Monday 19 May 2008

Church Lane on the afternoon of the F.A. Cup Final - # 08/108

Church Lane, Twickenham, is normally full. But last Saturday no-one was on the street and loud roars came from the pubs. The F.A. Cup Final (Soccer for the Americans among you) was played between Cardiff and Portsmouth.

Church Lane is at the tiny core of 17th - 18th century Twickenham, where houses of "town scape merit" cluster around the Georgian church. Before the coming of the railways Richmond and Twickenham were very tiny riverside communities relying on the trades of barge traffic loading and carrying agricultural products, milling grain, brewing beer, and the employment provided by a number of royal palaces and the houses of the first, second and third rate gentry who wanted to be close to royal influence.

After 1845 (beginning of the railway age) the population of these towns exploded, agricultural land was swallowed up and the scenery became definitely "urban".



6 comments:

  1. We call it soccer, too.
    Twickenham - that's not where Tom and Barbara lived, is it?

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  2. Were you on your way to a pub ... or just enjoing the empty streets, despite the rain?

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  3. This makes an excellent black and white photo. I don't think it could be much better.

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  4. Bonjour Chuckeroon, I'm back, a bit travel-weary of course
    ;o)

    J'aime comme la rue et les façades tournent autour de ce pignon perpendiculaire placardé de pub, en face
    J'aime la voiture et les piétons très bien placés
    Et le pavé luisant qui raconte à la fois la pluie et la lumière.

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  5. Love the sweep of this street and the movement in the coat. Most of all I love the photograph.

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  6. It looks like a cosy pittoresque little street.

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