Whenever I’m beginning to panic a bit about what I’m going to write about in my blog, the Guildhall Gallery comes to my rescue and it has done so spectacularly this week with its Beyond Bayeux exhibition …
As the website promises, you can: ‘Discover the stories woven into the past and the artists creating the tapestries of tomorrow, at this beautifully curated exhibition in collaboration with Dovecot Studios. Featuring more than 20 extraordinary tapestries created by the master weavers of world-renowned Dovecot Studios, in collaboration with leading artists including David Hockney, Yinka Shonibare, Alberta Whittle, Rachel Maclean, Tania Kovats, Hurvin Anderson and Farshid Moussavi, this major exhibition celebrates tapestry as a vibrant and evolving medium for the 21st century’.
It’s a fabulous collection – here are some highlights.
David Hockney in collaboration with Dovecot Studios: A Tapestry Made from a Painting, Made from a Painting of a Tapestry, Made from a Painting (1973) ..
It runs until 21 March 2027 and you can view on a ‘Pay What You Can’ basis.
In other news.
Couldn’t get tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition? Head north to the The Great North Museum where you can view an eight-metre-long embroidery that ‘chronicles the conquest of the British high street by Greggs’ most treasured (and tasty) artefacts, inviting you to look closer at the legacy that lives behind your everyday favourites’ …
‘The piece is rendered in authentic medieval style, complete with traditional border motifs and satirical Latin framing. The six chapters chart the Sausage Roll’s journey through decades of cultural change and quiet consistency’. For example, founder John Gregg riding through Newcastle on his trusty delivery bike, with the Tyne Bridge looming proudly in the background …
Post-war bakers perfecting the art of rolling golden, savoury comfort for a rebuilding nation …
Greggs of Gosforth shows lines out the door, much like today …
You can read more about this brilliant piece of marketing here and here.
When you leave the Guildhall Gallery, have a look at the bivalve shells (from creatures like oysters) trapped in the Portland stone since the Jurassic period over 100 million years ago …
There’s a nice little tour of the geology surrounding the Gallery in this YouTube video.
I don’t know if you agree, but I think these new City bollards look rather sinister …
Finally, in a nearby office, I noticed this space and its uplifting messages on the wall. I think it’s known as a ‘chill-out room’ where employees can retreat and relax if they are stressed out for any reason. I’ll let you decide whether they would have the desired effect on you if you were fed up …
Choose Happy!!
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I couldn’t think of a unifying theme for the blog this week so it’s going to be a collection of items from my various wanderings and travels. I hope you find some of them interesting.
I thought I’d start with the pointy sculpture on the south side of London Bridge …
Created in 1999, apparently its proper name is the Southwark Needle but, strangely, there is no plaque explaining its significance.
This has led to speculation. My favourite theory is based on what you would encounter as you approached London Bridge from the south in earlier, more brutal centuries. This is Claes Von Visscher’s Panorama of London dated around 1600 …
If you look in the bottom right hand corner …
Beheading was a common form of execution at the time and reserved for higher-born individuals since it was swifter and less barbaric than hanging or burning at the stake. Heads also became available when individuals suffered the terrible death of being hanged, drawn and quartered (usually for high treason).
The first head to be displayed in this way was the Scottish patriot and rebel William Wallace in 1305 after he had been hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield. Between then and 1678 when the practice was stopped, there was a near-permanent display of decapitated heads grinning down from their spikes that pedestrians would have passed beneath. There was a plentiful supply, a visitor in 1592 counted 34 ‘heads of persons of distinction’.
So one theory was that the spike was a gruesome reference to those times.
In fact, the giant stone splinter is an architectural marker. According to the excellent Look up London blog, it’s actually about following the line of the base of the sculpture. This gestures across the River Thames to St Magnus the Martyr Church which originally marked the North entrance to Old London Bridge …
Nowadays you’re welcomed by a City of London dragon (and maybe a friendly pigeon) …
If you cross the bridge and visit St Magnus, you can stand on the main pedestrian entrance to the old bridge …
As I walked through it I couldn’t help thinking about the thousands and thousands who preceded me. Were they heading into the City to make their fortune perhaps? Or maybe leaving in bitter disappointment.
Back on the bridge, I love the views looking along the Thames, even on a miserable day like this …
Southwark Cathedral with The Strata Building with its three wind turbines in the background.
Some interesting street art …
The Shard reflecting the sky …
Walking north, a building in Moorgate overloaded with symbolism …
Since 1893 this golden lady has been standing at the top of 13-15 Moorgate facing the Bank of England …
Her image is repeated on the side of the building …
This was originally the London headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Assurance Society. The lady comes from its coat of arms (granted in 1885) which show her holding a skull (mortality) in her left hand with a serpent (signifying wisdom) entwined on her right.
The building also incorporates an attractive set of figures representing Prudence, Justice, Truth and Thrift – presumably all Virtues that the Insurer would like to be identified with …
An angel extinguishes a torch …
A common sculpture in Victorian cemeteries. A lit torch normally symbolises life and truth. When an angel turns the torch upside down or puts out the flame, it signifies that the mortal life of the person has come to an end. Could this representation above the door have been intended as an elegant reminder to employees as to why life insurance was important to their customers?
The recent horrendous heat was not nice but there were some nice skies for photography.
This building is on the north side of Finsbury Square …
Formerly Triton Court, it’s now known as the Alphabeta Building. Many years ago I would sometimes travel by train into the now demolished Broad Street Station. As the train approached the terminus I could see from my carriage what looked like a little boy standing on a large ball at the very top of the building. It looked like he was waving at me!
Well, he’s still there …
Now, however, I know the statue standing on top of the globe is Mercury (Hermes) the messenger and God of profitable trade. It’s by James Alexander Stevenson and was completed in the early 1900s. Though it would be impossible to see from the ground it’s apparently – as with all Stevenson’s work – signed with ‘Myrander’ a combination of his wife’s name (Myra) and his middle name (Alexander). Sweet. The renovated building is quite stunning inside as you can see here.
Feeling adventurous, I caught the single decker 214 bus and headed towards Highgate. Here are some of the sights I saw along the way.
Great rogue apostrophe …
On reaching Camden Town, scary tongue symptoms at the Chinese clinic …
Interesting architecture of The Black Cap pub …
The Palladium of Drag! Welcome to all!
Read lots more in this fascinating BBC report here.
As I strolled through Highgate Village …
The cakes look nice too.
The Angel pub with its headless angel …
…and interesting blue plaque …
I love this anecdote from Ray Davies of The Kinks:
“We used to meet up in the Angel. I remember when a woman collapsed outside the pub one night. Graham was a trained doctor and ran out to help. He tore off the woman’s blouse and said don’t worry I’m a doctor, and she said, no you’re not, you’re a comedian!”
Lots of choice at U Dessert …
Card in a shop window that made me laugh …
This also made me smile …
A plaque commemorating a stone step that you can no longer see …
A post box from the reign of King George V (1910-1936) …
I know it’s old but it seems to have taken quite a beating. They must have some fearsome weather up here.
I turned right into Waterlow Park to pay my respects to the wonderful philanthropist Sir Sydney Waterlow …
He is prepared for inclement weather with his umbrella, hat and overcoat. In his left hand he is passing over the keys to the park for everyone’s enjoyment. A ‘garden for the gardenless’ as he put it.
Everyone knows the story of Dick Whittington, the poor lad who against all the odds became Lord Mayor of London. Trudging back home up Highgate Hill, disillusioned after not succeeding in the City, he heard the bells of St Mary-le-Bow ring out with the message “Turn again, Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London!” Gathering up his loyal cat, he headed back the way he had come, and the rest is history. Or not.
Although the story is a total myth, it burned itself into folklore so deeply that the point on Highgate Hill where he supposedly heard the bells is commemorated this charming little memorial …
Carved on the side of the stone facing the road are the dates of Whittington’s Mayoralties, the three Kings he served under and the year he was Sheriff …
It also records that the stone was restored by W Hillier in 1935.
You can read a comprehensive history of the stone and the cat here on the London Remembers website. I recall the cat (made from Irish limestone) being added in 1964 since I walked up the hill almost every day on my way to school. The cat also lives on in the signage of the nearby Whittington Hospital and local pub …
Whilst waiting for the bus home, I encountered this informal tree advertising …
‘Tommy’ will get into trouble if he’s not careful.
Finally, last Sunday, there was a celebration of Carnival at the Barbican …
… and I had the great pleasure of sharing a lift with some of the lovely cast …
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I’ve put on a ‘bit’ of weight lately and have been told that consistently walking 10,000 steps a day helps weight loss and general health. I don’t know whether that’s true, but it gave me an incentive to get out and explore. I thought walking from the Barbican to King’s Cross should suffice and also give me some blog material, which it duly did.
The first place I paused was Charterhouse Square, home to the lovely Art Deco block of flats called Florin Court, forever destined to be associated with Hercule Poirot’s flat in ‘Whitehaven Mansions’ ..
It has been described as ‘a rare example of a surviving, unaltered Art Deco/Streamline Moderne residential building’ …
Built between 1935 and 1937, the building’s original residents were local businessmen, who often needed to be at Smithfield Market in the early morning. Most of the flats were therefore intended to be bedsits. But for some of the wealthier, permanent residents, there were several attractive amenities including: a restaurant, a cocktail bar, a squash court, and even a parking garage for twenty cars. Flats at the top even had small roof gardens, which are still used today.
The original ground floor lobby had the Charterhouse coat of arms embedded in the marble floor but this area is now carpeted …
The local public space opposite the flats was being prepared for an event …
The classic red phone box nearby has been converted into a ‘Little Free Library’ …
If you know anyone who keeps insisting that London is a ‘very dangerous place’ please refer them to this photograph …
Also on the Square is, of course, The Charterhouse after which it takes its name. The original stone arch and wooden gate, set into the chequered flint and stone wall, are remarkable survivors which have stood here since construction in 1405 …
You can read more about this fascinating institution in my At the Charterhouse blog.
Charterhouse Mews, an atmospheric cobbled alleyway. Notice the stone setts on the ground with solid lines for carriage wheels to run over more comfortably for their occupants. …
I’m pretty sure that the decorations around the alley entrance and the door to the house next door are made of Coade Stone …
You can read more about the entrepreneurial Eleanor Coade in the brilliant Look Up London blog which you will find here.
Fantastic food with house Negronis for £5. Need I say more?
Cowcross Street was known as ‘Cow Cross’ until the end of the 18th century. You would think that Cow Cross got its name from cows crossing the street on their way to Smithfield market. But that wasn’t it at all. There used to be a large cross, like a big sign, set up where St John Street and Cowcross Street meet. This was the sign for the Smithfield Cow Market, which was a separate market from the main Smithfield Market which also traded in other livestock and horses. The cow market cross gave Cow Cross, and eventually Cowcross Street, their names. The street in 1870 …
Leading off the north side of the street is Peter’s Lane, named after the church which once stood nearby …
The Rookery is a boutique hotel. It was expanded in 1996/7 and a new brick tower was constructed. Artists Mark Merer and Lucy Glendenning cast several bulls’ and cows’ heads in glass-reinforced resin and placed them into the gables of the tower. It’s well worth strolling down the lane and having a look …
Peter’s Lane in 1867 …
Across the road back in Cowcross Street is Bouchon Racine, just voted the UK Restaurant of the Year …
If you manage to get a booking, see if you can get a table in the small terrace overlooking the street.
Farringdon Station moved to its current location on 23 December 1865 when the Metropolitan Railway opened an extension to Moorgate. It was renamed Farringdon & High Holborn on 26 January 1922 when the new building by the architect Charles Walter Clark facing Cowcross Street was opened, and its present name was adopted on 21 April 1936 …
From mid-1914, the Metropolitan Railway introduced its own version of the Underground roundel. This originally appeared as a blue station name plate across a red diamond and the diamond is still there, above the entrance …
The Zeppelin Building is a historic Victorian warehouse-style office space located at 59-61 Farringdon Road …
On September 8, 1915, the site was levelled by a German Zeppelin bombing. It was rebuilt two years later by John Phillips and a commemorative plaque recalls the event …
The building encloses an entrance to ‘The Drill Hall’ dated 1887 …
Designed by architect Alfred J. Hopkins, it was built between 1887 and 1888 for the War Office as the headquarters of the 2nd City of London Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1908, the volunteer corps became the 6th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment, also known as the City of London Rifles. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the battalion assembled and mobilised at the drill hall before departing for service on the Western Front. During the war, the building itself suffered damage in the 8 September Zeppelin raid …
During the mid-1930s, the City of London Rifles relocated as part of an anti-aircraft reorganisation, leaving the drill hall vacant. After the Second World War, the building became home to the 167th and 168th City of London Field Ambulance units of the Royal Army Medical Corps. It remained in military use until 1967, when another reorganisation led to its closure.
Today, much of the hall has been carefully restored …
An amusing warning sign that made me smile …
The Betsey Trotwood Pub …
Built in 1865 as The Butchers Arms, it was renamed in 1983 after the Charles Dickens character from David Copperfield. It was one of the first buildings constructed above the new Metropolitan Railway extension, sitting over tunnels for both the Underground and Thameslink lines. Some memorabilia from the pub website, ‘London’s only pub in the middle of the road’!
I reach the point where Farringdon Road seamlessly merges into King’s Cross Road.
Mount Pleasant Post Office has an important place in the history of postal services in the United Kingdom and its Mail Centre is one of Royal Mail’s largest and busiest sorting offices. For many years it has handled millions of letters and parcels, connecting people and businesses across the UK and around the world …
In 2017 Royal Mail sold off much of the site for redevelopment and I passed these new apartments on my walk …
If you need ventilation shafts on a development once linked to Royal Mail, what better than to make them look like pillar boxes …
The Union Tavern which dates from 1878 …
A face appears to emerge from the brickwork …
The sign reads:
THIS IS BAGNIGGE HOUSE NEARE THE PINDER A WAKEFEILDE 1680
The London historian Peter Jackson identified this tablet as the oldest piece of street advertising in the capital …
Having been captivated by the World Cup recently, I can’t help but think that the person represented in the tablet looks a lot like the brilliant Manchester City and Norway international footballer Erling Haaland …
Wacky signs in an optician’s window …
And by the door …
Redundant Police Station …
… and, next door, a redundant Courthouse …
The Victorians routinely built magistrates’ courts physically attached or immediately adjacent to police stations. This combined approach—often referred to as a “lock-up and justice room”—was an administrative strategy to ensure suspects could be held in the police cells overnight and marched directly into court the next morning without logistical complications.
Derby Lodge, in nearby Britannia Street, is a Grade II listed block of Victorian-era social housing. Originally built around 1865 by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, these six-storey philanthropic tenement buildings were designed to provide quality housing for working-class railway families …
I really enjoyed looking at these models on display at a local architects’ firm …
London is full of spooky little alleyways …
Finally my destination looms into view …
The St Pancras Station and Hotel. How extraordinary to think that there were once plans to demolish this building …
Looking at its design, it still seems strange that the King’s Cross Station building is actually older than the St Pancras one (1852 versus 1868) …
I was once told that the King’s Cross ‘Lighthouse’ was built by a retired sea captain to remind him of his career …
According to my Smartphone that was a walk of 9,800 steps, so now I’m perfectly justified in taking the Tube home (it must be at least 200 steps from Tube to flat!).
Out for a paddle with mum. The Barbican ducklings are growing up and thriving …
And now a different variety of quackers.
I spent the weekend in the lovely village of Chiseldon and, when going to buy a paper, I looked up and saw a thatched roof with a delightful decoration …
Initially there was a pigeon who looked like he wanted to join in …
And then proceeded to show no respect whatsoever …
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