Author: exploringlondon

10 fictional character addresses in London – 10. 165 Eaton Place

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In this, the final in our series looking at fictional character addresses, we take a look at the home of Lord and Lady Bellamy and then the Holland family from the two TV series of Upstairs Downstairs.

The first five series, which ran from 1971-1975, followed the lives of the somewhat ill-fated Bellamy family and spanned the period from the early 1900s until 1930.

The second, short-lived, incarnation, which the first series of which aired on the BBC only a couple of years ago before the second in 2012 (after which it was cancelled), picked up the story six years later.

It follows the lives of the Hollands, who take up residence in what had been the Bellamy’s residence at 165 Eaton Place in Belgravia (Jean Marsh, one of the original show’s creators who played head parlour maid Rose in the original series, returned as housekeeper – the only original cast member in the newer series).

There is an actual Eaton Place in Belgravia but it doesn’t go up to number 165. The original series used a house located at 65 Eaton Place for exterior shots (they added a 1 to the front of the 65 although no interiors were shot here) although the newer series apparently used a property based in Leamington Spa.

The property at 65 Eaton Place, meanwhile, was apparently part of a development built in 1824 by renowned builder Thomas Cubitt on the orders of the 2nd Marquess of Westminster, Richard Grosvenor.

Among the many real residents over the years (when the property was no longer used as a single home but had been divided into flats) was the rather scandalous Lady Alexandra Metcalfe, youngest daughter of Lord Curzon, a former Foreign Secretary and Viceroy of India.

We’ll launch a new special series next Wednesday.

What’s in a name?…Fetter Lane…

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The name of this central London thoroughfare – which runs from Fleet Street to a dead-end just shy of Holborn, with New Fetter Lane forking off to continue the journey to Holborn Circus – has nothing to do with fetters, chains or prisoners.

Fetter-LaneRather its name – a form of which apparently first starts to appear in the 14th century – is believed to be a derivation of one of a number of possible Anglo-French words – though which one is anyone’s guess.

The options include the word fewtor, which apparently means an idle person or a loafer, faitor, a word which means an imposter or deceiver (both it and fewtor may refer to a colony of beggars that lived here) feuterer, a word which describes a ‘keeper of dogs’, or even feutrier, another term for felt-makers.

Buildings of note in Fetter Lane include the former Public Records Office (now the Maughan Library, part of King’s College, it has a front on Chancery Lane but backs onto the lane), and the former Inns of Chancery, Clifford’s Inn and Barnard’s Inn (current home of Gresham College).

It was also in Fetter Lane, at number 33, that the Moravians, a Protestant denomination of Christianity, established the Fetter Lane Society in 1738 (members included John Wesley). The original chapel was destroyed in bombing in World War II ( a plaque now marks the building where it was)

And there’s a statue of MP, journalist and former Lord Mayor, John Wilkes, at the intersection with New Fetter Lane (pictured).

10 fictional character addresses in London – 9. 7 Savile Row, Burlington Gardens…

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The adventurous, wealthy and rather mysterious Phileas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, is noted in the book’s first line as living at “No. 7 Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814”.

Savile-RowIt’s from there that he and his delightfully named French valet, Passepartout, set off on their breakneck trip around the world after Fogg, a “doubtful” Londoner who was a member of the Reform Club based nearby in Pall Mall (“and that was all” – his history was something of an unknown), makes a £20,000 bet that he can travel around the world in just 80 days – a bet which sees him travel by everything from trains to elephants and overcome all sorts of obstacles as he attempts the feat.

But back to London and Savile Row in the inner west London area of Mayfair. The Irish-born playwright and MP Richard Brinsley Sheridan did indeed live in Savile Row – but at number 14 rather than at number 7 (and he died in 1816, not 1814 as claimed in the book).

There is a plaque on the townhouse mentionig Sheridan’s residence (but not Fogg’s) which today is occupied by tailors Hardy Amies. Amies himself purchased the property, which was restored in 2009, in 1947, reportedly with the backing of Cary Grant’s ex-wife, actress Virginia Cherril.

For more on Savile Row’s history, see Henry Poole: Founders of Savile Row – The Making of a Legend.

Happy New Year!

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We’re back after an extended break with posts to resume as normal this week. This year we’ll continue with many of our usual features but will also be looking to introduce some new ones including A Moment in History in which we’ll look at some snapshots in London’s past.

To kick us off – and to launch our celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first Hanoverian king, King George I – we’re running a snap poll in which we’re asking which of the Hanoverian rulers of Great Britain you think was the best ruler?

 

Our top 10 stories for 2013 – part two…

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We’re taking at look back at the 10 most read stories we posted this year (excluding posts such as ‘Where is it?’ and ‘This Week in London’). Yesterday we took a look at numbers 10 through to six; today it’s the final five…

5. Treasures of London – Siborne’s Large Model… 

4. 10 fictional character addresses in London – 8. The Darling’s House… 

3. Where’s London’s oldest…Thames tunnel? 

2. Lost London – The Egyptian Hall… 

and (drum roll please), our most read story from 2013 was

1. Treasures of London – The Barbor Jewel…

Our top 10 stories for 2013 – part one…

by exploringlondon

It’s that time of the year again and as we head into the New Year, Exploring London takes at look back at the top 10 stories we posted this year (excluding posts such as ‘Where is it?’ and ‘This Week in London’). Counting back, today we look at numbers 10 to 6 (in which the ‘Where London’s oldest?’ feature makes a strong showing!)…

10. Where’s London’s oldest…tea shop? 

9. Where’s London’s oldest…Tube station? 

8. Where’s London’s oldest…higher education institution?

7. London Pub Signs – Ye Olde Watling… 

6. Where’s London’s oldest…Catholic church? 

Wishing all our readers a very Merry Christmas!

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We’re having a few day’s break but keep an eye out for our special in the coming week in which we look at the year’s most popular posts…(and we’ll also reveal the answer to Where is it? #76)

Where is it? #76…And the answer is…

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Where-is-it--#76

Can you identify where in London this picture was taken? If you think you can, leave a comment below. We’ll reveal the answer early next week. Good luck!

If you’ve been living in suspense for the past couple of weeks, then you need wait no longer. This coffin-shaped object is actually an interactive musical artwork commemorating clown Joseph Grimaldi (1776-1837), credited as the father of modern clowning, and the man remembered in the annual clown service held at Holy Trinity Church in Hackney each February. The artwork (and another next to it dedicated to theatre proprietor Charles Dibdin the Younger) was created by Henry Krokatsis and is located in Joseph Grimaldi Park on Pentonville Road in Clerkenwell – the site of the churchyard of the former Pentonville Chapel. The memorial is actually located on the site of Grimaldi’s grave (the gravestone has been moved and now stands nearby) and is tuned so that his popular song Hot Codlins can be played by standing on it.

10 fictional character addresses in London – 8. The Darling’s House…

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Peter-Pan2In JM Barrie’s 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy (based on the stage play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up), the adventure begins when Peter Pan visits the home of the Darling family.

He secretly listens in – via an open window – while Mrs Darling tells bedtime stories to her children – Wendy, John and Michael – but during one visit loses his shadow and it’s on returning to claim it that he meets Wendy and, well, you know the rest…

Peter Pan is most famously associated with Kensington Gardens – it’s here that we are first introduced to the character of Peter in the book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (in fact there’s a rather famous statue of him there to this day, pictured above) – it’s most often assumed that the Darling’s house must be nearby.

But, in fact, the book Peter and Wendy never states where the Darlings’ house is located exactly  – just that it is at number 14 in the street in which they live – while in the 1904 play the address is given as “a rather depressed street” in Bloomsbury. Barrie explains that he placed the Darlings’ house in Bloomsbury because Mr Roget (of Thesaurus fame) once lived there and “we whom he has helped to wend our way through life have always wanted to pay him a little compliment”.

Worth noting, however, is a property at 31 Kensington Park Gardens. Once the home of the Llewellyn Davies family, family friend Barrie was a frequent visitor here and in fact went on to adopt the five Llewellyn Davies children following the death of their parents in the early 1900s. The property, which is divided into a series of flats, is, as a result, said to have been something of a model for the Darling’s house.

Barrie, himself, meanwhile, owned a house at 100 Bayswater Road – not far from Kensington Gardens where he first meet the Llewellyn Davies family – but, interestingly, had previously lived in Bloomsbury. The house is marked with a blue plaque.

Another Peter Pan-related address we have to mention is that of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children to which Barrie gave the rights to receive royalties from Peter Pan in perpetuity. You can arrange for a tour of the hospital’s Peter Pan-related memorabilia.

For more on the story behind the writing of Peter Pan, see Andrew Birkin’s book, J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys.

LondonLife – London in a snow globe at Covent Garden…

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Covent-Garden-LEGO-snow-globe

Following on from its LEGO advent calendar and Christmas tree, Covent Garden is home to a giant LEGO snow globe this Christmas. Made of 120,000 bricks, it features 14 of London’s most iconic landmarks – from Nelson’s Column, Buckingham Palace (see below) and the London Eye to The Shard, Shakespeare’s Globe and, of course, Covent Garden. The models took Duncan Titmarsh, the UK’s only certified LEGO professional, around 75 days to build. Hidden among the models are a number of LEGO Santas – count them to win prizes and press a button to make snow fall inside the globe. For more, see www.coventgardenlondonuk.com.

Covent-Garden-LEGO-snow-globe2

What’s in a name?…Limehouse

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Limehouse

This part of East London is believed to take its name not from lime trees nor from a house bearing that name. Rather it owes its origins to the process by which chalk shipped from Kent was converted into lime.

The process of ‘lime burning’ – which took place in these parts on the northern bank of the River Thames – involves heating the chalk in a bottle-shaped kiln, also known as an oast. Hence ‘lime oast’ became corrupted into Limehouse.

St-Anne's-LimehouseThe earliest reference to the name comes from the early medieval era but in later centuries the area was noted not so much for its lime-burning but its links with shipping – particularly following the opening on the Limehouse Cut in 1770 which linked the Thames with the River Lea and allowed goods to taken from the north of London directly to ships on the Thames without the need to navigate around the Isle of Dogs (see our earlier post on the Limehouse Cut). Limehouse Basin (pictured above, from the Limehouse Cut) opened in the early 19th century.

The area, which became increasingly industrialised as a result, is also known for its links to the Chinese community – and this included, in the Victorian era, opium dens, but the association ended around the 1950s by which time the Chinese community had largely moved to Soho (where Chinatown still stands today).

Among the area’s most prominent buildings are the Nicholas Hawksmoor-designed church, St Anne’s Limehouse (pictured), and the historic pub, The Grapes.

Where is it?…#75. And the answer is…

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Where-is-it--#75

Can you identify where in London this picture was taken? If you think you can, leave a comment below. We’ll reveal the answer early next week. Good luck!

Well done to Sean, Carol and Candy – this is indeed in College Hill, just up from the church of St Michael Paternoster Royal. The famous Whittington (you can read more on him in our earlier entry Famous Londoners: Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington) was buried in the church (you can read more about the church in our earlier entry 10 curiously named churches of London – 9. St Michael Paternoster Royal).

This Week In London – Kensington Palace celebrates Christmas; plant a tree at Epping; and, the Long Range Desert Group memorial unveiled at Westminster Abbey…

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Apologies we didn’t post a new instalment in our Wednesday series yesterday – it will resume next week!

• Inspired by a spectacular month of partying by King William III in December, 1699, Kensington Palace is celebrating Christmas with a month of family-friendly entertainment in the Georgian State Apartments. Historic Royal Palaces has joined with games makers Hide & Seek to create Game of Crowns, transforming Kensington into a play palace with games, mummery and the chance to proclaim yourself king or queen for a day. On the weekends, there’s also the chance to join in parlour games from 1700 onward and a Christmas Day sensory room which brings to life King William III and Queen Mary II’s Christmas morning (by which time they must have been exhausted!). The palace will also play host to its largest ever Christmas tree – 30 feet tall – and on December 16th, you can join in Carols by Candlelight. Admission charge applies. Runs until 6th January. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/.

• Epping Forest is expanding and this weekend, you have a chance to help by planting some new saplings. The City of London Corporation, which runs the forest, is creating a new area of woodland, named Gifford Wood in honour of former Lord Mayor Roger Gifford, after purchasing 30 acres of land at Upshire last year. Members of the public are invited to join City of London staff and the Friends of Epping Forest at Upshire Village Hall, Horseshoe Hill (EN9 3SP) between 11am and 1pm on Saturday to plant 2,000 new oaks and hornbeam as well as a mix of alder, birch, beech, cherry, field maple, rowan, small lime, wild apple, wild service, holly and yew. Bring your spade. For more, phone 0208 532 1010 or email epping.forest@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

• A memorial to the Long Range Desert Group was dedicated in Westminster Abbey this week.  The LRDG was formed in 1940 by Major Ralph Bagnold to act as the forward intelligence arm of the British army in North Africa. The group later shared their expertise in desert navigation with the fledgling SAS (Special Air Service) who also carried out offensives in the desert from 1941. The memorial is located in the west cloister below that of the SAS. For more, see www.westminster-abbey.org.

LondonLife – Remembering Mandela…

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Mandela

A bust of the anti-apartheid activist and global icon Nelson Mandela at the South Bank Centre has become one of several places in London where people are paying their respects to the former South African president and Noble Peace Prize winner who died last Thursday at the age of 95. The bust – below which are a quoted Mandela’s words, “The struggle is my life” – was erected in 1985 by the Greater London Council. A full-length, larger-than-life statue of Mandela, by Ian Walters, stands in Parliament Square in Whitehall – it was unveiled in 2007 by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown with Mandela himself in attendance.

London Pub Signs – The Barrowboy and Banker…

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The-Barrowboy-&-Banker

Located just a hop, skip and a jump from the ever-popular Borough Market in Southwark, this oddly monikered pub’s name comes from two separate parts of its history.

The ‘barrowboy’ part refers to the barrow boys or costermongers who used to ply their trade at the nearby market, carting their produce in barrows.

The ‘banker’ part refers to the origins of the building in which the Grade II-listed premises at 6-8 Borough High Street is located. Like one of our previous posts (see The Counting House), it was formerly a bank – in fact, it claims to have been the first ever branch of the National Westminster Bank, which opened in 1970 after the National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank merged to create what is now known as NatWest.

Some of the 19th century building’s original features – such as the high ceilings and large windows looking out onto the street – are still evident inside but one of the more interesting features – former bank vaults – aren’t open to the public. They lie beneath the bar and are now used for storage.

The pub, now known as an ale and pie house, is part of the Fuller’s chain. For more on the pub, check out http://barrowboy-and-banker.co.uk.

This Week In London: The London that might have been; the V&A’s Christmas tree; Christmas celebrations at the Geffrye; and, World War II recollections…

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• A new exhibition looking at the London that might have been opened at Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner yesterday. Almost Lost: London’s Buildings Loved and Loathed uses digital technology to look at how several redevelopment proposals – including a 1950s conceptual scheme for a giant conservatory supporting tower blocks over Soho and a 1960s plan to redevelop Whitehall which including demolishing most of the Victorian and Edwardian buildings around Parliament Square – would have changed the face of the city. The exhibition also looks at how the latest developments in digital mapping can be used in the future and features ‘Pigeon-Sim’ which provides a bird’s-eye view of the city’s buildings with an interactive flight through a 3D photorealistic model of the city. The exhibition runs until 2nd February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wellington-arch/.

• A specially commissioned Christmas tree has been unveiled at the V&A in South Kensington. The 4.75 metre high ‘Red Velvet Tree of Love’ is the work of artists Helen and Colin David and will stand in the museum’s grand entrance until 6th January. The design of the tree – which is coated in red flocking and decorated with 79 sets of hand cast antlers and 67 white, heart shaped baubles – was inspired by an 1860 HFC Rampendahl chair in the V&A’s collection which features a real antler frame and velvet upholstery. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

• The annual Christmas Past exhibition is once again open at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch. Festive decorations have transformed the museum’s rooms and give an insight into how the English middle classes celebrated in times gone past. The exhibition runs until 5th January. Admission is free. Accompanying the exhibition are a series of events including an open evening celebrating an Edwardian Christmas between 5pm-8pm tonight. For more, see www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/whatson/christmas-past-2013/.

• The World War II experience of Chelsea Pensioners are being commemorated in a new display in the White Space Gallery at the National Army Museum in Chelsea. The Old and the Bold is the culmination of a year long collaboration between the museum and the Royal Hospital Chelsea and features nine interviews with 14 In-Pensioners. Their accounts span iconic moments in World War II history – from D-Day to North Africa and the Falklands and are supported by items from the museum’s collection. Runs until 3rd January. Admission is free. For more, see www.nam.ac.uk.

10 fictional character addresses in London – 7. Saffron Hill…

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Saffron-Hill2Once at the heart of one of London’s most infamous rookeries or slums, Saffron Hill – located between Holborn and Clerkenwell – is forever associated with Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel, Oliver Twist, and in particular with the arch criminal Fagin.

In the text, Fagin’s den is located “near Field Lane” (the southern extension of Saffron Hill beyond Greville Street) and it is here that Fagin’s young associate, Jack Dawkins (better known as the Artful Dodger), takes Oliver after first encountering him.

As Oliver is led down Saffron Hill, Dickens records his thoughts and it’s worth quoting to get a flavour of the place as he saw it: “A dirtier of more wretched place he had never seen. The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours. There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be heaps of children, who, even at that time of night, were crawling in and out at the doors, or screaming from the inside. The sole places that seemed to prosper amid the general blight of the place, were the public-houses; and in them, the lowest orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main. Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively wallowing in filth; and from several of the door-ways, great ill-looking fellows were cautiously emerging, bound, to all appearance, on no very well-disposed or harmless errands.” (Oliver Twist, p. 55, Vintage, 2007)

Saffron-Hill3Saffron Hill, known as London’s Italian quarter in the 19th century, takes its name from the saffron which was once grown here but which was not to be seen by the time Dickens’ wrote his book. As well as Fagin’s lair, the street is also home to salubrious pub The Three Cripples, Bill Sikes’ favoured watering-hole (The Three Cripples was apparently the name of a lodging house in Saffron Hill during Dickens’ time – it was located next to a pub called The One Tun) .

It’s worth noting that this is only one of many addresses in London associated with Dickens’ characters but the ill-fated Fagin does stand out as one of his most memorable.

PICTURE: Saffron Hill as it is now.

For more on Dickens’ London, check out Alex Werner’s  Dickens’s Victorian London: The Museum of London.

LondonLife – In the shadow of the Eye…

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In-the-shadow-of-the-eyeIn a reminder of the summer’s past, here’s an image of Londoners enjoying the sun in the shadow of London’s Eye. The EDF Energy London Eye this year officially welcomed its 50 millionth visitor, some 13 years after the 135 metre high wheel first commenced operation. It was originally anticipated the Eye would only exist for five years but such has been its success that it’s been granted lifelong permission to remain at its South Bank site. For more on the Eye, check out www.londoneye.com.

Where’s London’s oldest…public library?

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While the designation of London’s oldest public library depends on your definition, for the purposes of this article we’re awarding the title to the Guildhall Library.

Its origins go back to about 1425 when town clerk John Carpenter and John Coventry founded a library – believed to initially consist of theological books for students, according to the terms of the will of former Lord Mayor, Richard (Dick) Whittington (for more on him, see our previous post here).

Guildhall2Housed in Guildhall (pictured above), this library apparently came to an end in the mid-1500s when Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector for the young King Edward VI, apparently had the entire collection loaded onto carts and taken to Somerset House. They were not returned and only one of the library’s original texts, a 13th century metrical Latin version of the Bible, is in the library today.

Some 300 years passed until the library was re-established by the City of London Corporation. Reopened in  1828, it was initially reserved for members of the Corporation but the membership was soon expanded to include”literary men”.

By the 1870s, when the collection included some 60,000 books related to London, the library moved into a new purpose-built building, located to the east of Guildhall. Designed by City architect Horace Jones, it opened to the public in 1873.

The library lost some 25,000 books during World War II when some of the library’s storerooms were destroyed and after the war, it was decided to build a new library. It opened in 1974 in the west wing of the Guildhall where it remains (entered via Aldermanbury).

Today, the 200,000 item collection includes books, pamphlets, periodicals including the complete London Gazette from 1665 to the present, trade directories and poll books as well as the archive collections such as those of the livery companies, the Stock Exchange and St Paul’s Cathedral and special collections related to the likes of Samuel Pepys, Sir Thomas More, and the Charles Lamb Society.

The library also holds an ongoing series of exhibitions.

Where: Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury; WHEN: 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday; COST: Entry is free and no membership of registration is required but ID may be required to access rarer books; WEBSITE: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-city/archives-and-city-history/guildhall-library/Pages/default.aspx.

Treasures of London – The Mostyn Tompion Clock…

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Mostyn-ClockCreated by celebrated London clock-maker, Thomas Mostyn, the Mostyn Tompion Clock was produced to celebrate the coronation of joint monarchs King William III and Queen Mary II in 1689.

Currently on display in the British Museum in an exhibition coinciding with the 300th anniversary of Mostyn’s death, the clock – which shows the hours and minutes as well as the days of the week – continues to keep good time and runs for more than a year on a single wind.

Noted as much for being a work of art as for its mechanical works, the case features an ebony veneer, silver and gilt brass mounts and is crowned with a statuette of Britannia and a shield combining the crosses of St George and St Andrew while decorations on the four corners commemorate the union of the United Kingdom and depict a rose, thistle, lion and unicorn.

The clock was kept in the Royal Bedchamber until the death of King William III in 1702 after which it passed to Henry Sydney, the Earl of Romney and Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Groom of the Stole. It was later inherited by Lord Mostyn (hence the ‘Mostyn’ Tompion) and remained in that family until acquired by the British Museum in 1982.

Keep an eye out for upcoming famous Londoners on Thomas Tompion.

The clock, featured in the The Asahi Shimbun Display, is on display in Room 3 of the British Museum until 2nd February, 2014. Entry is free. 

WHERE: British Museum, Great Russell Street (nearest Tube stations are Russell Square, Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street and Holborn); WHEN: 10am to 5.30pm daily; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.britishmuseum.org.

PICTURE:  © The Trustees of the British Museum