THIS WEBSITE WILL BE CLOSING SOON!
FEAR NOT, ALL OF THESE STORIES HAVE
BEEN TRANSFERRED TO:
STORIES OF LONDON
at
NEW TALES WILL ALSO APPEAR AT THE NEW SITE
PLEASE VISIT IT.
MANY THANKS.
------oooOOOooo------
I waited at the bus
stop along with a few other potential passengers and soon the H37 glided up and swooshed to a stop. The door sprung open and in we got. No one seems to use money anymore on a bus
and we each took our turn to bring our Oyster Cards or Freedom Passes to the yellow disc, which allowed our trips to be noted and a suitable amount to be
removed from our respective balance. This was
performed under the watchful gaze of the driver. Once accounts had been rendered we shot off
again and the bus rocked as if we were at sea.
Oyster and Freedom Cards is now the method of choice to pay for a ride on buses, under- and overground trains and trams
on TRANSPORT for LONDON vehicles
on TRANSPORT for LONDON vehicles
Top Left: The lady who sold me my Oyster Card, which is sold with a wallet (Centre)
I cannot get used to
the new numbering of the bus routes in London.
How on earth does one arrive at a system whereby the bus route is called H37?
I assumed at first that the H
meant Hounslow, but it still bears this letter even when the bus is travelling
towards Richmond! Better to accept the
fanciful ideas of Transport for London and
delve no further into the minds of those responsible. Better to sit and look out of the window and
watch the houses and sites of Twickenham and environs roll by.
Various Bus Types used on Route H37
We were soon racing along the Twickenham Road and coming into Isleworth where we squeeched to a half at the Isleworth War Memorial. The War Memorial is located close to Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church and has a clock face on all sides. Although, according to a number of local newspaper articles, the design of the memorial was still under discussion in January 1922, a final decision was evidently made soon after and it was unveiled in June of that year.
Isleworth War Memorial (Left) and Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church (Upper Right)
The bus turned and swayed
on until Isleworth Train Station,
which was the first permanent station in Isleworth. Prior to its construction, a temporary
station had been built east of Wood Lane, about 400 or so yards from the
current site. The temporary station,
opened in August 1849 and named Hounslow
Station, and allowed the train service to operate until the bridges,
embankment and station buildings of the permanent station were built. Following this, the temporary station’s name
was changed to Smallberry Green. The present station opened in February 1850
and was named Isleworth Station, but
in 1855 its name was changed to Spring
Grove and Isleworth only to be returned to Isleworth in August 1911.
Isleworth Train Station showing the line to Hounslow
A new passenger got on
the bus at the station and came and sat next to me, causing me to move over a
lot to allow her the full half of the seat.
As a result, I did not notice the bus’ progression and only noticed my
surroundings once we were turning on to the London Road.
Who lived in Isleworth?
Sir Joseph Banks, bontanist and traveller on The Beagle (Top left); William Turner (Top middle); Vincent van Gogh lived here in 1873 while working for an art dealer in London (Top right); David Attenborough was born here (Bottom left);
and William Harnell, the first Dr. Who, seen here with The Tardis (Bottom right)
and William Harnell, the first Dr. Who, seen here with The Tardis (Bottom right)
As the bus raced along, it suddenly hit
me! We were on the London Road and we were in Isleworth! And then,
there on the right, just up the road a short way was the Odeon Isleworth! I
immediately reached out and pressed the button and the bus slammed to a halt
much to the grumblings of the driver and passengers. Apparently I
ought to have rung it earlier. I paid no attention to the murmurings of my fellow passengers. I was far too excited. I sprang from my seat and quickly jumped from the bus!
There it was – that glorious building! The Odeon was still there! Evidently it had survived the fate that had befallen so many cinemas and had not been demolished. I stood there and admired the building for although not demolished, it had nonetheless changed, but in spite of this, it was still the Odeon!
There it was – that glorious building! The Odeon was still there! Evidently it had survived the fate that had befallen so many cinemas and had not been demolished. I stood there and admired the building for although not demolished, it had nonetheless changed, but in spite of this, it was still the Odeon!
The Odeon Isleworth as it was in 1935 (Left) ....... and as it is now (right)
I could not believe my
good fortune. Quite by chance I had come
to Isleworth that day and quite by chance I had discovered the old Odeon once more. I stood there looking at the building, and
while I did, an old woman out walking, seeing me lost in my own thoughts, stopped and asked me if I was lost. I said no and told her that I was admiring
the old Odeon. She smiled and said that she remembered it as
a cinema and had gone there many times with her husband. I asked her if she liked how it looked now
and she said that it still had a certain
charm. We chatted and I told her how
I had found the building in 1956, quite by chance, while in the area looking at
the trolleybuses. After chatting further for a while, we bade
each other good-bye and I crossed the
street to examine the Odeon further.
I later learned that
with the closure of the Odeon Isleworth as
a cinema in 1957, the new owners
removed the interior décor and turned it into a film studio for the making of
advertisements. Although the building
was renamed Isleworth Studios, the original
Odeon sign remained on display on an
external side wall where it was to stay until 1993.
The building as a film sudio; note the 'O-N' of the word ODEON on the right.
In 1999, the building
was sold to Equator Films and
continued to be used as a studio. Howver with its subsequent sale to Spring Grove Investments in 2001, it
ceased to be used as a studio. In May
2002, as the auditorium was of no further use, it was demolished. Fortunately the front entrance block including
the façade was retained along with the adjacent parade of shops and were restored to original design and bore the name, Odeon Parade. Where once stood the auditorium, a number of
apartments were built and arranged around a central courtyard. The now-restored one-time entrance of the
cinema became skillfully incorporated into the new design as an entrance to the
apartments.
Odeon Parade, Isleworth
The façade of the
cinema had been beautifully restored and looked majestic. The shops were also restored although one was
vacant during my visit. Upon closer inspection of the old box
office area of the cinema had now taken on a completely new function. It had become of all things a Chinese Restaurant! I looked inside, but could not go in as they were on the verge of closing. Obviously it would be necessary to return, but it could be after another fifty years!
A beautiful building from any side .......
I spent a long time
looking at the building, but eventually it was time to leave as I was expected
elsewhere and needed to get back to Central London. During my journey back, I could not get over
my luck at finding the old Odeon and
being able to see it in its restored glory.
There was little doubt about it, finding the Odeon and seeing that it had not succumb to the wrecker's ball was going to be the highlight of my trip. The only thing missing and which would have made it even better was to find trolleybuses rumbling along the street once again.
Still, alas you can’t have everything, can you? As Bette Davis said in Now Voyager ........... Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
....... and remarkable from any angle
There was little doubt about it, finding the Odeon and seeing that it had not succumb to the wrecker's ball was going to be the highlight of my trip. The only thing missing and which would have made it even better was to find trolleybuses rumbling along the street once again.
Still, alas you can’t have everything, can you? As Bette Davis said in Now Voyager ........... Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
------oooOOOooo------
Footnote: While writing this piece, thanks to Kenneth Henderson in Melbourne, I learned that there had been another film studio in Isleworth, Worton Hall Studios. Worton Hall was a country house built in
1783 and rebuilt in the early 19th Century and then converted into
film studios in 1913. In 1936, Alexander
Korda produced H.G. Wells’ The Shape of
Things to Come there and in 1948, The
Third Man began its shooting here and, shortly before the studios closed in
1951, part of The African Queen was
filmed here.
------oooOOOooo------
READERS COMMENTS
Manny
Norman wrote:
I have just had a good look at all your
trolleybuses and the Isleworth Odeon. They bring back some happy memories
for me.
Firstly, I remember bus spotting
with my brother and a few pals when we were young and living in England. We lived in Harrow during the 1940s and I can
remember six different bus routes that served our area:
- 114 – Rayners Lane to Stanmore;
- 140 – Hayes Station to Mill Hill at that time *;
- 158 – Ruislip Lido to Watford;
- 183 – Pinner to Golders Green;
- 187 – South Harrow to somewhere in Ealing, I recall; and
- 18 – Edgware to Wembley and was extended to London Bridge on Sundays.
* I believe that this route now connects Heathrow Airport to Harrow Weald
Garage.
I
am surprised that I can remember the numbers of these routes after all of these
years!
However
what really interested us about these routes were the buses that served them
and the stock numbers that appeared
on the sides of every bus in service.
Routes
114, 158 and 140 were serviced by STL buses; route 183 by STD buses (diesels); route 18 by G buses, which were provided with utility wooden seats called
slatted upholstery; and route 187 by old ST buses, which we used to
call these buses, long at the front, because of their projecting cabin.
Left: The STL was the standard General/LPTB double-decker bus operating in London from 1932 to 1939. Although standard, they varied in appearance over the years. The photograph shows
STL 469 at Clapham Transport Museum in 1961.
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
Left: The STL was the standard General/LPTB double-decker bus operating in London from 1932 to 1939. Although standard, they varied in appearance over the years. The photograph shows
STL 469 at Clapham Transport Museum in 1961.
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
Right: Mr. Norman's reference to the STD servicing route 183 was to the pre-war batch of on hundred Leyland TD4s
built to resemble the STL. These buses remained in service until the early 1950s. During this time they operated on route 183 and were housed at Hendon Garage (code AE).
The photograph shows STD 12 soon after its introduction operating on route 52, which is another route serviced by Hendon Garage.
(Photograph by London Transport)
Left: There
were 435 austerity Guys produced, which were mainly delivered towards the end of the the Second World War or just
after its conclusion. The photograph shows G 150 in service on route 18.
(Photograph taken by Alan B. Cross)
(Photograph taken by Alan B. Cross)
Right: The
ST double-decker bus was the precursor of the STL. It was a shorter AEC Regent bus built between 1929 and 1932. The photograph is of a standard ex-General vehicle, ST 821, now preserved and seen here at Clapham Transport Museum in
1961.
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
We
did not have trolleybuses in the area where I lived. I thought that the nearest were in Greenford
and traveled to Wembley, but I have learned that there were no trolleybuses at
Greenford. Apparently the nearest
service was route 607 at Ealing,
which ran along the Uxbridge Road. I
also remember trolleybuses on the Harrow Road, which I have learned were routes
662, traveling between Edgware and
Paddington Green and 664, in service
between Wembley and Paddington Green.
Trolleybus number 1529 (Class L3) is seen here in service on route 662 at
Paddington Green during its last weekend of service
in January 1962.
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
in January 1962.
(Photograph taken by Geoff Bannister)
In
one of your stories you mention going into bus garages. Like you, my brother and I were thrown out of
quite a few too! Our most memorable was
Turnham Green where we had bagged the
first RTL double-decker bus (RTL 501).
However, I also remember a more pleasant experience thanks to a friendlier employee when we went to Romford Garage. He was very kind to us and took us into the main office and gave us a great deal of information about London Transport buses, including a list of all the number of the buses housed at the garage, which I seem to recall were mostly D-type buses. After this, he took us on a tour of the garage.
RTL 139 servicing route 15 traveling towards Aldgate
However, I also remember a more pleasant experience thanks to a friendlier employee when we went to Romford Garage. He was very kind to us and took us into the main office and gave us a great deal of information about London Transport buses, including a list of all the number of the buses housed at the garage, which I seem to recall were mostly D-type buses. After this, he took us on a tour of the garage.
Romford Garage (code RE) was a garage which housed green livery double-decker buses and operated Green Line Services. Green Line routes had been suspended during the Second World War and were resumed only when hostilities were halted. Romford Garage was allocated 37 D buses. The photograph shows D 69 at
Aldgate Terminus in service on route 722.
Aldgate Terminus in service on route 722.
(Photograph taken by Prince Marshall)
Of
course, we were never without our Ian
Allen book on London Transport Buses and Coaches containing the complete list of the stock number of the buses
that were in service at that time.
After a day of bus-spotting and jotting down the number we had seen, we returned home and religiously underlined each number in our books. I remember that probably our best haul of new buses seen was during the 1948 Olympics at Wembley Stadium. Here we were lucky enough to see such rare bus types as C, CR and Q types.
After a day of bus-spotting and jotting down the number we had seen, we returned home and religiously underlined each number in our books. I remember that probably our best haul of new buses seen was during the 1948 Olympics at Wembley Stadium. Here we were lucky enough to see such rare bus types as C, CR and Q types.
Left: The
CR was a single-decker Leyland Cub with a rear transverse-engine seating 20 passengers and was designed for short rural routes. As a result of the war, they spent most time in storage because of a
shortage of spare parts. Some of these buses saw service as extras in the rush hour after the war
and during the Olympics. Only a handful operated during normal service. The photographer notes that he often saw one in green livery at Epsom Station on a route to a new housing estate in the
early 1950s.
CR 14 is shown here at Clapham
Transport Museum in 1961.
(Photograph by Geoff Bannister)
(Photograph by Geoff Bannister)
Right: The Q was a single-decker bus with a side engine and 238 were built between 1933 and 1936. These buses were considered to have cutting edge engineering pioneered by AEC and Leyland.
Of the total, 234 of them had slightly different layouts. Central Area red livery Qs were built with an open platform at the very front, forward of the
wheels while
Country Area and Green Line versions (both in green livery) were built with a shorter front overhang and a
central entrance. Country Area Q 55 is shown here at Clapham Transport Museum in 1961.
(Photograph by Geoff Bannister)
(Photograph by Geoff Bannister)
I
notice that the cost of the Ian Allen book
was half-a-crown, which was quite a
lot of money for a child in the 1950s and before. My father used to give me this amount each
week when I was young for arranging his sheet music in the various folders
designated for each instrument that was needed for his band member for his BBC
Radio programs. I assume that this is
how I must have afforded the other books that I had, which included various
train-spotting books, one for the LMS
(London-Midland-Scotish Railway), LNER (London-North Eastern Railway), GWR (Great
Western Railway) and SR (Southern
Railways). We also spent a great
deal of times at the end of numerous platforms in the major London train
terminals, especially Euston.
I remember that when the buses arrived at Harrow Wealdstone Station, the conductor always dropped Harrow and only called out Wealdstone Station, L, M and S, but would add in an amusing tone, 'ell of a mess! This addition was made long before the tragic train accident of 1952 where many people were tragically killed. I am sure that after this the addition was dropped too.
I remember that when the buses arrived at Harrow Wealdstone Station, the conductor always dropped Harrow and only called out Wealdstone Station, L, M and S, but would add in an amusing tone, 'ell of a mess! This addition was made long before the tragic train accident of 1952 where many people were tragically killed. I am sure that after this the addition was dropped too.
A bus that I
remember was Old Bill, which was a
vehicle from the one-time London General
Omnibus Company and was of the B class.
This bus had been in service during the First World War and had
transported troops to France. The bus
was brought out of retirement occasionally and formed part of the funeral
processions of London Transport dignitaries
Old Bill - B-Type Bus - shown here at the Imperial War Museum in London
By the way, in
the fourth part of your series, The Odeon
Isleworth, did I see a picture of J. Arthur Rank? My father knew him and would mention him on occasion, but I never met him myself. There was an Odeon in South Harrow close
to where we used to live. Although the
exterior was perhaps not as spectacular as the one in Isleworth, we
nevertheless like it and used to go there on Saturday mornings to see, amongst
other things, cartoons with Donald Duck and
Deadwood Dick! We also used to go to the café associated
with the cinema and to Genners, the
department store adjacent to it.
The Odeon South Harrow - the Odeon Cafe and Genners are seen in the photograph on the left
J. Arthur Rank, later Baron Rank
Deadwood Dick and Donald Duck
Here is the song
I (almost) remember that we were supposed to sing on Saturday mornings:
To the Odeon, we have come.
Now we’re all together,
We can have some fun.
We’re a hundred thousand strong,
So how can we be wrong ……. ?
Unfortunately
I don’t remember the rest of it! In
1994, I went back to Harrow on a visit, but sadly the Odeon South Harrow was no longer there and the space was now
occupied by apartments.
Thanks for the memories!
Manny
------oooOOOooo------
I
would like to thank Manny for his letter and for sharing his great memories
with us. I also extend my thanks to
Geoff Banister for allowing photographs from his collection to be shown here
and for providing additional information about them and on the bus routes.
Regarding
The Odeon Song that Manny mentioned,
I have not found his song, but I have found another which can be heard here. I have to admit that when I went to Saturday Morning Pictures as a child, we were never asked to sing such a song.
------oooOOOooo------
AND NOW DEAR READERS, I HAVE LEARNED THAT I WILL SOON COMPLETE THE 20 PAGES THAT I ALLOWED WITH THIS BLOGSPOT.
I AM CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR A SUITABLE SITE AND WHEN I DO
I HOPE YOU WILL FOLLOW ME THERE.
I HOPE YOU WILL FOLLOW ME THERE.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS SITE AND
And, as the French say, a la prochaine!
------oooOOOooo------
------oooOOOooo------
