Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 790 )

• St Katharine Cree

  

  The City of London is well-supplied with churches, but St Katharine Cree is the only Jacobean survivor. It was built in 1630, although the tower is over a... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Deptford View

  

  While the view of the Seager Distiller Tower in Deptford is not my cup of tea, the view from it is another matter. Its top floor, 27 storeys up, is a viewing... Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Flowers and Fireplaces

  

  Osborne House in Devonshire Square, Spitalfields is somewhat older than its Isle of Wight namesake. A house was first built here in the late seventeenth... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2012 DESTINATIONS

• Below Moorgate

  

  A new development is being built at 8-10 Moorgate in the City of London and, like most such major projects, involves an archeology dig. Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ironmongers' Hall

  

  Best-known for its brutalist concrete bulk, the Barbican has also absorbed some historical treasures. (Whether they have been engulfed or integrated probably... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• London List 2011

  

  English Heritage have published a lovely booklet detailing the buildings they listed in 2011. It's available as a PDF download here; London news website Snipe... Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2012 DESTINATIONS

• Illumina at Hestercombe

  

  For the last two weekends, the gardens at Hestercombe in Somerset have been lit each evening by local artist Ulf Pedersen. With torches and camera flashes... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Lost Window

  

  It's famous as the place our umbrellas end up - not to mention dentures, pushchairs and parcels - so no wonder TfL's Lost Property Office on Baker Street has... Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2012 CULTURE, HISTORY

• The Case of the Larcenous Lodger

  Having lodgers was the norm in previous centuries, and having lodgers steal from their landlords was by no means rare. Here's a case from Deptford, heard at... Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2012 HISTORY

• Somerset Stik

  

  The work of street artist Stik can mostly be seen around London - especially in Hackney and Shoreditch, although the picture below is at the Phoenix Garden, St... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Forewarned?

  

  If you walk through the Aldgate underpass, you'll see an informative, if stained, sign. However, the information may not be of much value unless your last... Read more

  Posted on 06 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (78): Merchants Established

  

  On Chalk Farm Road, overlooking the Regent's Canal, is a ghost sign overpainted in rather patriotic colours. The message is pure business, at least as far as... Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Stories in Stones

  

  Guenroc, a village in Brittany, is defined by stone. First, there's the white quartz which probably gave it its name (gwen is Breton for white, roc'h for rock). Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (77): a Pale Spectre

  

  I've passed this building opposite Waterloo Station many times, but it was something about the light one afternoon which drew my eye to the faint writing on... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Seaside Sunday: Three Centuries of Light

  

  Sébastien Le Prestre, marquis de Vauban, was France's great military architect of the seventeenth century. He spent much of his time protecting the Breton... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• British Byzantine: Westminster Cathedral

  

  The nineteenth century was a time of expansion for London cathedrals. The Anglican church of St Saviour's was upgraded to Southwark Cathedral; Catholic... Read more

  Posted on 24 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (76): Paraffin Oil Lamps in Rochester Row

  

  Forgetting to renew my passport turned out to have its advantages! While I was wandering around Victoria in the gap between applying for a new one and collectin... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• London's Ugliest Facadism?

  

  There's an ongoing debate about the practice of facadism, which considers the value of leaving an historic facade in place while the building behind is torn... Read more

  Posted on 20 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Heritage and a Horlicks Repeat

  

  Heritage Open Days on 6-9 September will allow us to get into buildings all over England (except London, whose Open House event is two weeks later). Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2012 DESTINATIONS

• Carved in Stone

  

  Poor Ralph of Shrewsbury. As Bishop of Bath and Wells in the fourteenth century, he did some good work. In particular, he built Vicars' Close to house the men o... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY