Areas of London

This Week in London – Billingsgate Market history explored; new landscapes at Dulwich; and, recovered gems on show…

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• The history of Billingsgate Market in the City of London is being explored in am exhibition at the City of London Heritage Gallery. Billingsgate Market at the Heritage Gallery features items including the Liber Horn, a compilation of charters, statutes, and customs made by Andrew Horn, chamberlain of the City of London from 1320-1328, in 1311 which is illustrated by small images of fish showing their importance to Londoners, a late 17th century petition by the fishermen protesting the landing of vessels loaded with salt and oranges, 19th century volumes recording the collection of tolls and detailing the licensing of porters, and 20th century photographs of the market at work. Free to view, the display, located in the Guildhall Art Gallery, can be seen until 16th May. For more, see www.thecityofldn.com/billingsgateexhibition

Hurvin Anderson, ‘Limestone Wall’ (2020) © Hurvin Anderson. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Richard Ivey

• A major new exhibition featuring new interpretations of landscape art has opened at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Soulscapes features more than 30 contemporary works spanning painting, photography, film, tapestry and collage by artists such as Hurvin Anderson, Phoebe Boswell, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kimathi Donkor, Isaac Julien, Marcia Michael, Mónica de Miranda and Alberta Whittle. Highlights include Anderson’s Limestone Wall (2020), Akunyili’s Cassava Garden (2015) and Donkor’s Idyl series (2016-2020). Runs until 2nd June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

Blacas cameo depicting Augustus – Roman, AD 14–20 1867

• A selection of gems recovered after news that around 2,000 objects from the British Museum’s collections were missing, stolen or damaged go on show at the museum from today. Rediscovering gems explores the significance of classical gems – used as seals, worn as jewellery or collected as objects of beauty in the ancient world – and the impression they have left throughout history. The gems are displayed in a typical 18th century gem cabinet, along with a collector’s equipment, in reflection of the huge interest in classical gems during the period. The display can be seen in Room 3 until 15th June. Admission is free. For more, see britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/rediscovering-gems.

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Where’s London’s oldest…roundabout?

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PICTURE: Matt Brown (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

London’s oldest roundabout is said to be located in Southwark at the intersection of Borough, Westminster Bridge, Waterloo, London and Blackfriars Roads.

St George’s Circus was built in 1771 (during the reign of King George III) and designed by Robert Mylne as a grand southern entrance to London with radiating roads leading to three bridges over the Thames: London Bridge, Westminster Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

Mylne also designed the obelisk which still stands in the centre of the circus. As well as showing the date on which it was erected, the obelisk also records distances to Palace Yard in Westminster, Fleet Street, and London Bridge. Gas lamps were placed at each corner to illuminate the intersection.

The now Grade II*-listed obelisk has a rather interesting history in itself. Having stood at the roundabout for more than a century, in about 1897 it was relocated to Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park outside the Imperial War Museum on Lambeth Road to make way for a clocktower designed to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

The clocktower itself, however, was removed in the 1930s to help with traffic flow. It wasn’t until 1998 that the obelisk was moved back to its original site (now minus the oil lamps).

Interestingly, an Act of Parliament passed in 1812 specifies that all buildings on the intersection must be located 240 feet from the obelisk (the reason, apparently, for curved facades on some of the surrounding buildings).

This Week in London – Notre Dame de Paris celebrated at the Abbey; remembering “great escapes” of World War II; and, ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’…

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Notre Dame de Paris on fire in 2019. PICTURE: Nivenn Lanos/Unsplash

• An immersive exhibition on the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, currently being restored following a devastating 2019 fire, opened at Westminster Abbey this week. Notre Dame de Paris, The Augmented Exhibition tells the story of the Gothic masterpiece from the 12th century to today and features a digital recreation of the cathedral by digital heritage specialists, Histovery, in collaboration with Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris. The exhibition is being held in the 13th century chapter house of the abbey with visitors, thanks to digital technology, able to witness firsthand the lavish wedding of King Henri IV, the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the 19th century construction of Notre-Dame’s iconic spire of Viollet-le-Duc. Runs until 1st June. Admission charge applies. For more, head here. The exhibition is part of a season of events at the abbey celebrating the bonds between the UK and France.

• An new exhibition focused on the hundreds of thousands of people held captive during World War II has opened at the National Archives in Kew. Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives, tells the story of famous escape attempts such as the escape from Stalag Luft III known as “the Great Escape” (made famous in the film of the same name) and British officer Airey Neave’s escape from Colditz Castle dressed as a German soldiers well as stories of individuals seeking escape through art, music and finding love while being held. The exhibition is divided into three parts. The first explores the legal framework for the 1929 Geneva Convention governing prisoners and tells the story of MI9, a highly secret British Government agency established in 1939 to help military personnel evade and escape capture. Part two explores the stories from individual prisoners and internees under British, German, and Japanese authority during World War II while part three examines how prisoners were dealt with at the end of the war as well as how the experience of the conflict led to the Geneva Convention being rewritten in 1949. Runs until 21st July. Admission is free. For more, see www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/great-escapes/.

‘Ice Bed’ ©Nima Sarikhani, Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award winner.

• An image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep on a bed carved into an iceberg has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. Nima Sarikhani’s Ice Bed, and the four finalist ‘Highly Commended’ images were selected from a shortlist of 25 images chosen by the Natural History Museum and an international judging panel from almost 50,000 images entered in the 59th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The other finalists include Tzahi Finkelstein’s The Happy Turtle – a meeting between Balkan pond turtle and a northern banded groundling dragonfly, Daniel Dencescu’s Starling Murmuration - which captured the moment a starling murmuration formed the shape of a bird, Mark Boyd’s Shared Parenting in which two lionesses groom a cub in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and, Audun Rikardsen’s Aurora Jellies which shows two moon jellyfish illuminated by the aurora borealis in a fjord in Norway. The five images can be seen both online and in the accompanying exhibition at the Natural History Museum until 30th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/peoples-choice.

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10 atmospheric ruins in London – 2. St George’s Garrison Church…

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This mid-18th century church in Woolwich was constructed to serve the soldiers of the Royal Artillery but was badly damaged when hit by a bomb during World War II.

View of the church apse with altar and mosaic. PICTURE: Kleon3 (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Designed by Thomas Henry Wyatt with the aid of his younger brother, Matthew Digby Wyatt, in the style of an Early Christian/Italian Romanesque basilica, the church was built between 1862 and 1863 on the orders of Lord Sidney Herbert, the Secretary of State for War.

It was among a number of buildings built to provide for the well-being of soldiers after a public outcry about their living conditions during the Crimean War.

The interior featured lavish decoration including mosaics said to have been based on those found in Roman and Byzantine monuments in Ravenna, Italy. Those that survive at the church’s east end – which include one of St George and the Dragon and others featuring a peacock and phoenix – are believed to have been made in Venice in the workshop of Antonio Salviati.

A mosaic featuring St George and the Dragon. PICTURE: Kleon3 (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The mural of St George formed part of a memorial to the Royal Artillery’s Victoria Cross recipients located in the church and paid for through public subscription in 1915. The interior also featured five tall stained glass windows which served as memorials to fallen officers.

Plaques on the perimeter walls record the names of soldiers killed in military conflict or Royal Artillery servicemen who died of natural causes. 

The church was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1928.

The church, which had survived a bombing in World War I, was largely destroyed on 13th July, 1944, when it was hit by a V1 flying bomb. Most of the interior was gutted in the fire that followed.

While plans to rebuild it after World War II were shelved, in 1970 it became a memorial garden with a roof placed over the church’s east end to protect the mosaics.

Services are still held in the Grade II-listed ruin, located opposite the Woolwich Barracks, and since 2018 it has been under the care of the Woolwich Garrison Church Trust.

WHERE: St George’s Garrison Church, A205 South Circular, Grand Depot Road, Woolwich (nearest DLR station is Woolwich Arsenal); WHEN: 10am to 1pm Sundays (October to March) and 10am to 4pm Sundays (April to September); COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.stgeorgeswoolwich.org.

Note that we’ve changed the title of this special series to allow us to explore a bit wider than the medieval period alone!

LondonLife – Sunset on Euston Road…

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PICTURE: Henry Chen/Unsplash

This Week in London – Life in the Roman army explored; clockwork treasures from China; and, Kew Gardens’ Orchid Festival…

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• A major new exhibition on life as a Roman legionary opens at the British Museum today. Legion: Life in the Roman army shares stories of real legionaries and shows how the army was as much an “engine of social change” as it was a war machine. More than 200 objects, many of which are on display in the UK for the first time, are on show including the world’s only intact legionary shield, on loan from Yale (pictured), and the oldest and most complete classic Roman segmental body armour, found in Kalkriese, Germany, in 2018. There are also the remains of a soldier found at Herculaneum, reunited with his belt and equipment for the first time outside of Italy, as well as the Crosby Garrett mask helmet – found in Cumbria in 2010, and a unique dragon standard found in Germany. The exhibition, which can be seen in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery until 23rd June, also features a specially designed Horrible Histories themed trail of the exhibition with interactive family stations. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• More than 20 mechanical clocks collected by Chinese emperors are being displayed together for the first time in the UK in a new exhibition opening today at the Science Museum. Among those on display in Zimingzhong 凝时聚珍: Clockwork Treasures from China’s Forbidden City is the ‘Pagoda Zimingzhong’ which, was made in London in the 1700s during the Qing Dynasty in China, ‘Zimingzhong with Turbaned Figure’ which mixes imagery associated with China, Japan and India to present a generalised European view of an imagined East, and the ‘Zimingzhong with mechanical lotus flowers’, which, when wound, reveals a flock of miniature birds swimming on a glistening pond as potted lotus flowers open. Runs until 2nd June. Visitors are invited to pay what they can to visit the exhibition, with a minimum ticket cost of £1 per person. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/zimingzhong.

• Kew Gardens’ Orchid Festival returns from this Saturday, this year drawing inspiration from the unique flora and fauna of Madagascar. The display features a specially commissioned film showcasing the beauty of Madagascar – the world’s fourth largest island – as well as themed floral displays and living installations in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The latter include ‘Lovers Baobab’ on the waterlily pond, floral sculptures recreating some of Madagascar’s most iconic wildlife, including ring-tailed lemurs, chameleons and the aye-aye, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, and a small selection of Madagascan orchids including Angraecum sesquipedale (also known as Darwin’s orchid). Visitors will also hear Malagasy music composed by the Boriza Borothers and be able to purchase food made according to a range of authentic Malagasy recipes, thanks to a menu curated by Malagasy chef Lilia Andrianovy of Lilia’s Kitchen. Orchids After Hours will also return for this year’s festival. Runs until 3rd March. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.kew.org.

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10 atmospheric ruins in London – 1. The Church of St Alphege London Wall…

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Ruins of St Alphege London Wall. PICTURE: The wub (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The ruins of this church – which now sit in a public garden – are actually the remains of the second church in the vicinity.

Dedicated to the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury (there’s a similarly named church in Greenwich), the first St Alphege (also known as St Alphege London Wall and St Alphege Cripplegate) dated from at least the 11th century but was closed and demolished during the Dissolution (the other part of its name comes from its location abutting London Wall).

The second church started life as the priory church of the nunnery of St Mary-within-Cripplegate which later became a hospital before it too was closed in the Dissolution.

The church, however, became the parish church and, subsequently repaired, it survived the Great Fire of 1666. Further repairs followed and a more comprehensive rebuilding in the 18th century (with the medieval tower retained).

But by 1900, parts of the church were in a poor state and after the church was damaged during an air raid in World War I, the parish was amalgamated with St Mary Aldermanbury (the combined parish was later united with St Giles Cripplegate) and it was eventually mostly demolished in the early 1920s.

The medieval tower remained but was gutted by fire in 1940. Its ruins were subsequently surrounded by a small public garden. Further restoration work was done as part of works to install a raised walkway in 2018-19.

The remains of the church – which include the tower and arches on three sides – are Grade II-listed and while it’s surrounded these days by modern office buildings, it remains a small piece of a bygone era.

The gardens are free to visit.

LondonLife – Greenwich colonnade…

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PICTURE: Chikashi Miyamoto/Unsplash

London pub signs – Hamilton Hall….

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PICTURE: Ewan Munro (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

This pub’s location on the street level concourse of Liverpool Street Station is a clue to the origins of its name.

The Hamilton refers to Lord Claud Hamilton, the chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Company, which originally built Liverpool Street Station (itself named after early 19th century Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool).

The pub itself is actually located in what was the ballroom of the Great Eastern Hotel which originally dates from the 1880s. The now II*-listed hotel – minus its ballroom – still exists in the same location, these days as Andaz London Liverpool Street, part of the Hyatt Group.

The pub features many of the ballroom’s original features and is partly decorated in the 18th century French style.

For more, see www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/hamilton-hall-city-of-london

LondonLife – Bethnal Green alleyway…

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PICTURE: Iuliia Dutchak/Unsplash

LondonLife – Camden Market…

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PICTURE: Mayank Gupta/Unsplash

LondonLife – City illuminations…

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The intersection of Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall Place. PICTURE: Ashley Main/Unsplash

Famous Londoners – John Stow…

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Sixteenth century historian John Stow wrote numerous chronicles of English history but is mostly remembered for his landmark survey of London, a monumental work which has lead to him being informally given the title “founding father of London history”.

The monument depicting John Stow. PICTURE: John Salmon / St Andrew Undershaft, St Mary Axe, EC2 – Wall monument of John Stow / CC BY-SA 2.0

Stow (sometimes written as Stowe) was born a Londoner in about 1525 in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. He was the eldest of seven children of Thomas Stow, a tallow chandler, and his wife Elizabeth.

Nothing is known about Stow’s early education - whether he attended a grammar school or was self-taught – but he is known to have developed a deep knowledge of English history, culture and customs as well as of Latin.

He didn’t follow his father’s trade but instead became an apprentice tailor and in 1547 was named a freeman of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. He is said to have worked as a tailor in London for almost 30 years.

In 1560, he started on his best known work, A Survey of London, a detailed topographical survey of the City of London and its suburbs – it was eventually published in 1598 (a second, longer edition followed in 1603). But his first book, on the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, was published in 1561, and he went on to publish numerous editions of English chronicles.

Stow was in contact with many of the era’s leading antiquarians, including the likes of John Dee and William Camden, and he was an active member of the first Society of Antiquaries, established in about 1586.

He also attracted the patronage of some significant figures including the Archbishops of Canterbury Matthew Parker and John Whitgift and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and was well-known for his collection of manuscripts, the largest group of which is now within the Harley collection at the British Library.

Stow, whose work never made him a wealthy man and who, at times, was the subject of his acquaintances’ charity (although Barrett L Beer in an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes his pleas of poverty as “exaggerated”), married his wife Elizabeth sometime after 1549. They lived initially in Aldgate where his business was also based (and later moved to the Lime Street ward). The couple had three daughters, two of whom – Joan and Julyan – survived him.

Stow died on 5th April, 1605. He was buried in the church of St Andrew Undershaft and his wife commissioned a marble monument to commemorate him which depicts Stow seated at his desk. A commemorative service, organised by the Merchant Taylors Company, is still held in the church every three years during which the quill he writes with is regularly replaced in a sign of respect.

10 most popular (new) posts for 2023 – Numbers 2 and 1…

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The final entries in our countdown…

2. What’s in a name?…Amen Corner…

1. What’s in a name?…Shoe Lane…

Have a Merry Christmas!

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Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

PICTURE: SHansche/iStockphoto

Keep an eye out for our annual countdown of the most popular posts for 2023 next week!

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren – A recap…

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We finish our series on Christopher Wren by providing a quick recap…

1. The Old Court House, Hampton Court Palace Green…

2. St Martin-in-the-Fields…

3. Scotland Yard…

4. Gresham College…

5. London coffee houses…

6. Westminster Abbey…

7. St Stephen Walbrook…

8. The Bankside Plaque…

9. St James’s Street, Piccadilly…

10. St Paul’s Cathedral…

We’ll start a new series in the New Year!

LondonLife – St Pancras ‘book tree’…

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PICTURE: JuliaC2006/Flickr (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

A Christmas tree with a difference, this year’s festive display at St Pancras International features a 12 metre high ‘book tree’ with a winding staircase and 270 shelves adorned with over 3,800 hand-painted books, including classics like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. There’s also a series of nooks where passerby can ensconce themselves and listen to a five minute excerpt from an audio book. The display is the result of a collaboration with bookseller Hatchards.

A Moment in London’s history – The first Selfridges Christmas windows display…

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Oxford Street department store Selfridges is known for many firsts and among them is that it was the first department store in the UK to have window displays for Christmas.

It was in 1909, having opened the store in March that year, that American Harry Gordon Selfridge, drawing on his experience in the states where Macy’s in New York had featured Christmas window displays since the 1870s, decided to illuminate the display windows at his store in a bid to allow passersby to see the goods on display.

Selfridges Christmas window from 2014. PICTURE: Oast House Archive (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

The windows were just one of the many innovations aimed at celebrating Christmas Selfridge – who is credited with having been the first to use the line “only (x) number of shopping days till Christmas” while working at Marshall Field’s in Chicago – embraced in the store.

Christmas displays were said to almost cover an entire floor and there were mince pies for customers, a chance to visit with Santa Claus, and a gift advice service as well as men-only tours of the store to help them with buying gifts for the females in their lives.

This year’s Christmas display at Selfridges was created around the theme of ‘showtime’ and reportedly took 100 hours to put together. It features characters including Santa Claus and the elves in a workshop.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…10. St Paul’s Cathedral…

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For the final entry in our Wednesday special series, we go to see Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest work – and also his resting place, St Paul’s Cathedral.

Following his death on 25th February, 1723, Wren was buried in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral on 5th March.

The memorial to Sir Christopher Wren. PICTURE: Phil Guest (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

His burial location was in the south-east corner of the crypt and a simple memorial was placed there near that of his daughter Jane and his sister Susan Holder and her husband William.

The plaque which marks the location was written by his eldest son Christopher. Inscribed in Latin, it reads: “Here in its foundations lies the architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91.”

It’s a fitting tribute to one responsible for some of London’s most famous landmarks.

Interestingly, a fragment of Wren’s coffin can be seen at the RIBA Library. It was taken from his tomb in 1851 when it was last opened to allow for his last surviving direct descendent to be placed within.

WHERE: St Paul’s Cathedral (nearest Tube stations are St Paul’s, Mansion House and Blackfriars); WHEN: 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday; COST: £23 adults/£20.50 concessions/£10 children/£56 family (these are walk-up rates – online advanced and group rates are discounted); WEBSITE: www.stpauls.co.uk.

London Explained – Freedom of the City of London…

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On 1st December this year – World AIDS Day, four leading figures from two major HIV charities – Richard Angell, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, and colleagues Dominic Edwardes and Barbara Tinubu, and Mark Santos, executive director of Positive East – were awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

But what exactly does it mean to be awarded the Freedom of the City of London?

An ancient tradition of the City of London, the Freedom is believed to date back to 1237 and was originally awarded to help citizens carry out their trade. The recipient was viewed as a “free man” and not subject to a feudal lord with the right to earn money for themselves and own property.

The Freedom of the City became closely linked with London’s medieval guilds, known as livery companies, and it was through membership of such a company that an application could be made to be a freeman, a necessary step for anyone who wants to hold office in a livery company.

In 1835, the Freedom was widened to include people living or working in the City or those with a strong London connection.

The award is these days also offered to people as a way of paying tribute to their “outstanding contribution” to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement. It is also necessary to be a freeman to stand for elected office in the City.

London’s Guildhall. PICTURE: stephenarcher (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Freedom ceremonies take place in the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall and are usually conducted by the Clerk of the Court or his assistant. Prospective freemen read the ‘Declaration of a Freeman’ – which, among other things they swear allegiance to the King and obedience to Lord Mayor of London – and sign the Freeman’s Declaration Book.

A parchment document, known as The Copy of the Freedom, is then presented to the recipient along with a copy of the ‘Rules for the Conduct of Life’ which date from the mid-18th century. The clerk then extends the right hand of fellowship to the recipient and greets them as “a Citizen of London”.

A fee, known as a “fine”, is charged for applications (currently it’s £170).

Other recent high-profile recipients of the Freedom of the City of London include the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England football captain and former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe and theatrical impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh.