I can’t be the only one now singing “I could be the ticket man at Fulham Broadway Station” from Ian Dury’s What A Waste.
It was about 15 years ago when I first noticed this sign at the top of the stairs that links the platforms to the original Grade II listed station building at street level. When the station was built, this area was known as Walham Green.
On that occasion I hung back and waited to let the other travellers pass me as I took some snaps, thinking I’d look into it when I got home. But it got shelved. It got lost in the 'To Do' folder. I got distracted by other things. Life got in the way.
I’ve since used the station often and almost every time I'm there I take a quick pic to nudge myself into action but it still festers in my In tray. Yesterday, I was back again and, whilst taking these photos, it occurred to me that fewer people notice it since the station entrance was relocated to the other end of the platforms within the modern shopping centre, this original exit staircase now acting merely as a means to access the opposite platform.
Having done a quick google and, found nothing but a few photos out there, and with 15 years of procrastination under my belt, I think it's about time I had a go at deciphering it, so here goes...
At the extreme top left, a section is headed ‘Phone Nos’:
KENSINGTON 2513
CITY 3559
RICHMOND 843.
There are also some faded words at an angle to the left of that which could be ‘Selected… at… ton’
At the top right are the addresses of the ‘Offices’:
THE BROADWAY, WALHAM GREEN
28 ST MARTIN'S LANE, CANNON ST
AND AT ACTON.
To the extreme right at an angle: NORBURY / NEW MALDEN
Most of the advertisement looks to have been covered, and indeed protected by, posters of various sizes and shapes. The center section in particular, below ESTATE AGENT, still has lots to offer. This area was looking really grubby covered in a mix of glue and dust, as shown in StockCarPete's 2011 pic, but it was cleaned, which is great but this has meant we've lost some of the hand-painted letters.
The words I can't quite decipher are in [square brackets]:
PROBATE & [M..R..E..G]INCOME TAX ADJUSTEDFreehold & Leasehold Housescan be Purchased [ov?] Pav[inor?]£50 down & Balance as Re[nt?]Businesses Sold & TransferredINSURANCES EFFECTED[?..] Principal Offices.Freehold Building Land for[?..] Sale[?] & Advance In[?vestment/surance]I'm pretty sure the company advertised here is John Crawford Platt, auctioneer, who was at No.561 Fulham Road (opposite side to the station, near the Town Hall) in the 1890s until at least 1915.
I'm struggling to understand the second address listed as St Martin's Lane, Cannon St, which surely cannot be one and the same – 28 St Martin’s Lane is The Chandos public house near Trafalgar Square. The ref to Cannon Street might suggest an offce within a building by the name of St Martin, but there are no churches of that name in The City of London except St Martin's Le Grand which I am ruling out because that's other side of St Pauls to Cannon Street.
J.C.Platt seems to have quit Walham Green/Fulham Broadway, and all other branches, by the 1930s to consolidate the company's efforts in Hammersmith, as shown in the1939 directory, below. There are a couple of lovely J.C Platt wall signs to be found in the Hammersmith and Fulham area here and here.
I know realize that I need to go back and have a closer look at the bottom right section of the sign because, as with the panel deciphered above, there surely must be something discernible in there. But until then, my work here is done until I find more/better info – any additional reference welcome.
Read about other ghostsigns for estate agents here in Hendon. and here in Goldhawk Road and here