This Week in London – ‘Renoir and Love’; Korean art and culture; and the Burberry Trench…

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (1876), Oil on canvas, 131.5 cm x 176.5 cm Gustave Caillebotte Bequest, 1896 © Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt

• A major new exhibition on the work of French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir has opened at the National Gallery. Renoir and Love, which has been organised in partnership with the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, features more than 50 of the artist’s works including his “most experimental, ambitious and admired canvasses’ such as Bal au Moulin de la Galette (1876) which is being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Other works on show include full length figure compositions such as The Umbrellas (1881, reworked in 1885), early works such as Mother Antony’s Tavern (1866), “gallant” scenes from the 1870s such as The Promenade (1870), street and cafe scenes including La Place Clichy (1880) and depictions of life on the outskirts of Paris such as Oarsmen at Chatou (1879). There are also scenes of family life like Sketches of Heads (the Berard Children) (1881), and the artist’s depictions of intellectual intimacy like The Conversation (1878). The exhibition has already been shown at the Musée d’Orsay and will move to Boston from 20th February. It’s running at the National Gallery until 31st January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/renoir-and-love.

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Gourd-shaped ewer with chrysanthemum motif, 1200-1300, Celadon with inlaid white and black slip © National Museum of Korea, LKH193

• Two thousand years of Korean art and culture are on display in a new exhibition at the British Museum. Korea, which is located in The Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery, draws on works from the collection of the late Samsung chairman, Lee Kun-Hee, with highlights including bronze ritual implements dating from 300 to 100 BC, a 13th century gourd-shaped celadon ewer, and rare Buddhist paintings such as Jeong Seon’s Clearing after the Rain on Mouny Inwang. There’s also a a new museum acquisition by internationally acclaimed artist Do Ho Suh which brings together themes of identity, migration and memory. Runs until 31st January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/korea.

• Charles Amherst Villiers (1900-1901), a pioneering engineer whose career stretched from the Blower Bentley to Formula One, the US space program and the world of James Bond, has been honoured with a City of Westminster Green Plaque. The plaque has been unveiled on his former home at 22A Farm Street in Mayfair where he lived during the 1930s. Villiers is best-known for designing the Blower Bentley supercharger and working with Malcolm Campbell on early Blue Bird land speed record cars but he also provided inspiration for his friend Ian Fleming who drew on Villier’s expertise when writing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The display features a Burberry trench coat from 1939. PICTURE Courtesy of Burberry/V&A

• On Now: The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon. This free display in the Prince Consort Gallery at the V&A celebrates the fashion staple while also marking Burberry’s 170th anniversary. The display starts with Thomas Burberry’s invention of cotton gabardine in 1879 and how it was used in the Burberry trench, establishing the coat’s reputation as a sought-after piece of protective outerwear. It includes an in-depth look at the elements that make up the coat and spotlights recent runway looks featuring the iconic fashion item as well as looking at the long-standing relationship between Burberry and the V&A. The free display can be seen until 3rd January. For more, see https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-burberry-trench-crafting-an-icon.

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LondonLife – Night train, Harrow on the Hill

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PICTURE: Brett Jordan/Unsplash

What’s in a name?…Muscovy Street…

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This short City of London street located near the Tower of London takes it name from its connections to Russia – but there’s a couple of possible explanations related to this.

Looking down Muscovy Street from the eastern end. PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps

Firstly, though, we should note that the street – which runs from Trinity Square to Seething Lane (Seething Lane Gardens sits on the north-west corner of the junction) – only dates from 1912 when the area was redeveloped.

PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps

So, to the theories. One concerns Peter the Great, who came to stay in Deptford in 1698 to study naval architecture as part of his ‘Grand Embassy’ tour of Western Europe.

A tavern located nearby in Great Tower Street apparently attracted his patronage and as a result subsequently changed its name to the ‘Tsar of Muscovy’ in his honour. The street was then named after the tavern.

The second theory is that the street takes its name from the Muscovy Company which was founded in 1555 and headquartered close by, near the top of Seething Lane (we’ll deal more with the company’s history in a later post).

LondonLife – Towers, old and new…

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PICTURE: Pavel Kohout/Unsplash

Westminster Abbey with City towers in the background.

A Moment in London’s History – Peter James Bossy is the last person to standing the pillory in London…

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Long used as an instrument of punishment for those found guilty of offences in London, the last person to spend time standing in the pillory in London (and indeed England) – at the Old Bailey – was Peter James Bossy.

The Old Bailey as it it today. PICTURE: Donnchadh H/Flickr (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

The pillory consisted of a wooden device with holes through which the head and hands were placed, set upon a pole. The person being punished had to stand with their head and hands through the holes and were thus unable to defend themselves should refuse be thrown at them.

It was a very public and humiliating punishment, not to mention extremely uncomfortable, and had been used in London since medieval times.

Bossy was convicted of perjury by the London Oyer and Terminer and received a mixed sentence which an hour in the pillory at the Old Bailey followed by six months in prison at Newgate before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania in Australia) for seven years.

The pillory part of the sentence was carried out on 22nd June, 1830. After subsequently serving his sentence, Bossy travelled to Australia on board the Gilmore along with 223 other convicts, arriving in March, 1832.

Use of the pillory in England had been restricted by and 1816 Act of Parliament and was formally abolished in England and Wales in another act of 1837.

This Week in London – After 80 years, NHM gallery reopens to the public; Britain’s first Black schoolteacher, Francis Barber, honoured with a Blue Plaque; and, London Sculpture Week…

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The gallery when it was used as the Osteology gallery in 1893. PICTURE: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum London

• A gallery at the Natural History Museum which has been sealed off to the public for 80 years has reopened with a new display exploring our relationship with the natural world through 50 objects. Among the objects on show in the Nature and Us exhibition are a miniature model of a Crystal Palace dinosaur; Jenny, a Victorian skeleton of a monk seal; a bryozoan-encrusted Star Wars toy from the 1980s; and a 400,000-year-old handaxe whose discovery transformed our understanding of when humans first existed. Visitors will also be able to touch a replica jaw of one of Britain’s earliest known domesticated dogs, dating to around 14,300 years ago. The gallery is open for an initial 18 months and visitors can have their say on what appears in the permanent gallery when it opens in 2029. Located on the second floor of the main Museum’s Waterhouse building, the gallery historically served as both an osteology (skeleton) gallery and a mammals gallery and, after the herbarium was damaged in World War II, was repurposed to house the botanical collection. It has been closed to the public until now. For more on the new gallery, visit www.nhm.ac.uk.

The City of London Corporation relaunches its Blue Plaques Scheme with a plaque honouring Francis Barber, the first known Black schoolteacher in British history, at Dr Johnson’s House in Fleet Street Quarter. PICTURE: Paul Grover/ Fleet Street Quarter BID

• Britain’s first Black schoolteacher, Francis Barber, has been commemorated by a Blue Plaque at the writer’s townhouse in the heart of the City of London’s Fleet Street Quarter. The plaque commemorating Dr Samuel Johnson’s former servant, friend, and heir was unveiled on Dr Johnson’s House in Gough Square as the City launches a redesigned “modern, transparent, inclusive” City of London Blue Plaques Scheme and marks 150 years since the City’s oldest Blue Plaque was unveiled honouring Dr Johnson at same historic site. Barber, a West African man born into slavery in Jamaica, came to London as a child and lived at Dr Johnson’s house from 1752 to 1756 where he worked as his servant. Dr Johnson, who compiled the Dictionary of the English Language (1755), supported him and his family throughout his life, and helped secure his financial future. Dr Johnson also named Barber as the sole heir and beneficiary of a Trust established in his will. Barber later became the first known Black schoolteacher in British history. The 17th century townhouse known as Dr Johnson’s House is now a museum and believed to be the only surviving property in the City that was home to a formerly enslaved person who later lived there as a free man. The plaque was unveiled by Alderman Tim Hailes and Michael Bundock, director of Dr Johnson’s House Trust and author of The Fortunes of Francis Barber. 

• London Sculpture Week kicks off on Saturday in a citywide celebration of London’s public art. The week – which brings together sculptures in the Fourth Plinth, East Bank, Frieze Sculpture, Sculpture in the City and The Line – includes the chance to gain new insights into London’s outdoor artworks through talks, walking tours, film screenings and other activities. Highlights include the 16th Fourth Plinth commission, Lady in Blue, Frieze Sculpture’s 14th edition which features the work of 11 leading international artists sited throughout the historic English Gardens of The Regent’s Park, and a walking tour organised by East Bank featuring works commissioned for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as recent East Bank commissions such as Larry Achiampong and David Blandy’s Trēow of Time and Thomas J Price’s A Place Beyond. There’s also a walking tour taking in the eight works in Sculpture in the City followed by the chance to sample canapés inspired by a selection of the sculptures, and a free wellbeing walk along The Line, East London’s public art trail. For the full programme, head to https://tinyurl.com/london-sculpture-week-2026.

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10 of London’s notable fountains – A recap…

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Before we move on, here’s a recap of our latest Wednesday series…

1. Trafalgar Square fountains…

2. Edmond J Safra Fountain Court at Somerset House…

3. Jubilee Fountain…

4. Merchant Square Fountain Maze…

5. The Great Fountain Garden, Hampton Court Palace…

6. The fountains of St James’s Park…

7. The Sloane Square ‘Venus’ Fountain…

8. Shakespeare Fountain, Leicester Square…

9. Joy of Life Fountain, Hyde Park

10. The Glass Fountain and the Argosy Fountain…

LondonLife – ‘Lady in Blue’ steps up to the Fourth Plinth…

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The latest sculpture to grace Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, Lady in Blue, was unveiled last week.

Artist Tschabalala Self unveils her artwork, ‘Lady in Blue’, on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth in London on 10th September, 2026. PICTURE: Jeff Spicer/PA Media Ass
‘Lady in Blue’, unveiled by artist Tschabalala Self on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth in London on 10th September, 2026. PA Photo. PICTURE: Jeff Spicer/PA Media Ass

The work of New York artist Tschabalala Self, the bronze sculpture features a dress painted a vibrant blue and jewellery replicating the colour of lapis lazuli, used as a pigment since ancient times.

“My work Lady in Blue will bring to Trafalgar Square a woman that many can relate to,” says Self. “She is not an idol to venerate or a historic figure to commemorate. She is an everyday person much like the many who occupy the square daily. She is striding forward into our collective future with ambition, purpose and optimism.”

Self added: “I have always found London to be an inspiring city, London is to thank for many milestones in my life. My first institutional show was held here in London, along with my first major gallery exhibition. I have come to know London as a truly global metropolis, and Lady in Blue reflects the sophistication of this city.”

Lady in Blue is the 16th sculpture commissioned for the Fourth Plinth and follows on from Teresa Margolles’ Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant).

Self was announced as winning the commission in March 2024, along with Andra Ursuţa whose work will be unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in 2028. The artists are selected by the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, chaired by Ekow Eshun. The decision is informed by the public who are invited to have their say on shortlisted works.

Lady in Blue will move to a permanent location in Fornebu, Norway, after it leaves Trafalgar Square in 2028.

This Week in London – Totally Thames underway; Open House London; monastic treasures from Kyiv; and, the Baa-Ewe Tapestry…

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The River Thames winds through London. PICTURE: Sander Crombach/Unsplash

• Totally Thames, London’s month-long celebration of the River Thames, has kicked off with a programme featuring dozens of events along a 42-mile stretch of the river. Highlights include this weekend’s Great River Race, which takes place on Saturday, in which almost 300 crews compete across 21.6 miles from Millwall Slip to Richmond in the city’s largest river marathon. Also returning this weekend is the St Katharine Docks Classic Boat Festival, now in its 17th year, which brings together more than 50 restored historic vessels, including Thames sailing barges, Dunkirk ‘Little Ships’ and steam tugs, as well as live music, talks and family activities. This Saturday also sees Sing for Water celebrate its 25th anniversary by bringing together more than 300 singers from over 40 choirs in support of WaterAid, in the Bargehouse Courtyard behind the OXO Tower. Other events across the month include the Hands on History Mudlarking Programme in which visitors to three sites – the Roman Amphitheatre under Guildhall Art Gallery, St Paul’s Cathedral and London Museum Docklands – can meet experienced mudlarkers, handle archaeological artefacts and see some of the thousands of objects found preserved in the river. There’s also an exhibition, Lost and Found, featuring the work of photographer Henry Reichhold, and the chance to board the historic sailing barge Raybel which has been tranformed into a live cultural venue for the event with a programme of live music, talks and mini performances. For more, check out https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/whats-on/.

People attending Guildhall as part of the Open House Festival. PICTURE: ©Anna-Rose McChesney

• Open House London returns this coming week with a nine day program of events. The 35th edition of the festival, which runs from 12th to 20th September, again gives people the chance to enter hundreds of buildings normally closed to the public. Highlights this year, alongside tours of such regulars as 10 Downing Street, the BT Tower and Broadcasting House, include the Lloyd’s Building, which was designed by Richard Rogers and opened in 1996, recording studio Strongroom which has hosted everyone from Nick Cave and Radiohead to The Chemical Brothers and produced such hits as the Spice Girls’ Wannabee and Little Simz Sometimes I Might Be Introvert and the remains of London’s Roman basilica and forum beneath Leadenhall Market. There’s also the chance to step inside Wapping Hydraulic Power Station and the West Ham Pumping Station as well as a series of ‘festival neighbourhoods’ including in Fitzrovia, Bankside and Piccadilly and Jermyn Street as well as other openings right across London’s boroughs. For the full programme of events, head to programme.openhouse.org.uk.

‘Sacred Treasures from Kyiv’ at V&A South Kensington. PICTURE: © David Parry/V&A

• Monastic treasures from Ukraine go on display at the V&A in South Kensington for the first time from Monday. Sacred Treasures from Kyiv features 18th-century sacred objects on loan from Ukraine’s ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’ complex and includes seven objects including an Icon and a silver-bound altar Gospel, a diskos used to carry the Eucharist in Orthodox liturgy, and a silver gilded chalice depicting the crucifixion. The display marks the 975th anniversary of the founding of the Lavra monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is being accompanied by a programme of events. The display, which is free to view, can be seen until 17th September next year. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/sacred-treasures-from-kyiv.

• A seven metre-long tapestry, inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and featuring Shaun the Sheep and friends, has been unveiled at the Natural History Museum ahead of the release of the upcoming film Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom on 18th September. The Baa-Ewe Tapestry, which was unveiled by Tom Daley, will be on display at the museum until 1st November. Created by a team of 15 designers and textile specialists, it took more than 180 hours to design and craft and features lovingly stitched scenes inspired by the film. For more, head to https://www.nhm.ac.uk.

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10 of London’s notable fountains – 10. The Glass Fountain and the Argosy Fountain…

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We finish this look at notable fountains in London with a couple of more modern examples in the City (so make it 11 notable fountains!).

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LondonLife – Summer heat…

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PICTURE: carmen dominguez/Unsplash

Where’s London’s oldest?…Fish and chip shop…

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The oldest still surviving fish and chip shop in London is said to be The Rock & Sole Plaice in Covent Garden.

PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps.

Operating since 1871, the establishment is said to have been the third to have opened in London when it did so at 47 Endell Street (on a corner with Short’s Gardens), serving its food to workers at the Covent Garden market and nearby factories and warehouses.

The shop was damaged during World War II, although it was badly damaged by a nearby bomb blast (while the cellar was apparently used by community volunteers to plan aid for locals).

It was rebuilt and reopened as The Nigris Fish Bar after the war and the new owners changed the name to The Rock & Sole Plaice.

The shop’s current owners, the Ziyaeddin family’s took over in the 1980s (and apparently learnt their skills from three local women – Anna and Rachael Fenner (who lived above the shop and whose father had run the shop for decades in the mid-20th century) – and local matriarch Mary Goody, who herself worked in the shop and the 1910s and 1920s, who taught them the trade. There’s a plaque commemorating the three women – known as the “Three Pillars” – on the side of the shop.

For more on the chippy which can be found just around the corner from the Covent Garden Market, see https://www.rockandsoleplaice.com.

This Week in London – The Bayeux Tapestry blockbuster nears opening; new 9/11 display at IWM London; and, join a Star Trek world record attempt…

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The tapestry exhibition was advertised in Piccadilly Circus earlier this year. PICTURE: Courtesy of Trustees of the British Museum

• King Charles III and President Emmanuel Macron visited the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition at the British Museum this week ahead of its opening to the public next week. On display in the UK for the first time since it was made, the tapestry depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of 1066 and will be shown at the British Museum until July next year while its usual home in Bayeux, northern France, is being renovated. The tapestry was likely commissioned by a Norman patron – believed to be William the Conqueror’s brother Bishop Odo, and made by English embroiderers using manuscript drawings from Canterbury – the latter a fact which led the King to quip in his speech at the museum that it could have been named the “Canterbury Embroidery”. In exchange for the tapestry, the UK is loaning some treasures of the British Museum, including the Sutton Hoo Treasure and some of the Lewis chess pieces, to museums in France. The first batch of tickets to see what’s been described as a “wonder of the medieval world” have sold out with further tickets to be released in October and January. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/bayeux-tapestry

• A new permanent photography exhibition featuring powerful images of the 9/11 attack on New York City opens at the Imperial War Museum London tomorrow. The images were taken by Bill Biggart, who died when the World Trade Center’s North Tower collapsed, and were retrieved with his camera from the wreckage. It is the first time the images have been shown in a public exhibition outside the US. The images are displayed around a section of steelwork recovered from Ground Zero and alongside other photographs taken by photojournalist Suzanne Plunkett in the streets surrounding the World Trade Center. On Saturday, IWM London will host IWM Reflections: 9/11, a free daylong event which brings together first-hand testimony, personal reflection, expert discussion and live music. Broadcaster and chartered counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams will host the day which will also feature Janice Brooks, who was working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 11th September, 2001 as well as a string quartet from the English Chamber Orchestra performing Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, and a range of speakers exploring the wider legacy of 9/11 across journalism, the military response, faith and community. Entry to the exhibition and day is free. For more, see https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london.

• A world record attempt for the ‘Most People Performing a Vulcan Salute Simultaneously’ will take place at the Science Museum in South Kensington next Tuesday night. The attempt will take place at the museum’s free Star Trek Lates when visitors are encouraged to wear their finest Starfleet uniform and join the record attempt. It forms part of the global digital ‘Star Trek Vulcan Salute’ celebration which connects fans around the world and marks 60 years to the day since Star Trek made its US television debut in 1966. Visitors to the museum will also have a last chance to experience the Star Trek Warp Trail which brings together objects from the Star Trek archives and historic items on display in the museum as it explores the connection between the franchise and real-world scientific innovation. The trail is slated to close on 13th September. Star Trek Lates is free, but visitors must book a ticket in advance to attend and take part in the record attempt. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/star-trek-lates.

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10 of London’s notable fountains – 9. Joy of Life Fountain, Hyde Park

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This fountain, located next to the Aldford Street North Gate in Park Lane, was installed in 1963 when the road was widened.

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LondonLife – The National Gallery at sunset…

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PICTURE: Carmen Dominguez/Unsplash

London pub signs – The Volunteer…

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This Baker Street establishment in Marylebone owes its name to its connections with wartime volunteers.

PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps

But which war? CAMRA say the pub takes its name from Royal Marylebone Volunteers formed during the Napoleonic Wars to fend off a potential invasion across the Channel.

But it’s also suggested the pub’s name is owed to its service as a recruiting station during World War I and II.

Maybe both are correct.

Located just a couple of doors down from 221B – the “home” of Sherlock Holmes, the building in which the pub is housed dates back to around 1815 when it was constructed as part of the Portman Estate. It is now Grade II-listed.

It apparently stands on the site once occupied by a mansion owned by the wealthy Neville family.

The house, with the exception of the vaulted cellar, was destroyed by fire in 1654 and the entire family is said to have been killed in the blaze.

That story has been linked to rumours the property is haunted – there has been talk of flickering lights and the sighting of a well-dressed man in a surcoat and breeches, who some have suggested was family patriarch Rupert Neville, among those who died in the blaze.

The pub is located at 245-247 Baker Street. For more, see https://www.thevolunteernw1.co.uk/#/.

This Week in London – Notting Hill Carnival marks 60 years; a Wembley Park dance party; and the annual London Zoo weigh-in…

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A participant in 2025’s Notting Hill Carnival. PICTURE: Nicholas Bragger/iStockphoto

• The Notting Hill Carnival – Europe’s largest cultural event and the world’s second largest carnival – marks 60 years as it takes place in London’s west this weekend. Saturday sees the UK National Panorama Steel Band Competition Day take place in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park (for ticketed guests only) while Sunday is the free Families and Children’s Day and Monday is Adults Day with the Adults Parade. The event traces its origins back to a children’s street party organised by local resident and social worker Rhaune Laslett in an attempt to bring together a neighbourhood that had been scarred by racial tension and conflict in the preceeding years. Laslett invited a steel band to play and, tying their pans around their necks, they processed down Portobello Road, bringing people out of their homes to dance and enjoy the music. For the full programme of events and more information, head to https://nhcarnival.org.

• The party continues at Wembley Park which will be transformed into a giant dance floor this weekend. Speaker Box Street Party will bring a free street dance event in Samovar Place, just off Olympic Way, on Saturday with five back-to-back dance sessions – Latin, Caribbean, Afro and Bollywood – followed by a Michael Jackson birthday celebration and Grand Final party. The free family event also involves a summer market and food stalls. Runs from 12pm to 5pm. For more, see www.wembleypark.com/speakerbox-dance-party.

• London Zoo held its annual “weigh-in” this week with capybara siblings Kiwi and Gizmo and Giant Magnolia Land Snail No 2 among those stepping on the scales (so to speak). The zoo weighs the animals as part of its efforts to monitor their health and shares measurements on the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) on Species360, a database which is shared with animal carers and conservationists around the world. For the record, female Kiwi came in at 45 kilograms and brother Gizmo at 50.5 kilograms while Giant Magnolia Land Snail No 2 weighed 102.5 grams. For more, head to www.zsl.org.

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10 of London’s notable fountains – 8. Shakespeare Fountain, Leicester Square…

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Located in the heart of Leicester Square, this fountain is topped with a statue of William Shakespeare.

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LondonLife – Ant invasion…

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PICTURE: Adrian Cole/Unsplash

British artist Joe Rush’s Stories from the Wasteland is a public art installation featuring giant mechanical ants crawling on an abandoned train carriage located in Vinegar Yard next to London Bridge Station (visible to arrivals on platform 15). For more, see https://www.atlondonbridge.com/directory/stories-from-the-wasteland-by-joe-rush

Famous Londoners -Thomas Cubitt…

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A master builder and architect responsible for the development of key historic streets and squares in inner London during the first half of the 19th century, Thomas Cubitt’s legacy can still be seen in many places around London today.

Born in Buxton, near Norwich in Norfolk, on 25th February, 1788, Cubitt was the son of carpenter Jonathan Cubitt and his wife Agnes.

He took up his father’s trade at an early age and, drawing on those skills, journeyed to India as a ship’s carpenter, earning enough that he could start his own building firm around 1810. Joined by his brother William, they established themselves on Gray’s Inn Road in Holborn.

Statue of Thomas Cubitt by William Fawke. PICTURE: Canthusus at English Wikipedia (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0/image cropped).

Their first major job was the construction of the London Institution in Finsbury Circus in 1815 and they went on to work on speculative housing projects in Camden Town and in Highbury Park in Stoke Newington.

Cubitt’s approach to such housing developments was somewhat revolutionary – he was one of the first builders to employ people of various trades, meaning he could offer those who sought his services something of a one-stop shop.

It was around this time – 25th March, 1821 – that he married Mary Anne Warner at St Marylebone Church. They would go on to have at least 12 children (and his descendants reportedly include Queen Camilla – he’s her great-great-great grandfather).

Cubitt’s major works in the development of London came in the 1820s when he was commissioned to build housing on the Duke of Bedford’s estate in Bloomsbury and by Richard Grosvenor, later 2nd Marquess of Westminster, to build homes in Belgravia, centred on Belgrave and Eaton Squares.

He also built housing to the south of Belgravia in an area which become known as Pimlico, nicknamed “Mr Cubitt’s District”, and as part of that development built several hundred yards of the Thames Embankment.

Said to be called the “Emperor of the Building Trade” by some, Cubitt also undertook development in Clapham Park and was responsible for a large part of Kemp Town in Brighton.

In 1827, the partnership between Thomas and his brother William (which also included younger brother Lewis, an engineer) was dissolved. William, later a Lord Mayor of London, took over management of the Gray’s Inn Road business, while Thomas focused his attentions on other projects (Lewis, meanwhile, would late rejoin William in the business).

Thomas’ subsequent projects included working with Prince Albert on the design and construction of Osborn House on the Isle of Wight, and, between 1847-50, building extensions to Buckingham Palace (as part of that work, he was responsible for moving the Marble Arch from the palace to Hyde Park). Cubitt was also one of those behind plans to turn Battersea’s water-logged fields into a public park.

Later in life, Cubitt bought and built a mansion for himself, Denbies House near Dorking. It was there that he died on 20th December, 1855. He was buried at the West Norwood Cemetery in south London. He was survived by his wife, seven of his children and both William and Lewis. Queen Victoria was among those who paid tribute to his life and career.

A statue of him (pictured) in Denbigh Street, London – near some of his former workshops – was unveiled by Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, in 1995. It is the work of William Fawke and donated by the Sanctuary Housing Association. There is a second statue of him in Dorking.

An English Heritage Blue Plaque marks the site of his former workshop at 3 Lyall Street – known as Cubitt Lodge, the building was built by him in 1847 and remained his headquarters and workshop until his death.