Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 790 )

• Brutal Barbican

  

  The Barbican is a large complex in the City of London which is home to an arts centre, schools, the Museum of London, and about four thousand residents. Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  

  An Open House favourite, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a grand piece of Victoriana completed in 1868 in classical Italianate style. Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Inside Islington Tunnel

  

  The opening of the new public square in front of King's Cross Station was accompanied last weekend by a Victorian-style fair and the Journeys Festival, aiming t... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Arsenic and the Royal Arsenal

  Fans of golden-age detective fiction may well be familiar with the Marsh test - the method used to detect the presence of arsenic. Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• New Light on the Old Royal Naval College

  

  Wren's masterpiece in Greenwich, the Old Royal Naval College, was still the Royal Hospital for Seamen in 1850 when its formal landscaping scheme was created. Read more

  Posted on 29 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Cathedral Builders in Crystal Palace

  

  Throughout Open House Weekend, groups of visitors put on hard hats and listened to safety briefings before descending a rather worn flight of stairs to the... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• The Oak Room

  

  September 2013 sees the 400th anniversary of the New River, Hugh Myddelton's great feat of engineering which brought fresh Hertfordshire water into London (at... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Antique Jewellery

  

  Pens, pissoirs - Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter has more to offer than jewellery alone. However, it would be a shame to miss out on the area's most famous... Read more

  Posted on 20 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Writing History

  

  Birmingham dominated the world in this trade, with over a hundred factories at its height. Its centre was the Jewellery Quarter - but I'm not talking about... Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Birmingham's Temple of Relief

  

  Just outside the Jewellery Quarter station in Birmingham is a rather special piece of street furniture, in Victorian cast iron. Read more

  Posted on 15 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (98): Bridgwater Baker

  

  Not only are my parents becoming adept at spotting ghost signs; my brother-in-law is also contributing finds! This one, above a small shop in Bridgwater, is a... Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Portwey, Steam Tug

  

  Among the guests at this year's Thames Festival is Portwey, Britain's last surviving twin-screw, coal-powered steam tug. She usually lives in South Quay at... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Vintage Exide

  

  Today, Exide batteries' logo uses a contemporary, sans-serif typeface. However, their earlier, more calligraphic logo lives on outside a garage in Blackheath... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Lettering

  

  As a fan of ghost signs, I'm always looking out for interesting lettering. Here are two examples, not painted onto walls: one historical, the other very... Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs and Unusual Places

  

  Just to note that my pages on ghost signs and unusual London places to visit have been updated.The ghost signs page offers a useful introduction and index to th... Read more

  Posted on 03 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Wood Green Station Explored

  

  When I last visited Wood Green underground station, I had forgotten my camera. This weekend, I had not only my camera but also the opportunity to go behind the... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Surviving the Charge of the Light Brigade

  

  Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind themVolley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,While horse and hero fell,They that had... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Hawksmoor at Somerset House

  

  There is a mystique around Nicholas Hawksmoor, Wren's assistant and architect of churches including St Mary Woolnoth and Christ Church Spitalfields. Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• East Greenwich Pleasaunce

  

  Tucked away behind Woolwich Road, the East Greenwich Pleasaunce is some way off the Greenwich tourist trail. However, it is not only a popular local park but on... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (96): Westcombe Hill

  

  It was as if Westcombe Hill realised that walking up it in drizzling rain wasn't much fun. To motivate me, it offered not one but two ghost signs on the way. Read more

  Posted on 20 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY