We pause our series on Winnie-the-Pooh to take a brief look at three uniquely London traditions which take place each Easter…
City
LondonLife – All in white…
This Week in London – Sculpture at the V&A East; ‘Londoners on Trial’; and, Elsa Schiaparelli…
• An 18 foot tall sculpture of a young person, holding a mobile phone and looking towards a horizon “full of possibilities”, has appeared outside the V& East Museum ahead of its public opening next month. A Place Beyond, the work of artist Thomas J Price, has been created from an amalgamation of images, 3D scans and observations and has been constructed in bronze using digital technologies and ancient techniques. Also announced this month have been the artists involved with New Work, the V&A’s new six-monthly rotating creative commissions programme. The artists – who include Turner Prize-nominated artist Rene Matić, Lawrence Lek, Laura Wilson, Tania Bruguera, Es Devlin, Shahed Saleem, Justinien Tribillon and Carrie Mae Weems – have been invited to reflect on east London’s layered histories and creative futures under the theme of Making East London. The works will be displayed across V&A East’s two sites – V&A East Museum and Storehouse – from the museum’s public opening on 18th April. For more, see vam.ac.uk.
• On Now: Londoners on Trial: Crime, Courts and the Public 1244-1924. This free exhibition at The London Archives explores the history of law and order in the city and draws on documents from famous cases involving the likes of 17th century pickpocket Moll Cutpurse, highwayman Dick Turpin, Jack Sheppard, Oscar Wilde, and suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. runs until 25th February next year. For more, head to www.thelondonarchives.org/visit-us/exhibitions/londoners-on-trial.
• The work and impact of Elsa Schiaparelli, one of the 20th century’s most innovative fashion designers is the subject of a new exhibition at the V&A. Opening on Saturday in the Sainsbury Gallery, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art follows the fashion house’s evolution from its origins through to its present day incarnation under creative director Daniel Roseberry. It features more than 200 objects including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive materials. Highlights include the V&A’s Skeleton dress and the Tear dress as well as a hat shaped to look like an upside-down shoe – all of which were conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. There will also be artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray on display. Runs until 1st November. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk.
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LondonLife – Busy Thames shore…
10 London bishop’s palaces, past and present – 10. The Old Deanery…
Containing a residence for the Bishop of London (although, it has to be said, certainly not traditionally a bishop’s palace), the Old Deanery is located in Dean’s Court, to the south-east of St Paul’s Cathedral.
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LondonLife – Glass towers…
What’s in a name?…Rood Lane…
This name of this short City of London laneway which runs between Eastcheap and Fenchurch Street in the City of London has nothing to do with rudeness or lewdness (as you have no doubt guessed).
Rather it’s an ancient term for a crucifix, known in days past as a ‘rood’ or ‘rood cross’.
The laneway was originally known as St Margaret Pattens Lane, a church which, dating back as far as the 12th century, still stands on the corner of the laneway and Eastcheap.
It’s a crucifix which once stood in the churchyard gave the laneway its new name.
Historian John Stow wrote that on 23rd May, 1538, the crucifix was found smashed into pieces “by people unknown”.
LondonLife – City of London stairway…
Lost London – Church of St Peter le Poer…
This parish church once stood on the west side of Broad Street in the City of London and dated back to the Norman era.
The church, which originally dated from before 1181 (when it was first mentioned) and was also referred to as St Peter le Poor, may have been so-named because of the poor parish in which it was located or for its connections to the monastery of St Augustine at Austin Friars, whose monks took vows of poverty.
Whatever the reason for its name (and it has been suggested the ‘le Poer’ wasn’t added to it until the 16th century), the church was rebuilt in 1540 and then enlarged in 1615 with a new steeple and west gallery added in the following decade or so.
The church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 but just over a 100 years later has fallen into such a state of disrepair that parishioners obtained an Act of Parliament to demolish and rebuild it.
The new church, which was designed by Jesse Gibson and moved back off Broad Street further into the churchyard, was consecrated on 19th November, 1792. Its design featured a circular nave topped by a lantern (the curved design was not visible from the street) and placed the altar directly opposite the doorway on the north-west side of the church.
The church had acquired a new organ in 1884 but the declining population in the surrounding area led to its been deemed surplus to requirements. It was demolished in 1907 and the parish united with that of St Michael Cornhill.
Proceeds of the sale were used to build a new church, St Peter Le Poer in Friern Barnet. The new church, which was consecrated on 28th June, 1910, by the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram, also received the demolished church’s font, pulpit and panelling.
LondonLife – City of lights…
LondonLife II – The Lady Mayor’s Show…
The historic Lady Mayor’s Show took place on Saturday through the streets of the City of London. Dame Susan Langley, the 697th Lord Mayor of London, is only the third woman to hold the post in more than 800 years, and is the first ever to be titled the ‘Lady Mayor of London’.
This Week in London – The first Lady Mayor’s Show; Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’ at the National Portrait Gallery; and, Audrey Hepburn’s Blue Plaque…
• The Lord Mayor’s Show – or this year, for the first time in its 800 year history, the Lady Mayor’s Show – takes place on Saturday as Dame Susan Langley is celebrated as the City of London’s 697th Lord Mayor of London. Langley, who takes office at Guildhall on Friday in the ancient ‘Silent Ceremony’, is the third woman to hold the role and the first to adopt the title “Lady Mayor”. The more than three mile-long procession, which kicks off at 11am, features around 7,000 participants, 200 horses and more than 50 decorated floats and travels from the Mansion House, the official mayoral residence, through the City to the Royal Courts of Justice, via St Paul’s Cathedral, before returning. The centrepiece as always is the State Coach carrying the Lady Mayor as she fulfills the dual purpose of showing herself to residents and swearing allegiance to the crown. For more – including details of the procession’s route, head to https://lordmayorsshow.london/.
• The first exhibition dedicated to the work of 18th century artist Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’ opens at The National Gallery tomorrow. Wright of Derby: From the Shadows focuses on his career between 1765 and 1773 when he created his candlelight series. On show are a number of works from this series including Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candlelight (1765), A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery in which a lamp is put in place of the Sun (1766), and the gallery’s own An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768). Mezzotint prints of Wright’s works – key to the establishment of his international reputation – will also be on display. The exhibition, in the Sunley Room, runs until 10th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/wright-of-derby-from-the-shadows.
• Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque on her former home in Mayfair. The plaque at 65 South Audley Street was where Hepburn lived in a flat with her mother between 1949 to 1954 as she launched her career as an actor. It was from here that she travelled to the West End to perform in chorus lines, appeared in British films such as 1951’s The Lavender Hill Mob and while living here that she was cast as the lead in Gigi on Broadway – a key stepping stone towards her breakthrough performance in 1953’s Roman Holiday. Hepburn was born in Brussels but had strong ties to London, training at the Ballet Rambert and working as a dancer and model before moving on to acting. Of course, as well as Roman Holiday, Hepburn performed notable roles Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady, and Charade. She later dedicated herself to humanitarian work, serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before her death in 1993. For more on English Heritage Blue Plaques, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.
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London Explained – Police in London…
London has several police forces so let’s explain.
The largest police force in London (and the UK as a whole) is the Metropolitan Police. They are responsible for policing the Greater London area and its 8.6 million residents (with some exceptions – more on that in a moment).
The Met, currently led by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 and across the almost 200 years since has grown to a service of more than 33,000 police officers, 11,000 staff, almost 1500 police community support officers and more than 1,100 special officers.
They are headquartered at New Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment in Westminster.
The Met’s jurisdiction comprises some 620 square miles – the 32 boroughs of Greater London.
An exception within Greater London is within the Square Mile of the City of London, home to some 8,000 residents but host to an additional 500,000 workers, tourists and others each day. This falls under the jurisdiction of the much smaller City of London Police.
The London City Police officially formed in 1832 but became the City of London Police with the passing of the City of London Police Act 1839.
Led by Commissioner Peter O’Doherty, the 17th City of London police commissioner, the service consists of more than 1,000 officers and staff and as well as providing policing services locally, the City of London Police also leads policing efforts nationally on fraud and cyber-crime.
They are currently temporarily headquartered at Guildhall.
A number of other police services also operate in London. They include the British Transport Police, responsible for policing the railway network including track and stations as well as the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway.
The Ministry of Defence Police, meanwhile, are responsible for policing Ministry of Defence property in London including the ministry itself in Whitehall while the tiny Kew Constabulary is responsible for policing Kew Gardens (the former Royal Parks Constabulary merged with the Met in 2004 – the parks are now policed through a specialist unit in the Met).
10 places to encounter London’s animal life…8. Epping Forest…
This 6,000 acre woodland and pasture habitat, located on the north-eastern outskirts of London, is famous for its ancient and veteran trees – numbering almost 55,000 – but is also home to a range of wildlife.
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This Week in London – Guildhall Library marks 600 years; the David Bowie Centre opens; the Chelsea History Festival; and returning to the Blitz Club…
• Guildhall Library is celebrating its 600th anniversary with a new exhibition. The display, which can be seen for free at the library, looks at the founding of the original library in 1425, what a medieval library would have looked like and what books it would have included as well as links with the library as it is today. Runs until 30th December. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/guildhall-library/information-and-enquiries/visit-guildhall-library.
• David Bowie’s final, unrealised musical projects – The Spectator, an unseen Ziggy Stardust guitar, and Bowie’s costume designs are just some of the treasures housed in the new David Bowie Centre which opened to the public this month. Located at the V&A East Storehouse in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the new home for David Bowie’s archive features nine displays show-casing more than 200 items which also include handwritten lyrics, photography, costumes and sketches. As well as seeing the displays, visitors can book one-on-one time with some of the 90,000-plus objects in the archive through the ‘Order an Object’ service. More than 500 items were requested in the first week of the service going live with a frockcoat designed by Alexander McQueen and David Bowie for his 50th birthday concert in 1997 the most frequently requested item. Entry to the archive is free, but ticketed. For more, including bookings, see www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/david-bowie-centre.
• The annual Chelsea History Festival kicked off yesterday with more than 80 events taking place until Sunday. Events include tours of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and the chance to visit the Soane Stable Yard, the free exhibition Lost and Found in Hong Kong: The Unsung Chinese Heroes at D-Day at the hospital, walking tours including ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Chelsea’ and ‘1960s Chelsea’, and a medicinal trees tour at the Chelsea Physic Garden. For the full programme head here.
• A major exhibition on the Blitz club – which helped shape London’s culture not only in the mid-1980s but in the decades that followed – has opened at the Design Museum in Kensington High Street. Located in a Covent Garden side street, the club is credited with having “transformed 1980s London style”, generating a creative scene that had an enormous impact on popular culture in the following decade. Blitz: The Club that Shaped the 80s features more than 250 items including clothing and accessories, design sketches, musical instruments, flyers, magazines, furniture, artworks, photography, vinyl records and rare film footage. Runs until 29th March. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/blitz-the-club-that-shaped-the-80s.
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LondonLife – Millennium Bridge bubbles…
London Explained – Lord Mayor or Mayor?
Lord Mayor of London or Mayor of London? They have similar titles but their roles and responsibilities (not to mention their history) are quite different.
The older of the two posts is the Lord Mayor of London, a title which refers to the governance of the City of London, known to many as the “Square Mile” in the heart of the capital.
The Lord Mayor of London (officially, since 2006, known as the Lord Mayor of the City of London) heads the City of London Corporation and is an elected position; in fact it’s one of the world’s oldest continuously elected offices dating back to the late 12th century.
The Lord Mayor, who holds office for one year, is elected by the City liverymen at the Common Hall held on Michaelmas (29th September) each year. They must be serving in the office of Alderman at the time.
The Lord Mayor of London takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday of November in what is known as The Silent Ceremony (the Lord Mayor’s Show, a celebration of the newly elected Lord Mayor, takes place the following day).
The role of the Lord Mayor of London – who takes precedence over all individuals in the City of London with the exception of the monarch – has historically been to represent the residents and businesses within the City although in modern times the role is effectively an “international ambassador” for the UK’s financial and professional services sector.
The current Lord Mayor of London is Alastair King who is the 696th Lord Mayor of London. The Lord Mayor of London works out of offices at their official residence near the Royal Exchange and Bank of England known as Mansion House.
Onto the Mayor of London. A much more modern position (it was created in the year 2000), the Mayor of London is directly elected by the registered voters of Greater London. They serve as the chief executive of the Greater London Authority and work with the 25 members of the London Assembly.
The Mayor of London is charged with overseeing the strategic governance of Greater London which includes the City of London and all 32 London boroughs (each of which also has a ceremonial or elected mayor).
Responsible for setting an overall vision for the city, the Mayor is tasked with creating policies on everything from arts and culture, the environment and the economy to policing and crime, transport, sport and housing.
The Mayor of London is based at City Hall at Royal Docks in Newham.
The current Mayor of London is Sadiq Khan, the third to serve in the role, has been mayor since 2016. The previous two mayors include Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, who, of course, went on to be PM.
This Week in London – Rare Tudor choirbook at Lambeth; Sculpture in the City returns; and, picturing Blondie…
• One of only two surviving choirbooks from the reign of King Henry VIII is on display in a new exhibition at the Lambeth Palace Library. Sing Joyfully: Exploring Music in Lambeth Palace Library displays the ‘Arundel’ or ‘Lambeth’ Choirbook (Arundel, Sussex, c. 1525) – this year marking its 500th birthday – along with other items from the library’s collection such as two leaves of a 14th century polyphony recently discovered in the binding of an early printed book. The exhibition, which is free, can be seen until 6th November. For more, see www.lambethpalacelibrary.info/sing-joyfully/.
• On Now: Sculpture in the City. The 14th edition of the annual sculpture exhibition in the City of London features 11 pieces including three new works as well as six works which have been retained from previous iterations of the exhibition and two permanent acquisitions. The new works include: Ai Weiwei’s Roots: Palace, a cast-iron tree root sculpture located outside St Botolph without Bishopsgate which, as part of a series created in collaboration with Brazilian artists and communities, explores the concept of unrootedness; Jane and Louise Wilson’s Dendrophiles which, located beneath the escalators of The Leadenhall Building, combines ink drawings based on images of DNA with 3D scans of ancient oak wooden samples; and, Andrew Sabin’s Looping Loop which, located outside 70 St Mary Axe, which forms a continuous loop creating what’s described as a “lively, pulsating sensation”. Runs until April. For more – including a map of the locations – see https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/.
• Rare, behind the scenes images of US band Blondie have gone on show at the Barbican Music Library from today. Taken by photographer Martyn Goddard during the group’s breakthrough year of 1978, the 50 images show the band in concert, backstage, in the studio and during photo shoots. The display of photographs is complemented by poster prints, album covers, tour and concert memorabilia, period cameras, and photographic equipment. There are also items lent by Alan Edwards, who has handled Blondie’s publicity since 1978, from his private collection. Blondie in Camera 1978 runs until 5th January. Admission is free. For more see, www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/libraries/barbican-music-library.
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Treasures of London – Shackleton’s Crow’s Nest…
This barrel-shaped object, which can be found in the church of All Hallows by the Tower in the City of London, was used the crow’s nest on the ship Quest during Sir Ernest Shackleton’s third – and last – Antarctic voyage in the early 1920s.
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What’s in a name?….Giltspur Street
This City of London street runs north-south from the junction of Newgate Street, Holborn Viaduct and Old Bailey to West Smithfield. Its name comes from those who once travelled along it.
An alternative name for the street during earlier ages was Knightrider Street which kind of gives the game away – yes, the name comes from the armoured knights who would ride along the street in their way to compete in tournaments held at Smithfield. It’s suggested that gilt spurs may have later been made here to capitalise on the passing trade.
The street is said to have been the location where King Richard II met with the leaders of the Peasant’s Revolt who had camped at Smithfield. And where, when the meeting deteriorated, the then-Lord Mayor of London William Walworth, ending up stabbing the peasant leader Wat Tyler who he later captured and had beheaded.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital can be found on the east side of the street. On the west side, at the junction with Cock Lane is located Pye Corner with its famous statue of a golden boy (said to be the place where the Great Fire of London was finally stopped).
There’s also a former watch house on the west side which features a monument to the essayist late 18th century and 19th century Charles Lamb – the monument says he attended a Bluecoat school here for seven years. The church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate stands at the southern end with the Viaduct Tavern on the opposite side of the road.
The street did formerly give its name to the small prison known as the Giltspur Street Compter which stood here from 1791 to 1853. A prison for debtors, it stood at the street’s south end (the location is now marked with a City of London blue plaque).
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