Until 26th May 2024, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Artshines a light on artists from the 1960s to today who have explored the transformative and subversive potential of textiles, harnessing the medium to ask charged questions about power: who holds it, and how can it be challenged and reclaimed? Spanning intimate hand-crafted pieces to large-scale sculptural installations, this major exhibition brings together over 100 artworks by 50 international practitioners. Drawn to the tactile processes of stitching, weaving, braiding, beading and knotting, these artists have embraced fibre and thread to tell stories that challenge power structures, transgress boundaries and reimagine the world around them.
This review summed it up nicely for me -‘hybrid, heterodox, filled with strangeness and anger and beauty and horror, Unravel at the Barbican is often gorgeously excessive, at other moments quiet and private, not giving up its secrets until you linger’.
An extraordinary experience – not at all what I expected and highly recommended. I really wanted to ignore the ‘Do Not Touch’ signs!
Here are some of the images I took when I visited last Saturday.
Views from the upstairs gallery …
Yinka Shonibare’s figurative sculpture Boy On A Globe uses his signature Dutch Wax fabrics to address race, class and the legacy of imperialism by reflecting on colonial trade and the entangled economic histories embedded within fabrics …
Hannah Ryggen’s Blut im Gras (Blood in the grass), 1966, protests against the US war in Vietnam. The then-US president Lyndon B. Johnson is depicted here nonchalantly wearing a cowboy hat …
Arch of Hysteria by Louise Bourgeois uses a textile doll or model to convey a psychic experience of pain …
Myrlande Constant’s tapestries are drawn from Haitian Vodou traditions, her father was a Vodou priest …
Tau Lewis uses recycled fabrics and seashells in The Coral Reef Preservation Society, partly in homage to enslaved people who lost their lives in the Middle Passage, a stage of the Atlantic slave trade …
These larger-than-life, deity-like macramé sculptures by Mrinalini Mukherjee surge up from the ground as though organic beings. Drawing on nature and myriad artistic references, their knotted, rippling forms confound expectations of textiles as two-dimensional …
Sarah Zapata’s work embraces her identity as a Peruvian American – two cultures in which textiles are integral …
Solange Pessoa’s work, Hammock, was created in response to the land of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she grew up. Textiles, in the form of rags and canvas, act as a carrier for living and decaying matter …
Tracey Emin is here too with a hard hitting work, No chance – WHAT A YEAR, about being raped when she was a thirteen-year-old girl (Content trigger warning) …
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to visit this extraordinary building but the wait was certainly worth it. And entry is free!
You know you’re in for a treat when, at the entrance, you encounter these charming cherubs chatting to one another over a late 19th century telephone …
The way in …
Two Temple Place is ‘a dazzling neo-Gothic gem’ on Victoria Embankment …
Then the richest man in the world, William Waldorf Astor emigrated to England from America in 1891 and he spared no expense when work began on Two Temple Place in 1892. It was designed by one of the foremost neo-Gothic architects of the late nineteenth-century, John Loughborough Pearson, and served as an impregnable bolthole with the eccentric Astor’s private apartment and bedroom upstairs. Its main purpose, however, was to accomodate the people managing Astor’s vast estate.
The man himself …
If you love stained glass as much as I do this must be on your list to visit. Here are just a few of the many images I took as I walked around. I haven’t included captions since the ones at the venue are so detailed this blog would be far too long. So I hope these pictures are good enough to encourage you to visit in person …
At the bottom of the stunning staircase you encounter D’Artagnan …
And further up, Athos …
More breathtaking glass awaits you upstairs …
In the foreground is a modern piece from a special exhibition that is also resident at Temple Place for the time being …
Entitled ‘The Glass Heart’, the guide tells us that ‘this bold new exploration of glass in the UK brings together for the very first time rarely seen works from key UK collections, celebrating this remarkable material – unforgiving, fragile, strong, sustainable. The Glass Heart will make you think again about glass as we explore how it has illuminated and contained human narratives and ideas’.
Here are a few images from this exciting and unusual exhibition …
Well written and beautifully illustrated, at £10 the guide book is fantastic value for money and a great memento of your visit …
Two Temple Place is a truly magnificent one-off. Make sure you check on the website for opening times before you visit since these can vary : https://twotempleplace.org/
If glass is your passion, don’t forget you can watch the creative process in action at the London Glassblowing Gallery …
The items for sale there may change forever your perception of what glass can do and the way it can influence the way we see the world – a fantastic place to visit …
There are glass hearts like these in the Temple Place exhibition. If you visit see if you can spot them …
Regular readers will know that I love the Guildhall Art Gallery! It describes itself as one of the City’s best kept secrets and that certainly seems to be true since when I visit I often feel like I almost have the place to myself.
This week I popped in to see what was on display with particular reference to London. My usual favourites were there along with some interesting new additions.
Among the new arrivals was this painting by Doreen Fletcher (b.1952) 0f the Carlyle Hotel, Bayswater, around 1981 …
I think her paintings are fabulous and I am the proud owner of a signed copy of a book about her work published by The Gentle Author. I also own two of her prints, Still Standing – Commercial Road …
And Hot Dog Stand, Mile End …
You can read more about her here and here. The book I own is now out of print but you may be lucky and find a copy on eBay.
Another new arrival at the Gallery is this work by Grete Marks (1899-1990) entitled London Wharves (1972) …
I really like the textures of the material she has incorporated …
Margarete or Grete Marks was born in Cologne, Germany, where she studied at the School of Arts and later at Dusseldorf Academy before entering the Bauhaus School of Arts in Weimar in November 1920. At this time the Bauhaus was in its first incarnation under Walter Gropius and enjoyed enormous influence over the fine and decorative arts throughout Europe.
A painting by Sharon Beavan (b.1956) entitled View from Rotherfield Street to the Barbican (1989) …
I really get a sense of the higgledy piggledy that is London. You can read more about Sharon here.
Another newcomer I like is this oil on canvas Camberwell Flats by Night (1983) by David Hepher (b.1935) …
Hepher first started painting South East London’s high-rise architecture in the 1970s, inspired by the scale and impact of the tower blocks on the London skyline. Camberwell Flats by Night reflects Hepher’s sustained focus on residential architecture, and the details of ordinary, everyday life. He refers to his architecturally-themed works as landscape paintings, equating the powerful effects of the built environment on human experience to those of the natural world. He has said, “I think of myself as a landscape painter; I live in the city, so I paint the urban landscape.”
The Gallery acquired the painting in 2022 and it required some conservation. You can read about what that entailed here.
I looked up a few old favourites as well.
Two examples of City pomp and ceremony.
First, The Ceremony of Administering the Mayoralty Oath to Nathaniel Newnham, 8 November 1782. Nathaniel Newnham (before a sugar-baker and a founder of the private bank of Newnham) became Lord Mayor in 1782 and is seen here in his black and gold state robe being admitted in Guildhall on November 8 in the Silent Ceremony …
He faces William Bishop, the Common Cryer, who holds the book from which he reads his Oath with William Rix, the Town Clerk; behind stands Heron Powney, the Sword Bearer with the upraised Sword of State and beside him is William Montague, the Clerk of the Chamber of London …
The two small boys at the bottom right are nephews of the Lord Mayor …
The other is one of my favourites, William Logsdail’s painting entitled The Ninth of November 1888 …
Although it’s the Lord Mayor’s procession in this picture he is nowhere to be seen and the artist has concentrated on the liveried beadles (who he actually painted in his studio)…
… and the people in the crowd …
There is a minstrel in blackface with his banjo and next to him a little boy is nicking an orange from the old lady’s basket. On the right of the picture the man in the brown hat, next to the soldier with the very pale face, is Logsdail’s friend the painter Sir James Whitehead.
Naughty boy!
It’s a sobering thought that, not far away in the East End that afternoon, police were discovering the body of Mary Kelly, believed to be the last of Jack the Ripper’s victims.
A view of Blackfriars Bridge and the City from Lambeth about 1762 by William Marlow (1740-1813) who was, as can be seen, very influenced by Canaletto. The City’s wharves are viewed through the Portland Stone elliptical arches while St Paul’s stands out in the background. At the north end are the buildings of New Bridge Street and the spire of St Martin Ludgate. In the centre of the picture, a wherry conveys passengers and their belongings downriver …
The demolition of old London Bridge increased the flow of the river under Blackfriars Bridge, weakening it. It therefore had to be replaced with the current iron and granite bridge built between 1860 and 1869.
The Thames and Southwark Bridge in 1884 by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) are represented here on a quiet night under the moonlight. St. Paul’s prominent dome is seen on the right side, along with the spires of St Augustine, St Mary-le-Bow and St Antholin. A few vessels are in the dark on the left. The river and the sky are open pathways for the flood of light …
John Atkinson Grimshaw began working as a railway clerk for Great Northern Railway and had no formal training. Despite parental opposition, he took up painting at the age of twenty-five. In the 1880s, he began to paint London views, concentrating on moonlight subjects. From 1885 to 1887 Grimshaw had a studio at Trafalgar Studios, Manresa Road, Chelsea and knew Whistler well. It is said that Whistler confessed he had regarded himself as the inventor of nocturnes until he saw Atkinson Grimshaw’s ‘moonlights’.
The Monument from Gracechurch Street after Canaletto (artist unknown). We are looking towards Fish Street Hill and old London Bridge, with the Church of St. Magnus the Martyr in the background. Many reproductions were made after Giovanni Antonio Canal, who was colloquially known as Canaletto. These were in high demand after various British nobles and even King George III started collecting them …
This painting shows the wide thoroughfares of eighteenth century London and the bustle of the city. The Monument, designed by Dr Robert Hooke and the architect Christopher Wren, was erected between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the fire and the rebuilding of the City.
Finally, if you visit the Gallery now you will see a notice about the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch …
and the nearby garden …
It’s really nice to see some green space in the Guildhall courtyard …
And art by the children of serving families …
As the notice says, the painted dolls at the front of the garden represent unity and love for children everywhere who are suffering in times of conflict …
Oh, and by the way, one of Gallery’s most popular paintings is back on display after being featured in Tate Britain’s ‘The Rossettis’ exhibitions in London and the Delaware Art Museum. 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.
Often, just when I fear I am running out of subjects to write about, the Heritage Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery comes to my rescue and they have just done so again with their special exhibition focusing on Billingsgate Market.
A Survey of London by John Stow in 1603 described Billingsgate as follows: ‘… which … is at this present a large Watergate, Port or Harbrough for shippes and boats, commonly arriving there with fish, both fresh and salt, shell fishes, salt, Orenges, Onions, and other fruits and rootes, wheate, Rie, and garine of divers sorts …’.
Before you view the items on display, pause at the backlit ‘Agas’ Map of 1561 and seek out ‘Bylynges gate’ and the carefully drawn ships moored at the quayside …
The first cabinet …
On the left is the Liber Horn, a book made in 1311 by Andrew Horn (Chamberlain of the City 1320-1328). It’s a compilation of charters, statutes and customs written upon vellum in Norman French …
In May 1699 an Act of Parliament conferred special privileges on the market which was declared ‘… a free and open Market for all sorts of fish whatsoever …’ and the sale of fish six days in the week and mackerel for sale on Sundays’. The two documents in the centre of the case date from this period.
The order issued by the Court of Aldermen on 24 December 1699 details the hours of the fish market and the times at which the market bell was to be rung as well as commenting on ‘… Mischiefs and evil Practices …’. …
On the right is a petition by the fishermen to Sir Richard Levitt (sic), Lord Mayor, protesting at being ‘… hindered and oppressed by great vessels loaded with salt and oranges …’ and requests the dock be cleared for the petitioners’ vessels …
The market flourished and the 1830 map on the right illustrates the layout of the dock at that time …
The second cabinet …
The collection of tolls by the market authorities was recorded in volumes. These detail the payments raised on type of vessel and catch with expenses including (handwritten at the bottom of the page) an allowance for coal and candles and collecting bad fish …
Porters were licensed by the City of London to act as porter and ply for trade within the market and this volume records the details …
This is a close up of the entry for Edward Jenkins, the man whose entry is crossed out because of his death, showing his various changes of address over the years …
Licenses were issued to individuals confirming their ability to work …
There is also a nice selection of images for visitors to enjoy. Here are just a few …
The present building dates from 1876 and was designed by Sir Horace Jones, an architect perhaps best known for creating Tower Bridge but who also designed Leadenhall and Smithfield markets. Business boomed until 1982, when the fish market moved to the Isle of Dogs. The south side of the old market today …
I love the weathervanes …
Similar weathervanes adorn the new market buildings in Docklands but they are fibreglass copies.
I hope those of you who are regular readers don’t mind too much when I wander outside the bounds of the City when I think there is something interesting happening elsewhere, and in the case of the Wellcome Collection it’s only a few Tube stops away.
At the entrance to the Cult of Beauty exhibition …
The guide tells us that the exhibition explores notions of beauty across time and cultures. ‘Around the world, beauty is constantly seen as an ideal worthy of going to great lengths to achieve. But what are the driving forces that lead us to believe in a myth of universal beauty, despite its evolving nature?’
‘Featuring over 200 items, including historical objects, artworks, films and new commissions, the exhibition considers the influence of morality, status, health, age, race and gender on the evolution of ideas about beauty.’
Reproduction of the bust of Nefertiti, originally created circa 1354-1351 BCE …
‘An archytype of African feminine beauty’.
‘Beautiful features have long been seen as a gateway to the spiritual in different belief systems. The print of Krishna challenges Christian associations of beauty with morals such as chastity’ …
‘The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of multicultural and multi-ethnic identities, especially in areas where different religions and cultural traditions meet’ …
The ‘Esquiline Venus’ and the ‘Idolino’ or ‘Little Idol’ – First Century concepts of beauty reproduced in the late 19th century …
‘Husbands bringing their ugly wives to a windmill, to be transformed into beautiful women’ – German chapbook circa 1650 …
Trying to get that figure in shape …
It was not just women enduring torture …
A dandy being laced into a tight corset by two servants (1819).
Cosmetic entrepreneur Helena Rubenstein testing products in her Long Island Factory (1950s) …
The installation ‘Beauty Sensorium’ brings together historical references with reconstructions of Renaissance make-up recipes, inviting visitors to look, smell and touch …
Equipment to enhance appearance and fragrance …
More like a surgeon’s travelling kit …
‘Narcissister’s three-metre-tall hanging sculpture ‘(Almost) all of my dead mother’s beautiful things’ centres on the crushing weight of beauty ideals that are passed from one generation to another’ …
‘Makeupbrutalism’s multimedia installation ‘It makes no sense being beautiful if no one else is ugly’ encourages us to question our beliefs, confront our raw selves beneath social pressure and to peel back the layers of the beauty industry’ …
What represents beauty changes all the time …
This 1970s product made me smile …
And on the Underground going home later, I had to smile again when I looked up and saw this (plus ça change) …
It is a provocative and thoughtful exhibition and I enjoyed it very much.
Earlier this week I visited the recently opened Roman Wall exhibition in Vine Street. Entrance is free but you need to book a time slot online.
Looking down through a window near the entrance you get an excellent sense of Roman London’s street level …
Once inside the imposing nature of the wall itself is immediatly apparent…
The exhibition signage is first class throughout …
It is also complemented by Museum of London plaques …
Archaeoligical finds from the site (which served as a cesspit for many years) are beautifully displayed ..
As regular readers will know, I rather like quirky stuff, and some of the finds displayed fall into that category.
The paw prints on this tile are a cat’s …
The Romans brought cats with them to Britain although there is some evidence of domesticated felines before this time. Like modern cats, they knew no boundaries. When this tile was still soft and lying on the ground of the tile yard to dry, one of our cats’ ancestors strolled casually across it, leaving its territorial mark for posterity.
This rabbit skeleton has been dated to between 1760 to 1770 …
There are no visible butchery or skinning marks, so it was probably not kept for eating. It is likely that it was kept as a domestic pet, perhaps by the children of the family. Alongside it are the vertebrae and jawbones from a younger rabbit. These bunnies may have been much loved when alive. But having died, it appears that both were dropped unceremoniously into the cesspit in the backyard. Or maybe, horror of horrors, they fell in accidentally and drowned.
Of course I had to include this, a charmingly named ‘stool pan’ …
Another useful explanation …
Nice to see he’s wearing a decidedly modern-looking anti-Covid mask.
How the terraced houses on the site may have looked …
Some of the other artefacts on display include the following.
Pretty chinaware – someone must have been very unhappy when these articles were broken and had to be consigned to the rubbish pit. Or maybe they had just fallen out of fashion and were discarded …
Clay pipes galore …
A familiar brand …
Lots to see, very well displayed and explained …
As you leave you get a fine view of the outer face of the wall …
The last thing to admire is the artwork by Olivia Whitworth, the East London-based artist who creates wonderfully detailed illustrations …
If you are in ‘London Wall mode’, don’t forget there are two other wonderful examples nearby.
Just five minutes’ walk away at Cooper’s Row, round the back of a hotel, is an equally spectacular stretch of wall that is off the tourist trail. Here you can see the marks of former staircases and medieval windows cut through to create a rugged monument of significant height …
Also, alongside Tower Hill Underground Station, the Roman Emperor Trajan stands in front of another magnificent section …
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A property deed signed by William Shakespeare and a near-perfect copy of the First Folio are on display as part of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of one of the world’s most significant literary treasures
The City of London Corporation’s copy of the 1623 First Folio, which was owned by one-time Prime Minister, William Petty Fitzmaurice, and is now conserved at Guildhall Library, is one of the finest and most complete copies in the world …
The book was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. It’s a collection of 36 of his works and was brought together by two of his friends, John Heminge and Henry Condell under the full title of:
Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true originall copies.
As a tribute to their friend, Heminges and Condell wanted to put forward the best possible version of Shakespeare’s plays, so they used original prompt books, quartos, and original notes to collate the final collection.
The title page has an engraving of the playwright …
This is an important image since it’s one of the few portraits of Shakespeare to have been approved by those who had known him personally.
The parish register containing the entry for the burial of Edmund Shakespeare, William’s nephew, is also on display …
In the exhibition you will see John Keats’s facsimile of the First Folio, in which he wrote two poems, including ‘On Sitting Down To Read King Lear Once Again’, and which is open to the play’s first page …
In March 1613 William Shakespeare and three associates agreed to purchase the Gatehouse of the former Dominican priory in London known as Blackfriars from Henry Walker for the sum of £140. The indenture of bargain and sale is dated March 10. The purchasers also agreed to the mortgage shown here, dated March 11, for the same property, in the amount of £60, implying that the buyers put up only £80 at the time of sale. The document is signed by three buyers, William Shakespeare, William Johnson and John Jackson. The place set aside for the signature of John Heminges is left blank …
The thrill here, of course, is that this document contains one of the only six Shakespeare signatures known to exist. Here it is ..
My image is not great so this is a screenshot of a better one from the Internet …
The heroes of the story of Shakespeare’s plays and of the First Folio are John Heminge and Henry Condell without whom most, if not all, of his work would have been lost forever.
They were both buried at the church of St Mary Aldermanbury which was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and then rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. Unfortunately it was gutted during the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls intact. Rather unusually, in 1966 the remains of the church were shipped to Fulton, Missouri, USA. The church now stands as a memorial to Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech made at Westminster College, Fulton, in 1946.
Heminge and Cordell, however, have been honoured with a splendid memorial on the previous site of the church …
‘TO THEIR DISINTERESTED AFFECTION THE WORLD OWES ALL THAT IT CALLS SHAKESPEARE. THEY ALONE COLLECTED HIS PRINTED WRITINGS REGARDLESS OF PECUNIARY LOSS AND WITHOUT THE HOPE OF ANY PROFIT GAVE THEM TO THE WORLD. THEY THUS MERITED THE GRATITUDE OF MANKIND’
Incidentally, the Heritage Gallery in the Guildhall Art Gallery is a bit of a hidden treasure with ever-changing displays of great interest drawn from the City of London collections and archives. It also boasts a splendid back-lit copy af the Agas map of Early Modern London …
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Five City churches are currently hosting an exhibition of reproductions of paintings by firefighter artists along with contemporary photographs from the London Fire Brigade archive.
The works are displayed on pop-up screens. For example, this one is at
You will find details of participating churches at the end of the blog along with opening times.
Here I am going to publish examples of some of the work on display, starting with my favourite, Driving by Moonlight, by Mary Pitcairn …
It depicts an AFS volunteer, Gillian “Bobbie” Tanner, at the wheel of a truck. She was awarded the George Medal for bravery and the citation read: ‘On the night of 20 September 1940, Auxiliary G.K.Tanner volunteered to drive a 30 cwt lorry loaded with 150 gallons of petrol. Six serious fires were in progress and for three hours Miss Tanner drove through intense bombing to the point at which the petrol was needed, showing coolness and courage throughout‘.
During the Second World War, women joined the fire service for the first time as volunteers in the AFS working in a variety of roles ranging from control operators to dispatch riders and delivery drivers.
AFS women despatch riders around 1940 …
A 1941 oil painting by Reginald Mills of Mrs Kathleen Sayer an AFS Station Officer …
The Women’s Division of the AFS had its own leadership structure.
After the war Hailstone had a very successful career as a portrait painter. A gregarious, outgoing man, he went on to paint the last officially commissioned portrait of Sir Winston Churchill in 1955 and later members of the Royal family.
Here he is at work as a fireman circa 1940 attaching a hose to a fire hydrant …
Resting at a Fire by Reginald Mills, around 1941 …
These AFS firefighters are surrounded by rolled up hose, resting in the back of an appliance vehicle which pulls a trailer pump, while their colleagues in the background continue to fight a fire. You can see a church spire in the background.
Bells Down by Julia Lowenthal …
Julia Lowenthal’s drawings and paintings gave remarkable insights into life inside the fire stations during the Blitz. Unlike most of her fellow firefighter artists she worked primarily in pencil and watercolour. Lowenthal was based in Kilburn and most of her surviving work is of colleagues in the station, and often at rest. Her watercolour sketch Bells Down refers to firefighters being called to action by bells in their fire station.
At the top of a turntable ladder in Eastcheap directing water into a blazing building, terrifying …
Also terrifying, Run! by Reginald Mills ..
There are examples of extraordinary works by Paul Dessau. In one set, four scenes show different stages of the battle to conquer the flames, much in the style (if not the subject matter) of a Hogarth series. Look closely and you’ll see a monstrous form in each panel. In the first stage, termed Overture by the music-loving Dessau, the bombs begin to fall and a smokey menace looms large over the City …
In Crescendo, the flames take hold as a fiery giant smashes down buildings …
Rallentando, as the name suggest, shows the beast tempered, its infernal form withered but still intimidating …
In the final scene, Diminuendo, the foe lies vanquished amid the smoking rubble, the firemen victorious. Yet the creature has untold siblings who will return night after night to challenge the city’s protectors anew …
Cannon Street – also by Dessau …
Aftermath of a bombing raid near Cheapside with St Paul’s in the background …
Rescuing Horses by Reginald Mills …
Red Sunday, 29 December 1940 by W.S.Haines. Haines was a member of the London River Service and unlike other firefighter artists he was not working in the tight confines of the City of London. This meant he had the opportunity for more panoramic pictorial compositions. Here you can see St Pauls Cathedral and the spires of City churches, through the iconic silhouette of Tower Bridge …
The London Blitz lasted from 7 September 1940 until 11 May 1941 and between 7 September and 2 November heavy bombing continued every night except one. More than 20,000 Londoners were killed including 327 men and women from the fire service with over 3,000 seriously injured. The Germans’ key weapon in the Blitz was the incendiary bomb, a device designed not to explode on impact, but able to burn at 2,500 degrees. Thousands of these were dropped creating fires that threatened to overwhelm the capital.
The firefighter memorial opposite St Paul’s Cathedral …
Part is dedicated to the women who died whilst serving in wartime. The lady on the left is an incident recorder and the one on the right a despatch rider …
Fire in the City is open now and can be seen in the following churches:
St Mary-le-Bow: Monday to Friday, 7.30am – 6.00pm. Open weekends on an informal basis.
St James Garlickhythe: Monday to Wednesday, 10.00am – 4.30pm, Thursday, 11.00am – 3.00pm, Sunday: 9.00am – 1.00pm. Friday & Saturday, Closed.
St Mary Aldermary: Tuesday to Friday, 7.30am – 4.00pm
St Magnus the Martyr: Tuesday to Friday, 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sunday, 10.00am – 1.00pm (Mass at 11am)
St Stephen Walbrook: Monday to Friday, 10.30am – 3.30pm
(Venue details may be subject to change so it is advised to check individual church websites for the latest information). The exhibition will move to a second cluster of churches from Monday 23 October until the end of November (with selected venues hosting displays into December).
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If you want a real treat, do try to visit to the Guildhall Art Galley where, until 12th November, you can immerse yourself in a world of exquisite craftsmanship and historical significance at the Treasures of Gold and Silver Wire exhibition. This dazzling display of over 200 items – from centuries-old robes to contemporary jewellery – forms the finest collection of gold and silver wire objects to ever be brought together in an exhibition. The entrance fee is £10 and you can book online for a timed ticket.
The highlight for me was the Bacton Altar Cloth (1590-1610), the only surviving dress worn by Queen Elizabeth the First …
I spent a long time gazing at its exquisite workmanship and trying to spot little details such as the depiction of animals stitched into the fabric (there seem to be quite a few caterpillars) …
The Queen is seen wearing a similar dress in her Rainbow Portrait 1600-1602 …
Here are just a few of the other delights on show. The exhibition signage is excellent and very detailed so I won’t attempt to replicate it here.
Queen Mary’s 1911 coronation dress …
The Queen’s 1977 Silver Jubilee Cope …
Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Glove and its informative label …
Royal Regalia …
‘The Most Noble Order of the Garter Mantle with Badge, Cordons and Hood’ …
A seventeenth century burse, or bag, for carrying the Great Seal of England …
Crowns of the Master and Wardens of the Girdlers Company (15th and 20th century) …
The arts are represented.
A costume worn by Darcey Bussell in 2004 …
The cloak and crown worn by Helen Mirren as Cleopatra in 1982 …
Charles Dickens’s Court Suit and his dress sword, 1870 …
The Military …
There are unusual and unexpected items too.
The Fishmongers’ Pall 1512-1530 – used for covering the coffin of distinguished Liverymen …
Some detail …
A piece of Oliver Cromwell’s dressing gown …
And finally, the David Shilling Commemorative Hat …
It’s definitely one of the most interesting exhibitions I’ve seen in years and my pictures can’t really do it justice (and they only represent a small number of the 200-plus items on display).
If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …
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