LONDON on the Ground

Built in 1907 as a Christian Science Church, the Byzantine Revival hall is now one of London’s foremost music venues. The 950 seat concert hall is home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and offers a programme that also includes other top orchestras and choirs in addition to rock, pop, jazz, folk, musical theatre and other events. After visiting this unusual and interesting building recently for the first time (for a concert by the English Chamber Orchestra), I decided to

It sounds like an episode of Harry Potter, but the Trial of the Pyx is in fact a test of coins made by the Royal Mint and one of the UK’s oldest judicial procedures. One of the earliest forms of consumer protection, with 12th century origins, the Trial of the Pyx has been the exclusive responsibility of the Goldsmiths’ Company since the 16th century. Since 1870 it has (almost always) taken place at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London. Inside Goldsmiths’ Hall The Trial's st

A selection of London’s lesser known, or lesser noticed, public clocks - time pieces that tell a tale. Everyone knows clocks such as ‘Big Ben’ and the one at Waterloo Station, but London is teeming with lesser known clocks, or at least clocks that most people pass without noticing. Here is my selection of ten less celebrated clocks of the capital. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here. 1. ‘B

The residential estate in the City of London is "arguably one of the country’s most important early 1950s housing estates". So says English Heritage in its Grade II listing of the estate. It is certainly one of the more imaginative examples of modernist residential architecture. Commissioned by the City of London Corporation and completed between 1952 and 1962, it stands between Golden Lane and Goswell Road at the northern border of the City. Built on a bomb site, the esta