Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 790 )

• Compton, Artists' Village

  

  G F Watts, one of the most famous of Victorian artists, was also the founder of the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice at Postman's Park. Much of his art can... Read more

  Posted on 18 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• The Guiding Virtues of Queen Alexandra

  

  Outside St James's Palace in the wall of Marlborough House is a sculpted scene showing four female figures, one a child. Its significance is not immediately... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Bristol Balloon Fiesta

  

  Every year for the last 35 years, hot air balloons have floated above Bristol for its Balloon Fiesta, the largest in Europe. Half a million people visited the... Read more

  Posted on 13 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Two-for-one in Bexley

  

  Among the hidden jewels of South East London is this stately home.And this one.In fact, they're really a single house: Hall Place in Bexley. Read more

  Posted on 11 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (95): George Mence Smith

  

  In Oxford Mews, near Bexley Station, is a large but faded ghost sign headed 'George Mence Smith'. Fading and over-painting have made the rest tricky to read:... Read more

  Posted on 06 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Books in Chains

  

  When books were truly expensive, libraries were so careful to prevent theft that they chained each volume to its shelf. Far from borrowing it to take home, a... Read more

  Posted on 04 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Top Turrets!

  

  When the City of London very kindly invited me on a tour, a highlight was the opportunity to go into an area of Tower Bridge not open to the public: one of its... Read more

  Posted on 01 August 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• On Tower Beach

  

  The piece of Thames foreshore directly in front of the Tower of London, once Londoners' own bit of seaside, is now generally closed to the public. Read more

  Posted on 30 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Deptford in South Bank

  

  This summer, the South Bank Centre is holding a Festival of Neighbourhood. As well as asking visitors general questions about what makes a neighbourhood, it... Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (94): Tea, 2D Per Cup

  

  If you're on the platform of East Ham underground station today, then you'll only have a cup of tea if you brought it with you. Read more

  Posted on 23 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Clocks, Bells and Spiral Stairs

  

  The Breton town of Dinan is at the tidal limit of the river Rance, and this favourable position made it a wealthy trading town in the middle ages. Read more

  Posted on 19 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• France Via Leicester Square

  

  Notre Dame de France is a Catholic church on Leicester Place, just off Leicester Square. Its exterior is perhaps interesting rather than exciting, but the... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Army Medicine in Paris

  

  Paris is well-supplied with grand buildings, among them the less well-known Hôpital du Val-de-Grâce. Accessed through a side-street and facing onto a small... Read more

  Posted on 11 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Barons Court

  

  Even passing through Barons Court underground station, there are eye-catching features, including its unique benches and the apparently-missing apostrophe. Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (93): Blackheath Road

  

  I've been up and down Blackheath Road any number of times, but hadn't spotted this ghost sign until I walked past it a few days ago. Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (92): Repairs of Every Description

  

  This sign is in the Preston area of Brighton - a village officially incorporated into the seaside town in 1928. Thus the telephone number at the bottom of the... Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• From Pillar to Pump

  

  This rather unusual pump is in Montagu Square, Marylebone. (It's not unique: there's a very similar one in neighbouring Bryanston Square. Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (91): Women Only

  

  At the weekend, I explored part of the New River - celebrating its 400th birthday later this year - on a walk with Peter Berthoud of Discovering London. Read more

  Posted on 25 June 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Weird and Wonderful Weathervanes

  

  London is full of weathervanes, many of them unusual in some way. Here are just a few, starting with a rather special one in Woolwich. Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• All Saints, Margaret Street

  

  Just behind Oxford Street, an architectural masterpiece and peaceful retreat from the commercial bustle stands in a small courtyard, alongside a vicarage and... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2013 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY