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Albert Memorial: a rare look at the undercroft
Simple brick arches support one of Victorian London's most elaborate monuments. I recently joined the first ever public tour of the...

London On The Ground
Sep 29, 20246 min read


The Islington pub with a carved fireplace more than 400 years old
The Old Queen's Head, Victorian on the outside and Tudor inside. The popular North London watering hole on Essex Road appears to be like...

London On The Ground
Sep 23, 20244 min read


Red Sands Maunsell Fort: eerie relic of World War II
Thames Estuary defences likened to War of the Worlds and Star Wars. The Maunsell Forts were off-shore anti-aircraft defences constructed...

London On The Ground
Sep 14, 20244 min read


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

London On The Ground
Sep 6, 20241 min read


Eltham Palace: Medieval meets Art Deco
From ruined royal residence to magnificent modern mansion. A 15th century gothic great hall, a stunning 20th century Art Deco...

London On The Ground
Aug 26, 20247 min read


How the 'Cheesegrater' got its wedge shape
The City of London office block, Richard Rogers and Sir Christopher Wren. Officially 122 Leadenhall Street, or the Leadenhall Building,...

London On The Ground
Aug 18, 20245 min read


St Bartholomew's Hospital: see conservators at work in the 18th century North Wing
See paintings by William Hogarth and climb the scaffolding to admire the Great Hall's stucco ceiling. The 18th century North Wing of St...

London On The Ground
Aug 10, 20246 min read


Queenhithe: one of London's oldest landmarks
A mosaic at the ancient harbour illustrates London's history since Roman times. Queenhithe is the only remaining inlet of the Thames in...

London On The Ground
Aug 5, 20244 min read


Serenity in the City: Karin Jonzen's sculptures
Four works by the 20th century sculptor in the City of London. One of the pleasures of walking around the Square Mile is the wide variety...

London On The Ground
Jul 28, 20245 min read


Islington Cattle Market: lost secret of Essex Road
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...

London On The Ground
Jul 21, 20246 min read


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

London On The Ground
Jun 29, 20241 min read


Walking in Geoffrey Fletcher's London: Islington and the City
See some of the London that the artist and writer feared was disappearing in the 1960s and 1970s. Welsh Dairy, Carter Lane by Geoffrey...

London On The Ground
Jun 3, 20244 min read


Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's
Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's. The carving, in a hidden City of London alleyway, represents the Four Elements.

London On The Ground
May 27, 20243 min read


Art on a plate: Temple Bar's hidden treasures
Unique, architect-designed plates recognise support for the Architects Benevolent Society. City of London livery companies are known for...

London On The Ground
May 12, 20244 min read


The Brunswick Centre, a pioneer in 20th century architecture
The Bloomsbury structure has proved highly influential, but is it modernism, brutalism or something else? The Brunswick Centre is a...

London On The Ground
Apr 29, 20243 min read


Arsenal's Art Deco Highbury, Herbert Chapman and me
The North London stadium was unique in football architecture, motivated by an innovative manager and inspiring generations of Arsenal...

London On The Ground
Apr 20, 20248 min read


'Work' by Ford Madox Brown, a painting to rival a Dickens novel
The artist tackles Victorian social attitudes, the class divide and urbanisation in this Hampstead scene. Work, by Ford Madox Brown,...

London On The Ground
Apr 13, 20247 min read


Poster art and design on the London Underground
A personal selection from the London Transport Museum. The London Transport Museum's Global Poster Gallery, which only opened in October...

London On The Ground
Apr 8, 20245 min read


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

London On The Ground
Mar 25, 20242 min read


Senate House: Stalinist or Art Deco?
The University of London's 1937 landmark by Charles Holden: views differ. Senate House in Bloomsbury is the administrative centre of the...

London On The Ground
Mar 16, 20245 min read
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