Celebrating a British icon 31
a store selling what the owners
claim is a unique mix of antique,
vintage and retro goods, and
over the years has been included
in Retail Week’s 100 best shops.
A little farther on is Stamford
Brook bus garage, which was
originally a tram depot, and is
now the operating base for buses
on route 27.
The High Road finally mergesinto King Street,
Hammersmith’s
narrow main
shopping street.
This is one-way
westbound, so
eastbound buses
on the 27 follow
a northerly
diversion
before entering the thronging
Broadway. Here they go up
a ramp into the elevated bus
station, which is enclosed by
the modern office and shopping
complex that takes up most
of the Hammersmith one-way
system.
Resuming the journey eastward
on Hammersmith Road, we passthe redbrick and terracotta St
Paul’s Hotel – the remnant of St
Paul’s School, built in 1884 and
reputedly the biggest school in
the country in its day. Then we
come to the austere moderne-
style 1929 art deco frontage
of the Olympia exhibition and
conference centre, and round the
corner the two giant arched halls
that host bigger events such as
the Ideal Home exhibition. The
larger original hall dates from
1885 and is now Grade II listed.
Crossing the inner ring road
near Holland Park, with its
partial night-time barriers
discouraging traffic from
disturbing the favoured residents
of Warwick Gardens, we reachLondon by Bus
TOP LEFT: The
Old Cinema in
Turnham Green.TOP RIGHT:
ADH45037 passes
the exit road from
Stamford Brook
garage, base for
the buses on
route 27.BELOW: The
Lyric Theatre in
Hammersmith.