Comments on: Under The Arches At Three Colts Lane

By: Chris Williams

Chris Williams — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 11:47:45 +0000

Excellent article as ever, but I think it is about time someone took a photo of the Gentle Author and Sarah Ainslie!

By: gkbowood

gkbowood — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 16:42:35 +0000

This was great! I enjoyed seeing regular people going about their lives… this is what I love about your blog! Thanks for all the wonderful shots of smiling faces as well as their workplaces.

By: Shawdian

Shawdian — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 13:06:43 +0000

Another intersting article of our London of life we just do not think of. These hard working people are to be praised, for working in these arches looks cold and dismal but the people aren’t! and they are a well needed part of our great City . Just imagine what goings in these Archies have seen. ‘If walls could talk!’ They must have come in very useful during the WW’s to get away from the bombs. Many of them have been modernized now with glass fronted windows and a lick of paint. One of the things that fascinates me each time I drive through London are the Archies, I look at them in wonder, tooked away hiding only what they know. Thank you for sharing. And thank you to you all who work in them and keep the alive!

By: pauline taylor

pauline taylor — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 13:00:26 +0000

More happy memories for me as my father was a motor mechanic and I spent many hours in the workshop of the small garage where he was employed. The owner was a lovely man and would often ask me to tidy his office for a bit of pocket money, it was just as well that I was honest as he was so forgetful that in amongst all the paper, bills, tools, and masses of other stuff, bits of rubber and paint tins and everything else that littered his desk, I always found a lot of money. Customers would pay him cash for work done which he then, absentmindedly, just put down amongst all the other untidy litter. And the smell of the petrol and oil, perhaps I became addicted to it because I still love it now. Thank you GA.

By: Susan Jones

Susan Jones — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 11:37:54 +0000

I used to live in Corfield St and remember all the garages under the arches. All the way along Three Colts Lane between Finnis St and Wilmot St, the first one was where all the taxis were kept for repairing. Took me right back to when I was a child and passed by the arches every day going to school. This article brought back so many lovely memories.

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 11:04:23 +0000

I love to view “work spaces” of all kinds — so this posting had an extra layer of enjoyment —- in addition to seeing these hard-working, earnest, and proficient folks hip-deep in their tasks.
I so enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look. Every inch of your region is fascinating; with an amazing cast of characters. Thanks for bringing us inside your world.

By: John Barrett

John Barrett — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 08:51:00 +0000

Arches are important for two reasons they support many businesses’ also during WW.2 they ‘saved lives’, they deserve a big mention. Many a Londoner caught out on the streets during an air raid would take shelter in them. This wartime scene was horrific for the people, bombed buildings were on fire and falling, many pavements were cluttered with falling debris. When the protective anti aircraft gun batteries opened up shrapnel rained down. There were actual cases of Luftwaffe incendiary bombs striking those on the streets. PS Most were railway arches more is known about deep under underground stations supporting large communities as air raid shelters. John

By: Caroline Bottomley

Caroline Bottomley — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 07:30:39 +0000

great article, good to know they’re there!

By: Valerie-Jael

Valerie-Jael — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 05:11:12 +0000

Wonderful and authentic photos of people who work hard for a living, and I am glad to see that workshops like this still exist. Good luck to all who toil there under the arches, and who are not afraid to get their fingers dirty. Valerie