in out lives now and again, and we hope there are more folks out there like her.
Thank you to the good people over at Vauxhall History who wrote most of this article. They are a great place to explore.
Today we hand over our exceedingly slippy reins to guest editor and noted vegan Miles. Miles is apparently another of our work experience staff here at the Runoff who must be lost in our labyrinthine complex beneath Kennington Cross as we’ve never met him in the flesh. We appreciate his erudite review, below, and hope he’s found his way out.
So following their remodelling of the Zeitgeist and the creation of sandwich bar Simply Bread, the team at the Jolly Gardeners have bought what was Millar’s General Store… and rebranded it ‘Ginger Provisions’ – maybe another sly fanboy wave at titian lovely Mick Hucknall? Or maybe not.
Either way, I was finally allowed on my first mission out of Runoff Towers, having spent the first six months of my placement in the ‘reprographics suite’ – or the photocopier on the fourth floor.
To my and a lot of my neighbours shame, we had kind of thought that Millar’s General Store had given up the ghost during the lockdown, as we huddled outside the various Sainsbury’s Local, and Tesco Express, waiting for Ocado to start delivering again.
As it happens, Millars thrived across this period (they told me), but as the labour of love of one chap (presumably Mr Millar), when the Jollys came a-knocking , he was interested in selling. This wasn’t before he had introduced an Ecover refill station, sourced a delicious bread supplier in Tottenham (which I guess counts as local these days) and maintained the best stock of fresh veg this side of New Covent Garden Market.
Millars was also the purveyor of an excellent range of vegan foods – with real thought into what was available, from ready meals, to vegan cheese, to basics like yeast flakes and vegan fish oil. Along with a wine section and regular cheeses, Millar’s packed a huge variety into a tiny space, and was very reasonably priced – especially when you realise that most of fruit and vegetables was organic.
So how is Ginger Provisions any different? Well since the sale was announced, the stock of Millers was being run down – as a weekly visitor, I would see things that I had bought not being replaced. Following the reopening, the old shop has been moved forty five degrees counter clockwise, so that the counter is now at the back, bread on the other side of the window.
This has allowed them to squeeze in another fridge, which is going to be used to sell ready meals made by the kitchens of the Jolly Gardeners. There was only one available when I popped by, which was roasted vegetables and giant couscous. That was delicious, but being the rookie reporter that I am I forgot to take a photograph, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Other than this and the big ‘EasyJet’ coloured sign outside, there wasn’t much else changed, certainly in the case of stock. The shop rearrange has made the space more negotiable and make more sense, but there didn’t seem to be anything else new bought in – they promised me that they would be continuing a ‘full vegan range’. The refill station had been dumped behind a display unit, and I was just able to refill my multi-surface cleaner bottle.
From the archives, the fifth edition of our month of best history posts
Beyond the soon to be demolished Vauxhall bus station and nestled in the midst of the behemoth known as St. George Wharf lies a beautiful Georgian building that has survived encounters with oblivion, in an area that has become unrecognisable in recent years.
Brunswick House dates from the mid 17th century but was rebuilt in 1758. The back of the house had sweeping views to the Thames and the front overlooked the then booming Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and market gardens of Oval. Just 32 years after being rebuilt the house suffered the ignominy of being split into to, and would never be a single home again.
The destiny of Brunswick House, and indeed Vauxhall, was profoundly affected by the arrival of the railways in the 1840’s in ways both good and bad. The railway was the final nail in the coffin for Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and poor Brunswick House had its access to the river permanently cut off by a railway goods yard. In the 1850’s the house ended up in the hands of London and South Western Railways and this is when its journey became particularly interesting.
In 1860 a fire almost destroyed Brunswick House, and after being repaired it was used by the railways as a staff canteen for workers, a library, a concert hall, a scientific institute, a bar, and a caretaker’s cottage. In WW2 an army unit lived in the building and, according to legend, in the 1950’s it was used by MI5 and MI6 for secret meetings as they feared that their own HQ was bugged. It was threatened by the wrecking ball on several occasions but was saved from this fate by being listed in 1973.
The house remained in railway hands for over 150 years when it was sold as the railways were being privitised and sold again in 2002 to a property developer. Some readers might remember this period as the building quickly declined as a result of vandalism and was in a pretty sorry state. It was purchased in 2005 by architectural salvage firm ‘Lassco’, who carefully restored the building and filled the rooms with its products, many of which are Georgian themselves.
Next time you are going for your hour of exercise pop over to Brunswick House and marvel at the fact that it’s still there. Lassco is very much open to the public (well, not right now) and a fascinating place to explore. They also have a critically acclaimed cafe. If you’re willing to sell a kidney, or your name happens to be Elton John, you might even be able to buy a doorknob there!
In the guise of overly curious members of the public, we recently paid a visit to brand new sandwich joint Simply Bread in Black Prince Road. Simply Bread is a few doors down and run by the folks who operate the Jolly Gardeners Pub. The manager explained that all of the sandwich fillings are created in the Gardeners kitchen by the same trained chefs who make the meals, and contain the same quality of sourced ingredients that you find in their meals. So, your coronation chicken is the same chicken found in their Sunday roast. And their bread is purchased at Alby Bakery in Vauxhall. Looking good so far…
The sandwiches at Simply Bread are the same day on day but the specials change, and our intern Kate had the aforementioned coronation chicken. It was very generously filed with juicy and moist chicken in an authentic tasting coronation dressing, and appetisingly sunny in colour. Of course it also featured a wealth of raisins, so if they’re not your thing you’ve been warned. Your scribe had the tuna loin sandwich in a sub roll which was well filled with large pink tuna chunks and a waist expanding amount of mayo just this side of decadent. And the bread was slightly sweet and very fresh. With all sandwiches a range of toppings (onion, salad, tomatoes etc) can be added.
These sandwiches look
much more appetising in the flesh
We give Simply Bread our stamp of approval as a solid, independent lunch spot. In the morning they also serve coffee, tea, pastries and sausage/bacon rolls. (or vegan). When I pointed out to the manager that the name of the shop rhymes with a certain washed up band from the 80’s with a lead singer who nowadays resembles Little Orphan Annie, he responded with a puzzled and somewhat worried expression. But don’t fret, he’s much more adept at sandwich making.
Do you ever wake up and think ‘I really need to buy some food today’ but the thought of going to Tesco makes you want to stick a pencil in your ear? Well we’ve recently come across what is in reality a well established food cooperative called ‘Fareshares’ in Walworth and were here to tell you all about the place.
Fareshares emerged from the thriving squatting movement established in the Pullens Estate in the 1980’s (and we wrote about it a few years ago) and continues as a volunteer based experiment to provide mutual aid and as a counterbalance to capitalist shopping. Most items are sold at 15% above cost and overheads are kept to a minimum, as there are no shareholders or profit, and the place is run more or less like a cooperative. All foods sold are animal, sugar and GMO free. And, when possible, organic and locally sourced.
In the shop we had a conversation with volunteers Chloe and Holly as regulars popped in and out for a shop and a chat, with real feeling of unity and camaraderie apparent. We asked them what staples shoppers can expect, and they led us to rices, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, and barley. Also a selection of sauces, herbs, oat milks, grains, and an ever changing list of veg. on offer. The best place to find out about their current offerings is their Instagram feed. And at the end of the day, wouldn’t you find fishing your pulses out of giant bins strangely rewarding?
As Fareshares is volunteer based, I asked Chloe and Holly how our illustrious readership can get involved. Before even finishing the question Holly replied ‘money’, which means ‘please do at least part of your weekly shop with us’. However, there are also ways to get involved by working the till, stock taking, or helping to clean up. They can be contacted by their social media feeds or just by popping into the shop and talking to them. But be aware that they trade for only a few hours at the end of the week. Hours below.
Finally, we asked Chloe and Holly if all hell would break loose if a person rocked up with a Tesco bag for life. They confirmed that this would be acceptable, and in a strange way even collectively embraced by the family of customers.
