Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Steam power wall plaque at Harringay Green Lanes
If anyone in the Harringay hive mind can tell me more about the wonderful plaque at Harringay Green Lanes (almost hidden by the MaccyD's drive-through) I would be very grateful. I'm keen for it to feature on the Speaking Stones audio trail I've been banging on about on my page (and on Twitter @StonesSpeaking). Thank you!
Tags for Forum Posts: Harringay Green Lanes station, Speaking Stones, artwork, steam power
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Martin Malcolm on
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I've mailed their PR department and I'm awaiting developments! (I guess we may have to wait a while as they are likely to be busy!) As soon as I get an answer, I will post it here.
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Permalink Reply by Niamh McIntyre on
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Hi all!
I stumbled across this discussion while looking for more info about the old Harringay Stadium and I was so fascinated I went and took a look on my way to Sainsbury's this morning. I noticed a signature and a date in the bottom right corner which reads "BLUCK - 1991."
After I bit of googling it seems the artist is Judith Bluck, a Yorkshire-based sculptor who died in 2011. She was commissioned by Sheffield council to produce this relief which is very similar stylistically. She is also listed as the sculptor of some public art in Ealing too. Given her history of producing public works of art for local councils and that the inscription is the Haringey motto it seems likely it would have been commissioned by the council? But why? haha. The only other clue is I suppose that 1991 is just a few years after the Stadium (I believe) finally closed in 1987... do we know when the McDonalds/ first buildings on the retail park opened?
Anyway thanks for alerting me to this hidden gem !
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Niamh, you are a GENIUS! Thank you so much for your eagle-eyed spot! How did me and my photographer Ben miss this? We never got as close to the relief as you managed to get, because of having to dodge the cars in the drive through. So thank goodness you did. Just shows what's out there when you open your eyes. Judith's Moorfoot mural is equally exciting and arresting. Would it be OK to use your photo on on Speaking Stones audio trail? We've already recorded the clip, but it would be great to add the evidence and we can at last acknowledge the artist in a note with the clip, thanks to your sleuthing. Now we know this much, we should be able to track down the full story of the commission. I'll ask my library researchers to get finding out. As I said above, I did ask McDonald's but they were completely stumped. Niamh, you have just proved the power of the Harringay Online hive-mind. Thanks so much for posting this, it has made my day!
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ah this was such a lovely message to read !
I guess I spotted it because I hopped the fence today and there were no cars so I could get up close to it. Of course you're welcome to use the picture - I've followed the Speaking Stones twitter and will be following with interest, looks like a great project.
It was a really exciting discovery for me too - I had cycled past it pretty much every day for the two years I've lived here and never noticed it!
Looking forward to hearing what the researchers can turn up.
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Thank you, Niamh. Your excellent photo will be our twitter post tomorrow and will be part of our audio tour, that we publish online on 30th May. I know what you mean about noticing things for the first time: when we started the Speaking Stones project, I hadn't seen half the stuff in and around this bit of Green Lanes that I've seen now. It has been a literal revelation. I've passed on the info to the team (well, it's mostly one person) who works at the library and helps me find stuff. I'll let you know what we turn up. :D
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one final thought ! (can you tell i've got a bit obsessed with this mystery..)
just checked the wiki and apparently Harringay Green Lanes was officially renamed in 1991 - maybe the commission was to commemorate that, given the train features so prominently?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harringay_Green_Lanes_railway_station
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It's a thought and a very persuasive one, because of the date on the trunk. I'm loving your obsession!
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on
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And whose face appears in profile at the top of the left hand column? The other one is perhaps supposed to be Queen Victoria but the man is certainly not Albert, nor does he resemble any of her PMs. Looks a bit like Ramsey MacDonald but what might his connection be?
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Excellent question! I've added it to my list of mysteries with this particular artwork.
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Permalink Reply by Glenn Wallis on
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Only having just come upon this thread, I have to say that before reading, it was my first impression of the plaque was that it was comparatively recent due to the somewhat fanciful portrait of the train, looking more like something from the 1830s. The Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway opened between Highate Road and Tottenham on 21st July 1868.
Green Lanes station opened on 1st June 1880. It was renamed Harringay Park, Green Lanes in 1883, Harringay Park on 18th June 1951, Harringay Stadium on 27th October 1958 (following rebuilding), Harringay East on 12th June 1990 and finally Harringay Green Lanes 8th July 1991!
When I started work on "the Branch" in 1989, the station was still named Harringay Stadium and still possessed its full length platforms, able to accommodate at least ten coaches, with a disused staircase and entrance/exit that had served the stadium. The entrance off Green Lanes was through the booking hall (still standing last time I was there), staffed on early turn by Margaret. It is still possible to see the bricked up subway which then gave access to the down (eastbound) platform.
I'm fairly sure that Sainsbury's opened in 1990, because the staff joke at the time was that the station should have been renamed Harringay Sainsbury's instead of Harringay East. I think MacDonald's opened the following year which may be when the units opposite opened. So perhaps the plaque was commissioned either by the developer or LB Haringey to mark the completion of the redevelopment. Perhaps BR was also prevailed upon to change the name of the station one more time!
I was a resident signalman at South Tottenham from 1990 until 2010 and I remember not long before I finished getting a mobile phone call from a 'light' locomotive that was being used for a driver 'road learning' trip asking if I had any following traffic and if not could they stop at Harringay and get something from MacDonald's!
Glenn Wallis, Secretary, Barking - Gospel Oak Rail User Group
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It's a good thought, Glenn because Sainsburys commissioned another wall plaque from Judith Bluck, The Legend of the Iron Gates in Wilmslow.
http://www.wilmslow.org.uk/wilmslow/bluck/bluck-mural.html
I'll shall ask Sainsburys!
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A quick update on the 'Steam Power' mural. I've had a reply (quoted below) from The Sainsburys Archive at The Museum of London to say they don't think it is a Sainsburys commission after all.
So the mystery continues!
I'm following up a possible lead suggested by our friends at Bruce Castle Museum and as soon as I get any more info, Harringay Online will be the first to know.
That Sainsburys Archive reply:
'I've not been able to find any evidence that this mural was commissioned by Sainsbury's and it seems unlikely that it was.
Sainsbury's usually only commissioned murals like this when they were building a new store, but the nearby store opened in 1989.I think they normally would have wanted any artwork to be completed in time for the opening so it could be included in the store opening publicity.
Usually also at this time the Sainsbury's staff magazine would mention when a mural was added to a store like the one in Macclesfield (https://d1nvj7b44vmgv4.cloudfront.net/_file/journal/SA_SC_JSJ_43_9....) also by Judith Bluck, but I've found no mention of one at Harringay.'
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