please empty your brain below
Brent cross station used to be plain Brent.

Walton on Thames station has a river in its name

Timbo | 05.05.26 - 7:25 a.m. | #

How many other London stations are named after rivers... Fleet Street?

dg writes: no such station

Christopher | Homepage | 05.05.26 - 7:26 a.m. | #

How many people have died because a defibrillator has a keypad?

I suspect no-one. A defibrillator on its own is unlikely to save anyone. You need proper medical assistance (e.g. to inject adrenaline) as soon as possible. You are taught to phone 999 first (after having checked you are not in danger and have established CPR is necessary).

If you are on your own (except for the patient) you shouldn't be looking for a defibrillator. Phone 999 and commence CPR. If you happen to be right by the defibrillator you still need to phone 999 anyway. If you are with someone get them to phone 999 and get the defibrillator. Unless they know where one is they will need to ask for its location anyway I presume.

You don't just get a defibrillator and commence electric shocks. You need to check the machine is working, plug in leads, remove clothing, possibly give a quick shave using the razor provided to get a good electrical connection and check no-one is too close. All this takes time. Getting the code isn't going to add much time to this.

Finally, what they don't tell you is that CPR initiated in a non-medical setting doesn't have a very high success rate. It is significantly better in a medical setting but still much lower than most people think. So the patient would have probably died anyway.

Pedantic of Purley | 05.05.26 - 7:46 a.m. | #

Deep in the history page of the (now defunct) friends of Beckenham Park webpage, it quotes, "Crab Hill road appears to have got its name from a field of Foxgrove Farm called Crab Tree Field which is outside the park."

Not definitive, but seems more likely then being named after crustaceans.

Greg | 05.05.26 - 7:53 a.m. | #

The fruit not the decapod.

It seems Crab Hill (an area of the park) used to be known as Thistle Down. But perhaps renamed after Crab Hill (the road that passes nearby) which was named after Crab Tree Field at Foxgrove Farm. At least, that is what it seems to suggest here under 1838. Thanks, erstwhile Friends of Beckenham Palace Park. This sort of volunteer community group is dependant on people wanting to join in, and when people stop joining, they just die.

Andrew | 05.05.26 - 8:13 a.m. | #

I didn't take your poll as I don't live in London. But those of us who have walked the capital ring or green chain walk certainly know where Ravensbourne station is even if we haven't used it.

davews | 05.05.26 - 8:27 a.m. | #

The Capital Ring doesn't pass Ravensbourne station.

A Walker | 05.05.26 - 8:30 a.m. | #

The poll has already reached 100 votes and two-thirds of you claim to have known where Ravensbourne station was.

I suspect my readership are not typical of Londoners generally.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 05.05.26 - 8:31 a.m. | #

Oulton Broad gets two stations (and both are much closer to the waterway than to the parish) and arguably has a direction of flow.

Lmm | 05.05.26 - 8:36 a.m. | #

I suspect you're right DG!

My reason for knowing it is because I used to work in Bromley and am a well travelled SE Londoner.

Chris | 05.05.26 - 8:37 a.m. | #

Kidbrooke? Arguably the station is named after the village, but the village probably derives its name from the stream so I think it qualifies.

Keith die Kraut | 05.05.26 - 8:40 a.m. | #

I have only visited Ravensbourne by train once, as a young child being taken from NW London to a sports day at the nearby Thomas Cook sports ground in the late 1960s. Corporate sports grounds were a significant feature of outer southeast London. Later I lived about a mile away and my train often sped through there or briefly stopped (either deliberately or unwontedly in an Adlestropesque manner).

DavidC | 05.05.26 - 9:13 a.m. | #

I knew because I read your previous blogs on the river Ravensbourne. Not to be confused with Ravensbourne River in Havering.

Ackshley | 05.05.26 - 9:21 a.m. | #

On the Vintage Market question – they have a pretty strong email game (and use Instagram too), so I'm assuming they're quite good at harvesting and using the addresses of previous visitors. Here's an example if you're interested.

ChrisM | 05.05.26 - 9:49 a.m. | #

The erstwhile Trent station, an important junction in the East Midlands, springs to mind.

Betterbee | 05.05.26 - 10:22 a.m. | #

I voted that I knew where it is, certainly I knew it was connected to the river, but it turned out not to be where I thought I knew it was. So -1 from that side of the vote.

Frank F | 05.05.26 - 10:25 a.m. | #

London stations named after a river.....perhaps City Thameslink ?

Yes there is a Kid Brooke, though the naming sequence appears to be 1) Named stream 2) Settlement 3) Station

Boneyboy | 05.05.26 - 10:32 a.m. | #

Some near misses on the London station named after rivers/water question:

Embankment, Canada Water/Canary Wharf (manmade water access), Westbourne Park (and other bournes/burns), Watford (and other fords), *bridges (not always over a river), *burys (fields next to rivers), stations referencing canals, (any *ports?)

Examples not in London (outside Zonal system although may be on Oval system): Walton on Thames (and other "on rivers"), Weybridge

MilesT | 05.05.26 - 10:37 a.m. | #

So the defibrillator thing is just a boondoggle then, bit like saying lives would be saved if every station had a fully equipped operating theatre, the medical equivalent of the Bow contraflow.

Economically miraculous indeed.

A leaf blower hoovering up dirt - it'll be good for a train enthusiast if you get a line with plenty of freight traffic.

For some reason that photo of the mansion makes it look like you were in Scotland - it might be the stone.

Still Anon | 05.05.26 - 10:43 a.m. | #

The Lea has four stations, maybe five: Lea Bridge; Leyton, Leytonstone, Leagrave and Enfield Wash, if that counts.

Steve | Homepage | 05.05.26 - 10:49 a.m. | #

Honourable mention for Dovey Junction.

miker | 05.05.26 - 10:57 a.m. | #

Know this station well!

a) There was a Prisoner of War camp almost outside the entrance during WW2, housing mainly Italian POWs

b) Crab Hill >may< come ultimately from Crab Apple, hence Crab Tree Field

Le Ver | 05.05.26 - 11:21 a.m. | #

Still anon, not the case at all.

The purpose of CPR and general-use defibrillators is to keep the patient alive until proper medical help can arrive. If you don't promptly arrange that proper medical help you might as well not bother.

The success rate by members of the public is quite low. That is partly due to a lack of instant access to defibrillators but more down to people not having practical experience (at least on a dummy) as to how to do it. But better to try rather than do nothing. If awareness improves the success rate might go up.

Pedantic of Purley | 05.05.26 - 11:35 a.m. | #

I answered yes, but it's my closest station and I use it for commuting every day.

Some other comments:
The defibrillator was stolen last year and was missing for several months and has only recently been replaced.

I've never seen anyone take a City AM or a London Standard.

I've never used the coffee kiosk - but I do see other people using it, including dogwalkers who aren't catching a train.

Cleaners often get on the train for one stop to Beckenham Hill.

Some of the stations do have very big gaps. Crofton Park is particularly bad on the northbound side.

The ticket office is useful. Not for buying a ticket, but the member of staff often makes useful announcements about delays, timetable changes etc. Much more effective as a live announcement than anything pre-recorded.

Adrian | 05.05.26 - 11:36 a.m. | #

I live in a road named Ravensbourne Gardens and have often wondered why it is so named. It's at least six miles from the Ravensbourne in Havering, and further still from the River Ravensbourne. But such curiosity means that I do know where Ravensbourne station is.

Alan S | 05.05.26 - 11:48 a.m. | #

On stations named for rivers, I'd add Thames Ditton. It's not in London, but it is very close to London, even if it's also two words.

All Over 2a | Homepage | 05.05.26 - 11:49 a.m. | #

I like the format! It also reminds me of a former girlfriend who used to say ‘I have questions’ in a very particular way.

Nick | 05.05.26 - 12:50 p.m. | #

I found out about last month's vintage antiques fair from a certain Mr Ian visits and I'm glad I saw it as it's a corner of London I barely know save from one or two trips to the end of the tram line.

daveid76 | 05.05.26 - 1:15 p.m. | #

I had always assumed that Snaresbrook was a river, but it seems at best debatable.

Eg from Wikipedia "The name derives from a corruption of Sayers brook, a tributary of the River Roding that flows through Wanstead to the East."

Eric | 05.05.26 - 2:03 p.m. | #

Romford and Ilford have stations and both places take their names from fords across nearby rivers (although Ilford's is from the old name of the Roding, ie. Hyle).

Alan S | 05.05.26 - 2:32 p.m. | #

Beckenham Place Park may or may not be Lewisham’s best park, but it may have the most detailed write-up of all the outer borough parks - two hundred pages of it!

Michael T | 05.05.26 - 2:37 p.m. | #

There is clear data showing public defibrillators are beneficial. It’s obviously very situational but it’s better than nothing.

Ed | 05.05.26 - 3:16 p.m. | #

How many of these lovely green fingerposts are there?

There are 156 of these large fingerposts with cast metal fingers on the Green Chain Walk’s 52 miles. There used to be 159 but Lewisham and Bromley removed one each and a third was lost through vehicle impact in Greenwich.

The Green Chain is the most densely way-marked of all London’s footpaths and has directional assets at 1023 locations, many bearing more than one sign. Also, there are some 160 locations on the 28 way-marked links from the footpath to railway stations.

The large fingerposts are also found on the Capital Ring, London Loop and Thames Path footpaths but in far fewer numbers.

Ian Bull | 05.05.26 - 3:38 p.m. | #

If you love the green finger posts then you will also like the signs of the Peak District Counties Footpath Preservation Society. Some are over a hundred years old and are to several designs. Try their website for details and head north.

Alan JS | 05.05.26 - 4:47 p.m. | #

The Capital Ring does not pass Ravensbourne station but has an official link to it (following part of the Green Chain Walk) signposted and marked in all the guides.

davews | 05.05.26 - 6:17 p.m. | #

Because I have to be at work for 0600 and cannot waft around the Internet willy nilly I missed the poll. I only found out recently (circa 2023) that Ravensbourne even existed let alone where it was. But I have been to the vintage market so that's a small win.

dg writes: the poll is still open. But the percentage hasn't changed since 3pm.

Krista Palais | 05.05.26 - 7:23 p.m. | #

That fire was big news in 1988 for the Newsshopper and possibly also the Beckenham Times and the Comet if they were still going.

Broom Master J | 05.05.26 - 7:45 p.m. | #

Next to Ravensbourne Station used to be the sports ground of the travel company Thos Cook & Son Ltd and as an employee (air ticket clerk) I visited this ground several times. There was an annual Sports Day run along the lines of a school’s Sports Day, and I entered a few athletic events. TC&S was state owned when I got a job in 1969 but was later sold off to a consortium of the Midland Bank and the AA. The sports ground at Ravensbourne fell into the hands of the Lewisham Borough Staff Sports Club but currently I know of no further historical developments.

JOHN MAJOR GREENWOOD | 06.05.26 - 7:12 a.m. | #

I hope you were able to walk through the woods near the station in Beckenham Place Park as there is a particularly fine display of bluebells

Brian | 06.05.26 - 7:51 a.m. | #











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