Great picture of the trams outside the Odeon and the cinema queue for Joan of Arc (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman.
Not trams, young man, but trolleybuses - the small terminus was called Parsons Hill, no doubt thanks to the nearby church of St Mary's, and was the end of the line for routes 696 to Dartford and 698 to Bexleyheath (via Erith). Parsons Hill was swept away in the mid-60s when the new ferries and ramps were introduced and John Wilson Street was built to make a better highway connection with the South Circular. The magnificent trolleybuses had long since gone, being replaced by buses on routes 96 and 229 in March 1959.
Just found this one as well - General Gordon Place in the 1950s - looks slightly different today with the water feature and assorted dossers loitering around it.
Just found this one as well - General Gordon Place in the 1950s - looks slightly different today with the water feature and assorted dossers loitering around it.
Just found this one as well - General Gordon Place in the 1950s - looks slightly different today with the water feature and assorted dossers loitering around it.
I can't remember if I've posted these elsewhere on another thread but one of the old Woolwich Ferry here (which I don't actually remember).
Think we used to call that the 'steps' ...... giving access to the Thames. The 75 and 54 buses used to 'terminate' in that small road siding , (as they did at the Blackheath standard, top of Invicta Road) Used to go to the Cafe's in the next road, while we 'rode' the Ferry boats, as 'herberts' at weekends and summer holidays. The smell of engine oil from those ferry boats was pretty 'unique'...... but then the Thames had a smell as well, and not always fragrant! ......'Ode de Thames'
Just found this one as well - General Gordon Place in the 1950s - looks slightly different today with the water feature and assorted dossers loitering around it.
Just found this one as well - General Gordon Place in the 1950s - looks slightly different today with the water feature and assorted dossers loitering around it.
Yes a tad harsh - I always seem to pick the wrong time of day to walk through there. It is a nice open space and better than the old bus station that used to be there.
Great picture of the trams outside the Odeon and the cinema queue for Joan of Arc (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman.
They are actually Trolleybuses rather than Trams CO. Parsons Hill was the terminus for bus routes for many years. Here's a view from the opposite side. EDIT - I see GlassHalfFull got there first
I think that's an earlier view of Bellwater Gate, pre-war and pre-bombing. So, no not Ferry Approach. The old Ferry Approach is where the foot tunnel entrance is. When they built the current ferries (in about 1964 I think) they moved the loading point to where it is today.
I can't remember if I've posted these elsewhere on another thread but one of the old Woolwich Ferry here (which I don't actually remember).
Think we used to call that the 'steps' ...... giving access to the Thames. The 75 and 54 buses used to 'terminate' in that small road siding , (as they did at the Blackheath standard, top of Invicta Road) Used to go to the Cafe's in the next road, while we 'rode' the Ferry boats, as 'herberts' at weekends and summer holidays. The smell of engine oil from those ferry boats was pretty 'unique'...... but then the Thames had a smell as well, and not always fragrant! ......'Ode de Thames'
Am I right in thinking you could reach down and touch the river from those old ferry boats (if you were so inclined) - couldn't do that from the newer boats.
For thousands of tram pix look at www.londontramways.co.uk. The photos are filed by location. Warning - the pictures really are of trams and generally show little of the streetscape, but amongst the 3 pictures under Woolwich Free Ferry there is one splendid photo looking towards the old power station. Enjoy!!
Remember watching famous groups and singers in the sixties here and the opposite cinema, if I remember correctly one was a blues night with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and a few others. Was offered a ticket to watch a Liverpool group in the early sixties, but after seeing them live on a children's television programme, didn't fancy it, I think they were called The Beatles.
I can't remember if I've posted these elsewhere on another thread but one of the old Woolwich Ferry here (which I don't actually remember).
Think we used to call that the 'steps' ...... giving access to the Thames. The 75 and 54 buses used to 'terminate' in that small road siding , (as they did at the Blackheath standard, top of Invicta Road) Used to go to the Cafe's in the next road, while we 'rode' the Ferry boats, as 'herberts' at weekends and summer holidays. The smell of engine oil from those ferry boats was pretty 'unique'...... but then the Thames had a smell as well, and not always fragrant! ......'Ode de Thames'
Am I right in thinking you could reach down and touch the river from those old ferry boats (if you were so inclined) - couldn't do that from the newer boats.
Remember getting sprayed when they tied up from the back wash. Not sure if this correct for 61\62 in regard of the boat.
Remember watching famous groups and singers in the sixties here and the opposite cinema, if I remember correctly one was a blues night with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and a few others. Was offered a ticket to watch a Liverpool group in the early sixties, but after seeing them live on a children's television programme, didn't fancy it, I think they were called The Beatles.
Great picture of the trams outside the Odeon and the cinema queue for Joan of Arc (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman.
Not trams, young man, but trolleybuses - the small terminus was called Parsons Hill, no doubt thanks to the nearby church of St Mary's, and was the end of the line for routes 696 to Dartford and 698 to Bexleyheath (via Erith). Parsons Hill was swept away in the mid-60s when the new ferries and ramps were introduced and John Wilson Street was built to make a better highway connection with the South Circular. The magnificent trolleybuses had long since gone, being replaced by buses on routes 96 and 229 in March 1959.
Thanks - I happily stand corrected. PS Once a young woman, now nearer an auld biddy, but never a man!
Great picture of the trams outside the Odeon and the cinema queue for Joan of Arc (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman.
Not trams, young man, but trolleybuses - the small terminus was called Parsons Hill, no doubt thanks to the nearby church of St Mary's, and was the end of the line for routes 696 to Dartford and 698 to Bexleyheath (via Erith). Parsons Hill was swept away in the mid-60s when the new ferries and ramps were introduced and John Wilson Street was built to make a better highway connection with the South Circular. The magnificent trolleybuses had long since gone, being replaced by buses on routes 96 and 229 in March 1959.
Thanks - I happily stand corrected. PS Once a young woman, now nearer an auld biddy, but never a man!
On my occasional childhood visits to Charlton, we'd stop off in Woolwich to collect my mum who would have spent the afternoon shopping there. We always seemed to end up hanging around outside the Co-op with my dad giving me the sort of historical lecture that I'd find fascinating now, but which was boring and frustrating in equal measure to a boy who just wanted a ride home on the ferry. I must have spent half my childhood wondering why the Co-op in Woolwich was called RACS when the Co-ops everywhere else were more conveniently called Co-ops. I suspect this was the very thing my dad was trying to tell me, if only I'd listened.
Comments
Very harsh there @Tom_Hovi!! Very harsh indeed
Great pics.
When I was a kid I always thought there was something quite Dickensian about it.
Slightly scary
Parsons Hill was the terminus for bus routes for many years.
Here's a view from the opposite side.
EDIT - I see GlassHalfFull got there first
For thousands of tram pix look at www.londontramways.co.uk. The photos are filed by location. Warning - the pictures really are of trams and generally show little of the streetscape, but amongst the 3 pictures under Woolwich Free Ferry there is one splendid photo looking towards the old power station. Enjoy!!
Remember level 42 in 83
PS Once a young woman, now nearer an auld biddy, but never a man!