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London On The Ground
Aug 10, 20246 min read
St Bartholomew's Hospital: see conservators at work in the 18th century North Wing
See paintings by William Hogarth and climb the scaffolding to admire the Great Hall's stucco ceiling. The 18th century North Wing of St...
267 views3 comments
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London On The Ground
Aug 5, 20244 min read
Queenhithe: one of London's oldest landmarks
A mosaic at the ancient harbour illustrates London's history since Roman times. Queenhithe is the only remaining inlet of the Thames in...
84 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Jul 28, 20245 min read
Serenity in the City: Karin Jonzen's sculptures
Four works by the 20th century sculptor in the City of London. One of the pleasures of walking around the Square Mile is the wide variety...
132 views2 comments
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London On The Ground
Jul 21, 20246 min read
Islington Cattle Market: lost secret of Essex Road
The challenger to Smithfield closed in 1837 after less than a year. A couple of years ago, at one of the excellent exhibitions at the...
88 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Jun 29, 20241 min read
Ancient buildings of John Thomas Smith's London
Late 18th century engravings of London buildings that were already old then (spot the few that remain today!). John Thomas Smith captured...
110 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Jun 3, 20243 min read
Walking in Geoffrey Fletcher's London: Islington and the City
See some of the London that the artist and writer feared was disappearing in the 1960s and 1970s. Best known for his 1962 book The London...
111 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
May 27, 20243 min read
Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's
Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's. The carving, in a hidden City of London alleyway, represents the Four Elements.
166 views1 comment
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London On The Ground
May 12, 20244 min read
Art on a plate: Temple Bar's hidden treasures
Unique, architect-designed plates recognise support for the Architects Benevolent Society. City of London livery companies are known for...
134 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Apr 29, 20243 min read
The Brunswick Centre, a pioneer in 20th century architecture
The Bloomsbury structure has proved highly influential, but is it modernism, brutalism or something else? The Brunswick Centre is a...
1,409 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Apr 20, 20248 min read
Arsenal's Art Deco Highbury, Herbert Chapman and me
The North London stadium was unique in football architecture, motivated by an innovative manager and inspiring generations of Arsenal...
268 views1 comment
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London On The Ground
Apr 13, 20247 min read
'Work' by Ford Madox Brown, a painting to rival a Dickens novel
The artist tackles Victorian social attitudes, the class divide and urbanisation in this Hampstead scene. On a visit to Manchester last...
84 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Apr 8, 20245 min read
Poster art and design on the London Underground
A personal selection from the London Transport Museum. The London Transport Museum's Global Poster Gallery, which only opened in October...
323 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Mar 25, 20242 min read
Old houses of John Thomas Smith's London
Engravings of London of more than 200 years ago. John Thomas Smith was an artist, engraver and writer who captured London in the late...
251 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Mar 16, 20245 min read
Senate House: Stalinist or Art Deco?
The University of London's 1937 landmark by Charles Holden: views differ. Senate House in Bloomsbury is the administrative centre of the...
216 views3 comments
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London On The Ground
Mar 4, 20245 min read
St Olaf House: an Art Deco classic at Hay's Wharf
Striking 1930s entrance hall and staircase, sculpted river front panels and other fine architectural details. I recently took some...
347 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Feb 24, 20246 min read
The Royal Exchange frieze: a freeze frame of history
Sculptures on the Victorian building tell of the City of London's past It is easy to miss the sculpted details on the the Royal Exchange,...
140 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Feb 17, 20243 min read
Ward Lock's City of London 1929
A 95 year old illustrated guide book shows many recognisable views. Ward, Lock & Co began publishing a series of illustrated guide books...
92 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Feb 11, 20246 min read
The Old Operating Theatre, Europe's oldest surviving surgery room
Head and abdominal surgery and amputations took place without anaesthetics or antiseptics. The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb...
423 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Feb 2, 20246 min read
Temple Bar Memorial: Victorian delights you may not have noticed
The fearsome dragon is impressive, but the plinth contains hidden treasures. Temple Bar Memorial, where The Strand becomes Fleet Street,...
117 views0 comments
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London On The Ground
Jan 27, 20244 min read
St George the Martyr Southwark, London's first St George church
Its 900 years feature Henry V, Dickens, Livery Companies - and what a ceiling! The foundation stone of today's church of St George the...
315 views1 comment
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