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LondonLife – Insights into the British Black experience…

by exploringlondon

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Part of Yinka Shonibare’s large scale series, Diary of a Victorian Dandy is one of more than 50 photographs exploring the experiences of black people in Britain in the latter half of the 20th century which feature in the V&A’s new exhibition, Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience 1950s-1990s. The photographs have been selected from 118 works by 17 artists which the South Kensington museum – working in partnership with Black Cultural Archives – has acquired over the last seven years in a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Along with Shonibare’s 1998 series, others on display include intimate portrayals of British-Caribbean life in London in the 1960s-70s by Neil Kenlock, Armet Francis, Dennis Morris and Charlie Phillips along with Raphael Albert’s depictions of the black beauty pageants he organised from the 1960s to the 1980s, and Norman ‘Normski’ Anderson’s colourful depictions of vibrant youth culture of the 1980s and Nineties. The display is accompanied by oral histories on a range of subjects – including recollections of the photographers, their relatives, and the people depicted in the images – which have been collated by Black Cultural Archives. Runs until 24th May in gallery 38A (admission is free) Coinciding with the exhibition, the BCA is presenting a display of 25 more photographs drawn from the V&A’s collection at their heritage centre in Brixton (runs until 30th June; admission is free). For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/stayingpower (and for the Brixton exhibition, see www.bcaheritage.org.uk) PICTURE: © Yinka Shonibare/Victoria and Albert, London.

This Week in London – 70 years of British history in the spotlight at the Hayward; Napoleonic propaganda at the British Museum; pick the copy at the Dulwich Picture Gallery; and, Fulham Palace during World War I…

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• The last 70 years of British history is under the spotlight at the Hayward Gallery, South Bank, in a new exhibition, History is Now:7 Artists Take on Britain. As the title suggests, seven UK-based artists – John Akomfrah, Simon Fujiwara, Roger Horns, Hannah Starkey, Richard Wentworth and Jane and Louise Wilson – are each looking at a particular period of cultural history spanning the years from 1945 to today. The artists have selected more than 250 objects from public and private collections and have displayed these along with photographs, newspapers, films, domestic items and artefacts. The exhibition, which runs until 26th April, is part of the Southbank Centre’s Changing Britain 1945-2015 Festival which runs until 9th May. For more, see www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

• The use of Napoleon’s image in propaganda during the Napoleonic Wars is the subject of an exhibition which opened last week at the British Museum in Bloomsbury. Bonaparte and the British: prints and propaganda in the age of Napoleon looks at how propaganda was used on both sides of the channel and includes works by both British and French satirists. Among British artists whose work is featured is that of James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson, Richard Newton and George Cruikshank and the exhibition also features a range of objects – mugs, banners and even Napoleon’s death mask – drawn from the museum’s collection. The exhibition, which runs until 16th August, is free and can be found in Room 91. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

Dulwich• Can you pick a copy? Visitors to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in the city’s south have the opportunity to test their skills with a new initiative which has seen a Chinese replica placed somewhere among the 270 Old Master paintings on display. Made in China: A Doug Fishbone Project explores the nature and importance of the concept of the original versus that of the copy and the role of art as commodity. People have three months – until 26th April – to visit the gallery and find the replica painting before submitting their answers via an iPad in the gallery (those who correctly identify it will be entered into a competition to win a custom print from the gallery’s collection signed by the American artist Doug Fishbone). The replica will be revealed on 28th April when it will hang side-by-side with the original. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk. PICTURE: © Stuart Leech/Dulwich Picture Gallery.

• The Talk: Isambard Kingdom Brunel – The man who built the world. Robert Pulse, director of The Brunel Museum, will give a free talk about the life and achievements of the great Victorian engineer Brunel at the John Harvard Library 211 Borough High Street on 17th February at 6.30pm. For more information, follow this link.

• On Now: Fulham Palace through the Great War. This exhibition at the former home of the Bishop of London on the Thames River in west London tells the story of the palace during World War I and examines the lives of those connected with the palace who died in the conflict, such as William Burley, son of Bishop Winnington-Ingram’s chauffeur. It tells how the bishop – described as an “enthusiastic” recruiter – visited the frontline in 1915 and how, in 1918, the palace was occupied by a Red Cross hospital. Runs until 16th April. Entry is free. For more, see www.fulhampalace.org/visiting-whats-on/exhibitions/.

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LondonLife – Astrologer, former Lord Mayor and Leveller among those buried in Bedlam, new research finds…

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The remains of an astrologer believed to have been stoned to death by an angry mob, a former Lord Mayor of London and a member of Civil War era dissenting group, the Levellers, who was executed by firing squad may be among those exhumed from the former Bedlam burial ground in Liverpool Street in the City of London in a new archaeological excavation.

A research project carried out ahead of the planned excavation of the new eastern entrance of the Liverpool Street Crossrail Station has unearthed the names and backgrounds of more than 5,000 of the 20,000 Londoners who were buried on the site in the 16th and 17th centuries.

They include Dr John Lamb, an astrologer and advisor to the Duke of Buckingham, who a mob apparently stoned to death outside a theatre in 1628 after allegations against him of rape and black magic, Sir Ambrose Nicholas, Lord Mayor of London in 1575, as well as victims of riots by ‘Fanatiques’ (as noted in the diaries of Samuel Pepys in January, 1661) and, according to a report in The Independent, Robert Lockyer, a member of the Leveller movement who was executed by firing squad in 1649 during the English Civil War.

Some 3,000 skeletons will be disinterred in the excavation along with, it is expected, Roman and medieval artefacts. The dig will start next month and will be carried out by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). The skeletons will be analysed before they are reburied in consecrated ground.

The research into the backgrounds of more than 5,000 of those buried on the site – which was established in 1569 to help alleviate overcrowding caused by outbreaks of plague and other epidemics – has been carried out by 16 volunteers with the results compiled into a new online database – the Bedlam Burial Ground Register. Plague was the most common form of death followed by infant mortality and consumption.

“This research is a window into one of the most turbulent periods of London’s past,” said lead archaeologist Jay Carver. “These people lived through civil wars, the Restoration, Shakespeare’s plays, the birth of modern industry, plague and the Great Fire.”

Crossrail workers recently discovered the gravestone of Mary Godfree who died in September, 1665, as a result of the ‘Great Plague’ which reached its peak that year.

PICTURES: Courtesy of Crossrail.

We’re running a bit behind this week, so the next instalment in our Churchill series won’t appear until later this week.

This Week in London – Churchill’s Scientists; Waterloo online; a Chelsea murder case reopened; exploring Crossrail; and, astronomical photography…

by exploringlondon

Churchill-with-a-Spitfire-from-Castle-Bromwich,-credit-Philip-Insley,-CBAF-Archive-Vickers-ArchiveSyndics• Marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill, a new exhibition at the Science Museum in South Kensington looks at his passion for science and the influence that had on bringing World War II to an end. Churchill’s Scientists celebrates the individuals who flourished under Churchill’s patronage (and , as well as helping to bring about the end of World War II, also launched a post-war “science renaissance”) – from Robert Watson-Watt (inventor of radar) through to Bernard Lovell (creator of the world’s largest telescope) – and also delves into more personal stories of Churchill’s own fascination with science and tech. The display include objects from the museum’s collection as well as original archive film footage, letters and photographs. Highlights include the high speed camera built at Aldermaston to film the first microseconds of the detonation of the UK’s first home grown atomic bomb, the cigar Churchill was smoking when he heard news of his re-election as PM in 1951, and a one-piece green velvet “siren suit” designed by Churchill to wear during air raids (only one of three originals known to exist, it’s never been on public display outside of the tailors who created it). The free exhibition runs until 1st March and is part of the Churchill 2015 programme of events. Visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/churchill for more. PICTURE: Churchill with a Spitfire from Castle Bromwich (Philip Insley, CBAF Archive Vickers ArchiveSyndics).

• The National Army Museum and Waterloo2oo have launched an online gallery which will eventually comprise images and information on more than 200 artefacts associated with the Battle of Waterloo ahead of the 200th anniversary in June. Among the objects featured on Waterloo200.org are the Duke of Wellington’s boots, a French eagle standard captured in battle and the saw used to amputate the Earl of Uxbridge’s leg. One hundred items – drawn from the Army Museum’s collection as well as from European museums and private collections – can already be seen on the site with a further 100 to be added before the bicentenary on 18th June.

• The Talk: Death in Disguise: The Amazing True Story of the Chelsea Murders. On 12th February, the Guildhall Library in the City of London will host Gary Powell as he examines the facts of this double murder which took place in Chelsea in May, 1870, and left Victorian society reeling. For more events at the library, follow this link.

• On Now: Breakthrough: Crossrail’s tunnelling story. This exhibition at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden brings a new perspective on the massive Crossrail project currently underway in the city. Visitors will experience the tunnel environment through a five metre high walk-through installation featuring a computer simulation of a giant boring machine as well as learn about how the project is shaping up, play interactive tunnelling games and hear firsthand from those who work underground. Admission charge for adults applies. Runs until August. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

• Extended: Astronomy Photographer of the Year Exhibition. This exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich features the winning images from last year’s competition. They include the Briton James Woodend’s image of a vivid green aurora in the Icelandic night sky; American Patrick Cullis’ view of earth taken from 87,000 feet above ground; and, New Zealander Chris Murphy’s image of dusty clouds dancing across the Milky Way. The exhibition can be seen for free in the Observatory’s Astronomy Centre until 19th July. For more, see www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto.

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This Week in London – The Clowns’ Service has a new venue; Sir Jacob Epstein at the Foundling Museum; Mark Boxer’s caricatures at the Cartoon Museum…

by exploringlondon

• The 69th annual Clowns’ Service will be held this Sunday – but the venue has changed. An annual tradition since 1946, the service is held in memory of Regency performer (and man hailed as the “inventor” of the modern clown), Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837). It has been held at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston since 1959 after the previous building where it was held – St James’ Chapel in Pentonville Road; site of Grimaldi’s grave – was gutted in a fire (permission was given for clowns to attend in costume in 1967) but this year, due to repairs at Holy Trinity, the service is being held at sister church All Saints, Livermore Road, in Haggerston (E8 4EZ) (www.trinitysaintsunited.com). Kicks off at 3pm but you’ll have to be early to find a space. About 60 clowns usually attend and a clown show for children follows.

• Bronze sculptures and drawings of babies and children by Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) form the basis of a new exhibition opening tomorrow at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury. Sir Jacob Epstein: Babies and Bloomsbury features portraits of Epstein’s own children and grandchildren and those of friends and contemporaries. The artist lived in Bloomsbury himself between 1914 and 1927 during which time he had five children from a series of extramarital affairs (interesting his long-suffering wife Margaret, herself unable to have children, brought up the youngest and oldest of these and put up with his affairs until her death in 1947 – although she is believed to have shot his long-term lover Kathleen Garman, later his wife and Lady Epstein, in the shoulder with a pearl-handled pistol. Also opening at the Foundling Museum tomorrow is a display of four rarely-exhibited portraits of Georg Frideric Handel and contemporaries Corelli, Geminiani and Daniel Purcell which are on-loan from the Royal Society of Musicians and which once hung in the royal box of King George III. Both exhibitions run until 10th May. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk.

• On Now: The Caricatures and Cartoons of Mark Boxer. This exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury features more than 100 of Boxer’s caricatures and cartoons from The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The New Statesman, The London Review of Books and The Observer. Among the more than 80 caricatures on display – works for which he is particularly noted – are those of Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, Antonia Fraser, Seamus Heaney, Tony Benn, Clive James, Barry Humphries and David Frost. Runs until 22nd March. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.cartoonmuseum.org.

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Top 10 stories for 2014 – part 2…

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Here are the top five of the 10 most visited stories we posted in 2014…

5. LondonLife – Poppies at the Tower of London…

4. Famous Londoners – Dido Elizabeth Belle… 

3. A look back at 10 fictional character addresses in London…

2. 10 fictional character addresses in London – 9. 7 Savile Row, Burlington Gardens…  

1. 10 fictional character addresses in London – 10. 165 Eaton Place

And that’s the list according to our stats. But we’d be interested to hear what you think? Did you have a favourite post in 2014?

Top 10 stories for 2014 – part 1…

by exploringlondon

Here are the first five of the top 10 stories we posted in 2014 (based on reader visits)…

Starting with number 10, they were…

10. What’s in a name?…Fetter Lane…

9. What’s in a name?…Seven Dials…  

8. London Pub Signs – The Hung, Drawn and Quartered…

7. LondonLife – Farewell to the poppies… 

6. A Moment in London’s History – When the last ‘frost fair’ was held on the Thames… 

 

This Week in London – New Year’s Eve sold out; New Year’s Day Parade; and, National Gallery buys Corot work…

by exploringlondon

• All 100,000 tickets for London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are now booked, the Greater London Authority announced this week. They’ve advised those without a ticket to avoid the area around Embankment and South Bank on the night, saying that the best alternative view of the fireworks will be live on BBC One. Meanwhile, don’t forget the New Year’s Day Parade which will kick off in Piccadilly (near junction with Berkeley Street) from noon on New Year’s Day. The parade – which takes in Lower Regent Street, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall before finishing at 3.30pm at Parliament Square in Westminster – will feature thousands of performers. Grandstand tickets are available. For more, see www.londonparade.co.uk.

• The National Gallery has acquired French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s work, The Four Times of Day, it was announced this month. The 1858 work, acquired with the aid of the Art Fund, has something of a star-studded pedigree – it was bought by Frederic, Lord Leighton, in 1865, and the four large panels were displayed at his London home until his death. In the same family collection for more than a century after that, they have been on loan to the National Gallery since 1997. They complement 21 other paintings by Corot in the gallery’s collection. The Four Times of Day can be seen in Room 41. Entry is free. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

Exploring London is taking a break over Christmas, so this will be the last This Week in London update until mid-January. But we’ll still be posting some of our other usual updates including our most popular posts for 2014 round-up!

This Week in London – Hampton Court Palace lights up; doll house histories; more on Christmas; and, memories of a royal progress at The Queen’s Gallery…

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• Hampton Court Palace’s world famous gardens have been transformed into an “illuminated wonderland” which can be explored using a specially created trail. From tomorrow, visitors can use a glow-in-the-dark map to follow the trail which starts at the palace’s hedge maze – the UK’s oldest – and meanders through various locations around the grounds – including the formal gardens – before ending up at the palace’s East Front where, through the use of interactive technology, visitors can ‘paint’ the building’s facade just by moving around. Allow about an hour. Entry is timed between 5pm and 8pm. Runs until 23rd December. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/.

Killer_Cabinet_1840s• The stories behind some of the UK’s best-known dolls’ houses are the focus of a new exhibition which opens at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green on Saturday. Small Stories: At home in a dolls’ house tells the story of 12 dolls’ houses dating as far back as 300 years. Each of the houses – which are displayed chronologically – has been set up to represent a particular time of day and, using interactive technology, tells the story of those who live and work in the building in a series of stories featuring marriages, parties, politics and even crimes. Highlights include: the Tate Baby House – dating from 1760, it features original wallpapers and painted panelling in the style of Robert Adam; the Killer House (pictured) – a gift from surgeon John Egerton Killer to his wife and daughters in the 1830s, this Chinese-style cabinet has gilded wallpapers, a four poster bed and liveried servants; Whiteladies House – a Modernist country villa designed by artist Moray Thomas and built in the 1930s; the Hopkinson House – based on the homes built in the 1930s in the London County Council suburb, the St Helier Estate; and, the Kaleidoscope House – designed by Laurie Simmons to suit a “design conscious step-family living in the new millennium”. There’s a further 20 dolls’ houses, dating from 1673 to 2014, on display in the museum’s permanent galleries (just some of the more than 100 in the museum’s collection). Admission is free. Runs until 6th September, 2015. For more, see www.museumofchildhood.org.uk. PICTURE: Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

• The V&A has unveiled its 2014 Christmas Tree at the grand entrance to its South Kensington building. Designed by Gareth Pugh, Ceremony stands at more than four metres in height and, along with a shape not unlike a traditional Christmas tree, features nine tiered gold pyramids located around a central beacon of light to represent the nativity. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/christmas-tree-installation-by-gareth-pugh/. Meanwhile Winter Wonderland continues to entertain in Hyde Park with rides, markets, ice-skating and all the usual attractions. Open 10am to 10pm every day until 4th January (closed on Christmas Day). For more, see www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com.

• On Now: Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East. This exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, features objects collected by the 20-year-old Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (later King Edward VII), during an educational tour of the Middle East in 1862. The display, which also features photographs taken by Francis Bedford – the first photographer to join a royal tour, follows the prince as he progresses through Egypt, Palestine and the Holy Land, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece. The exhibition is being show alongside Gold, a display of 50 gold items drawn from the Royal Collection. They include the Rillaton Cup, found in a Bronze Age burial dating from between 1700 and 1500 BC, a gold crown from Ecuador that predates the Incas, and an 18th century tiger’s head made from gold and rock crystal and taken from the throne of the Tipu Sultan of Mysore in India. Both run until 22nd February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalcollection.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Christmas celebrations; photographic history on show; and, architects as artists…

by exploringlondon

• Events celebrating Christmas continue to make our post this week. Sunday will see the annual ‘Blessing of the Crib’ – featuring a torch-lit procession on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields before the crib is blessed in Trafalgar Square – while on Monday carol singers will kick off their annual program of carolling in the square. More than 50 carol groups are taking part in the singing this year, which takes place from 4pm to 8pm on weeknights and 2pm to 6pm on weekends and runs until 23rd December.  For more on the blessing, see www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org and for more on the carolling in Trafalgar Square and other Christmas events in the city, see www.london.gov.uk/events.

• A showcase of works from the Royal Photographic Society Collection has gone on show at the Science Museum’s Media Space. The images include some of the earliest known photographic pictures – dating from the 1820s, they are the work of pioneers like Roger Fenton, William Henry Fox Talbot and Julia Margaret Cameron – alongside contemporary works by the likes of influential modern figures such as Don McMullin, Terry O’Neill and Martin Parr. The exhibition also features artefacts from the history of the craft, such as Niepce’s heliographs, Fox Talbot’s experimental cameras and The Pencil of Nature – the first commercially published book to be illustrated by photographs. Masters of Light: Treasures from the Royal Photographic Society Collection, presented in collaboration with the Reiss-Engelhorn Museen in Mannheim, Germany, runs at the South Kensington institution until 1st March. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/mastersoflight.

• On Now: Architects as Artists. This exhibition, marking the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the V&A and RIBA, examines the relationship between architecture and art and features about 50 works from the collections of the V&A and RIBA. They include everything from a drawing by Raphael of the Pantheon in Rome to a lithograph by Cyril Power depicting staircase in Russell Square tube station and a volume of architectural fantasies by the Russian architect Iakov Chernikhov. Held in the V&A + RIBA Architecture Gallery Room at the V&A in South Kensington, it runs until 15th March. Admission is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/architecture.

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This Week in London – Italian Cast Court reopens at V&A; Christmas Past at the Geffrye; and, last call for NYE celebrations…

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Weston-Cast-Court• The V&A’s spectacular Italian Cast Court will reopen on Saturday after the completion of the first phase in the museum’s programme of renovating its day-lit courts. The Italian court, which has been renamed the Weston Cast Court, features more than 60  19th century reproductions of Italian Renaissance monuments including a five metre high cast of Michelangelo’s David, a cast of the massive Gates of Paradise from Florence Cathedral, a plaster cast of a pulpit from Pisa Cathedral and a monumental cast of Jacopo della Quercia’s great arch from the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna. The displays have been reconfigured with a new interpretation following extensive examination and preservation of the collection during the gallery’s renovation. The two cast courts at the South Kensington-based museum first opened in 1873. Entry is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk. PICTURE: © Victoria and Albert Museum.

• The annual ‘Christmas Past’ exhibition – in which 11 period rooms have been decorated in period style for the Christmas season – opened at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch this week. Along with the chance to see how Christmas looked in bygone years, there’s a series of Christmas-themed events including “A Georgian Christmas” on 4th December, “festive food” in the cafe and Christmas gifts to stuff your stocking with.  Entry to the museum is free. Christmas Past runs until 4th January. For more, see www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.

• We’ve mentioned it already but London’s public New Year’s Eve celebration – featuring its spectacular fireworks and lighting display – will this year be a ticketed event and the final tickets will be released during the first couple of weeks in December. A batch of new tickets will be released at noon each day from the 1st to 15th December. Those wishing to snag a ticket – and you can book up to four with a £10 administration fee payable for each – need to head to www.london.gov.uk/nye. Meanwhile the city is gearing up for Christmas and, in the wake of the Christmas lights getting turned on all across the metropolis, comes the annual lighting of the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square. The tree – a gift from the citizens of Oslo as a token of London’s support for them during World War II – takes place next Thursday (4th December) at 6pm (more on further Christmas events next week).

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Apologies that the headline originally had a mis-spelling of the Geffrye Museum (auto-correct run amok!)

This Week in London – New gallery at Hampton Court; Northwest Passage explorers remembered; and, celebrating Churchill’s birthday…

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• A new gallery opens today in the restored Cumberland Suite at Hampton Court Palace. The Gothic Revival suite of rooms, designed by William Kent for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and the youngest son of King George II, were the last major royal commission ever undertaken at the palace. They will now house a selection of the Royal Collection’s finest paintings including masterpieces by Holbein, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Bassano and Gainsborough. The restoration followed two years of research aimed at returning the rooms to a state which as closely as possible represents Kent’s original decorative scheme. One of the rooms – the duke’s large light closet – is being opened to the public for the first time in 25 years and will house 12 of Canaletto’s smaller Grand Canal views of Venice. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/.

Map• The exploration of the Northwest Passage is the subject of a new exhibition which has opened at the British Library in King’s Cross. Lines in the Ice: Seeking the Northwest Passage looks back over 400 years with exhibits including King Charles II’s personal atlas, 19th century woodcut illustrations and wooden maps made by Inuit communities, and artefacts related to three of the most eminent explorer to seek out the Northwest Passage – Martin Frobisher, Sir John Franklin and Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole. The exhibition has opened just weeks after the discovery of the HMS Erebus, one of Sir John Franklin’s lost ships. There’s a full programme of events to accompany the exhibition. Runs until 29th March. Admission is free. For more, see www.bl.uk. PICTURE: The world we live in, c. 1958, on display in Lines in the Ice. Courtesy of British Library.

• Celebrate Winston Churchill’s birthday at a special after-hours event in the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall next week. Advance booking is required to buy tickets for the event which will include a silent disco, drink tasting workshops and the chance to strike your best Churchill pose in a special photo booth. The event runs on the evening of 27th November. To book, head to www.iwm.org.uk/events/churchill-war-rooms/lates-at-churchill-war-rooms-churchill-s-birthday.

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LondonLife – Farewell to the poppies…

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Poppies4The Tower of London is bidding farewell to the sea of poppies that has filled its dry moat while two major features of the instalment – created to mark the centenary of World War I – prepare to head off on tour. Known as Weeping Window (shown above) and Wave (shown immediately below) – the two features of the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation will both tour various locations across the UK for the next few years before going on permanent display at the Imperial War Museum in London and Manchester. So, we thought we’d take a look back at what has proved to be one of the most popular and moving memorials to appear in the capital in recent years. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins (with setting by stage designer Tom Piper), the project saw as many as 888,246 ceramic poppies –  representing all British and Colonial fatalities during the war – planted by volunteers in the moat. The last one was planted on Armistice Day  – 11th November – last week before the process of removal began. PICTURES: ©Richard Lea-Hair and Historic Royal Palaces. 

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This Week in London – Paddington comes to town; it’s Christmas decorations time; Guards Memorial upgraded; and Grayson Perry…

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The Paddington Trail, London, 2014• Paddington comes to the Museum of London in a new exhibition opening tomorrow to coincide with the bear’s big-screen debut. A Bear called Paddington charts the story of the character from his genesis on Christmas Eve, 1956, when creator Michael Bond bought his wife a small toy bear and named him after the railway station near where they loved across the next almost 60 years to today. Objects on display include: a first edition A Bear Called Paddington – dating from 1958, it belonged to Bond’s daughter Karen Jankel; an original illustration of Paddington by Paddy Fortnum; the typewriter Bond used to write Paddington at Work and Paddington Goes To Town; the original Paddington puppet from the 1970s TV animations; and, props from the upcoming film Paddington (released on 28th November). The free exhibition runs until 4th January. See www.museumoflondon.org.uk for more. The museum, meanwhile, is also playing host to a new life-sized statue of the famous bear designed by Benedict Cumberbatch (and known as Sherlock Bear for obvious reasons given Cumberbatch’s penchant for playing a certain detective – pictured). It forms just one stop on the Paddington Trail which, as the work of VisitLondon.com, NSPCC and film-makers StudioCanal, links 50 sites – each with their own statue of the bear – across the capital. Designed by everyone from Mayor Boris Johnson to football star David Beckham and actors Sandra Bullock and Hugh Bonneville, the bears can be found around town until 30th December. For more on the trail, including a map of locations, check out www.visitlondon.com/paddington/.

• While the Oxford Street lights are already switched on (as are those in Covent Garden), Carnaby Street’s Christmas decorations are to be officially launched at 6.30pm tonight. The launch coincides with a shopping party (including 20 per cent discount), live music, free drinks, good bags and “trend masterclasses” with Grazia Magazine’s editor-at-large Angela Buttolph. Oh, and the decorations consist of eight red and white oversized sets of headphones and sunglasses. Meanwhile the Regent Street lights get turned on this Sunday with an event featuring a star-studded cast including Take That’s Mark Owen, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald (who are switching on the lights but not playing). While there’s entertainment along the street from noon, the music kicks off at 4pm and the lights, designed around the theme of the film Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, get switched-on at 5pm and will be followed by a fireworks display. For more, see www.regentstreetonline.com.

• The Guards Memorial in Horseguards Parade, Westminister, has been upgrade to a Grade 1-listed structure on the advice of English Heritage. Unveiled in 1926 by the Duke of Connaught, Senior Colonel of the Guards, and General George Higginson, a Crimean veteran, the memorial commemorates the 14,000 Guardsmen who died in the First World War. Designed by architect Harold Chalton Bradshaw and sculpted by Gilbert Ledward, it features five bronze soldiers, each representing a typical soldier from each of the divisions – Grenadiers, Coldstreams, Scots, Welsh and Irish Guards.

• On Now: Grayson Perry: Who Are You? This exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square features a series of new works created by Perry during the making of his Channel 4 TV series of the same name. Interspersed with 19th and 20th century collections of the gallery, the portraits – which include a tapestry, sculptures and pots – are of families, groups and individuals and include everyone from a young Muslim convert and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Rylan Clark. Runs until 15th March. Entry is free. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Hogarth cartoons; Daniel O’Connell blue plaque; and, Peder Balke paintings on show…

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• The works of famed 18th century chronicler of London, William Hogarth, are on show at the Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury. Marking the 25oth anniversary of his death on the night of 25th/26th October, 1764, the display Hogarth’s London features more than 50 of the artist’s best known satirical prints including A Harlot’s Progress, A Rake’s Progress, The Four Times of Day, Industry and Idleness and Gin Lane and Beer Street. A series of events – including an evening of Baroque dance & music, gin, beer and cartooning on 28th November – accompanies this exhibition which runs until 18th January and is supported by The William Hogarth Trust. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.cartoonmuseum.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/hogarth-s-london.

• Nineteenth century Irish political leader Daniel O’Connell has been honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque as his former London home. Known as ‘The Liberator’, O’Connell was an abolitionist who successfully campaigned for civil and Catholic rights – including the right for Catholics to sit in the British Parliament. The first popularly elected MP since the Reformation, he lived in the property at 14 Albermarle Street in Mayfair with his family for several months in 1833 – a year in which a number of his supporters were elected to the House of Commons and in which the act to abolish slavery was given royal assent. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/.

• On Now: Peder Balke. The first ever UK exhibition focused on the paintings of this 19th century Norwegian artist is underway at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. Held in conjunction with the Northern Norway Art Museum, the exhibition features more than 50 paintings, the majority of which have never been seen in the UK before. The display includes works from across Balke’s career, including The Tempest (c 1862), the only painting by a Norwegian artist in the gallery’s collection. This free exhibition runs in the Sunley Room until April. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Science Museum’s new IT gallery; Hornchurch skatepark protected; NHM’s ice rink opens; and Emily Carr at Dulwich…

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• Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Information Age gallery at the Science Museum this week by sending her first tweet. Following a tour of the new gallery exploring the way technologies – including everything from the telegraph through to the world wide web – have transformed the way we communicate, the Queen tweeted: “It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting.  Elizabeth R.” The gallery in the South Kensington museum explores the growth of communications technologies through important events such as the sinking of the Titanic in the Atlantic in 1912, the first BBC broadcast in 1922, the TV broadcast of the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the creation of the first international link on the ARPANET network – the forerunner of the internet – by University College London in 1973. Entry to the new gallery is free. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

• In a European first (and only the second time it’s occurred around the world), an East London skatepark has been given heritage protection. Known as ‘the Rom’, the Hornchurch structure was purpose-built in 1978 by leading skatepark designers Adrian Rolt and G-Force. It has been listed as Grade II and is only the second skatepark to in the world to win such protection with the first being the ‘Bro Bowl’ in Tampa, Florida, added to the US National Register of Historic Places in October last year. Heritage Minister Ed Vaizey said the listing is testament to the park’s design. The listing was carried out on the advice of English Heritage.

• The Natural History Museum’s ice rink opens today, the 10th year it’s been positioned outside the stunning South Kensington building. The 1,000 square metre rink has been decorated with 80,000 fairy lights and a 40 foot high Christmas tree, and this year has been joined by an interactive Lindt Christmas chalet where you’ll be able to sample complimentary truffles and join in activities. The rink is open to 4th January. For more, see www.nhmskating.com.

• The works of pioneering Canadian artist Emily Carr are the focus of a new exhibition opening at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London’s south on Saturday. From the Forest to the Sea: Emily Carr in British Columbia is the first major solo exhibition in Europe dedicated to the modernist artist who lived between 1871 and 1945. It features more than 140 works and indigenous artefacts as well as a recently discovered illustrated journal, Sister and I in Alaska, in which Carr documented her pivotal trip up and down the north-west coast of Canada in 1907. Highlights include Totem and Forest, (Untitled) Seascape and View in Victoria Harbour, one of a number of momentary records left behind in her trunk after her death. Runs until 8th March. Admission charge applies. See www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk for more.

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This Week in London – Giovanni Batista Moroni at the RA; German history on show; and, Afghanistan at the IWM…

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Moroni• The works of 16th century artist Giovanni Battista Moroni go on show at the Royal Academy of Arts this week. The exhibition will feature more than 40 works including portraiture as well as his lesser-known religious paintings. They include a number of altarpieces from the churches of Bergamo in northern Italy as well as portraits including Portrait of a Lady (c1556-60), A Knight with a Jousting Helmet (c1556), and The Tailor (1565-1570) – the first known portrait of a man depicted undertaking manual labour. The exhibition in The Sackler Wing, off Piccadilly, runs until 25th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURED: A Gentleman in Adoration before the Baptism of Christ, (c.1555-60) (Gerolamo and Roberta Etro).

• This year marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the birth of modern Germany so it’s a fitting time for the British Museum in Bloomsbury to host an exhibition looking at Germany’s tumultuous history. Germany: memories of a nation features 200 objects reflecting themes ranging from ’empire and nation’ to ‘arts and achievement’ and ‘crisis and memory’ spanning a period from the 15th century to today. They include Tischbein’s iconic portrait Goethe in der Campagna, an early edition of Grimm’s fairy tales, a home-made banner from demonstrations in late 1989 and Ernst Barlach’s bronze figure Der Schwebende, designed as a World War I memorial for Gustrow Cathedral. The exhibition, sponsored by Betsy and Jack Ryan, runs until 25th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• Britain’s 13 year involvement in Afghanistan is the subject of a new display at the Imperial War Museum London in Lambeth. Opening today, War Story: Afghanistan 2014 features new objects, photographs, film and video interviews and looks at the experiences of the Afghan national security forces and UK government and NGO workers as well as those of British troops. Objects, all collected between 2012 and this year, include a beadwork lamp made by Afghan prisoners in training workshops aimed at developing skills prior to their release and an Afghan dress and trousers. The display is part of the War Story project which started in 2009. Runs until 6th September next year. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Sherlock Holmes at the MoL; Rembrandt’s latter years; and, William Morris’ legacy..

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Sherlock-15• Sherlock Holmes and his relationship to London, the city in which he lived, is the focus of a new exhibition which opens at the Museum of London from Friday. Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die, the first major temporary exhibition on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous character to be held in London in more than 60 years, will look at his literary origins and his relationship with late 19th century London, through to his portrayal in popular culture including through stage and screen performances starring everyone from Peter Cushing to Jeremy Brett and Robert Downey, Jr. Highlights of the exhibition include Conan Doyle’s notebook containing the first ever lines of a Sherlock Holmes story and notes in which he experimented with names for his to leading characters (later Holmes and Dr John Watson), a rare oil on canvas painting of Conan Doyle painted by Sidney Paget in 1897 which has never before been on public display in London, the original manuscript of 1903’s The Adventure of the Empty House, the Belstaff coat and the Derek Rose camel dressing gown worn by Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC series and original pages from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 hand-written manuscript of The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Poe was an important influence on Conan Doyle’s writings). The exhibition will also include paintings, drawings, illustrations and photographs of Victorian London along with a vast collection of objects from the period. Runs until 27th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk/sherlock. PICTURE: Two editions of A Study in Scarlet in which Conan Doyle introduced Holmes and Watson, Beeton’s Christmas Annual 1887.

• The first ever in-depth exploration of Rembrandt’s final years of painting opened at the National Gallery off Trafalgar Square yesterday. Rembrandt: The Late Works features about 40 paintings, 20 drawings and 30 prints with key works including moving The ‘Jewish Bride’ (from Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam), An Old Woman Reading (The Buccleuch Collection in Scotland), Bathsheba with King David’s Letter (Musee du Louvre in Paris) and Lucretia (National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC) as well as the last minute loan of The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis (from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden). The exhibition provides new insights into some of the artist’s most famous works including The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers (aka The Syndics), and brings together a number of self-portraits usually seen in different galleries. The exhibition runs in the Sainsbury Wing until 18th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

• The first exhibition devoted to Pre-Raphelite William Morris and his influence on 20th century life opens at the National Portrait Gallery off Trafalgar Square today. Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris and His Legacy, 1860-1960 explores the ‘art for the people’ movement which Morris and the artists of the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood initiated, reveals the work of Arts and Crafts practitioners inspired by Morris, and shows how Morris’ “radical ideals” influenced the Garden City movement and post-war designers like Terence Conran. Highlights include Morris’ handwritten Socialist Diary, his gold-tooled hardbound copy of Karl Marx’s Le Capital and Burne-Jones’ handpainted Prioresses Tale wardrobe. Admission charge applies. The exhibition runs until 11th January. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Rare chance to see four Magna Cartas together; Covent Garden films; Raymond Chandler’s childhood home recalled; and Rembrandt at Kenwood…

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Magna-Carta• The only four surviving copies of the original Magna Carta from 1215 will go on display together for the first time ever  at the British Library in King’s Cross next February – and you have a chance to be among the 1,215 people to see them. In an event to mark the 800th year of the creation of the document, the library – which holds two copies of the document – along with Lincoln Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral – each of which holds one copy – are holding a ballot with winners able to attend an event in which they’ll have the unique opportunity to see the documents side-by-side as well as be treated to a special introduction on its history and legacy by historian and TV presenter Dan Jones. The ballot to see the documents is open until 31st October with winners drawn at random. It’s free to enter – head to www.bl.uk/magna-carta to do so. The four documents will subsequently feature separately in displays at each of the three institutions. One not to miss! PICTURE: Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta/Ash Mills.

• The Silent Swoon Free Film Festival kicks off in St Martin’s Courtyard, Covent Garden, next week. The courtyard will be transformed into an open air movie theatre showing a different movie each night – The Talented Mr Ripley on 14th October, Crazy, Stupid, Love on 15th October and Rebel without a Cause on 16th October. Most of the free tickets will be allocated through an online draw but a small number will be allocated each night on a first come, first serve basis. For those with tickets, a range of freebies will be available on the night (including popcorn!). For more information, head to www.stmartinscourtyard.co.uk/silent-swoon-cinema-festival.

• Crime writer and film noir pioneer Raymond Chandler has been remembered with the placement of an English Heritage blue plaque outside his childhood home in Upper Norwood, south east London. Chandler, who received global acclaim for his Philip Marlowe novels and his work on movies like The Blue Dahlia, lived at the home from 1901 after emigrating from the US with his mother, aunt and grandmother at the age of 12. He remained at the double-fronted red brick villa until 1908 – the same year he published his first poem, The Unknown Love. In his early Twenties, Chandler worked as a freelance reporter for London newspapers but, disillusioned with writing, returned to the US in 1912. He spent the next decade working for an oil company before the loss of his job in 1932 pushed him to restart writing. He first novel was published in 1939, and he went on to write further books and movie screenplays to ongoing renown. For more on the blue plaques scheme, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/.

• Two early works of Rembrandt have gone on display at Kenwood House this month. Anna and the Blind Tobit and Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, both of which date from around 1630, will be seen in the Hampstead landmark until May next year. The two paintings replace Rembrandt’s Portrait of the artist which usually hangs in Kenwood and is on show at the National Gallery and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (from where the two paintings now at Kenwood have come). For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenwood. An exhibition of Rembrandt’s works opens at the National Gallery next week – more details then!

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This Week in London – Gothic literature at the British Library; founder of War Graves Commission honoured; and, New Year’s Eve tickets on sale…

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•Gothic The UK’s largest exhibition of Gothic literature opens at the British Library in Kings Cross on Saturday (4th October), marking the 250th anniversary of the publication of the breakthrough book, Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto. Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination will feature manuscripts and rare and personal editions of Gothic classics like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist as well as the work of contemporary writers like Angela Carter and Mervyn Peake. There will also be Gothic-inspired artworks by the likes of Henry Fuseli and William Blake and modern art, photography, costumes and movies by the likes of Chapman Brothers and Stanley Kubrick. A range of literary, film and music events will accompany the exhibition which runs until 20th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/gothic/. PICTURE: Percival Delivering Belisane from the Enchantment of Urma, Henry Fuselli. © Tate.

• The founder of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission, Sir Fabian Ware (1869-1949), has been honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque at his former home in Marylebone. Sir Fabian lived at the early 19th century Grade II-listed terraced house at 14 Wyndham Place between 1911 and 1919. It was during this period that he served with the British Red Cross in France and first began recording the graves of soldiers killed in battle. In 1917, the Imperial War Graves Commission was formed with the task of reburying the war dead in permanent cemeteries in France. Knighted in 1920, Sir Fabian was to be director of graves registration and enquiries at the War Office during World War II and it was at this time that he extended the war graves scheme to civilians killed in the conflict. The commission changed its name to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1960. Today it cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in 153 countries. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/.

• New Year’s Eve in London will be a ticketed event for the first time this year with 100,000 tickets being made available to the public with each costing a £10 administration fee – the entire sum of which will apparently be used to pay for the ticketing system. Making the announcement last month, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson’s, office, said the growth in numbers of those who have gathered to watch the fireworks on the Thames – from around 100,000 in 2003 to an estimated 500,000 last year – has put an enormous strain on transport and safety infrastructure and meant people have had to turn up earlier and earlier to get a good view, facing hours waiting in cold and cramped conditions, or risk being among the “hundreds of thousands” unable to get a good view or even see the display at all. Booking tickets – people may secure up to four – will guarantee “good views of the celebrations and a better visitor experience”. To book tickets, head to www.london.gov.uk/nye.

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