Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 790 )

• Monk Bar Defences

  

  There's nothing like a friendly welcome - and York's Monk Bar offered nothing like a friendly welcome. Would-be intruders not only faced a stone gate complete... Read more

  Posted on 22 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Facadism

  

  One of the more controversial issues in building conservation is facadism: the situation where a historic facade is preserved, but an entirely new structure is... Read more

  Posted on 21 July 2011 ARCHITECTURE, CULTURE, HISTORY

• Two Right Feet

  

  The memorial to Archbishop Lamplugh in York Minster was carved by none other than Grinling Gibbons - an unexpected Deptford connection in Yorkshire. However,... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2011 ART & DESIGN, CULTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (59): Bile Beans

  

  No visit to York (for me, at least) could be complete without seeing this ghost sign, just outside the Monkbar gate. It was restored some time ago, a sign of it... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2011 HISTORY

• From the Archives: London's First Buses, the Lewisham Connection

  

  London's first bus route may have been north of the river, but south-east London has been crucial to the story too. London's early buses have been mentioned her... Read more

  Posted on 17 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Poison, Mistaken Identity and a Sermon

  In 1839, there was a mysterious death in Greenwich Park near the 'wilderness'. An unknown young man was found dead, apparently from poison. He was scruffily... Read more

  Posted on 15 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (57): Persepolis

  

  These signs don't involve a visit to Iran but to Peckham! They are on the walls of the shop of that name, a renowned Persian deli. The clearest is a fairly... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2011 CULTURE

• Prison Walls

  

  Even relatively familiar areas of London retain the power to surprise, and I had one of those moments recently on a walking tour with old maps. Read more

  Posted on 13 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Lambeth Palace Gardens

  

  Read more

  Posted on 11 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• From the Archives: Tower Bridge Quick Guide

  

  I've chosen this post for today because it coincides with a very exciting new piece of Tower Bridge history at Discovering London: previously unseen... Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2011 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY, TRAVEL

• Royal Exchange

  

  So often, the most interesting sights in London are seen by looking up. However, one of my favourite features of the Royal Exchange is right at eye level: the... Read more

  Posted on 08 July 2011 HISTORY

• Giant Rodent of New Goulston Street

  

  Here's another of ROA's works, a huge mouse or rat (does anyone know which?) emerging from the side of a building. Read more

  Posted on 07 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Old Sins and Buried Skulls

  

  A grisly Victorian murder reappeared in today's newspapers, after the head of the victim was finally officially identified over 130 years after her death. Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Elegance in Reinforced Concrete

  

  Civil engineer Louis Auguste Harel de La Noë trained in Paris and worked in various parts of France, but returned to his native Cotes du Nord (now the Cotes... Read more

  Posted on 04 July 2011 ARCHITECTURE, CULTURE, HISTORY

• From the Archives: the Deceptive Appearance of Lille Cathedral

  

  Lille Cathedral took much longer than expected to build. The delays brought an unexpected bonus: an extraordinary facade.Lille Cathedral was an ambitious... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2011 ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (56): Gasoil

  

  This sign in Lamballe, Brittany has clearly been overpainted at least once. Clearly the owner had had enough of it! However, suggestive bits of text remain,... Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2011 CULTURE

• St Malo, Dinan

  

  The church of St Malo is, confusingly, in the nearby city of Dinan. It is named for one of Brittany's seven founder saints, a Welsh monk who travelled to... Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2011 CULTURE, HISTORY

• St Pancras Renaissance (2)

  

  If you're going to make your hotel a blend of old and new, you may as well begin at reception and that's just what the St Pancras Renaissance has done. Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2011 HISTORY

• St Pancras Renaissance (1)

  

  Renaissance is both the name of the hotel now open at St Pancras Station and an apt description of the rise in its fortunes. When the building first opened... Read more

  Posted on 28 June 2011 HISTORY

• From the Archives: Daily Express Buildings

  

  Back to one of my Fleet Street favourites. I can't claim this is a good match for the sunny weather - seaside Art Deco in white and bright blue would have to wi... Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2011 HISTORY