So, a second page for London. It is such a vast city, with over two millenia of history, that I can fully see there being eventually more pages still, as my poking and prodding continues.
ALF BARRETT PLAYGROUND
BRITISH LIBRARY
ELIZABETH GARRETT ANDERSON HOSPITAL
EUSTON STATION
FOUNDLING HOSPITAL
ISLINGTON
QUEEN ANNE'S SQUARE
ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR
ST. PANCRAS NEW CHURCH
SOUTH CAMDEN
TAVISTOCK SQUARE
ALF BARRETT PLAYGROUND
I came across a mention of this place in an article on all the cat statues in London, so I thought I'd go and find it.
It's a lovely little play area for small children, with a secure fence around it, and brightly painted climbing frames, swings etc.
Talking of bright colours, there's a wall that backs onto the playground, with a beautiful mural painted on it. I could only photograph one portion of it, as there were children playing in front of the other areas, and if they were my children, I wouldn't want their picture plastered all over the internet.
Now, the cat. This is one of 13 cat statues scattered around London, each with a tale - and a tail! Each cat has its story. This is the second one I've found.
So this is Humphrey by Marcia Solway. Marcia attended the Mary Ward Adult Education Centre locally, but sadly died in 1992, this was her only completed sculpture. Another regular at the centre was Humphrey the cat, named after Mary Ward’s husband. In a sad twist of fate Humphrey also died in 1992 and so the sculpture is a sort of memorial to both him and Marcia.
BRITISH LIBRARY
They collect everything published today, tomorrow and decades into the future. They have millions of books, but also newspapers, maps, sound recordings, patents and stamps. The library contains such diverse elements as the Magna Carta and handwritten Beatles lyrics on some 400 miles of shelves.
It is the national library of the UK and the largest library in the world by total item count - some 170 million items
A reader pass is needed to access books, the reading rooms, and online resources. To be granted a pass you must show that you need to consult items you cannot easily access elsewhere.
The complex is built around a garden, with seating and statues.
The public areas, including 3 exhibition galleries, are open to all. An illuminated Manuscripts Gallery, exhibits of Shakespeare original folios, the Gutenburg Bible, and other original author's manuscripts, as well as changing exhibits and world-class events program
At the centre of the library is the transparent King's Library, a six-level glass cube housing the book collection of George III.The sound-proofing in the library is wonderful; auditory distractions are minimized through unobtrusive acoustic engineering, creating an aura of peaceful calm.
It took Christopher Wren 36 years to build St. Paul's Cathedral, and similarly, it took 36 years to build the British Library, because of a combination of changing government policies, changing sites, opposition from political and architectural pundits (including Prince Charles) and funding problems.
And this is the painting by William Blake, that 'Newton' is based upon
I do like this view of the St. Pancras hotel, from the courtyard of the British Library. The architects were wise to choose the terracotta and grey colour scheme for the Library, which ties in perfectly with the Victorian Gothic of the hotel.
ELIZABETH GARRETT ANDERSON HOSPITAL
The 1890 core of the former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital building in Euston Road has been listed and, restored. It was built to provide health care and obstetrics to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It is now part of the University of London
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was an English physician and suffragist. She is known for being the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon and as a co-founder and dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, which was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors.
EUSTON STATION
Trains to the Motorcycle Show in Birmingham go from here! It's important to know that! LOL
It's a very busy station, and is going to get even busier, with the addition of the HS2 High-speed rail link being built. The station opened in 1837, and it was controversially rebuilt in the mid-1960s when the Arch and the Great Hall were demolished to accommodate the electrified West Coast Main Line, and the revamped station still attracts criticism over its architecture.
It is now being re-modelled again.
The original Euston Road underground station was a typical Leslie Green one, covered in oxblood red tiles. During the 60s remodelling, a new entrance to the underground was included with access straight from the mainline station concourse. Somehow, the Leslie Green building was never demolished.
When I walked around the site for the new HS2 terminus today, I found it still standing. Everything around it has been demolished and cleared, and the one building stands surrounded by fencing. I had to poke my camera through a tiny gap in the fence to get this rather poor picture.
But I hope this means that a use will be found for it, and it will be incorporated into the new station.
The building works on the old station are all-pervasive, and it was difficult getting any decent photographs at all. However, as it's a station I use from time to time, I will try and replace the pictures as and when
The entrance to the main station is marked by these twin buildings. The walls are engraved with the names of all the places you can get to from Euston by train.
Euston war memorial was erected in 1921 to honour the railwaymen who lost their lives in the First World War. Additional panels were later added to commemorate the men and women of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway who died in the Second World War.
FOUNDLING HOSPITAL MUSEUM
I'm just going to give rough synopsis of the museum for now. Truth is, I bought a book about it in the little gift shop, and I'll know so much more about it when I've read it.
But to start with, this is Thomas Coram who was badly treated as a child, went to sea age 11 to escape his poverty, and then trained as a shipwright in America.
When he returned, he was shocked to see the sheer numbers of unwanted children living on the streets.
He badgered the government to give him a grant to start a hospital (not a medical place, but in the original meaning of a place of hospitality) to help these children. He got his grant, but on the stipulation that he never turned an unwanted child away. In four years, they received over 15,000 children. Those numbers were unsustainable, so they had to devise a system to reduce numbers and maintain standards of care. When it closed in 1953, it had cared for over 27,000 abandoned children.
The foundling hospital no longer exists per se, but the charity that Thomas founded, is now called 'Coram', and it finds foster homes for children, rather than caring for them on site.
Not sure of all the details yet, but he formed an alliance with the artist William Hogarth, and he encouraged other artists to paint pictures to raise funds for the charity. In doing so, Hogarth created Britain's first public art gallery, and the collection contains works by himself, Reynolds and Gainsborough, amongst others.
George Frederick Handel was another prime contributor to the funds. He donated the proceeds from annual performances of The Messiah, and bequeathed the original manuscripts to the hospital. The museum has since acquired a great number of items associated with Handel.
The museum building houses an extensive art collection. I will name them, when I work out which ones they are. :)
(above) William Hogarth - The March Of The Guards To Finchley (1750)
William Hogarth designed uniforms for the children. The girls are pictured above. The uniform for the boys was black breeches, eton shirts, black bow ties, and a red ribbed jacket.
(above) Charles Brooking - 'A Flagship Before The Wind, Under Easy Sail, With A Cutter, A Ketch, and Other Vessels' (1754)
The museum covers three floors of the handsome building. The ground floor covers the actual hospital story and the children. The first floor is given over to the art collection. The second floor is all about Handel, and is my favourite. They've got these big red leather armchairs see, with built in speakers in the wing pieces, and buttons on the arm which, when pressed, play Handel's music. ...........
The keyboard is the actual one depicted in the picture above
This round table shows the high spots of the life of Handel, in the timeline context of other composers
ISLINGTON
Today, I strolled from King's Cross station, along the Pentonville Road, and past the Angel, Islington. Now, if you're a fan of the original board for 'Monopoly'. you'll recognise all of those names.
That walk was just a little less than 2 miles each way in length, and, whereas in some parts of London, that distance would have taken me hours because there was so much to see, sadly that wasn't the case here.
Don't get me wrong, the things I did find were well worth seeing and exploring. It's just that between the highlights was a lot of nothing worth looking at.
Anyway, I did enjoy the stroll, mostly because it's an area of London that I don't know at all well.
The original Angel public house, which gave its' name to the area, was a coaching inn with a galleried yard, offering entertainment by groups of travelling actors and players. It was popular with overnight guests who were travelling to the City but did not want to risk highway robbery on the hazardous last stretch of their journey.
Where Islington Green diverges from Upper Street, the A104, there is a small triangular fenced garden. This is actually the Islington Green Memorial Garden - more usually referred to as 'Bob's Garden', I'll explain all in a moment.
Meanwhile, at the pointy bit of the triangle, is this imposing statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton 1555 - 1631. He was a Welsh clothmaker, entrepreneur, mine-owner, goldsmith, banker and self-taught engineer. He is most renowned for a scheme which created a 'New River' to bring clean water into London. Financially assisted by King James I, his company would continue to be a powerful and extremely profitable force in London's water supply for nearly 300 years.
William Gladstone, then chancellor of the exchequer, unveiled the statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton on the green in 1862
The unusual design of the Islington Green War Memorial. The original obelisk war memorial that stood here, was demolished in 2006, and this took the place. It was designed by John Maine, whose proposal was for a twisted stone ring, reminiscent of a wreath
And so to Bob.................. The world-famous book and subsequent film is the true story of James Bowen and his cat whom he named Bob. Bob the cat, eventually died aged 14. James Bowen penned the book after meeting Bob in 2007 while he was battling a drug addiction. Mr Bowen had found the ginger cat abandoned and injured and decided to look after him. They went through life loving and supporting each other. After Bob died, James felt suicidal, and turned to Heroin again. However, I hear he is getting help and is clean again. I wish him well.
The memorial in the gardens, is a fitting tribute to a story of hope, and a cat who brought that hope to a friend in need. The benches are carved with messages from the book
The centre piece has a statue of Bob perched on a pile of books, on the arm of the middle bench.
And for a bit of trivia, pupils from the fourth-form music class at Islington Green school sang the chorus to Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ in 1979.
I don't normally photograph pubs unless they are historically important. However, I couldn't resist the incredibly beautiful glazed tiles on the front of the Old Queen's Head. I just hope they are adequately protected
Spotted this beautiful piece of wall art down a little side road when I glanced to make sure it was safe to cross. I'm glad I went for a second look. A lovely tribute to Mahatma Gandhi
Here's something you don't see too often these days - the brass balls of a monkey, the traditional sign for a pawnbroker
Actually, the origin of the term for a pawnbroker's sign, was actually nautical. Back in the days of wooden fighting ships, cannonballs were stacked on a brass holder called a 'monkey'. In very cold weather, the monkeys would warp, and the cannonballs would roll away.
There you are - you learn something new every day!
I had to walk a little further along Essex Road than I originally intended to find the old Carlton Cinema. Now called 'Gracepoint', it is currently an event and party hire venue. It is Grade II listed, and bears a striking resemblance to the decor of the Carreras factory in Mornington Crescent. It was designed by architect George Coles in 1930, using the same influences from the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt.
If you don't look, you don't see. On the walk back to the station, I continually looked upwards. You can sometimes find clues to the origins and history of buildings, that aren't obvious at ground level. On the street, this was a cafe-bar called the Flight Club. Up above it is revealed as having originally being the Three Wheatsheaves inn
And finally...............a whole row of old, unloved buildings being torn down to make way no doubt, for yet another block of faceless concrete. In the words of Bob Dylan, Desolation Row
QUEEN ANNE'S SQUARE
Most of Bloomsbury is designed in squares around pretty gardens. Several have statues in them
This statue was assumed originally to have been of Queen Anne. However, it bears no resemblance to any contemporary portrait of her.
It is now considered to be Queen Charlotte, consort to King George III
The other monument in Queen Anne's Square is to Lord Wolfson of Marylebone. Leonard Wolfson was a businessman and philanthropist. His family's wealth was made in the retail trade, and, with his father, he helped to turn Great Universal Stores into one the largest retail conglomerates in Europe. In 1955, alongside his father and mother, he created the Foundation that bears his family name. The Wolfson Foundation's activities and grant-making have been focused on research and education—and, not least, the advancement of science and medicine.
ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR
This is a small area, centered around the church of St. George the Martyr. I must admit, by the time I reached here I was running out of time. There was a service happening, so entering the church was not possible.
The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches took over a chapel that had been built on Queen Square between 1703 and 1706. Originally designated as a chapel of ease to St Andrew, Holborn, the church was designated as a parish church in its own right in 1723. It was dedicated to St George, due to one of its trustees’ governorship of Fort St George in India, but is officially known as St George the Martyr to differentiate it from St George, Bloomsbury.
I just took a few quick shots, then hurried back to catch my train. Of course, this means you're not getting the full splendour of the church, or its' surrounding parochial schools.
It also means that it has gone back on my list for another visit at some point.
The old parish church is on the London1 page. I thought of adding this one there, but it lies on the other side of the Euston Road, so it seems more appropriate to add it here.
It's another church I couldn't get into, but to be truthful, I'm not impressed enough by it to want to bother.
Wikipedia says: St Pancras Church is a Greek Revival church in St Pancras, London, built in 1819–22 to the designs of William and Henry William Inwood. The church is one of the most important 19th-century churches in England and is a Grade I listed building.
Well, that's as maybe, but TBH, I think it's an ugly cumbersome thing. It's one redeeming feature are these caryatids on the north and south side. Each caryatid holds a symbolic extinguished torch or an empty jug, appropriate for their positions above the entrances to the burial vault.
The Caryatids are made of Coade - an artificial stone which was developed in the 18th century comprised of a mix of clay, terracotta, silicates, and glass. It was, in fact, a type of ceramic, which once fired produced a hard-wearing artificial stone.
Coade stone soon became popular with sculptors, as it allowed them to create finely detailed ornamentation on buildings. (The exact formula of Coade stone was kept secret and is commonly thought to have died with its inventor, Eleanor Coade, though in fact it was rediscovered in the 1990s.
John Charles Felix Rossi was commissioned to produce eight caryatids, sculpted female figures that serve as architectural supports. (In other words, really fancy pillars.)
Rossi spent three years sculpting the caryatids, only to come across a problem just before he was set to install them at the church. Turned out he had made them too tall to fit between the platforms on which they were to stand and the roof they had to support. Determined that his work would not be wasted due to an error in measurements, Rossi instead cut out part of the torso of each sculpture. The caryatids’ flowing robes enabled him to partially disguise his surgery.
Perhaps the biggest clue to his last-minute adjustments is that the legs of each caryatid are definitely disproportionately long.
Apparently, there is an art gallery in the crypt, and some very strange sculptures in the grounds
SOUTH CAMDEN
There isn't actually any such place. Properly, this is the area of the Borough of Camden which lies south of the Euston Road.
The most interesting places have sections to themselves, but this is a random selection of buildings and things that I couldn't justify a lot of space.
Of course, that might change if I discover more and take more pictures. Meanwhile....
The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century. They ended up at Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex, which is on my 'to do' list. I will then be able to expand my knowledge of them. BTW, the nearby pub is called the 'Woolf and Whistle'
Above is the London Plane tree in Brunswick Square Gardens, which were re-landscaped in 2002/3 and given new railings, paths and seating. The gardens’ Brunswick Plane is reputed to be the capital’s second oldest London plane and was designated a Great Tree of London in 2009.
There's a couple of these London Planes in Canterbury, and they really do grow in a grotesque manner. It seems to be a hybrid between two varieties of oriental plane, and can grow to 35m and live for several hundred years.
Sarah Parker Remond was an American lecturer, activist and abolitionist campaigner. Born a free woman in the state of Massachusetts, she became an international activist for human rights and women's suffrage. She was educated at Bedford College, University of London, which is why we've given her a blue plaque
Marchmont Street is in quite a heavily built up area, and so coming across this pretty little community garden was a treasure. Even this early in Spring, it was bursting with blossom and spring flowers
No idea what this building was, but it's Art Deco, and seems to having been connected to industry, going by the carved plaques. It is now the University College London Faculty of Laws.
Very gothic building for a Waterstones. Wouldn't look out of place near St. Pancras Hotel
Now, this is a cabbie's shelter. There's several scattered around the city. This one, erected in 1897, is on the corner of Russell Square. They were built as a refuge for Hansom/Hackney cab drivers, a chance to get out of the poor weather, have a rest and get a hot meal.
One particularly cold and unpleasant night, George Armstrong, editor of the Globe Newspaper, was looking for a cab. There were no cabs in sight and instead he discovered all the drivers huddled in the nearby pub.
When parked up at the cabstand, a cabby was not allowed to leave his vehicle unattended, and, if he were to head to a pub to get some food and use the facilities, he would have to pay somebody to mind his cab, or else run the risk of having his cab - and, therefore, his livelihood - stolen.
Armstrong enlisted the help of the Globe newspaper, MP’s and philanthropists. Within days, donations were being offered by various readers of The Globe and, by the 19th December, 1874, £100 had been pledged by readers; and the newspaper was able to report the setting up of the "Cabmen's Shelter Fund", with the Earl of Shaftesbury as its president.
By the end of the 1874, the fund had reached more than £200; sufficient to commission the construction of the first Cabmen's Shelter, which opened in Acacia Road, St. John's Wood on Saturday, 6th February, 1875.The idea was to provide huts across London, located by cab ranks. Not only were they to offer shelter but also food and hot drinks (strictly no alcohol!).
Each structure is about seventeen feet by six feet, and ten feet six inches high, They were designed to be the same width as a horse and cart, as per Metropolitan Police rules, to ensure that they could sit by the side of the road. The distinctive green colour made them instantly recognisable and easy to spot. . Each has a stove for cooking, and is under the charge of an attendant, who supplies tea, coffee, etc. at fixed rates to those who use the shelter, and whose duty it is to preserve order.
The payment of one penny per day, or fourpence per week, secured the right to use any and every shelter in London, and it was intended that eventually they should all be open continuously day and night, though initially the first one, in Acacia Road, was only available from 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
It is thought 61 of the wooden shelters were constructed from 1875-1914, with the simple and elegant design the work of architect Maximilian Clarke. It has a small kitchen: you can see the chimneys at the top for ventilation.
The inside can seat around 10-13 cabbies usually. No alcohol, card-playing or gambling is allowed inside them.
The payment of one penny per day, or fourpence per week, secured the right to use any and every shelter in London, and it was intended that eventually they should all be open continuously day and night, though initially the first one, in Acacia Road, was only available from 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
It is thought 61 of the wooden shelters were constructed from 1875-1914, with the simple and elegant design the work of architect Maximilian Clarke. It has a small kitchen: you can see the chimneys at the top for ventilation.
The inside can seat around 10-13 cabbies usually. No alcohol, card-playing or gambling is allowed inside them.
Today there are only 13 left. Lots were lost during the bombing campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars. Lots of cabbies were also sent off to fight in the First World War and the cab industry went into a period of decline. Now, of course, the modern black cabs offer the drivers protection from the weather and more choice of eating establishments, so there is less need for the shelters. Traffic, vandalism and demolition for street widening also played a part. Of the 13, most still operate as Cabbie’s shelters, the inside still strictly for black cab license holders. Anyone however can grab a hot drink or a bacon sandwich from the hatch. They are all still managed by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund to this day. They are now Grade II listed by Historic England to protect them.
This is London's attempt at a New York style Art Deco skyscraper! It's actually the central library tower of the Senate Building at the University of London.
Sir William Beveridge had a vision for the new home of the University of London, that it “gave London at its heart not just more streets and shops, but a great architectural feature” and became known around the world. The University had previously been situated in a number of campuses around London since 1836, each of which it quickly outgrew.
To realise this vision, Beveridge convinced The Rockefeller Foundation to donate £400,000 to build a new site. A large plot of land located behind the British Museum in Bloomsbury was purchased from the Duke of Bedford’s estate.
Charles Holden, who had made his name designing London Underground stations, was commissioned to design the new building. His brief required Senate House to harmonise with the surrounding buildings, including the British Museum, UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Construction began in 1932 and the ceremonial foundation stone was laid by King George V on 26 June 1933. Holden’s Art Deco, Portland Stone-clad building stood at 210 feet high, with 19 floors and was the epitome of 1930s modernity. Senate House and library were completed in 1937.
Construction began in 1932 and the ceremonial foundation stone was laid by King George V on 26 June 1933. Holden’s Art Deco, Portland Stone-clad building stood at 210 feet high, with 19 floors and was the epitome of 1930s modernity. Senate House and library were completed in 1937.
The building was taken over by the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and is said to have inspired George Orwell's sinister Ministry of Truth in his dystopian novel, 1984.
I took a stroll around the University campus - most of it lines public roads. I didn't bother to photograph them, but the place is littered with old once-red telephone boxes, now painted black, which now serve as wifi hot-spots. I like to see them being re-purposed, rather than scrapped.
TAVISTOCK SQUARE
I'm glad this is the last entry for today. Not because I'm tired, or bored, but because it holds memories for me that make me feel uneasy. I'll explain in a minute.
Built in the 1820s for Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, and named after his father the Marquess of Tavistock, this quiet and leafy square is part of Bloomsbury in the Borough of Camden. The garden has much to offer the peace-lover and it now stands as a tribute peace garden to conscientious objjectors amongst others.
Firstly, this guy needs no introduction, I'm sure
You may well ask, why is there a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Tavistock Square. Well, he was a man who stuck by his principles, and who advocated peaceful protest at all times.
I didn't have time to fully explore, but it is on my list for a return visit.
Directly opposite Gandhi, is this. On the 7th. of July 2005, there were multiple terrorist bombs exploded at London Underground stations. There was also a bus blown up on the other side of this fence, and this is the memorial to those who died in it.
My son was in his office mere yards away when it exploded. Because of the scale of the attacks, all of the telephone networks were switched off except those for the emergency and essential workers. I couldn't contact him to find out if he was OK, and he couldn't call us either.
To make it worse, they were not permitted to leave their building and come home, because of the fear that there might be more bombs. So he was virtually a prisoner, and there was nothing we could do but wait.
Those 24 hours were terrible.......................But at the end of it, our son came home; many others didn't
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