Ravenshaw Street
Originally uploaded by Grievous Angel.
Seen this before? Not unless you've lived in the 'hood for at least 15 years, since this elegant sign announcing the entry to Ravenshaw Street has been hidden behind an advertising hoarding for at least that long.
I've written before that the tiled streets signs in West Hampstead are a piece of local character to be prized.
I don't know how long this one will be visible. But it's a particularly fine example - both because it's been protected from the elements for years, and because it's too high for vandals to reach easily.
Like the now extinct Routemaster, and the equally extinct George's greengrocer's on the corner of Sumatra Road, these things are part of the fabric which have helped give West Hampstead the intangible feel of a London village. What, if anything, helps to sustain that atmosphere today?
Maybe, in years to come, we'll view the coffee houses on West End Lane in the same light. Or perhaps not.
More things to like about West Hampstead:
