LONDON on the Ground

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

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...

Unpublished drawings of St Paul’s and Blitz-damaged Wren churches in the 1950s and 1960s. St Paul's Cathedral and St Nicholas Cole Abbey,...

Which are the six London churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme and what is its message? Oranges and Lemons  makes references to the...

A small City of London park with a rich history surprised me with a link to my past. St Mary Aldermanbury Garden St Mary Aldermanbury...

Nelson’s Column is London’s best known free-standing stone column, but is it the tallest? Duke of York Column - Nelson’s Column -...

The Parliament architect honed his Gothic Revival design skills on four Islington churches. Architect Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) is...

An 850 year old document describes a livestock market for swine, cows, oxen and woolly flocks at Smithfield. Smithfield meat market, the...

Islington's Business Design Centre has a history of festive family fairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Business Design...

The site’s 800 year history includes housing Jews converted to Christianity, and legal and national records. During London Open House...

The sculpture on the Monument to the Great Fire of London is rich with symbolism . It illustrates the catastrophe that destroyed...

Simple brick arches support one of Victorian London's most elaborate monuments. I recently joined the first ever public tour of the...

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...

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

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

The City of London office block, Richard Rogers and Sir Christopher Wren. Officially 122 Leadenhall Street, or the Leadenhall Building,...