The Hammersmith Bridge Rally will take place on Saturday 24th January 2026 between noon and 3pm. It is well beyond the time that this major arterial road and bridge should be restored to its former glory and capacity to link important parts of London.
After a very long break, it appears that the Hammersmith Bridge Task Force is due to meet again early this year.
In advance of this meeting (no date for which has been published) Putney MP Fleur Anderson is hoping to show the Task Force the level of support for reopening the bridge by holding a rally on its south side.
The Leader of Wandsworth Council, Simon Hogg, is also expected to attend for a public demonstration calling for the bridge to be fully reopened to motor traffic.
It is to be hoped that other local MPs and local politicians will turn out in force.
Fleur hopes that a large turnout will provide a photo opportunity which can be used to show the level of local support for the full restoration of the bridge. Event attendees are asked to assemble at noon on the Barnes side of the bridge on Saturday 24 January for the photo with speakers expected between 2-3pm.
Anyone intending to turn up is invited to register on Eventbrite.
Between numbers 54 and 56 Palewell Park there is an alley known as Pale Lane, with grass along the verges left from the 17th century. It is a fragment of an ancient way from East Sheen to Palewell Common.
Pale Lane began on the east side of Milestone Green at the East Sheen crossroads leaving Sheen Lane near Larches Ave. It ran southeasterly, the Lane being part of what is now Park Avenue and on the West side of All Saints Church.
At the western end is the estate wall of the former Sheen House built by EJ Darley in 1867. Running along the wall was Alley Hill Footpath, originally intersecting with Pale Lane on the east side of the wall.
Pale Lane below: at the far end there is a path to the right behind a locked gate.
In 1807 Henry Hope of Sheen House wished to stop up and enclose the part of Pale Lane running through his estate on the South side of his kitchen garden and field. Under a writ of ad quod damnum he was given permission on condition that he made another road which is now the section of East Sheen Avenue between Park Avenue and the Upper Richmond Road.
On what is now Park Avenue at the crossroads with East Sheen Avenue was also situated the Mortlake Pesthouse described as a barn and garden for the isolation of people sick with the plague. Four poor families lived there until 1845 when Mortlake Vestry resolved to sell it for £200 to William Gilpin of the nearby Palewell Lodge.
On the east side of the Pesthouse, Pale Lane turned south and then southeast to Palewell Common. In present terms its course was on the east side of All Saints Church through back gardens and coming out at the southern end of Park Drive. On the way it passed on the east side Palewell Lodge which was demolished in 1925.
Pale Lane petered out near the end of the present Park Drive becoming a footpath shown on old maps but now gone. This ran along the common in a curving southeasterly fashion past the vanished original Palewell Pond in the northwest tip of the common. The footpath continued diagonally halfway down the common where it turned east across Palewell Fields and a bridge over the middle ditch. It crossed the Beverly Brook on a two arch brick bridge and thence into what is now known as Priory Lane.
Alley Hill Footpath became a back way to the houses in Palewell Park. Richmond Park Road was built on the western side of the Sheen House Estate wall part of which remains. All the rights of ways subsisting in the former footpaths were diverted into the pavements of the new roads.
With acknowledgement to the Barnes and Mortlake History Society
Original edition published in 1982; latest edition published in June 2009
Ad quod damnum is a Latin phrase meaning “according to the harm” or “appropriate to the harm”. It is used in tort as a measure of damage inflicted, and a remedy, if one exists, ought to correspond specifically and only to the damage suffered.
The position is gradually hardening. You should be able to read a confirmatory statement to that effect on: Free_schools_pipeline_list_December_2025.xlsx , except you can’t because going into that link produces ‘error’. And who produces a ‘pipeline list? or as it elsewhere described a mainstream pipeline review worksheet? Civil service speak. And it has taken them over a year to produce a ‘worksheet’, while local plans and the site fester.
Meanwhile there is a statement floating around confirming that ‘the Secretary of State for Education is minded to cancel Livingstone Academy West London, following careful consideration of evidence gathered for this project’. Stakeholders have been informed and there is an opportunity for them to provide any further relevant information (not already provided) that they think should be taken into account, before the Secretary of State makes a final decision.
We still do not know when that final decision will be taken, although speculation is for January, but it would be difficult to see how at this stage there could be further relevant information not already provided, sufficient to move the SoS mind.
So if common sense finally prevails, what happens next? A Viability Review is required in accordance with the section 106 agreement attached to the appeal decision. But what that means seems to depend on how the Council and the Developers interpret it.
The further High Court proceedings between the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the Save Wimbledon Project (SWP) start in the High Court today.
The AELTC obtained planning permission in 2024 to build a new stadium and 38 more tennis courts on the old Wimbledon golf course area. The point at issue is whether the land in question is subject to a ‘statutory trust’ for public recreation.
The AELTC’s court application is opposed by SWP who believe the golf course land is protected as an open space for the benefit of the public.
Tonight Friday, January 16th at 8pm, with Stiff Joints, a returning favorite that’s sure to get everyone moving!
Their repertoire is built on rock’n’roll but with elements of blues, folk, country, soul and reggae, so expect some Dylan and Cash along with Elvis, Chuck and Orbison, not forgetting Wolf (Howling) and Waters (Muddy) – and they’ll sneak in some sparkling originals too.
If you’re curious about wellness and the many ways in which it can be achieved, then this event is for you!
East Sheen is home to a fabulous range of wellness experts and our first Winter Wellness Fair brings many of them together under one roof so that you can drop in, chat and discover what’s right for you.
It’s not all about exercise – although we do have some fabulous providers from yoga and pilates to outdoor training, cold bathing and jui-jitsu – it can also be about creating a calm and organised home, taking up a new hobby, massage, breathwork, relaxation, life coaching, finding a group you love to walk with, having a well trained, well behaved canine friend…
Expect: over 20 wellness-centred, local businesses, a warm welcome, some fascinating conversations, variety and fun.
There really is something for everyone, whatever your age, needs or preferences – everyone is welcome and entry is free.
Event Details: Saturday 24th January, 12 – 3 PM, The Hare & Hounds, 214-216 Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen, SW14 8AH
Festive Food Amnesty for Share & Care Collective: The Hare & Hounds is a collection point for Share & Care Collective. If you have any unwanted gifts or non-perishable food items lurking from the festive season, please bring them. These will be distributed to local families in need of a little extra support this winter, Thank you in advance.
.jpg)
