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King’s College London’s Maughan Library reveals its secrets
The site’s 800 year history includes housing Jews converted to Christianity, and legal and national records. During London Open House...
London On The Ground
Nov 16, 20244 min read
City of London Street names: a dozen of the best
The Square Mile has a wealth of unusual, colourful and deceptive street names. Many of London's most curious and unlikely street names...
London On The Ground
Nov 10, 20244 min read
George Francis Train, the aptly named American behind London’s first trams
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...
London On The Ground
Nov 2, 20245 min read
Lost Gardens of London at the Garden Museum
Excellent new exhibition of vanished parks, squares and gardens at the museum in Lambeth. Curated by landscape architect and historian Dr...
London On The Ground
Oct 27, 20245 min read
The Monument, the relief and its meaning
The sculpture on the Monument to the Great Fire of London is rich with symbolism . It illustrates the catastrophe that destroyed...
London On The Ground
Oct 20, 20247 min read
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
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