The NUMBER 50 Route

 Croydon (Not Park Street) to Stockwell Station

Thursday July 11 2019

We were not sure whether our arrival (197) and departure from Croydon were disrupted due to road works or what turns out to be the major refit of the Fairfield Halls,  but certainly buses were not starting or finishing at Park Street as foretold by TFL.

Whilst crossing the unlovely road (people have been killed here, please use the crossing) we spotted a 50 on its way so tracked it to Stop WL outside the Whitgift where most northbound buses stop. There was just time to admire the ‘tie-dye’ effect cladding (?) on a new build completed since we were last this way and the bus arrived, complete with dirty windows.

Other new buildings have sprung up and some have been renamed – Interchange is an office space with apparently quite a lot of … empty space.

Even 10 years ago developers seemed to have failed to realise that computers have shrunk to lap tops and filing cabinets all but disappeared and people work at home: at least three reasons why you might not want to spend chunks of your budget on large-scale office accommodation.

This route chooses Windmill Road as its route in and out of the City centre – it must be difficult to maintain a small business along here with a large shopping centre down the road, and this in microcosm is the conundrum the local council somehow has to reconcile, balancing the needs of the larger chains with the smaller shops (and that’s not to mention the impact of online retail).

Up at the roundabout Jo spotted three alternative community religions – Christianity at the big red church, the Zakia family Centre and the Masons. Once on Whitehorse Lane there was the newly built  The Legacy Centre,  which looks admirable both inside and out and certainly improves the area as we headed towards Thornton Heath, also spruced up since we last came this way. Yes there are closed pubs – The Thomas Farley, a former ‘gin palace’ and favourite with football supporters, is no more and its future currently uncertain.

We enjoyed the wall painting and pastel houses along the High Street – very Mediterranean – and were pleased to see the Clock Tower still in place. Thornton Heath developed originally as a ‘ribbon development’ along the initially Roman then anyone’s route between London and Sussex then with the railway came an early expansion of the Victorian version of a commuter town. The station was built in 1862 and still gives good service.

We were not to linger in Thornton Heath but took a right turn down Melfort Road where we were the only bus route serving this residential stretch, largely untouched by the many bombs that flattened central Croydon. In the first stretch many even retained and cherished their front gardens – towards Norbury cars began to appear as the main ‘crop’. Banners celebrating ‘CR7’ were in evidence and there was a 20MPH speed limit (which the bus just exceeded) ‘CR7 is wonderful’ and ‘Our strength is in our differences’. There was a good uptake of passengers, presumably heading for some shops as none here.

As we turned right to rejoin the more major London Road we paused by a William Hill whose days are numbered.  Slightly more puzzling was the fact two policeman appeared to be standing over a workman excavating the pavement just in front of the doomed premises.

Norbury was looking slightly less cared for than Thornton Heath and there was some angry graffiti relating to the power of Children’s courts. We also crossed over a small stream which I take to be the Norbury Brook, which you can just about follow, and rather as I thought it sort of peters out as we approach Streatham – more lamppost banners ( they have become such a thing) celebrating Streatham which we were to enter at the Common crossroads. Pockets of gentrification could be seen in the names of some newish watering holes - ‘The Mere Scribbler’ and ‘The Chalk Pit’ – which make up for some closed pubs earlier on the route.

After having been a solo bus for a while it was a bit of shock to find some competition and our driver clearly felt he needed to forge ahead. And forge uphill he did, as far as is possible when the stops are so close to each other and takers waiting at all of them.  Having passed Streatham Station we now stopped behind Stratham Hill station when it became clear that all the ‘forging’ was to get to this point where the drivers changed over. The blackberry branches were spilling over from the railway bank wilderness (we were parked on the bridge) and it looked very much as though a passer by were sampling some – much too early for fruit said Jo another 2 months to go.

We were convinced the 50 would rejoin Streatham High Road and head to Brixton before its ultimate destination but no, we were wrong. We continued on through the residential and very pleasant back roads of Streatham, mainly houses with some of the older larger ones converted, and it was hard to believe we were still so close to the busy A23 and even busier South Circular.

But join the latter we finally did along King’s Avenue and Poynders Rpad as we threaded our way to the South Circular and Clapham Common. We headed right alongside the common and two of its ponds … and two of its hotels, one of them in the well-established and well maintained Windmill Pub.

Talking of former premises the once underground public toilets at the entrance to Clapham Common station have now become Wine & Charcuterie, with the emphasis on the WC. This is part of a trend where the local authorities are not able to maintain their original function due to the inaccessibility of these often handsome but awkward loos.

Continuing straight ahead the businesses of Clapham merge with those of Stockwell .

We were mindful that underneath the Common are some of London’s longest/largest tunnels built just too late to offer protection from the main ‘Blitz’. London Transport’s system was taken over by the Ministry of Defence who did the actual works and TFL requested a series of outside access points hoping to be able to turn the ‘new’ tunnels into a kind of proto Crossrail once the war was over, but as things turned out there was no money for this come peacetime and the tunnels were used by ‘new arrivals’, of the Windrush and later generations many of whom came to work for London Transport and who needed emergency accommodation. All this we learnt on our ‘Secret London ‘ Tour of Clapham South where the access is well maintained but there are further circular concrete structures on the common and halfway to Stockwell. This one is occupied by Growing Underground 

There have been some other additions, mainly to housing, along here too and then there we were at Stockwell Station, in just over an hour, having crossed many of the residential areas of South London. We watched our 50 do a U Turn and immediately park at its head stop, where we had caught it nearly 10 years ago. The return trip showed changes afoot and underfoot.