The Cosmic House is the first Post-Modern house in the UK to be given Grade I listed status (meaning it must be preserved). Once the private residence of the late Maggie and Charles Jencks, the eccentric home opened to the public in September 2021 as a "cultural laboratory" and museum. From the outside, it doesn't necessarily stand out from all of the other large brick and … [Read more...] about Exploring The Cosmic House in London
Buildings
Exploring Sutton House National Trust in Hackney – A Tudor Wonder
Sutton House is a National Trust property in Hackney. That would be unusual enough but it's a Grade II* listed Tudor manor house. Yes, there's a Tudor house in east London. Despite its misleading Georgian frontage, this 16th-century home has nearly 500 years of history. A rare example of a Tudor red-brick house, it was built by a courtier of Henry VIII. It has been home to a … [Read more...] about Exploring Sutton House National Trust in Hackney – A Tudor Wonder
National Portrait Gallery will get new wing as part of refurbishment
The National Portrait Gallery in London will get a new wing as part of its refurbishment when it reopens in 2023. The Blavatnik Wing will host more than one hundred years of British portraits in nine galleries as part of the gallery’s Inspiring People project. Paintings of naturalist Charles Darwin, and writers Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, the Bronte sisters, and … [Read more...] about National Portrait Gallery will get new wing as part of refurbishment
Exploring Leighton House Museum – London’s Palace of Art
Leighton House Museum is the former home and studio of the leading Victorian artist, Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830–1896). When you arrive the formal red brick exterior leaves you unprepared for the 'Palace of Art' inside. About Leighton House Designed by his friend, the architect George Aitchison RA (1825–1910), this is the only purpose-built studio-house open to the … [Read more...] about Exploring Leighton House Museum – London’s Palace of Art
Big Ben to be put back to GMT for first time after huge restoration
All four faces of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament’s clock tower, will be put back to GMT this weekend for the first time in five years, as the country starts to head towards winter. The clock’s original Victorian mechanism was renovated as part of a huge restoration project, and the scaffolding surrounding the tower has gradually been brought down since December … [Read more...] about Big Ben to be put back to GMT for first time after huge restoration
Exploring The Red House – William Morris’s Iconic Arts and Crafts Home in London
Red House is a significant Arts and Craft house in southeast London that was designed for William Morris. A lavishly decorated and thoughtfully designed villa, it is now a National Trust visitor attraction. Red House lay along the ancient pilgrims' route to Canterbury and Morris cast himself in the role of genial Chaucerian host. He encouraged a stream of artistic … [Read more...] about Exploring The Red House – William Morris’s Iconic Arts and Crafts Home in London
Open House London – Exploring The Fog House in Clerkenwell – A Very Private Home
Each September, Open House London offers opportunities to visit buildings that are often not available to the general public. The Fog House was an excellent example of what makes Open House so wonderful. It is someone's home, so we would never get inside without the generosity of the owner and the Open House team's negotiations. This converted and extended small industrial … [Read more...] about Open House London – Exploring The Fog House in Clerkenwell – A Very Private Home
Open House London: Exploring 75 Grosvenor Street and its amazing roof gardens
Open House London is an annual architecture festival that allows us to go inside buildings that are often unavailable to the public. I like to visit a variety of places which is how I discovered this Mayfair office. You could walk past and think it's just another row of Georgian townhouses but going inside, I saw the incredible work of the developers transforming three … [Read more...] about Open House London: Exploring 75 Grosvenor Street and its amazing roof gardens
Exploring Euston Fire Station during Open House London
Open House London gives an annual opportunity to visit buildings that are not usually open to the public. I've often walked past Euston Fire Station and wondered what it was like inside, so I booked a tour. Euston Fire Station is a Grade II listed late Victorian red brick building. It's in the Arts and Crafts architectural style, dressed with Portland stone. It is close to … [Read more...] about Exploring Euston Fire Station during Open House London
City of London urged to reconsider plans to demolish historic Barbican buildings and Museum of London
A campaign has been launched urging the City of London Corporation to reconsider its decision to demolish historic buildings, including the Museum of London, in the capital’s Barbican. The Museum of London is in the process of moving to a new location in the old Smithfield Market and the old museum will be going vacant. The City of London Corporation has submitted plans to … [Read more...] about City of London urged to reconsider plans to demolish historic Barbican buildings and Museum of London
Scaffolding Begins to Come Down on Big Ben and plans to chime on New Year’s Eve as restoration nears its end
Big Ben will bong on New Year’s Eve, with all faces of the Houses of Parliament’s famous clock tower on display for the first time in four years. The bell will be struck 12 times to mark the start of 2022, as a project to restore the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower nears its end. In the days running up to December 31, the bell will be heard chiming, as engineers … [Read more...] about Scaffolding Begins to Come Down on Big Ben and plans to chime on New Year’s Eve as restoration nears its end
African-American abolitionists who escaped slavery honored with blue plaque in London
A married African-American couple who escaped enslavement in the US and fled to England in the mid-19th century has been honored with a blue plaque at their former London home. Ellen and William Craft lived at 26 Cambridge Grove, a mid-Victorian house in Hammersmith, after arriving in the country in December 1850. They had made a dangerous 1,000-mile journey from Georgia … [Read more...] about African-American abolitionists who escaped slavery honored with blue plaque in London
Princess Diana honored with blue plaque at her former London flat
Diana, Princess of Wales, has been honored with a blue plaque at her former London flat. The princess lived at 60 Coleherne Court, a property in a mansion block close to the fashionable King’s Road in Chelsea when she settled in the capital as a young woman before marrying the Prince of Wales in 1981. She shared the flat with a number of girlfriends from 1979 to 1981, … [Read more...] about Princess Diana honored with blue plaque at her former London flat
Open House London: Exploring The Old Deanery – City of London
The Old Deanery is a Grade I seventeenth-century mansion house close to the West Front of St Paul’s Cathedral. Set back with its own courtyard, it is among a small handful of surviving secular buildings erected in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666. It is the office of the Bishop of London and recently underwent restoration. It's not somewhere we could usually see inside, … [Read more...] about Open House London: Exploring The Old Deanery – City of London
Open House London: Exploring Temple Church in the City of London – Built by the Knights Templar
I have meant to visit the Temple Church for years, so I was grateful for the encouragement when it was included in the annual Open House London. Regularly cited as a 'hidden gem,' this City of London church actually does fit the bill. It's certainly challenging to find and is a delight once discovered. The church sits between Fleet Street and the River Thames, within the … [Read more...] about Open House London: Exploring Temple Church in the City of London – Built by the Knights Templar
Ten Interesting Facts about Admiralty House
Admiralty House is part of the larger Whitehall government complex and has long had an association with the power of the United Kingdom government. Once the home to the First Lord of the Admiralty, today it serves as an event location and residential flats, but its history is more than being a place to live or hold a party. This remarkable 18th Century building has plenty of … [Read more...] about Ten Interesting Facts about Admiralty House
Ten Interesting Facts about St. James’s Palace
The most senior Royal Palace, St. James’s Palace, has been the seat of the British monarchy for centuries even though the Sovereign does not live there. As such, the gorgeous Tudor-style building has been a key part of history since its construction and has many interesting stories to tell. We’ve collected at least ten of these into the facts below, and they range from the … [Read more...] about Ten Interesting Facts about St. James’s Palace
Laura’s London: Exploring Copped Hall – A Stunning Abandoned Stately Home in Epping Forest
During lockdown, I've been enjoying getting to know Epping Forest. It's truly vast and stretches across northeast London and out into the Essex countryside. A friend gave me a tip to find a disused stately home that had been left empty but was now being renovated. Copped Hall is near to Epping in Essex. It is an 18th-century mansion situated on high ground at the end of a … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Exploring Copped Hall – A Stunning Abandoned Stately Home in Epping Forest
Through the Lens: Behind the Scenes of London’s (Closed) Theatres From New London Theatres Book
London photographer Peter Dazeley's beautiful photos of London's Theatres were released in a book a few years ago and as a fan of London, architecture and pretty pictures, I loved the book. Well, this year, the publisher has issued a new edition, with ten additional theatres included. Peter has contacted us and offered to let us share a selection of the pictures from this … [Read more...] about Through the Lens: Behind the Scenes of London’s (Closed) Theatres From New London Theatres Book
Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read
Editor's Note: You're going to want to brew a cuppa and read this one! While it has a much longer history, Buckingham Palace only became the London residence of Britain's sovereigns in 1837. The Palace is the administrative headquarters of the monarchy and the royal family. (The Queen refers to Buckingham Palace as "the office" as it's where she works rather than … [Read more...] about Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read
STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE: London’s Gothic Revival Masterpiece
Created by Horace Walpole as his summer retreat riverside villa, Strawberry Hill House is Britain’s finest example of Georgian Gothic Revival architecture. After a £10 million repair and restoration programme, twenty rooms now appear as Walpole left them when he died at the end of the eighteenth century. Throughout his 50 years at Strawberry Hill, between 1747 and 1797, Horace … [Read more...] about STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE: London’s Gothic Revival Masterpiece
THE ALBERT MEMORIAL: A Close-up Look at Victoria’s Tribute to Her Prince
When Queen Victoria's husband died unexpectedly, it was not just the monarch that mourned as the nation too was consumed with grief along with a certain amount of guilt at not having appreciated Prince Albert and everything he had done. A grand and complex memorial was built to place Albert in the centre of arts and sciences of the 1860s. PRINCE ALBERT Prince Albert of … [Read more...] about THE ALBERT MEMORIAL: A Close-up Look at Victoria’s Tribute to Her Prince
Top Ten Things to See and Do at Westminster Abbey
Known formally as the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, Westminster Abbey has been at the center of Christian life in London since the 7th Century when the first church was founded on the site. The Abbey got its start when Saint Dustan and King Edgar founded a Benedictine community there around the 960s or 970s. Edward the Confessor then began construction of … [Read more...] about Top Ten Things to See and Do at Westminster Abbey
Laura’s London: Exploring Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace Library has been kept within Lambeth Palace for 400 years, but things are changing as a new Library is currently under construction. ABOUT LAMBETH PALACE Across the river Thames from the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster), Lambeth Palace is a working palace and for over 800 years has been the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence. In 1197 land was … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Exploring Lambeth Palace Library
Exploring London Mercantile History at the Lloyd’s Register Building
While you may have seen the Lloyd's of London building in the City of London designed by Richard Rogers, do you know about the Collcutt building? As part of Heritage Open Days, I went to visit the Lloyd's Register building on Fenchurch Street. Designed by Thomas Collcutt, this late-Victorian office opened in 1901 as a statement building and a sign of prosperity. Lloyd's … [Read more...] about Exploring London Mercantile History at the Lloyd’s Register Building
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