Of course, the most familiar image to us all is now the gutted Party Superstore – which Love Clapham has frequented for many a fancy dress party – ablaze.

Other shops were smashed, looted and destroyed in a disgusting abuse of our local area. Clapham High Street was largely unaffected, although Blockbuster near Clapham North has had its windows smashed, and property destroyed and stolen. Love Clapham witnessed a gang of 20 or so hooded youths lurking behind KFC at around 11pm – they may have been entirely innocent, but last night was not the night to be hanging around in gangs.

Riot police eventually turn up en masse captured in this resident’s video:

No one involved had any intentions of delivering a political of social message, they just wanted to enjoy themselves by destroying people’s livelihoods. It was disturbing to watch on television, and terrifying for some of our residents stuck in the thick of the violence. Personally, the worst image for me was that of the young girls in the attack laughing at their friends tearing a TV off the wall in Ladbrokes. Such a depressingly pathetic display of ignorance and stupidity.

But the local community has come together in a tear jerking response as residents supported those affected today with broom in hand to clean up. Something to be proud of. Take care Clappers.

Read more on the following websites:

• Clapham Junction riots: A timeline of the violence and looting, images, write up and videos [Metro]
• Clapham Junction riots in pictures [BBC]
• London riots: Clapham broom picture goes viral as Londoners defy looters [Metro]
• Boris Johnson being heckled in Clapham Junction [Guardian]
• Clapham Junction write up [Telegraph]
• Boris Johnson criticised on Clapham Junction visit [Mirror]
• Clapham riot clean-up brings 400 volunteers [BBC]

Love Clapham has received an email from the disasters historian, John Withington, who has a book out called London Disasters. In the book is a piece on Clapham disasters which is an interesting, if tragic read. In the book John explains how at the Arding & Hobbs store in Clapham Junction (now Debenhams)  in the run-up to Christmas in 1909, a fairy light bulb exploded in the window and set fire to tinsel and cotton wool decorations.

The fire engines were on the scene within four minutes, and eventually 30 fought the fire, but they could not prevent nine people being killed, and the store being completely destroyed. The heat was so intense it was said to have cooked the turkeys in a poulterer’s across the road, but Arding and Hobbs managed to get itself re-built and open again for the following Christmas.

John – one of Britain’s leading disaster historians – also tells how nearly 80 years later on a bright, sunny December morning, a train driver in a cutting approaching Clapham Junction saw the green light in front of him turn to red as he was almost upon it.    This was something that was supposed to be impossible under the automatic signalling system in use on the line.    When he stopped his train to call the signal box, another ploughed into it, and a third coming the other way hit wreckage thrown into its path.

A fourth train managed to stop short of the disaster.  If it had failed, the potential consequences “do not bear contemplating” according to the official inquiry.  As it was, 35 people were killed and 69 seriously injured in London’s worst rail crash of the last 35 years.   It transpired that the whole disaster had occurred because an overworked technician had connected up a signal wrongly.

More information on the Clapham rail disaster can be found on the BBC, Wikipedia and of course in John’s book, London Disasters.

As you may have heard by now, Network Rail has had to cancel a number of major UK station redevelopments after having its £100 million budget reduced in the new Government’s budget cuts. The busiest station in Europe, our very own Clapham Junction, was the first and possibly most high profile of the station improvement works to face the chop. So, the severely run down station will stay that way for a long time to come. Given how bad it is already, Love Clapham dreads to think how it will look over the coming years and that’s not even taking into account safety – some of those platforms are incredibly uneven and dangerous. The London Evening Standard has more details of some works that will still take place, but still, it’s a blow given how many people use this station every single day.

In the photo above I was aiming for a mix of “funny money” to go with the headline, but instead ended up with a blurry, poorly executed version of one of those “haha I can fold a note over and put it on someone’s face” photos. But enough of that, I know what you’re thinking: where’s LoveClapham been and is that a dollar bill? Why yes loyal Clappers, you have deduced correctly that Love Clapham left the confines of our amazing society for a brief jaunt in the Big Apple, New York! Verdict? It’s not Clapham folks, so I came back. Back to the crappy news that house prices in our area are still going up, up and away in Clapham despite the recession. Good if you’re selling, utterly rubbish if you’re buying. Claps better not get too expensive otherwise I might have to start loving somewhere cheaper (as if!) On a lighter note, in fact a downright amazing note, Comedy Carnival is returning to the Clapham Grand. It already has a huge line-up of comedians for you to book and see right now, check out their site for more details. Given that Clapham has such a poor amount of entertainment options this is a much welcome, much needed and much [insert own superlative] development. Nice one Clapham Grand – Comedy Carnival is high up on Love Clapham’s excitement list.

Gail’s bakery opened this summer on Northcote Road, billing itself as a “celebration of real bread” – using only fresh, natural, healthy ingredients, handmade and seriously ‘slow-dough’ for extra character. They also make cakes, cookies, sweets, seasonal salads, fresh soups, tasty sandwiches, tea and coffee. The airy, open and relaxed space rapidly established itself as a favourite with locals (and especially this local), raising the bar even higher for an area already packed with quality establishments.

Edward Clarke

So I was thrilled and somewhat intrigued to be invited to an after hours “coffee olympics” held on the premises. What’s a “coffee olympics”?

Well, it turns out that the olympics is a way of “raising the spirit of coffee” amongst the staff (and especially the baristas) of this four-branch strong mini-chain. Last Tuesday evening saw the four overall finalists competing for top place. The event was held at Northcote Road partly because it’s the youngest branch and partly because the gleaming coffee machine there is the shiniest, newest model – able to give full scope to the baristas’ talents.

To kick start the evening, competitors, supporters, colleagues, friends and guests were all treated to a special coffee cocktail (coffee, cream, Galliano) before the contestants were quizzed on their coffee knowledge. Then on to the main event – each finalist had ten minutes to prepare two espressos and two cappucinos for a team of technical and sensory judges. They were judged on extraction, beverage presentation, taste characteristics, and consistency.

As anyone who has ever owned a coffee machine knows, it’s a bit like playing a piano: the skills you bring to the task determine the results! Tension mounted as the competitors did their thing. Eventually Marieka was awarded gold, beating the favourite to win. Marieka’s only been studying coffee for a year, so well done to her! In her speech she jokingly said she’s learnt there’s more to coffee than Nescafe.

There certainly is – and nothing beats a great cup of coffee prepared by a dedicated professional. Mmm – time for another cup!

Address: The Artesian Well, 693 Wandsworth Road, Battersea, London SW8 3JF
Phone: 0207 627 3353

Address: Lost Society, 697 Wansworth Road, London SW8 3JF
Phone: 020 7652 6526

The Wandsworth planning applications committee has rejected a large development planned for Clapham Junction. This follows a high profile petition from some local residents who opposed the plans.

Plans for a hotel on Falcon Road in Clapham Junction state that it would be 16 stories high, taller than other buildings in the area but substantially smaller than the previous development that had residents up in arms. The planning applications committee said:

“We had no problem with a hotel in this location – it would clearly be a benefit to the town centre.

“The concerns were more about whether the site could accommodate a building of this size. The new structure would be out of scale with the nearby houses in Mossbury Road.

“There is scope for a taller building here but it must respect its immediate surroundings and the properties around it.

“It would be regrettable if the council’s decision were overturned. We are not saying we do not want investment here – just that any development must be of the right scale and size for its location.”

The hotel would have replaced the disused and rundown building in the above picture. However, despite this initial rejection, the plans are being referred to the Mayor of London office which has been looking into rejuvenating areas of London like Clapham Junction.

Is this preservation of the area or a barrier to improving it? Tell us your thoughts below.

For more information on this story see:

• Love Clapham’s previous story and our original story
• The blog No to Towers in Clapham Junction
• Wandsworth Council’s press release

Address: Peacock Bar & Club, 148 Falcon Road, Clapham Junction, London SW11 2LW
Telephone: 020 7223 9633

Last month Love Clapham reported a new development over in Clapham Junction and we feel it’s necessary to clarify a few points relating to this. On one side is a developer looking to build a new hotel in an under used corner of Falcon Road in Clapham Junction and on the other side are a number of local residents that object to tall buildings in the area. Which side is right is all a matter of opinion, and that’s the point of this post – to gather opinion from people other than the most vocal out there. In an increasingly overcrowded city with very little real estate left, should the only way be up? What do you, the residents of Clapham and Battersea really think?

Before we begin let’s clear up one thing, there are two different building developments being reported in the press. Firstly, a plan for a twin towered development, a somewhat taller and larger set of buildings behind Debenhams that has been recalled. This is totally separate from the plan and developer of the proposed hotel, which has drawn the attention of local residents who objected to the first development. This new plan is for a hotel that would sit on Falcon Road on the corner leading to Boots and Asda (the old office block in the picture above). 

Having corresponded with both parties, they are, as expected, ordinary and decent people, who all genuinely do care about the future of the area. They just have a clash of views over the direction of this future in central Clapham Junction. In such an over populated city like London, tall buildings that make use of vertical space make sense, although some people will always want to maintain the existing look and feel of an area. Understandably, we are dealing with roads near people’s homes and their views are incredibly important.

Leading the objections to towers in Clapham Junction is Cyril Richert who said on his blog that, “The area is very compact. The size of the building will definitely create an eye-sore in the vicinity of low rise Victorian and Edwardian buildings, within the conservation area (and what is the point of a conservation area, if not to conserve it?).” The biggest concern of some local residents seems to be the setting of a precedent for tall buildings in the area, thus changing the look of Clapham Junction in the future. Local planning committees will be tasked with the job of preventing this becoming reality.

Tim Glass from the development company is sympathetic to concerns and states that if you look at the details of the applications people should hopefully “appreciate that we have actually paid great attention to the obvious areas of concern such as overlooking, daylight/sunlight, parking, deliveries, noise, refuse etc. as well as a lot that are less obvious.” Of course, the main advantages of a hotel in the area are obvious with new jobs and a ready supply of people to feed money into the local economy of restaurants, bars and shops.

This week Love Clapham was pleased to hear that both parties have met to discuss concerns and we really hope a resolution can be found. Is there anyone else living in Clapham that has any thoughts?

Recipease, the latest food venture by celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, is a shop on Clapham Junction’s main high street, St. John’s Road. It opened in late 2008 and has a beautiful interior like a giant country kitchen. Interestingly, it is a shop that doubles as a live cooking venue to practice and be shown how to cook certain dishes like curry and home made pizza. There’s a small selection of ready meals prepared to Jamie Oliver’s recipes plus wines and utensils. None of this comes cheap, but it’s expensive because of the quality, and it really shows when you look around that a great amount of detail and attention went into the shop.

The Boiled Egg & Soliders, as the name would suggest, specialises in delicious breakfasts. With a good range of different meals and its handy location on Northcote Road makes it the perfect pit stop when you’re peckish on a weekend morning.

Address and details

63 Northcote Rd
Clapham Junction
London
SW11 1NP

020 7223 4894

Getting to The Boiled Egg & Soldiers

The Boiled Egg & Soldiers restaurant is on Northcote Road in Clapham Junction on the end nearest to the cross roads. 

[field name=map]

Do you own The Boiled Egg & Soldiers restaurant?

If you do, you can keep this page updated by registering with this site for free. You can add more information, offers to attract customers and pictures to bring this page to life!

Awesome news for Clappers today as blonde bombshell Boris Johnson announced an influx of security in the form of a new police force in Clapham Junction. The nine person strong team will patrol the Clapham Junction area and its public transport. This is very welcome news for Love Clapham because not only are more Bobbies on the Beat a visible sign of reassurance, the size of the team means there’s some serious policing business to be had. Wrong doers begone! On a related note, the Clapham Town Safer Neighbourhoods Team has been in touch to say that “if anyone wants to speak to us in confidence regarding any criminal activities etc, just give us a call on the team number: 0208 721 2825.”

It seems like all we’re doing at the moment is telling you about Clapham building developments, but they’re just so darn interesting! This time, it’s plans to replace an old office block  with a state of the art hotel with restaurant. Sounds like a good plan.

It would replace the office block with the Job Centre in opposite PCS at 155 Falcon Road. That’s the corner you turn into if you’re driving to the Boots, Lidl and Asda super stores.

The hotel would have a contemporary design and includes 132 bedrooms, conference facilities, a restaurant and another space for a shop to use. Here at Love Clapham HQ it all sounds too good to be true and would bring some much needed life to quite a dull part of Clapham Junction.

According to Property Week, the director of the company behind the plans said: “The project will replace an indifferent and depressing 70s office block with an iconic new building that will make a major economic and architectural contribution to the regeneration of Clapham Junction Town Centre. We want to see this project up and running to provide much needed hotel facilities in this perfect green travel location before the 2012 Olympics.”

Source: Property Week

Update: Clapham Junction Hotel Development

There are various shops sprinkled all over Clapham, with five main shopping areas to be aware of (although some are so close to each other, they’re practically the same place). This page explains each shopping area in Clapham and what they contain.

• Clapham High Street
• Clapham Old Town
• Clapham Junction
• Northcote Road (and Lavender Hill)
• Abbeville Road (and Clapham South)

Clapham High Street

Clapham High Street is marked by a bizarrely fronted Sainsbury’s supermarket. It’s not often a supermarket leaves a lasting impression, but this futuristic looking facade certainly does. Love it or hate it, it’s one of the main landmarks on Clapham High Street, and its biggest shop.

On top of two further supermarkets in the form of a Tesco Metro and Sainsbury’s Local, Clapham High Street has some decent shops on it including an excellent florist, book shop and card shop. Other than that, there’s a tiny amount of known high street shops like Superdrug and the high street is pretty much unremarkable as a shopping street.

Clapham Old Town is actually so close though, with its boutique shops, that it may as well be the same place – around the corner at the west end of the high street. All is not lost for Clapham High Street, however. It’s primary draw is its plethora of cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs.

Esca, Breads Etc, Brewers, Revolution, Infernos, The Clapham North, The Falcon and the brilliant, if expensive, Clapham Picture House Cinema are havens for socialites. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays can feel like an exclusive holiday resort in the summer months with people spilling out onto the streets.

Back to top

Clapham Old Town

Literally around the corner from the West end of Clapham High Street is the old market part of Clapham, Clapham Old Town. It’s immediately obvious that this area of Clapham is old because the buildings are grander, the shops are more boutique and everything feels like a little market town outside of London.

There aren’t hundreds of things to do here, but you can experience some of the best local shops, cafes and pubs. Notably, a fantastic local butcher is situated here, surrounded by trendy little gift and clothes shops. A couple of good shops that stock furniture, flowers and other household items with style are worth a look too.

Obviously, you couldn’t and wouldn’t want to spend an entire day here, but it compliments the High Street well and is a particularly good place to while away a quiet afternoon.

Back to top

Clapham Junction

Clapham Junction, proudly home to the busiest overground train station in Britain, may initially appear like a busy and off-putting part of Clapham, but give it a chance. It is home to Clapham’s big stores like Debenhams, TK Maxx, Lidl, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Asda, JD Sports, Currys, Waterstones, Jessops and a warehouse sized Boots. To name but a handful.

It also houses Jamie Oliver’s Recipease shop, like a giant kitchen that sells things! Clapham Junction is locally famous for the amount of charity shops it has too, which is many – and they’re all ace. There are a few cafes, restaurants and bars, but to experience the social part of Clapham Junction, you need to head to the south end of the High Street and the crossroads to Lavender Hill and Northcote Road for Yummy Mummy land (aka a great place to socialise, relax and shop).

Back to top

Northcote Road (and Lavender Hill)

Married? Just about to start a family? Then move near Northcote Road, everyone else does! Who can blame them, with its lovely surrounding houses, closeness to the trains and its overwhelming array of high quality restaurants, cafes, boutique shops and high end DIY stores. It’s perfectly equipped for young professional parents seeking a little bit of luxury in between the hard slog of raising a family and managing work life.

People that live near or enjoy going to Northcote Road will understand its quaint appeal. Like everywhere in Clapham, when the sun comes out, so do the people with Northcote road bustling on the weekend. This is largely thanks to an incredible weekend market with top notch snacks, meals, cakes, flowers, art and more – this isn’t your ordinary market.

On top of all of this there are some fantastic little cafes and restaurants to be found here, The Bread and Soldiers being a notable cafe. A bar called Babel sets the tone for other watering holes along the road with its classy atmosphere and excellent drinks.

Back to top

Abbeville Road (and Clapham South)

Abbeville Road and the surrounding area of Clapham South is as close to suburbia as you are going to get in Clapham. Abbeville Road must be the most sought after area of Clapham, with its quaint village life feel (its nickname is Abbeville village).

Shop wise, Abbeville Road has a couple of excellent villagey shops including Treohans which seems to stock everything you could ever possibly need – I’ve bought picture hooks, water colour paints, DVDs and jam from here. It’s all good quality too.

You’ll also find an antiques shop, a high-tech TV centre, pet shop, cafes, gift shops, the excellent Abbeville pub and our pick of the bunch, Cook. Cook is a shop that sells frozen homemade ready meals. Only marginally more expensive than a supermarket ready meal, Cook’s meals are well worth the money and one of the best things about Abbeville. You’ll also find some known names like Starbucks and Pizza Express strangely tucked away here.

We have to mention Clapham South and the area around the tube station. Right next to Clapham South tube is a Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury Local, a medium sized Tesco and best yet, a florist and fresh fish monger. Clapham South and the Abbeville Road area really does have it all without the busy London crowds. Fancy living here? There are plenty of estate agents to help you out.

Back to top