Yuko Mohri in Concert – what’s the background to the exhibition? I don’t think I can do better than (lazily!) reproduce the explanation at the entrance …
In Mohri’s ongoing Decomposition series (2021-), sensors plugged in to ripening fruit read the fruits’ changing moisture levels, converting their electrical resistance into sound and light. In The Curve, Mohri pairs the fruit with salvaged Barbican streetlamps, reflecting on the entangled lifecycles of organic and inert matter, while eroding the boundary between the gallery and the natural and built environments outside …
Two more sections are entitled Urban Mining …
And Moré Moré (Leaky) …
Entry is free, as is the invaluable exhibition guide …
A quite extraordinary visit to The Curve, I really enjoyed it …
In other news.
A while ago I wrote about my excursion down Sherriff Road, West Hampstead, just across the road from West Hampstead Underground Station. I included a picture of this mural but didn’t include an explanation. Here are both now …
One of those images where you just grab the moment …
The Bank Underground roundel and St Stephen Walbrook, built by Sir Christopher Wren between 1672 and 1679 after the Great Fire of London destroyed its medieval predecessor. Wren used the project as a testing ground for his plans for St Paul’s Cathedral, its defining architectural feature being Britain’s first domed ceiling …
In the background, by way of contrast, the 912 foot 22 Bishopsgate with its public viewing gallery …
Do pop in to the church if you have the chance. When I visited in 2014, I was stopped in my tracks by this monument to John Lilburne (d.1678), citizen and grocer, of the Lilburn family of Sunderland, and his wife Isabella. It’s the earliest monument in the Church …
I loved the little standing figures of the couple, he with cloak and long flowing hair above a tunic, with big cuffs and slender shoes, she a slim figure with long, flaring skirt, puffed out bodice and drapes over and behind her head. A charming pose with her arms crossed in front of her.
But what really caught my eye was the memento mori, a sculpture of a woman dancing with Death, who is a skeleton wearing a long skirt …
Inside a glass case you’ll see this famous phone …
One evening last week, I was looking at the church from the vantage point of Gilbert Bridge …
And then a little later from the terrace …
… and started wondering why there were so many street lamps in such a relatively small space .
I went and had another look at them in daylight. There are 17 in all, here is a selection …
According to the excellent Ian Visits blog, these street lamps are the original gas lamps used on the approach roads to Tower Bridge. The bridge was lit by 17 free-standing street lamps and 35 lamps mounted onto the northern balustrade. In May 1966 the last gas lamps on the balustrades were switched to electric, and the old street lamps were replaced with modern electric street lights.
The old freestanding gas lamps had to be removed, but what to do with them? Well, just up the road, the new Barbican estate was under construction, so what better than to decorate the place around the church with some surplus Victorian lamps? So here they are today.
Outside the south side of the church is this family grave marker which, I am sure, most people stroll past without a second glance …
It is, in fact, the final resting place of an extraordinary man, Sir William Staines.
The Lord Mayors of London website describes him thus: ‘He began life as a bricklayer’s labourer, and by persevering steadily in the pursuit of one object, accumulated a large fortune, and rose to the state coach and the Mansion House’.
Just inside the entrance to the church you will find this touching memorial …
And here is the man himself …
As the Lord Mayor website says, Staines had extremely humble beginnings working as a bricklayer’s labourer, but eventually accumulated a large fortune which he generously used for philanthropic purposes. He seemed to recall his own earlier penury when he ensured that the houses he built for ‘aged and indigent’ folk would have ‘nothing to distinguish them from the other dwelling-houses … to denote the poverty of the inhabitant’.
His portrait held at the Guildhall Art Galley (not on display at present) …
British History Online records an encounter he had with the notorious John Wilkes who referred rather rudely to Staines’ original occupation …
The alderman was an illiterate man, and was a sort of butt amongst his brethren. At one of the Old Bailey dinners, after a sumptuous repast of turtle and venison, Sir William was eating a great quantity of butter with his cheese. “Why, brother,” said Wilkes, “you lay it on with atrowel!”
John Milton (1608-1674), the poet and republican, is perhaps the most famous former parishioner of St Giles and his statue stands by the south wall of the church …
It’s made of metal, which means it is one of the few memorials in the church that survived the bombing in the Second World War. It is the work of the sculptor Horace Montford (c1840-1919) and is based on a bust made in about 1654.
He used to be outside and was blasted off his plinth during the bombing …
There is also this commemorative plaque …
And a bust which clearly indicates his later-life blindness …
Milton was buried in the church next to his father.
Notwithstanding the generous memorials to the great and the good, I was captivated by this modest plaque on the south wall …
An attorney at law who obviously believed in brevity. No Latin exhortation of his virtues, no figures of a grieving widow and children, only the important facts and the bald, concluding statement ‘That is all’.
Monuments include one to John Speed. He was born at Farndon in Cheshire in 1552 and followed his father’s trade as a tailor until nearly fifty. He lived in London (probably in Moorfields) and his wife Susanna bore him twelve sons and six daughters. His passion in life, however, was not tailoring; from his early years he was a keen amateur historian and map maker, producing maps for the Queen and the Merchant Tailors Company, of which he was a Freeman. He joined the Society of Antiquaries and in 1597 his interests came to the attention of Sir Fulke Greville, who subsequently gave Speed an allowance for his research. As a reward for his earlier efforts, Queen Elizabeth granted him the use of a room in the Custom House …
Here’s his map of England (note the Irish Sea, the British Sea and the German Ocean!)…
The oldest monument is that of Thomas Busby. A 19th century guide to the church describes him and his memorial as follows …
… a rich cooper who died in 1575. His painted figure shows him in a black coat, his face full of benevolence, and his epitaph tells us that he gave the poor of Cripplegate every year four loads of the best charcoal and 40 dozen loaves.
Alas the Blitz ensured that only his bust with its benevolent face remains …
There is this intriguing wall tablet …
All I can find out is this little bit of information about the peacocks: The peacock in his pride is found in period armoury, in the arms of Halle, Switzerland, c.1340. This couple must have been well off but they were unable to prevent their children dying young.
Nearby there is also a lovely 19th century brass lectern created in memory of Lancelot Andrewes …..
The East Window was designed by Gerald Smith of the Nicholson Studios, a London-based stained glass studio, which made the window in 1960. The firm’s output covered the years of restoration following both World Wars. The work follows the pattern of the medieval window, of which traces came to light as a result of war damage. The design incorporates many figures of historical significance to the church, as well as the instruments of the crucifixion at the top …
St Giles is there, of course. He is traditionally depicted with a hind and there are various stories as to why that should be so. According to a 10th-century biography, Giles was an Athenian from a wealthy family who gave away his inherited wealth, fled to France and made himself a hermitage in a forest near the mouth of the Rhone, where, we are told, he lived on herbs and the milk of a hind. This retreat was finally discovered by the hunters of the King of the Franks, who had pursued the hind to its place of refuge. An arrow shot at the deer wounded Giles instead, as he put out his hand to protect the deer and was himself speared by the arrow …
Part of the medieval church can be still be seen on the right of the window, where it has been deliberately exposed for visitors to see. Here is the sedilia, where the priests sat, and the piscine, used for washing communion vessels. The tiles in the arch here are of Roman origin …
The Roman tiles …
The west window was designed by the Faircraft Studios and installed in 1968. In the centre is the coat-of-arms of the City of London, which is flanked on its left by the coat-of-arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and on its right by that of the Bishop of London. In the lower frame, from left to right, are the coats-of-arms of Robert Glover, Somerset Herald of Arms in the reign of Henry VIII, who was buried in the church; of John Milton; of the Earls of Bridgewater; Oliver Cromwell, and Sir Martin Frobisher. There were ten Earls of Bridgewater and three Earls of Kent buried in the church …
Nearby is this plaque dedicated to a pair of twins ‘respected and beloved by all who knew them’ …
They were joint secretaries to the Cripplegate Savings Bank …
Established in 1819, it became the Cripplegate Bank Limited in 1879. Renamed again in 1900 as London, Commercial & Cripplegate Bank Ltd it was acquired by the Union Bank of London Limited later in the same year (and was eventually swallowed up by NatWest).
As you leave you can say ‘goodbye’ to St Giles. He’s just above the north door, hind at his side. You can also see the scorch marks from the incendiary bombs dropped during the Blitz when even the stone caught fire …
He is depicted with a crutch, as it is thought he was lame …
I am indebted to the really helpful History section of the St Giles website for much of the blog. I strongly recommend you visit it, if only to watch the fascinating YouTube film of the City ruins in 1956.
The Church is open all day, every day, for daily services, prayer, and a whole host of community events, concerts, and art exhibitions throughout the year. Do pop in if you are passing, it’s a lovely, friendly church. And even more impressive is how it has maintained this atmosphere given its near total destruction in the Blitz. The following photo taken in the days following the raid on the 29th December 1940 shows the damage to the interior of the church …
Since the walls and tower survived a service was possible with the parishioners able to look straight up to the sky …
The interior of the church today …
In the words of the modest Mr Stagg, “That is all”.
In other news.
Passing through Hackney this week I noticed this heart-touching poster. Usually it’s cats, but here …
Seriously, however, having lost a pet myself, I do hope that he’s found.
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This resembles a country estate. Where do you think it is?
An elegant family home overlooks the carefully landscaped gardens …
The coat of arms of the Bute family who acquired the lease to the house and gardens in 1889 …
Classy statuary …
Pretty views into the distance …
Well, you may be surprised to find out, as I was when I visited, that it’s a little hidden enclave in Regent’s Park. It is very easy to miss the entrance with its discreet signage …
The statue above is entitled The Goatherd’s Daughter. It’s a Grade II listed bronze of a woman carrying a young goat and was erected in honour of Harold and Gertrude Baillie Weaver by the National Council for Animal Welfare in 1932. Designed by Charles Leonard Harwell, it won him the Royal British Society of Sculptors Silver Medal. The inscription reads: “To all the Protectors of the Defenceless”.
This sculpture by Unus Safardier (b. 1968) is entitled The Awakening and is inscribed on the plinth “In fond memory of Anne Lydia Evans 1929-1999 who shared the secret of this garden” …
Anne was a local GP who, in 1980, took a year off to become professor of family health at the American University in Beirut. After witnessing the ferocity of the war in Lebanon, she was drawn, when she returned to London, to work with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.
The Statue above the pond is Hylas and the Nymph by Henry Pegram, completed 1922 and installed here in 1933 …
You can read more about the work and see more images here.
A beautiful place for calm and contemplation …
Incidentally, just inside the entrance is this memorial to the journalist Anne Sharpley (1928-1989) …
A true Fleet Street character. According to her Wikipedia entry, she reputedly told Ann Leslie that a female foreign correspondent should: ‘First, sleep with the resident Reuters correspondent and then with the chief of police. That way you’ll pick up stories before anyone else’. She was known for scooping other reporters with her account of Winston Churchill‘s funeral, by vandalising a telephone after filing it, thereby delaying her rivals’ reports. At work in the newsroom, reportedly Randolph Churchill nicknamed her ‘Shapely Sharpley’ …
It was originally built in 1818 by John Raffield and was the second villa in the park to be occupied. In 1847 it belonged to the wealthy and eminent Goldsmid brothers and was greatly enlarged by Charles Barry. In 1889 the lease was acquired by the 3rd Marquess of Bute, who commissioned Robert Weir Schultz to improve the garden layout. The building was later used as a hospital for disabled officers during the First World War, it was the Headquarters of St. Dunstan’s from 1921-1937 and the Institute of Archaeology 1937-58. An image from the late 1940s …
It is now a private residence, with public access to the gardens. I strongly recommend reading more about its fascinating history as a hospital and a rehabilitation centre here.
It was a nice surprise to find that Frieze Sculpture had returned to the park and will remain there until 1 November 2026. It is its fourth year curated by Fatoş Üstek and includes 11 leading international artists whose work will be sited throughout gardens.
Here is a selection.
I shall publish a few more images next week.
I loved the shape of this old tree …
As seen from the Regent’s Park Inner Circle on the way to the St John’s Garden, Cotoneaster rothschildianus, an semi-evergreen shrub or small tree famed for its clusters of creamy-yellow berries …
And Amaranthuscaudatus …
An eye-catching annual plant famously known by the common names love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, cat’s tail and, apparently, ladies’ riding whip (!).
In other news.
Am I weird for really liking these?
Big slabs of chocolate. My mum used to make a version of the cornflake one (happy days) …
The seriously posh and French Ladurée at Broadgate …
Closer to home, a Barbican artist at work …
At Moorgate station …
Professor Google tells me ‘A Schweerbau rail grinder is a specialised compact maintenance machine used to profile, smooth, and remove surface defects or corrugation from railway tracks’.
Love this mad character. Who says the Germans don’t have a sense of humour …
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