LONDON on the Ground

A 17th century City of London Livery Hall for a 600 year old company around the corner from St Paul’s Cathedral. Tucked away in a small courtyard off Ave Maria Lane near St Paul’s Cathedral, Stationers' Hall has stood on the same site since 1606. It is one of those locations, where time appears to stand still, that are hidden away across the City of London.   The Stationers are among the 39 City of London Livery Companies that have their own Livery Hall, used for dinners, rec

The influential artist, educationalist, philanthropist, feminist and suffragist was ahead of her time, but is little known today. Barbara Bodichon portrait by Samuel Laurence , 1880 (from a sketch in 1861). Source: Wikipedia, public domain Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon co-founded Britain’s first women’s suffrage group and Girton College Cambridge - Britain’s first residential college for the degree level education of women. She also successfully campaigned to allow married wom

A moving memorial to animals that took part and died in 20 th century wars and conflicts. The Animals In War Memorial is a tribute to horses, mules, donkeys, dogs, pigeons, elephants, camels, oxen, bullocks, cats, canaries and - perhaps most surprisingly - glow worms that served and lost their lives alongside British and Allied forces. As an inscription on the monument says, “They had no choice”.   It is in Park Lane, at Brook Gate, close to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. It

A range of non-religious stained glass windows telling London stories. Very often associated with saints and scenes from the Bible, stained glass is an art form that also portrays secular history. My eclectic selection illustrates aviation, pioneering women, printing, the law, civic governance, actors, artists and writers. It is only a fraction of the wonderful secular stained glass in - and about - London. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On T

News of the admiral’s death reached London, via HMS Pickle, more than two months before his brandy-pickled body. The funeral of Britain’s most celebrated naval commander took place in St Paul’s Cathedral 220 years ago (yesterday), on 9 January 1806. It was the first state funeral at St Paul’s and the grandest yet for anyone outside the royal family.   Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1 st  Viscount Nelson, died more than 11 weeks earlier, during the closing stages of his greatest

Greater London recently reinstated its 60 year old coat of arms, while the City of London’s arms have evolved over eight centuries. St Paul, Thomas Becket, the cross of St George, lions, dragons, the Thames and the spires, towers and walls of the City have all featured in more than 800 years of designs representing London. Greater London's coat of arms The Greater London Authority (GLA) assumed the historic coat of arms of its predecessor, the Greater London Council (GLC), in

A London-related anniversary with a Christmas connection for every day from 1-24 December. If you have been following my social media, you may already have seen my daily series from the start of December to Christmas Eve. This blog post draws together all 24 entries in the London On The Ground London Advent Calendar. My walking tour A Christmas Carol in the City of London  looks at how Dickens' well loved story still influences the way Christmas is celebrated today and also

Hiding in plain sight, mosaics of the Muses, Modern Virtues, Pleasures and Labours are among the gallery's best artworks. The entrance hall to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square contains four floor areas of mosaics created by Boris Anrep between 1928 and 1952. The Russian-born mosaicist mixed with the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers, together with other noted 20th century intellectuals and socialites (some of whose faces made it into these mosaics). The entrance

The 17th century writer, poet, philosopher, scientist and playwright questioned the role of women and divided opinion. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673), was a prolific writer of non-fiction and fiction, essays, poems and plays. Her aim was uniqueness in dress, thoughts and behaviour. Unusually for a woman at the time, her works were published, and under her own name. She designed her own clothes, was open about seeking fame and was quite a celebrity in Lon

Over more than 300 years it has staged everything from aquatic shows and Shakespeare to pantomime and ballet. Today Sadler’s Wells is London’s leading venue for dance, both classical ballet and contemporary dance. The corridors of its 1,500 seat main auditorium and 182 seat Lillian Baylis Studio serve as a museum to its long and varied history. All the artworks, engravings and sculptures in this post are London On The Ground photographs of items displayed at the Theatre and S

A visit to Richard Rogers’ “awe-inspiring futuristic" landmark. When the Lloyd’s Building was completed in 1986, to designs by renowned architect Richard Rogers, there was nothing else quite like it. There still isn’t.   I recently had an opportunity to go inside the Lloyd’s Building for the first time. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here . Grade I listing In 2011, the Lloyd’s Building became

Bells, bell ringers and panoramas of a City of London landmark. St Mary-le-Bow is one of Sir Christopher Wren’s most celebrated City of London churches. Its 248ft spire on Cheapside completes the most ‘Wren-like’ of the City churches he created after the Great Fire of London of 1666. It remains a landmark in the 21st century City. St Mary-le-Bow spire seen from the roof terrace at One New change However, St Mary-le-Bow is probably most famous for its bells, whose history long

Recently restored and open to the public, its clean classical exterior hides subtly impressive art deco details inside. Waltham Forest Town Hall In 1932 the municipal borough of Walthamstow, then part of Essex, decided that its Victorian town hall on Orford Road was no longer big enough. The council sought bids from architects to design new civic buildings on a large rural site previously occupied by Chestnuts Farm. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming Lo

The City of London’s largest shopping centre offers stunning views of St Paul’s and beyond (it also has shops). One New Change Opened in 2010, One New Change occupies a whole block, bounded by New Change, Cheapside, Bread Street and Watling Street. It is the second post World War II building on this site, replacing offices built in 1957 (on what had been a bomb site) for the Accountant’s Department of the Bank of England. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcom

The Islington street with one foot in the City of London has many fascinating guises. Whitecross Street Whenever I find myself on...

Five buildings have successively replaced St Paul’s as the capital’s tallest. St Paul's Cathedral and The Shard Sir Christopher Wren’s St...

The social housing scheme in Southwark was founded in 1887 by Octavia Hill, a social reformer and housing pioneer. Red Cross Cottages,...

Bombed City of London churches and Guildhall through the eyes of an artist in the 1940s. St Paul's Cathedral by Ernest Borough Johnson...

Britain’s first woman jujitsu teacher trained the female bodyguards of suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst. Edith Garrud and her...

A glittering 'Aladdin’s cave' hidden under an office building houses the world’s largest silverware market. The London Silver Vaults In...