LONDON on the Ground

On Cornhill in the City of London, carvings on a pair of mahogany doors tell the long history of the area. The doors are at 32 Cornhill,...

Scraping a living in the early 19th century: contemporary drawings. John Thomas Smith's artistic eye recorded buildings, streets and a...

The 19th century entrepreneur and real-life Phileas Fogg who ran for US President. London’s first tram services were set up in 1861 by an...

Ancient London buildings depicted in the 18th century and today. In June, I posted some of John Thomas Smith's engravings of London,...

The challenger to Smithfield closed in 1837 after less than a year. A couple of years ago, at one of the excellent exhibitions at the...

Late 18th century engravings of London buildings that were already old then (spot the few that remain today!). John Thomas Smith captured...

The artist tackles Victorian social attitudes, the class divide and urbanisation in this Hampstead scene. Work, by Ford Madox Brown,...

Engravings of London of more than 200 years ago. John Thomas Smith was an artist, engraver and writer who captured London in the late...

An Islington school has a Grade II listed 1964 public artwork by William Mitchell. Outside the City of London Academy Islington, a...

Originally an electricity sub-station, the Islington landmark has been an antiques mall and home to several retailers. The building...

Before turkey's popularity, goose was the Yuletide meal of choice. One goose escaped the pot. Today, Leadenhall Market houses a number of...

Does the street Churchill called "shaky and lightly built" take after the developer Pepys called "a perfidious rogue"? Downing Street's...

The view towards St Pancras station down Pentonville Road looking west was painted by Irish painter John O'Connor in 1884. The painting's...

I took my camera to an occasion resplendent with ceremony, pageantry and symbolism. The Royal Accession Proclamation took place on the...

Timber blocks once paved much of London. Some of it can still be seen. Introduced from the early 19th century, wood paving has a number...