My painting ‘East Bridge House (Turn Left)’ started off as an artwork inspired by a dramatic urban view. As I learnt more about the location, I discovered a story hidden beneath the Croydon tarmac.
East Bridge House (Turn Left). 2021. Acrylic on wood panel. 61cm x 61cm.
The painting was inspired by a view from the Croydon tower block known by many different names, including The 50p Building, No.1 Croydon, The Thrupenny Bit Building and the NLA Tower. The area shown in the painting was originally the site of an old building called East Bridge House (and this gave me the title for the work). The owners refused to sell up when the modern block was proposed, but the tower was constructed looming above them anyway. Eventually, East Bridge House fell empty and was demolished.
Writer John Grindrod says:
In the heart of suburban Surrey sits the NLA Tower, now known as No.1 Croydon. It was designed, like hundreds of others, in Seifert’s vast draughtsmans’ office. In the original 1964 plans it was set to be, in the fashion of the day, a tower sat atop a podium. But when it came to construction things didn’t turn out quite that straightforward. East Bridge House, a solicitor’s office, sat on part of the site that the podium block was due to occupy, and the owner wasn’t willing to move. Lengthy legal wrangling ensued, but in the end construction had to start without a resolution, and so the podium was scrapped. Instead the NLA Tower became a free-standing block, albeit nestling next to East Bridge House. The tower emerges from the rough concrete volcano-mouth of an underground car park, like a Thunderbirds rocket caught mid-launch. East Bridge House, that pesky neighbour, was finally demolished in 1973, three years after construction had finished, and at last the tower could shrug off accusations that it was yet another suburban semi.
Quote taken from ‘NLA Tower, Croydon’ by John Grindrod published on the Twentieth Century Society website, November 2014. www.c20society.org.uk
With the help of Twitter, Turf Projects and the Museum of Croydon, I’ve managed to find some photos of plucky little East Bridge House.
From a painter’s point of view, I began working on this using just black, greys and white acrylic paint, with a plan to add colours and coloured glazes later on.
I masked off the ‘islands’ of grass and pavement, leaving me the tarmac areas free to spray with paint from brushes (and toothbrushes) to give it a gravelly texture.
Stage one of adding colour glazes. I’ve painted the shadows first, with the objects casting them still to come on top later.
Prints of the finished painting can be purchased via my Etsy store here.
