Walking the City of London

Author: The City Gent Page 2 of 20

Sculpture in the City (and a few words about Thomas Bayes).

The Sculpture in the City project is always worth a visit, which is what I did last week. I have also added some other pieces that caught my eye.

First up is this one entitled Temple by Richard Mackness. It’s on the corner of Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street, EC2M 3XD…

‘In this object, questions of belief and value weave with consumer culture and the human need to find meaning and to belong’. You can read a fuller description here.

This one has been around since last year but I’m including it again because I like its location. It’s called Muamba Grove, 0 Hue 1 and 2 by Vanessa da Silva and can be found at St Botolph-without- Bishopsgate Churchyard, EC2M 3TL …

‘The artist’s process offers an indication of the inseparable link between the body and the sculpture – the artist’s own body becomes entwined within the making of the forms. Da Silva’s use of colour and carefully considered scale contributes to the sense of dynamic and fluid movement’. You can read more here.

If you visit the churchyard look out for St. Botolph’s Hall, once used as an infants’ school, but now a multipurpose church hall available for hire. At its front entrance is a pair of Coade Stone figures of a schoolboy and girl in early nineteenth century costumes …

In the foreground is the large tomb of Sir William Rawlins, Sherriff of London in 1801 and a benefactor of the church …

This is Book of Boredom by Ida Ekblad. It’s at Undershaft, EC2N 4AJ (in front of Crosby Square) …

‘Conveying a rich sense of abundance and corporality, this painted bronze sculpture presents a vibrant composition filled with fragmented, angular patterns and shapes, merging elements of figuration and abstraction’. You can read more here.

This is Untitled by Arturo Herrara at the base of the Leadenhall Building EC3V 4AB …

Untitled reflects the dynamic movement of people using the space and the mechanic stairs. Both designs energise the area under the stairs with an all over composition that mimics the traffic and activity of this large urban space in the City’.

I caught my first glimpse of these creatures, called Secret Sentinels, as I turned from St Mary Axe into Bevis Marks (EC3A 8BE). They made me smile, which is a good start! …

They were created by Clare Burnett

Secret Sentinels is a family of sculptures made from found objects and materials and covered in glass tiles. The sculptures are inspired by how we balance privacy against convenience in relation to state and private surveillance. The protrusions from each piece gently reference the surrounding, ubiquitous cameras in the City security systems, doorbells, phones and computers’. You can read more here.

Here are the other things that caught my eye during my walk that are not part of the Sculpture in the City project.

Infinite Accumulation by Yayoi Kusama is an extraordinary sculpture on the pavement outside the Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line station entrance …

Another work now on permanent display is outside Moorgate Station and was created by the British artist Conrad Shawcross RA. It’s called Manifold (Major Third) 5:4 and was installed late last year as the penultimate artwork for the Crossrail project. According to a sign close to the art, ‘this vast bronze sculpture is an expression of a chord falling into silence’ …

You can read more here.

The open space at Citypoint is currently a temporary home to Squiggle

Moving away from sculpture, I like the coloured glass deployed around 22 Bishopsgate …

Thomas Bayes (circa 1701-1761) has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons due to the sudden sinking of the yacht named after him and the tragic loss of seven lives. You can read the BBC news report here.

I thought you might be interested to know that Bayes is buried in a family grave in Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. It can be easily seen from the paths but the inscriptions are rather indistinct (despite restoration in 1969 funded by statisticians worldwide) …

In the vault are laid members of the Bayes, Cotton and West families.

The inscription on the east side of the tomb (Wikimedia Commons)…

On the top of the tomb is inscribed: Rev. Thomas Bayes, Son of the said Joshua and Ann Bayes (59).

The west side, Miss Decima Cotton who died on 12 April 1795 …

Born in Hertfordshire, Bayes studied at Edinburgh University and began his preaching career in that city; he later assisted at his father’s meeting-house on Leather Lane in Holborn before being appointed Presbyterian minister to the Little Mount Sion meeting-house at Tunbridge Wells in 1731, which post he occupied until his retirement 20 years later. During his lifetime Bayes published nothing under his own name, although he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1742, perhaps on the basis of an influential defence of Newtonian mathematics published anonymously in 1734. His fame rests chiefly upon his mathematical ‘Essay towards solving a problem in the doctrine of chances’, published posthumously in 1764; this adumbrates the highly influential ‘Bayesian’ approach to probability theory, as well as containing the famous ‘Bayes’ Theorem’, still widely used in statistics and information technology.

I was fascinated to find out that, armed with powerful computers to handle the data, American security experts use Bayesian inference to prioritise potential threats to the nation. You can read more here.

I found this image of the grave after restoration in 1969 …

I think it’s time to get the scrubbing brush out again!

On a more cheerful note, about 200 yards away is this building …

Concerned about Sir John Cass’s connection with the slave trade, the Business School that bore his name decided to rebrand themselves and, in an online poll, ‘Bayes Business School’ was the winning suggestion. I think it’s nice that his final resting place is so nearby!

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Victorian London in Photographs (pomp, progress and poverty). Plus the latest City Banksy and a ‘lost’ man!

I’ve just been to see this super pop-up exhibition in St Paul’s Churchyard. It runs until 29 September and I highly recommend it …

If, like myself, you like following London’s history using photographic images some of those on display will be familiar to you, but it’s great to see them again in a nice setting with very informative signage.

This is one of my favourites …

The ‘great and the good’ take the inaugural journey on the new underground railway. The date is 24 May 1862 and they are in an open wagon at Edgware Road Station. ‘Number 16’ is William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), later Prime Minister for four terms.

Another image I know well illustrates the vast difference between the lives of our railway passengers and the lives of the poor and destitute …

This photograph of a woman was taken by John Thompson in 1877 and was titled The Crawlers. Reduced to poverty, she explained to him that she was looking after a friend’s baby in exchange for some bread and a cup of tea.

Another image from 1877 along with an example of the excellent exhibition signage …

Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to travel back in time and tell the these two ladies, and the young lads with their backs to us, that people would be looking at their images and thinking about their lives almost 150 years later …

Street Life by the same photographer …

Pomp at the new Crystal Palace …

And progress – both Bankside Power Station and Tower Bridge under construction …

Another theme – Grand Boulevards …

Do pop along and see it if you can – it’s a great exhibition and my images are just a small sample.

On a similar theme, I have a little collection of old postcards of which these are a few examples.

Tower Bridge gradually taking shape, as seen from the river …

St Paul’s Cathedral from Bankside with a paddle steamer moored in the foreground …

Flower seller ladies outside the Royal Exchange. I like this image, with the top-hatted man on the left having the flower placed in his buttonhole and the lady near the middle shielding her eyes from the sun …

Euston Station with the famous arch which was controversially demolished in 1962 (‘an act of cultural vandalism’ said one commentator!) …

Covent Garden Market …

A busy day at Bank Junction …

Incidentally, just behind the exhibition is a great example of what pollution can do to Portland stone over time …

The plaque reads as follows: HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF PORTLAND STONE STATUE OF SAINT ANDREW SOUTH PEDIMENT. THE COMPLETE STATUE 12 FEET HIGH AND WEIGHS SIX TON. CARVED BY FRANCIS BIRD IN 1724 FOR £140. THIS PART WAS REPLACED IN 1923 AND VACUUM IMPREGNATED WITH SILANE RESIN.

STOP PRESS, the latest City Banksy has been removed from its street setting and installed in Guildhall Yard. For how long I do not know …

Finally, whilst walking along Chalk Farm Road yesterday, I saw this sweet request taped to a shop window near the 31 bus stop …

I don’t suppose he subscribes to my blog but you never know!

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Some miscellaneous images and a bit of humour …

Another random collection I hope you might like.

When I go to buy the paper in the morning I often see the Bidfood truck delivering to Linklaters (lawyers seem to have great appetites). I like the pictures constructed out of food.

Here are my latest favourites …

Last year’s version …

I suppose I’m a bit sad recording these!

The weather was rather miserable in July but I think I captured some interesting sunsets.

Looking west towards St Giles church. Dating from 1682, the unusual profile of the tower would have been familiar to centuries of travellers approaching or leaving the City (obviously without the crane) …

Offices on London Wall look like they are aflame …

The view looking east …

Looking south with the moon behind the Shard …

Tower 52 gradually being surrounded by later developments …

Stormy sky with cranes. The tiny church steeple in the distance on the right is St Lawrence Jewry …

One more sunset pic …

Bees love the pollen from our purple Echinops …

This presents an opportunity for bee-related humour from the great Gary Larson

Silk Street planting in June …

July …

August …

Wild crochet in North West London …

How wonderful it must have been to come back home to this house in Wetherby Gardens, South Kensington. On your way to the front door you would be walking past these extraordinary sculptures by the immensely distinguished Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm

Where Barbican ducks do their shopping …

Proud mum …

Outside the Royal Exchange – I think he looks very authentic …

Lots of light and colour at the new Tottenham Court Road Station entrance …

The new London Bridge Station is a design masterpiece – and what a sweet idea to suggest people could arrange to meet at The Heart

I think I prefer it to the controversial Meeting Place statue at St Pancras …

Interesting decor in the Sessions Arts Club restaurant …

A hotel I came across when visiting Chicago – surely the scariest fire exit steps in the world!

‘Beware of pickpockets’ …

Two more classic Larson’s …

Finally, one of my favourite London reflections …

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Tower Bridge and the extraordinary Sir Horace Jones. Plus a gathering of equerries and bedchamber ladies!

I thought I was familiar with the names of all the archiects associated with the City but somehow one of the most eminent seemed to have slipped my mind – although I must have read about him on numerous occasions. Some of his greatest works will be well known to all my readers – for example the original market buildings at Smithfield, Billingsgate and Leadenhall. His greatest surviving achievement however, in my view at least, is the structure that represents London itself to many people throughout the world – Tower Bridge.

Jones was a brilliant artist as can be seen from this pen-and-ink drawing by him from his 1884 design …

© London Metropolitan Archives, City of London (ref COL/SVD/PL/03/0293)

This model at The London Centre gives some perspective as to its location …

The modern City framed by the Bridge …

In action …

From the River Thames heading east …

Serious engineering …

You can read about my tour of the bridge in March last year here.

My further interest in it was spiked, as it often is, by the current exhibition featuring Tower Bridge at the Guildhall Gallery …

The great man himself. Horace Jones 1819-1887 painted in the year before his death by Walter William Ouless

Some of the fascinating items on display in the exhibition.

This dramatic photograph captures the hive of activity during construction …

Centre stage are the high-level footway bridges slowly coming together while in the background you can see the South Abutment Tower under construction. Work on the bridge had started in 1886 and work was completed in 1894 (seven years after Horace’s death).

Hot tickets …

The ‘Ceremonial’ document outlining the programme. I was intrigued by the occupants of the carriages. What’s the difference between a ‘woman of the bedchamber’ and a ‘lady of the bedchamber’? And there are examples of chaps who are ‘in waiting’. Two equerries, a groom and a lord to be precise. No doubt a precise pecking order has been established over the centuries!

A napkin from the opening Celebration Dinner …

A great selection …

Instructions on how to operate the raising mechanism, an engineer with a super king size spanner, a workman doing masonry repairs, a police officer pulling a rope across the road to close it to traffic, the Tower Bridge tug and the Bridge Driver in the control cabin.

For the people of London during the First World War the bridge was more than a metaphorical symbol of resistance. Perched atop the upper walkway sat an anti-aircraft gun, its height and tactical position aligning it perfectly to defend against German raids. Its presence brought comfort to Londoners in the area and this poster captures the sentiment …

Each of the men listed in the centre of the poster were presented with a print as ‘grateful recognition of their services in protecting London against hostile aircraft during the Great War of 1914-1918’.

Whilst I was visiting I treated myself to this book. It’s a great read …

It explains in interesting detail why, despite a knighthood and elevation to the Presidency of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Horace never really received the full recognition he deserved and this remains the case today. For example, the Guildhall Gallery now owns the Ouless painting above but it is not on display. I’m pleased to say, however, that there is an excellent bust of Horace that you can go and see. It really gives a hint of the powerful presence and personality that clearly upset some of his contemporaries …

Unfortunately, I’m sad to say that it is tucked away at the back of the cloakroom! You’ll find it by turning right as you leave the special exhibition.

It’s on until 19 September and is located in the Heritage Gallery. During your visit you can enjoy watching films from the London Metropolitan Archive. This one is of the 1928 Lord Mayors Show …

You can also inspect a superb back-lit copy of the ‘Agas’ map of circa 1561 …

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Swords, spears, arrows and cherubs warming their feet – a great visit to St Michael Cornhill.

St Michael Cornhill impresses even before you go through the door.

Above the entrance is the warrior Archangel Michael ‘disputing with Satan’. It was carved by John Birnie Philip when the church was remodelled in 1858-1860. No question as to who is winning this battle …

To the right of the entrance is another sculpture of Michael brandishing a flaming sword. It is a bronze memorial to the 170 out of the 2,130 men of this parish who enrolled for military service in the First World War and died as a result …

The sculpture (by R R Goulden) was described in the Builder magazine as follows

St Michael with the flaming sword stands steadfast above the quarreling beasts which typify war, and are sliding slowly, but surely, from their previous paramount position. Life, in the shape of young children, rises with increasing confidence under the protection of the champion of right.

Walk down the narrow alley beside the church and you come to a lovely, quiet churchyard where you get a good view of the commanding tower …

Originally believed to be by Wren, it was rebuilt in the ‘Gothic’ style between 1718 and 1722 by his protégé Nicholas Hawksmoor.

The church, with the exception of the tower, was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The church history notes state that it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren between 1669 and 1672. The interior, with its majestic Tuscan columns, was beautified and repaired in 1701 and again in 1790 and then extensively ‘remodelled’ in the High Victorian manner by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1857 and 1860 …

John Birnie Philip also carved the angels …

Pre-Victorian features that remain today include 17th century paintings of Moses and Aaron incorporated into the reredos …

… and a beautiful wooden sculpture of ‘Pelican in her Piety’ dating from 1775 …

The 1850s stained glass was made by the firm Clayton & Bell …

The box pews date from the Scott remodelling …

In 1716, the poet Thomas Gray, famous for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, was born in a milliner’s shop adjacent to St. Michael’s and was baptised in the church. Two hundred years later, Martin Neary, who became Master of the Music at Westminster Abbey, was baptised in the same font, which dates from 1672 …

Look to the left on entering and you’ll see the noteworthy Churchwarden’s pew …

It shows St Michael thrusting a lance into the mouth of a truly evil-looking devil. It’s a work by the eminent wood carver William Gibbs Rogers (1792-1875) …

The present organ began life in 1684 …

You can read more about its fascinating history here. I attended the recital last Monday. Absolutely wonderful. On Bank Holiday Monday (26 August) at 1:00 pm you can listen online as David Goode plays Holst’s The Planets. Join on Zoom from 12:45 pm ID 828 1357 0952 Passcode 827123.

Regular readers will know that I like a nice monument or memorial and this church has over 40 of them, many in clusters like these …

I’ve picked a few favourites.

The earliest is to John Vernon who died in 1615. It was erected by the Merchant Taylors Company after the Great Fire of 1666 to replace the ‘ruined’ original. He was a generous benefactor to the Company and its scholars. When he started to lose his sight he gifted his collection of paintings to the company so his fellows could better enjoy them as he could no longer see. Every year at Christmas boys from the Merchant Taylors’ School visit the church to sing at the special Vernon Carol Service …

He has a contemplative expression enhanced by the posing of his hands, one to his breast, the other resting on a skull, emblem of mortality and death. He wears a broad ruff and a fur lined cloak.

Next door, the Platt Family cherub endeavours to keep his feet warm …

The biggest monument in the Church is to Sir Edward Cowper who died in 1685. Bob Speel describes it as follows: ‘a grand mass of marble rising from the floor with fantastically twisted pillars and strikingly coloured marble. Perhaps by the sculptor Thomas Cartwright Senior, another of the sculptor-masons working on Wren’s City Churches’ …

In the same corner of the Church is the monument to Sir William Cowper, who died in 1664 and his wife Martha [Master] of East Langdon, and their fourth son, Spencer Cowper …

If you want to visit and inspect the memorials in more detail let Bob Speel be your guide.

I admired the coats of arms at the end of the pews …

This one in particular intrigued me …

Whose arms are these? The mitre in the carving suggests a bishop but what are the birds all about, with their necks pierced by arrows? All is revealed in the Friends of City Churches Newsletter – highly recommended!

In addition to the war memorial outside there are several inside the church itself.

This one reads: In proud and grateful memory of the men of the County of London Electric Supply Company Limited and its associated companies who gave their lives for their country.

The Royal Fusiliers and local office workers …

The Stock Exchange Battalion …

And finally, an unusual item. This is a book prepared by the Association of British Civilian Internees, Far East Region, and placed here on 24th May 2009 …

St Michael’s church doesn’t seem to be open very often (despite what the website says). I got in because I wanted to attend the organ recital. According to their website, the wonderful Friends of City Churches are there on Tuesdays between 11:00 and 3:00.

On my way home this shop window display made me smile…

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The first man to swim the Channel and other treats in St Botolph without Aldersgate.

This lovely church has usually been closed when I have hoped to visit but last week I was lucky enough to drop in thanks to the Friends of City Churches being on duty.

The City once had four churches dedicated to St Botolph, each at one of the City gates, a reminder that St Botolph is traditionally the patron saint of travellers and wayfarers. Three of the churches survive and this is one of them. It is on Aldersgate and its old churchyard at the rear now houses the Watts Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice.

The church as seen from the Barbican Highwalk …

Although it suffered only minor damage in the Great Fire it was rebuilt in 1789-91 by Nathaniel Wright, surveyor to the City. The facade and Venetian window were added circa 1831 after the church had to be shortened for widening of the road. It contains numerous interesting memorials and lots of stained glass. For more about the former I highly recommend the brilliant Bob Speel website from which I will quote extensively in this blog!

Here are my favourites, memorials first.

The most notable is Lady Anne Packington’s Gothic altar tomb of 1563 …

In the recess are brasses of Dame Anne and her (deceased) husband Sir John Packington, and a shield of arms. They kneel facing slightly inwards towards each other, hands raised in prayer, each with their faldstool or prayer desk, with opened book. Sir John wears armour but is bareheaded, with wavy hair down to the shoulders, beard and whiskers; his helmet is placed in front of him. Dame Anne wears a long robe with wide collar, and behind her is a miniature replica, her daughter.

The first of my other favourites is this one of Elizabeth (Hewytt) Richardson who died in 1639 and was the wife of Thomas Richardson of Honningh, Norforlk, who erected the monument …

She had 10 children, seven sons and three daughters, and was ‘a fitt patterne for all women of honor, piete and religion’. Bob Speel comments that ‘the figure faces directly forward with a rather blank, rectangular face, surrounded by curled hair which would seem to be a wig. She wears a curious collar giving a triangular shape to her upper body’.

Mr Speel very much favours the second portrait bust in the church, that of Elizabeth Ashton who died in 1662. It was erected by a daughter, Elizabeth Beaumont …

Mr Speel waxes lyrical as follows: ‘Well, here is something clearly based on the odd Elizabeth Richardson monument noted above, but what a difference in quality. A naturalistic portrait sculpture of the deceased, again facing forward, with a slight smile, wavy rather than curly hair, a tight-fitting cap above, a similar broad collar to the earlier monument but here shaped to the shoulders, and with tassels at the front above the breast. Again a similar pose to the hands, upward turned in front of her; one plump hand supports the other, which holds a book. She has broad sleeves, gathered in at the wrist. Again, an oval niche, squared off surround, and this time a more appropriate top, being simply a swan necked pediment, with painted shield of arms within minor strapwork above.’

Speel identified two two must-see monuments. First, a tall, grey panel to Elizabeth Smith who died in 1750. It contains a poem, beginning ‘Not far remote lies a lamented Fair, // Whom Heav’n had fashion’d with peculiar Care’, and ending sombrely ‘Learn from this Marble, what thou valu’st most, // And sett’st thy Heart upon, may soon be lost.’ It includes a portrait carved in high relief, notable for being a work of the eminent sculptor Louis-Francois Roubiliac

The second is the largest wall monument, tall enough that a cut-out had to be left in the gallery above. It is to Zachariah Foxall who died in 1758. ‘His portrait can be seen at the top of the monument, a drape held above it by a cherub, with a second cherub seated on the other side, on top of a great boxy casket protruding from the wall. A good example of the more grand, extravagant style of many monuments of around this period, by a sculptor called James Annis, who had his mason’s yard close by in Aldersgate Street itself’ …

Two fine Victorian gentlemen with fine Victorian beards ..

One of three incredible cartouches …

Do try and find a time to visit this church and maybe use Bob Speel’s excellent website to guide you around the numerous monuments of which these are just a small selection.

When it comes to the glass, of particular merit is an impressive window at the east end of the church – not stained glass but a ‘transparency’ (a painting on glass). It is the only one of its kind in the city, painted by James Pearson in 1788. It depicts ‘The Agony in the Garden’ …

By contrast, the stained glass windows are all Victorian or later.

When I saw this one ‘In memory of Matthew Webb’ I thought ‘That name rings a bell …’

Captain Webb was the first man to successfully swim the English Channel. His first attempt was on 12 August 1875 but poor weather and sea conditions forced him to abandon his attempt. Twelve days later, he set off again and, despite several jellyfish stings and strong currents, he completed the swim, which was calculated at 40 miles, in 21 hours and 40 minutes …

One form of celebrity endorsement at the time was to lend your name to a manufacturer of matches …

Tragically, he drowned in 1883 while attempting to cross the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls. A memorial in his home town of Daley, Shropshire, reads: “Nothing great is easy.”

Some examples of the other windows …

Finally – Lest we forget.

At the east end of the church is a memorial book …

It records the names of nearly 1800 members of the Post Office Rifles who died in action during the Great War, evidence of St Botolph’s connections with the London General Post Office that was once situated nearby.

Some images I have found online (copyrights The Postal Museum) …

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The Whitecross Street Party 2024!

Around the stalls …

Mmmm … nice coat!

Along the street …

Art work both finished and pictured in progress

12:00 mid-day …

3:30 pm …

6:00 pm …

Street entertainment and fun …

On your marks … get set …

Go!

That’s all …

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Special Dragon edition!

This week’s blog was prompted by a gift we received – a wonderfully crafted baby dragon from Little Dragon Designs . He’s very small, only just over three inches wide, but very meticulously detailed …

It reminded me that the City is full of dragons and that it has been a long time since I paid them a visit.

In 1963 the Government was redrawing local government boundaries and the City Corporation had to decide how its area of control should be identified. Rather than someting bland and commonplace (e.g. Welcome to the City – Please Drive Carefully) they looked for something a bit more dramatic.

Their final choice to use dragons was facilitated by the controversial decision to demolish the Coal Exchange in Lower Thames Street. The trade in coal in London was hugely important, not just because it fuelled the city, but thanks to taxes that were introduced after the Great Fire of London, it funded a lot of London building works. The Coal Exchange was built in 1847 to help manage the trade and, high above the main entrance, two plinths held two large cast-iron dragons. Here it is around 1900 …

When the Exchange was demolished, the City of London Streets Committee conceived the idea of preserving the dragons as boundary markers, and they were inaugurated in their new home on Victoria Embankment on 16 October 1963 where they remain to this day …

They were originally cast, by the London founder Dewer, in 1849, as can be seen on the back of the shield …

These original dragons are seven feet tall but half size replicas were created for deployment around 11 other entry points to the City.

Before I go on to share more dragons with you the first thing I must be clear about is that the City symbol is a dragon and not a griffin (as is still mistakenly stated in many City guides).

The legendary griffin (or gryphon) is a creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle’s talons as its front feet. I have only been able to find one in the City and here it is at the entrance to Dunster Court in Mincing Lane …

He proudly supports the arms of the Clothworkers Company.

Dragons, on the other hand, have a barbed tail, tend to be scaly all over and breathe fire and smoke. Here is the City of London version on Tower Hill …

It is made of cast iron and painted in silver with details picked out in red. It supports a shield with the City emblem of the red cross of St George and the short sword of St Paul, the City’s patron saint.

Guarding the boundary between the City of London and Westminster, the Temple Bar Dragon is in a league of its own. It is taller, fiercer, very gothic and is black rather than silver. It would be quite at home in a Harry Potter story and is quite scary – maybe that’s why the Corporation Committee Chairman, having considered the Temple Bar version, chose the less flamboyant Coal Exchange dragons as boundary markers instead …

Another dragon at Temple Bar faces towards Westminster …

A Times writer commented that it ‘wears an aspect of defiance similar to that of the lion surmounting the mound on the field of Waterloo’.

Once you get your eye in, so to speak, you will find dragons everywhere.

This Smithfield Market beast looks like he is just about to swoop down – perhaps for a meaty lunch …

And these two work hard supporting the roof of Leadenhall Market …

One might pop up unexpectedly as you cross Holborn Viaduct …

You encounter this formidable pair as you leave Bank Underground Station …

More delicate versions adorn the lamps outside the Royal Exchange …

The City’s coat of arms atop the Guildhall …

And on the newer building nearby …

The City’s Latin motto : Lord guide us.

A more modern version (also at the Guildhall) …

You will find a fascinating article about the City coat of arms here.

If you are fascinated by dragons, or know someone who is, I highly recommend a visit to the Little Gragon Designs website. A vast selection of dragon-related gifts!

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City sculptures – a random collection.

Apart from the special Sculpture in the City events, it has been a while since I have specifically sought out other examples of what’s around so last Saturday’s sunny weather proved an ideal opportunity.

I started at Paternoster Square where I had read that the conservation-led artists Gillie and Marc had a new exhibition. Here’s what I found.

Apparently Rabbitwoman and Dogman usually accompany their work and here they hold up an informative panel about the artists …

Other animals in the exhibition …

Rabbitwoman and Dogman are known to travel around the City on their scooter. Here they are picking up a coffee at Spitalfields Market …

Also in Paternoster Square is a 1975 bronze sculpture by Elisabeth Frink which I particularly like – a ‘naked’ shepherd with a crook in his left hand walks behind a small flock of five sheep …

Dame Elisabeth was, anecdotally, very fond of putting large testicles on her sculptures of both men and animals. In fact, her Catalogue Raisonné informs us that she ‘drew testicles on man and beast better than anyone’ and saw them with ‘a fresh, matter-of-fact delight’. It was reported in 1975, however, that the nude figure had been emasculated ‘to avoid any embarrassment in an ecclesiastical setting’. The sculpture is called, appropriately, Paternoster.

This is The Cordwainer. Here on Watling Street (EC4N 1SR) you are in the Ward of Cordwainer which in medieval times was the centre of shoe-making in the City of London. The finest leather from Cordoba in Spain was used which gave rise to the name of the craftsmen and the Ward. In the background is the wall of St Mary Aldermary church …

Sculpted by Alma Boyes (2002). You can visit her website here.

I love the detail in the work, the craftsman’s face and particularly the hands straining with effort. The statue’s shoes are very beautifully represented too – but then they would have to be.

Easy to miss but worth seeking out is The Building Worker, a bronze statue of a building worker in a pose based on Michelangelo’s David, but in working clothes and wearing a hard hat and carrying a spirit level. He is on Tower Hill EC3 just across the road from the station outside the Tower of London …

The sculptor was Alan Wilson (2006) and it commemorates the ‘thousands of workers who have lost their lives at work … (and) workers who are today building and rebuilding towns and cities across the United Kingdom.’ Wreaths are laid here each year on April 28, International Workers Memorial Day, and a two minute silence is observed at noon in memory of those who have suffered fatal injuries in accidents at work.

The Plumbers’ Hall was compulsorily purchased in 1863 to make way for the expansion of Cannon Street Railway station and this statue on the concourse is a reminder of that connection …

The Plumber’s Apprentice by Mark Jennings (2011).

The inscription reads ‘This statue was erected on the site of its last Livery Hall by The Worshipful Company of Plumbers to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the granting of its Charter by King James I in 1611 and to recognise the support given by the Company to the training of apprentices.’

Now a work that caused a mini-controversy – the Charity Drinking Fountain (also known as La Maternité) by Aimé-Jules Dalou (1877-9).

In his book Public Sculpture of the City of London, Philip Ward-Jackson describes the lady as follows:

Despite her casual garb she has a diadem or tiara on her head. With her left arm she enfolds a baby, who she is suckling, whilst with her right she draws to her knee a naked boy, who gazes up at her.

She can be found outside Royal Exchange Buildings, EC3V 3NL.

Nearby is a very relaxed George Peabody who I have written about in an earlier blog

Ward-Jackson tells us that the suckling lady’s very authentic exposed breast produced at least one letter of protest to the editor of The Globe. The correspondent urged that ‘common decency’ should be observed and went on …

Do you not think, Sir, that Mr Peabody’s chair should be turned, at least until the delicate operation of ‘lacteal sustenation’ be concluded … or the young woman and youngsters provided with the requisite clothing.

If you visit the sculptures today you will, in fact, find that Mr Peabody no longer gazes at the lady who shocked the Globe corresponsent. Surely his letter wasn’t acted upon? I can find no evidence one way or another.

How about this slightly mysterious figure at 193 Fleet Street …

I always thought that it resembled a rather effeminate youth but it is in fact a woman disguised as a pageboy, her name, Kaled, appears just under her right foot.

It is by Giuseppe Grandi, and dates from 1872. The shop owner, George Attenborough, had a niche created specially for it over the front door. Kaled is the page of Count Lara in Bryon’s poetic story of a nobleman who returns to his ancestral lands to restore justice. He antagonises the neighbouring chieftains who attack and kill him. Kaled stays with his master and lover to the end, when it is revealed he is in fact a woman. She goes mad from grief and dies.

Something a little more conventional now, this 1881 statue of Sir Rowland Hill by Edward Onslow Ford, R. A. (1852-1901). It’s on King Edward Street …

It’s in front of the old General Post Office building. Read more about this fascinating man and his postal reforms here. For example, I didn’t realise that, before 1840, the British postal system was highly complex and very expensive. Letters were charged by distance and the number of sheets of paper they contained. Normally, the charge was paid by the recipient. As a result people often ‘cross-wrote’ their letters to save money. Imagine having to decpher this missive …

I had to include a few examples of Barbican sculpture.

On the Alban Gate highwalk you will encounter two naked writhing dancers. Quite often I have seen people pose for photographs whilst trying to mimic the figures’ movements – they have not found it easy …

The work, called Unity, is by the Croatian Sculptor Ivan Klapez. It was commissioned by the building developers MEPC in 1992 and marked a turning point is his career. I rather like them in silhouette …

If you visit the sculpture you will see that the male figure is … er … unquestionably male. Shortly after its installation the Daily Telegraph’s ‘City Diary’ recorded local speculation as to whether the penis of the male figure had been shortened ‘to spare the blushes of passing matrons’. The sculptor’s agent insisted that no such concessions had been made. I haven’t included an image of the organ concerned (coward!) so you’ll have to visit and make up your own mind.

The Gladiator, by Eli Ilan (1973) just before you reach the library …

Nice to see that he’s being looked after …

And finally, the magnificent Minotaur by Michael Ayrton. After an itinerant life, he now looks rather wonderful in his more recent location in St Alphage Gardens …

… with a slice of the Roman/Medieval city walls behind him to the left …

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Some miscellaneous images I thought you might like.

As regular subscribers will know, every now and then I find I have a number of images I like that can’t be gathered into a particular theme but I don’t want to abandon them. So this is one of those times.

I’ll start with something that made me smile.

I have put on a bit of weight lately and now I know that, if things get a bit out of hand, I can enhance my wardrobe with a visit to the little covered market in Whitecross Street …

I think that’s a 48 inch waist.

Moon behind the Shard …

Warming light at dawn …

Dusk …

Christ’s Hospital Scholars …

On the other side of the sculpture is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) called On Leaving School

I think he missed school rather more than I did!

Construction of the new HSBC offices at St Paul’s …

If you must put up a hoarding, why not include a giraffe?

This usually amuses me too …

The happy Mr Sun and the misplaced apostrophe (surely it should come before the ‘s’).

The remains of Christ Church Greyfriars …

… and its garden …

The little secluded garden at St Vedast Foster Lane …

Still on Foster Lane, I’ve often wondered about Priest’s Court. The Ian Visits blog reckons it housed Sir John Johnson’s Freewriting School, which he founded in 1695 to offer free education to eight scholars, although it
only lasted 36 years …

Around the entrance you can see the original oak frame where the alley would have once had a mighty door to seal it off, for the court was private then, containing the residence of the parish priest of St Vedast …

The restaurant next door always looks after its flowers …

Well done!

On the other side of the restaurant is Rose and Crown Court …

For a really comprehensive overview of the area’s history I recommend the Ian Visits blog

Some local flowers in Wood Street and the Goldsmith’s Garden Gresham Street …

And some from the Barbican Highwalk …

And three from my balcony …

My final balcony shot – the Trooping the Colour Flypast …

By the way, last Saturday I went on what is probably one of the best, if not the best, of the numerous ‘guided’ walks that take place all the time in London. It is conducted by The Gentle Author and you can book here using the link in his latest blog: https://spitalfieldslife.com/2024/06/26/the-cries-of-london-i/

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Kaleidoscope!

I visited the Guildhall Gallery last week for this extrordinary exhibition …

With over 150 pieces, this is a major retrospective which features series of works from as far back as 1990 right up to the present day, including 41 London-themed kaleidoscopic prints created exclusively for this new exhibition.

So this blog can only give you a brief taste of what’s in store if you visit – and I have kept it a manageble size by just including my favourites! You can read a very comprehensive review of the exhibition (including a video of the artist at work) on the Books & Boots website. I strongly recommend you read it before visiting the gallery.

I started by looking at the tools Anne uses in her wood engraving work – fascinating …

In addition to the woodcarving and linocuts she also creates mixed media collages.

I’m delighted to say that St Paul’s Cathedral features strongly.

Wartime searchlights pierce the sky …

This is followed by five sequential wood engravings reflecting on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015 …

I really like this series of four entitled Sky Window

Deserted Pool

Living History

Between Order and Chaos

Out of this World

British Museum Diagonals

Under construction – Bishopsgate London in the 1990s

Royal Academy – RA Metamorphosis

Royal Academy – RA Revolution

On my way out I paused for a good look at Grayson Perry’s 2016 woodcut Animal Spirit

Inspired by London’s financial sector, you can read more about it here.

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A North London expedition (with additional animals).

It’s not often I find myself struggling for a Blog topic but, when I do, I tend to walk either east or west in search of inspiration. Last week, however, I felt the call of the North, hopped on the Northern Line Tube and headed for Hampstead.

I’ve been reading a book lately about the history of the Underground and the part of the system I was travelling on dates from 1907. It was constructed by the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway and linked Charing Cross to Golders Green.

Designed in the space of just four years by the talented and prolific Leslie Green the stations feature the architect’s beautiful trademark tiles.

Station platforms …

A typical corridor …

I suspect some of the above tiles are replicas, but these may be authentic since Heath Street was the original name of the Hampstead station …

The fabulous green tiles designed for ticket offices …

The striking oxblood-red tiles and arched windows typical of the exteriors of Green’s stations …

Walking up Heath Street, I encountered this spooky statue outside a Hampstead art gallery …

Whitestone Pond (where I used to go paddling as a child) …

Originally known as Horse Pond, fed solely by rain and dew, ramps were in place to allow horses to access the pond to drink and cool down after the long climb (this is the highest point in London). Later it became affectionately known as Hampstead-on-Sea when the pond was used for paddling, floating model boats and skating in winter.

An image from 1920. No, I’m not one of those kids!

Click here and here for more history and images.

I walked downhill past an entrance to the Heath …

Then into the lovely Golders Hill Park …

As you have seen, it was a beautiful sunny day. The park also has a little zoo but I didn’t have time to visit it so I resolved to return.

Unfortunately, the day I chose was a bit miserable …

… and so were the animals!

The wallabies didn’t want to know …

The wildcat was sulking …

As was the owl …

And this was the nearest I got to seeing a lemur …

But the chickens didn’t let me down …

Or this (slightly grumpy) pair of egrets …

On my first visit, as I walked towards Golders Green Station, I took a picture of this old distance marker …

When I visited again I found it had been spruced up …

For some reason I preferred it when it looked old and weathered.

Across the road from the station, I admired this comprehensive menu board …

Especially the plastic representations of various dishes …

More attractive tiles at the station (these definitely are replicas but the ironwork is original) …

Now some Barbican wildlife.

Look at the pillar on the left. Can you see a small creature clinging limpet-like to the concrete two storeys up?

Yep, a local resident …

I had a visit from another resident as I was writing this blog …

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Street Art update.

The street art around Brick Lane changes all the time so earlier this week I popped back to see developments.

A very good example of this is the changing face of number 33A Fournier Street.

April 2018 …

Gilbert and George live across the road (image copyright The Art Newspaper)

April 2021 …

September 2022 …

January 2023 …

This week …

More images from my walk …

This piece by Stik is ‘The UK’s 17th favourite artwork’ according to The Guardian. It has been here since 2010 and has obviously been treated with respect …

Read all about him and his art here.

I’m not quite sure what these images are about but I like them …

You don’t have to go into the shop to see what they have in stock …

On my way home.

Spitalfields Market …

Liverpool Street Station shopping …

Duck patrol – ‘Just keeping an eye on things’…

I have blogged before about street art in April 2021, September 2022 and in January 2023.

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Recent walks (and some holiday snaps).

Having been away I have neglected the blog somewhat so I hope you will forgive me if this week’s offering is a rather miscellaneous collection of City images and a few pics from my holiday by Lake Como!

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge look good on a grey, cloudy day …

The City skyline from nearby …

The poor Gherkin is gradually being surrounded and the Walkie Talkie really is a monster from this viewpoint …

Control of protected views has still managed to give St Paul’s the priority it deserves. Long may this continue as even more development gains approval …

The Shard from Hay’s Galleria …

The refurbished facade of the old headquarters of the Eastern Telegraph Company on Moorgate is gradually being revealed including this fabulous stained glass …

At first it was called Electra House (named after the goddess of electricity) and the centre section shows her perched on top of the world. You can read more about her and the building in my April 2020 blog.

Nice brickwork in St Thomas Street on the south side of London Bridge Station …

A wacky installation at Vinegar Yard across the road …

Re-purposed warehouses nearby …

A re-purposed pub across the road from St Bartholomew the Great …

Angel III by Emily Young (2003), Paternoster Square, opposite St Paul’s Cathedral …

You can read my blog about City Angels (and Devils!) here.

Also outside the Cathedral …

The explanation …

Golden cherubs at Ludgate Circus …

This building was originally the London headquarters of the Thomas Cook travel agency. Built in 1865, the first floor was a temperance hotel in accordance with Cook’s beliefs. Read more about the cherubs, and many of their fellows, in my Blog Charming Cherubs.

The wording on this foundation stone in King Edward Street emanates pride in the British Empire at its height …

Across the road nearby are the coat of arms and the motto of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. It’s the Newgate Street Clock, the Worshipful Company’s 375th anniversary gift to the City of London …

The motto Tempus Rerum Imperator can be translated as Time, the Ruler of All Things.

On a lighthearted note – food and drink.

Branded ice in my Negroni at Bistro Freddie

And another, not quite so obvious, at Luca

Pudding at the Bleeding Heart Bistro …

Watching the calories whilst on holiday …

We visited lovely Lake Como for ten days.

The stunning Cathedral …

In a nearby church …

Lost souls ..

Some fascinating outdoor sculpture …

The extraordinary two above are by Fabio Viale.

This one is by Daniel Libeskind

I know what the box on the left is for but I’m not sure about the one on the right …

Shopping opportunities …

Como silk is very, very beautiful …

Finally, some classy tourist stuff to take home as a memento …

Back home to London in the evening – nice to see a duck on night patrol …

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Shakespeare at the Guildhall Library.

Drawing on Guildhall Library’s remarkable Shakespeare collections, this exhibition examines the history of the printing of William Shakespeare’s plays, from the small ‘Quartos’ of the late 16th century and the Folios of the 17th century, to the reworking of the text in the 18th century and the rediscovery of the original texts in the 19th century …

Just inside the door you are greeted with an image of the funerary monument of William Shakespeare in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon circa 1616-1622 …

There are a series of excellent, informative panels …

They range over subjucts such as the difference between a Folio and a Quarto …

… printing technology …

…and how the works were viewed and appreciated over the centuries …

The books, of course, are the stars of the show (and they do not all relate solely to Shakespeare).

It was not until some years after his death that the majority of his plays were gathered together, edited to create a definitive version of the text, and published 400 years ago in the now iconic First Folio, 1632.

And here it is in facsimile …

The engraved portriat by Martin Droeshout is one of the few likenesses with any claim to authenticity.

A facsimile of the Second Folio, also published in 1632 …

An original Third Folio, 1664 …

And the Fourth, 1685 …

The Library Shakespeare – An example of the late 19th century emergence of ‘gift books’, nicely bound with coloured illustrations …

There are other delights on display.

The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont, printed in 1613 …

An 1853 spoof comic version of Macbeth Macbeth Travestie. Macbeth somewhat removed from the text of Shakespear: in two acts

There are almost thirty items in the exhibition …

… and there is a splendid free guide …

There is also an interesting photowall showing some of the Guildhall Library’s other treasures …

After you leave the building, walk across the road to the little green space on the corner of Aldermanbury and Love Lane …

Constructed in 1896, this pink granite monument stands within the former churchyard of St Mary Aldermanbury. Its primary purpose is to honour the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, but it also serves as a tribute to Henry Condell and John Heminge, two associates of the Bard who worked with him at the Globe …

They played a cucial role in compiling and printing the First Folio after his death in 1616 …

Both lived nearby and were buried in this churchyard …

The church was gutted in the Blitz with only the walls remaining standing. The stones were subsequently transported to Fulton, Missouri in 1966 and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College as a memorial to Winston Churchill who had made his Sinews of Peace, “Iron Curtain” speech in the College gymnasium in 1946.

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More Guildhall Art Gallery favourites.

I know, it seems like I’m not wandering far from home lately, but the weather has been so miserable and I needed to get a few blogs ‘in the bank’ before going on holiday. Anyway, that’s my excuse for visiting again somewhere that I really like!

Here come a few of my favourites from the Gallery.

My First Sermon by Sir John Everett Millais Bt PRA (1829-96), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1863 …

The child is the centre of attention in her red cape, with black trim, and soft furry muff, a bright splash of colour in the dim church, her short legs in their red stockings nicely supported, concentrating as hard and seriously as she can on the sermon. You can guess that it’s probably way over her head.

My Second Sermon

After the success of My First Sermon Millais painted a companion piece the following year, showing the same little girl – his daughter Effie – in church after the novelty of going has worn off. In his speech at the next Royal Academy Banquet, the Archbishop of Canterbury claimed the picture was a warning against ‘the evil of lengthy sermons and drowsy discourses’. Millais (and his largely middle class audience) were well aware of the gap between ideals and reality, and this witty follow-up to First Sermon reveals a taste for amusing, affectionate imagery that was relatable to many Victorian parents.

The Wounded Cavalier by William Shakespeare Burton (1824-1916) …

There is so much symbolism and mystery about this picture that writing about it would take the enire blog. What is the relationship between the young woman and the austere puritan chap standing in the background? Maybe her brother, she’s not wearing a wedding ring, and surely wouldn’t be wandering the forest unchaperoned? He’s carrying a bible – is there any significance in the visible bookmark? The young cavalier doesn’t look in good shape, is he dying – maybe she’s helping him staunch a wound by his neck? And what’s the significance of the broken sword and the scattered playing cards? Or the butterfly resting on the sword blade? For various theories you can read more here and here.

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey c.1834 by Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) …

Poor Lady Jane, ‘the nine days queen’, fumbles for the block on which she will lose her head (having, incidentally, been tried for high treason at the Guildhall next door to the gallery). To the left are her despairing ladies-in-waiting, one slumped to the ground with Jane’s outer clothing gathered in her lap, the other facing the wall unable to watch. The painting has always been enormously popular ever since it was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1834. The large original is owned by the National Gallery and this one is a reduced-scale study by the artist.

The Last Evening by James Tissot, (1836-1902), 1873, another painting with an ambiguous meaning …

One interpretation is that the scene shows the final moments of an on-board romance between a first class passenger and a crew member under the disapproving eyes of his captain and her father. More frequently suggested, however, is that the work depicts the night before a young man sets sail on a voyage leaving his sweetheart behind. She looks pretty bored to me! Read more here.

Next up is this picture entitled Garden of Eden by Hugh Goldwin Riviere (1860-1956). Painted in 1901, it depicts a young man and girl walking in a misty, wet park with a horse-drawn cab rank in the background. I like it because to me it’s another one of those pictures that immediately gets you making up a back story to the characters. Surely this is an assignation – a secret lovers meeting, he clasping her hand and she gazing lovingly into his face. Then it struck me: Garden of Eden! A place of dangerous temptation and banishment! …

Apparently some guides point out that this picture is actually about a mismatch between a wealthy woman who has fallen for a man much below her station: note his clumpy shoes, lack of gloves and his rolled up trouser bottoms. Also the way he’s carrying not one but two umbrellas, intertwined like the two lovers. There are tiny raindrops hanging from the black branches. Surely they represent tears to come? Or am I getting completely carried away? Another commentator has said that she is simply a smartly dressed maidservant on her day off, out walking with her beau.

At the far end of the gallery, in a space specially designed for it, you will find at the action-packed painting by John Singleton Copley: Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar 1782

The painting is best viewed from the balcony above

A Spanish attack on Gibraltar was foiled when the Spanish battering ships, also known as floating batteries, were attacked by the British using shot heated up to red hot temperatures (sailors nicknamed them ‘hot potatoes’). Fire spread among the Spanish vessels and, as the battle turned in Britain’s favour, an officer called Roger Curtis set out with gunboats on a brave rescue mission which saved almost 350 people.

Look at the painstaking detail in the faces of the officers and Governor General Augustus Eliot, who is portrayed riding to the edge of the battlements to direct the rescue …

The officers were dispersed after the Gibraltar action and poor Copley had to travel all over Europe to track them down and paint them – a task that took him seven years at considerable expense. He recouped some of his cash in 1791 by exhibiting the picture in a tent in Green Park and charging people a shilling to see it.

There are two paintings of a Lord Mayor’s show near the main gallery entrance. This is 12:18 and 10 seconds (2010) by Carl Laubin

The other is another of my favourites, William Logsdail’s painting entitled The Ninth of November 1888

You can read more about them both in my January 2023 blog.

Also on show is a terrfific sculpture of this thoughtful, gentle man, created by someone who knew him very well personally, Ronald Moody (1900-1984) …

This is Terry-Thomas, a major star in the 1950s and 60s best known for playing disreputable members of the upper classes especially ‘cads’, ‘toffs’ and ‘bounders’ …

The last years of his life were tragic. Following his death, Lionel Jeffries called him ‘the last of the great gentlemen of the cinema’, while the director Michael Winner commented that ‘no matter what your position was in relation to his, as the star he was always terribly nice. He was the kindest man and he enjoyed life so much’.

And finally, don’t forget, one of Gallery’s most popular paintings is back on display. Described by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti as “my very best picture”, ‘La Ghirlandata’ was acquired by the City of London Corporation in 1927 for its permanent art collection and is displayed in the gallery’s main Victorian exhibition space …

The 1873 oil on canvas depicts ‘the garlanded woman’ playing an arpanetta and looking directly at the viewer. The artist’s muse for the central figure was the actor and model, Alexa Wilding, with two ‘angels’ in the top corners posed by William and Jane Morris’ youngest daughter, May Morris.

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Exploring the Crypt Museum at All Hallows by the Tower.

In my blog three weeks ago I wrote about the treasure trove that you’ll find at All Hallows by the Tower and promised to return again and explore the Crypt Museum. This week’s edition is the result.

I headed down the steps to the atmospheric interior …

One of the first exhibits you encounter is this floor of a 2nd century Roman dwelling …

Sometimes it’s just easier to take a picture of an information label!

Walk where the Romans walked …

The church historian told me that, if I stood on the tiles long enough, I would be transported back to Roman times. Sadly, I was in a bit of a hurry.

On display are several casts of Roman gravestones.

A ‘most devoted son’…

And an ‘incomparable husband’ …

This stone once depicted a couple but the woman’s head is now missing …

The inscription reads : Demetrius, to Heraclia, his wife (set up this stone) at the expense of her own estate, as a memorial to her.

Lots of treasures in display cases …

Including this beautiful carving in alabaster …

This is the ‘great hoist’ …

Costing £3 in 1682, it was made to suspend the beautiful Grinling Gibbons font cover which can now be found in the south west corner of the church …

This is the original north door from the 1884 construction of the North porch …

It was badly damaged in the fire bombing that happenened three weeks after the direct hit on the church on 19 December 1940.

There are several connections with famous Americans.

William Penn was baptised in All Hallows and this memorial to commemorate the event was erected in 1911. It was damaged in the wartime bombing …

William’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn, was Commissioner of the nearby Navy Office and his son was baptised here on 23 October 1644. The Baptismal Register recording the occasion …

Penn’s entry is number 23 on the right hand page.

And what about this lady. For almost two hundred years the only non-American First Lady until the inauguration of President Trump on 20 January 2017 …

The relevant entry in the 1797 Marriage Register …

Memorabilia relating to The Reverend ‘Tubby’ Clayton

Under the High Altar is sited the Undercroft Chapel …

The altar comprises stones brought back to All Hallows from Richard I’s Castle Athilt in Israel.

As I said in my earlier blog, All Hallows really is a treasure trove and my blogs really just give a brief glimpse of how interesting the church is. So well worth a visit.

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Fantastic City models at the London Centre on Aldermanbury.

Occasionally I come across something in the City that is fantastic but which, for some reason, I was completely unaware of. I found it here at The London Centre on Aldermanbury …

NLA (New London Architecture) is an independent organisation for anyone and everyone with an interest in London’s built environment. Their basic remit is to engage with government, business and the public to educate, challenge, connect and create positive change.

In April 2023 they opened this new facility in the West Wing of the Guildhall complex. It’s a quiet place filled with meeting rooms and facilities that make it an ideal “hub for the built environment profession”. Entry to the public area is free so there’s no need to book. You don’t need to be a member of the profession to explore either, so just turn up. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 11:00-17:00, and on Fridays they host free lunchtime talks from 12:30 – 13:00.

To facilitate city planning and other discussions about buildings, growth and expansion, the Centre houses three large scale models …

Here is more about them.

The original City of London Model (1:500 scale)

Anything in grey was built before 1945, enabling you to see the extent of central London that was re-built after the Blitz. The scale allows for lots of detail to be articulated — it’s not just boxy blocks — and some of the newest, modern high-rises even light up …

Guess where …

New London Model (1:2000 scale)

In this newer model they’ve shrunk the buildings and doubled the footprint of the original, greatly expanding just how much you can see from a virtual ‘sky-high’ vantage point. The model represents a 200 km2 area of Greater London, showing 240,000 buildings using data from 2012 …

Note Wembley Stadium in the foreground …

Royal Docks Model (1:1000 scale)

This was fully 3D printed and gives an overview of developments across the area over the next 10 years. The solid white buildings are existing while the buildings in frosted white show masterplans with outline planning permission. The model represents 10,000 buildings and the label points out the the water in the docks alone covers an area larger than the whole of Venice!

Oh, and guess what – there’s a separate Barbican model …

‘In addition to the models there are dozens of wall displays exploring various areas, opportunities and the unique London logistics that city planners and builders must consider. The entire centre is a living, working resource that also serves as a fantastic educational opportunity for anyone with an active interest in the seemingly endless queue of expansion, renovation and regeneration projects.’ Here are a few of them …

The Great Estates …

I really loved my visit – highly recommended.

There’s also something really interesting on at the Guildhall Library upstairs – something to visit at another time …

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From Taxi Man to the Camel Corps via the ‘most erotic statue in London’- a stroll along the Victoria Embankment.

The idea of an embankment along the Thames was first suggested by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 and work eventually began in 1861 under the control of Sir Joseph Bazalgette the Metropolitan Board of Works’ Chief Engineer. Its purpose was not only to ease congestion but also to house the main sewer and it was opened on 13 July 1870 by the Prince of Wales. The total area of land reclaimed was over 37 acres and about 20 acres of this were laid out as gardens and these were the objective of my walk last week.

The gardens shortly after opening …

Walking west from Blackfriars I encountered one of my favourite pieces of street sculpture …

He’s had a tough day at the office and now just wants to get home but, sadly, he’s been trying to grab that cab since 2014. Sculpted by J. Seward Johnson Jr. in 1983, it originally stood on Park Avenue and 47th Street in New York. It’s called, not surprisingly, Taxi!

A little further west are the gates to the Temple private gardens – haunt of the legal profession.

The flying horse Pegasus is the emblem of Middle Temple …

The badge of the Middle Temple consists of the Lamb of God with a flag bearing the Saint George’s Cross …

I walked past the two formidable dragons symbolising the entrance to the City of London …

Seven feet high, they were once mounted above the entrance to the Coal Exchange which was demolished between 1962 and 1963.

They were cast by London founder, Dewer, in 1849 as can be seen on the back of the shield …

Alongside the dragon on the north side of the road is a tablet commemoration Queen Victoria’s last visit to the City in March 1900 …

Time now to enter the first of the gardens and to admire the memorials erected to the great, the good and the brave.

This is the Lady Henry Somerset Children’s Fountain. She was elected president of the British Women’s Temperance Association in 1890 and during her time with them its political and social influence grew. She promoted many endeavours, including the use of birth control, as she argued that sin begins with an unwelcome child …

The formidable Lady Somerset …

What I also discovered in my research was that she outed Lord Henry as a homosexual (a crime during the 1800s), which resulted in their separation and her gaining custody over their son. As a result of publicising his sexual orientation, she was ostracised from society since in those days women were expected to turn a blind eye to every kind of their husband’s infidelity. His lordship decamped to Italy.

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900) was a composer and most famous for his collaborations with the librettist Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911).  Their collaboration resulted in fourteen Comic Operas a number of which are still frequently performed today by both amateur and professional companies to the delight of people around the world …

His memorial features a bust atop of a pedestal together with a weeping Muse of Music. The plinth also carries lines from Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1888 opera The Yeomen of the Guard: “Is life a boon? / If so, it must befall / That Death, whene’er he call, / Must call too soon”.

The lines are repeated in the bronze sculpture at the base, which depicts an open book of music, one of the masks of Comedy and Tragedy and a mandolin …

Apparently the statue has been described as ‘the most erotic in London’.

Robert Raikes, pioneer of Sunday Schools …

Although Sunday schools were not original to Robert Raikes – they were in existence many years before he started his first in 1780 – it was he who put them on the map and whose efforts gave huge momentum to the movement in Britain. Hence, when in 1880 this memorial was erected to celebrate the centenary of the Sunday school movement, the statue featured Robert Raikes. Read more about this fascinating man here.

The flower beds are wonderful …

The Henry Fawcett memorial ‘erected by his grateful countrywomen’ …

Henry Fawcett was an economist and politician who was held in high regard by the public. He was born in 1833 and educated at the University of Cambridge. At the age of 25 he was involved in a shooting accident that left him blind. However, he refused to let his affliction dampen his life and ambitions. He rose to become a Professor in Economics at Cambridge University and was elected Member of Parliament for Brighton in 1865 to 1874, and subsequently for Hackney in 1874 to 1884. In 1880 he was also appointed the position of Her Majesty’s Postmaster-General. He introduced improvements in the Post Office such as the parcel post, postal orders and sixpenny telegrams. He was also an avid supporter of women’s rights and encouraged the Post Office to employ women. He married the renowned suffragist, Millicent Fawcett, in 1867.

More lovely flowers with the memorial to Lord Cheylesmore in the background …

This statue is in tribute to Sir Wilfrid Lawson, the 2nd Baronet probably best known as a temperance campaigner and radical, anti-imperialist wing of the Liberal Party. The statue depicts Lawson, standing as if about to speak while a member of parliament …

He was an extraordinary character and you can read more about him here.

I have always been fascinated by this memorial to the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade …

Do take a few minutes to read this article about them from the 20th Century Society Journal:

The Imperial Camel Corps were formed to patrol the western desert in the First World War and fought major campaigns in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine. Their job was to protect Allied troops (evacuated after the failure at Gallipoli) from risings by the Ottomans and Senussi confederation of tribes. The Senussi were eventually forced into submission late in 1916 by starvation, and by being denied the use of wells by camel corps units and light car patrols. The Camel Corps’ most famous moment was assisting Lawrence of Arabia to capture Jerusalem in the rebellion of 1916-18, although the damper weather meant many animals became victims of sarcoptic mange. The majority of the Infantry were Australian, some of whom were already experienced camel jockeys. The corps were so successful that they were expanded from four to eighteen companies. Six companies were formed from British Cavalry, two from New Zealand Cavalry. The corps were reorganised into four large battalions to fight the Turks, assisted by an artillery unit from Hong Kong and Singapore.

Always look after your camel …

A World War One Anzac Australian Camel Corps soldier giving his camel a drink of water from a chattu vase, 1916. You can find more images here and here.

By the end of the war 346 of their formation had died in action. The reality of the ultimate sacrifice, the names behind the numbers …

The nearby York Watergate is almost 400 years old. It was built in 1626 in the grounds of York House as a mooring point for the Duke of Buckingham’s boat or the boats of guests. As a result of the building of the Embankment, the river is now over 150 yards away …

The watergate around 1850 …

More flowers – couldn’t resist taking pics …

And now to more recent conflicts. These memorials are located at the far west end of the gardens near Westminster Underground Station.

The Korean War

Iraq and Afghanistan …

‘The boldest measures are the safest’ – The Chindit Memorial

The Fleet Air Arm

And finally, Queen Boudicca and her daughters tower over the tourists …

Wasn’t I clever to catch that seagull in flight!

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All Hallows by the Tower – an absolute treasure trove.

One of the aspects of this church that impresses me most is how it was reconstructed after direct hits by bombs during the Blitz.

The interior today …

The church was bombed on two occasions during the Blitz: first the east end was badly damaged by a bomb in December 1940, and three weeks later the whole building was gutted by incendiary bombs, leaving only the tower and outer walls standing. This photo from the 1947 publication The Lost Treasures of London by William Kent shows the devastation …

All Hallows by the Tower

Here it is last week on a wet and windy day looking from the east …

Before entering the church from this direction I suggest a short diversion.

On Tower Hill Terrace you will find this pretty sculpture. It’s called The Sea and incorporates a tribute to Sir Follett Holt, KBE, the first Chairman of the Tower Hill Improvement Trust, who died 20th March 1944 …

It is one of two gate posts – this is its partner …

The PMSA says ‘Each of these groups comprises two children with dolphins swimming around them. Their frolicking pagan style contrasts rather vividly with the relief of the Toc H Lamp, also by Cecil Thomas, on the east wall of All Hallows behind them’

The Toc H relief …

I walked down the little path alongside the west wall of the church …

Embedded in the wall was this memorial to Samuel Gittens MD. It has three little cherubs heads and refers to his parents ‘Samuel and Mary Gittens of Barbados’ …

Alongside the north wall is the ‘Secret Garden’ …

It is such a shame that, even though the church is right alongside the Tower of London, it doesn’t seem to get many visitors. Do visit if you have the opportunity.

Here are just a few of its treasures.

This is the tomb of the Reverend ‘Tubby’ Clayton CH MC who became vicar of the Church in 1922 and remained there until 1963. He is best known for his work initially as an army chaplain during the First World War and in particular the establishment of Talbot House, a unique place of rest and sanctuary for British troops. After the war the spirit and intent of Talbot House became expressed through the Toc H movement …

His effigy is one of the last works by Cecil Thomas, the ‘soldier sculptor’, and Tubby’s dog Chippie sits on a tassellated cushion at his feet …

Clayton owned a succession of Scottish Terriers, one of them a gift from the Queen Mother. All of them were called Chippie.

Another work by Thomas, the Forster Memorial …

The magnificent font cover is by Grinling Gibbons and dates from 1682 …

The present pulpit dates from around 1670 and is carved in the Gibbons style. It comes from the church of St Swithun’s, London Stone, which was destroyed by bombing and not rebuilt …

Above it is the tester, or sounding board, designed to represent three pilgrim shells associated with the pilgrimage of St James Compostella in Spain.

All Hallows is known as the seafarer’s church with strong connections to the Port of London Authority and to maritime history generally.

Mariners lost at sea with no known grave …

The stained glass windows, especially in the south aisle, also bear witness to the church’s close association with the sea and the river Thames …

There are also, as you might expect, some superb model ships …

And what about this, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s electrically heated crow’s nest from the ‘Good Ship Quest’ on which he died on 5 January 1922 while in harbour in South Georgia …

The man climbing to the crow’s nest in the picture is Frank Wild. He took over the leadership of the expedition after Shackleton died.

This picture was taken on the Nimrod Expedition (1907-1909). Wild is on the far left next to Shackleton. The other two men are Eric Marshall and Jameson Adams

The 16th century monument to the Italian merchant Hieronimus Benalius who lived in nearby Seething Lane and died in 1583. He left instructions for Masses to be said for his soul …

This wall monument contains the kneeling effigies of Francis Covell and his wife, each in long robes and with ruffs at the necks. They kneel facing one another, and probably originally had a desk between them which has disappeared …

In the Lady Chapel is the tomb of Alderman John Croke from 1477. It was destroyed during the war, but rebuilt and restored from the remaining fragments …

This is the formidable pillar monument to Giles Lytcott and his family …

The lower inscription …

Ten children but only three living at the time of the mother’s death. It didn’t matter how rich you were, child mortality was high.

You can read the full insciption here. Intriguingly it refers to an ancestor ‘poisoned in the Tower’.

A niche in the wall holds a 17th century wooden statue of St. Antony of Egypt …

There are several fine 18th century sword rests …

How fantastic that this brass from 1612 has survived to tell a sad story …

Here lyeth the bodie of Marie Bvrnell late wife of Iohn Bvrnell Citizen & marchant of Lon don ye only davghter of Mathew Brownrigg of Ipswich in ye covntye of Svffolk Esq. A woman Syncerely lyvinge in ye feare of god & dyinge con stantly in ye fayth of Christ Ihesvs she departed this lyfe ye 5 daye of Aprill 1612 beinge of yf age of 20 years havinge fynished in wedlock wth her sayd hvsband to yeafes & v moneths & bear ing him Issve one sone whereof she dyed in child bed & expecteth now wth ye Elect of god a Ioyfvll
resvrrection

Poor Marie. So typical of the time, a young woman dying in childbirth.

And now down to the crypt museum. A subject for a future blog …

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