Home
Page
Links
The Historic Houses, Gardens, and
Walks Gay Group
Pictures courtesy of London-GB.com
EARLIER WALKS
AND VISITS
“Light at the end of the Tunnel” – Vauxhall to Waterloo
“Light
at the End of the Tunnel” was a masterplan, launched in 2002, to deal with the
six miles of railway viaduct with nearly 1000 arches in South
London, transforming the environment from intimidating spaces into
bright, safe passageways and innovatively renovated arches. The walk explored
the section from Vauxhall station to Waterloo
station.
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury was laid out between the late 17th and early
19th centuries, mainly by the Dukes of Bedford, and became a highly fashionable
area. Bedford Square
is probably the finest surviving Georgian
Square in London.
The district has of course been long associated with those who lived an
alternative life style – the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers. However
the district has also has strong links with a variety of other famous people
including J M Barrie (creator of Peter Pan), Isaac D’Israeli (father of the
Prime Minister Benjamin), Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, and George Orwell - the
University of London
Senate House was the inspiration for the Ministry of Truth. The walk explored
both Bloomsbury’s architectural heritage and its people.
The Canary
Wharf Estate
The
walk explored the history of the West India
and Poplar Docks. Outraged at losses due
to theft and delays at London's
riverside wharves, Robert Milligan, a prominent English merchant and
ship-owner, headed a group of powerful businessmen who planned and built West
India Docks, which was to have a monopoly on the import into London of West
Indian produce such as sugar, rum and coffee for a period of 21 years. The Docks' foundation stone was laid in July
1800, when Milligan was Deputy Chairman of the West India Dock Company - his
strong connections with the political establishment of the day were evident
from those attending the ceremony – the Lord Chancellor Lord Loughborough and
Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger as well as Company chairman George
Hibbert and himself. The Docks
officially opened just over two years later in August 1802. Poplar Docks, though initiated by the West
India Dock Company, never came under the control of the Port of London Authority
as it was classed as a railway facility.
It was eventually sold to the London Docklands Development Corporation
by British Rail in 1983.
The City
Gardens
Though
only a square mile in area, at least nominally, the City of London has a huge number of immaculately
tended gardens, often used by city workers for their lunch-time breaks. Most
are relatively small in size, with a good few occupying the sites of former
churchyards, or even churches destroyed in the Great Fire or later years.
Starting at Liverpool Street station, the walk was essentially circular, albeit
finishing near Bank tube station.
Golders Green to Hampstead via the Hill Garden
The
walk started in Golders Hill Park,
which was opened to the public in 1898 and has been managed as a discrete and
historically important part of Hampstead Heath by the City of London since 1989. Beautiful plant displays
enhance the peaceful setting of the Mediterranean
and water gardens. There is even a free zoo!.
The
Hill Garden is one of London's hidden treasures. In its current form it is
basically the creation of Lord Leverhulme who lived at what is now called
"Iverforth House", then called "The Hill", a huge Edwardian
mansion he built just off North
End Way, Hampstead. The garden incorporates a
magnificent Edwardian extravaganza, the Pergola, which would be the setting for
garden parties and summer evening strolls and be a striking addition to the
existing garden of the house. Though the house now comprises luxury flats, the
gardens at the rear can be viewed from the Pergola Walk, which then leads to
the another beautifully manicured formal garden, which like the Pergola itself,
is open to the public for free.
Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park
London is renowned for the
large green swathes of parks which punctuate its centre. This walk explored two
of the most extensive, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.
Kensington Gardens
were in fact part of Hyde Park until 1689 when William III commissioned Wren to
extend an existing house on the site of what is now called Kensington Palace
- the king and his wife Mary intensively disliked Whitehall
Palace down by the Thames.
Besides the palace Kensington Gardens are notable for the Italian Gardens,
created in Victorian times, and the “Peter Pan” statue donated by the author J
M Barrie in 1912. In the Serpentine Pavilion 2011 the Swiss architect Peter
Zumthor has created a garden within a garden, which we visited. There was not time to visit the Albert
Memorial so the next point of interest en route was the Diana Fountain in Hyde Park. Adjacent to this is “Isis”,
a large bronze by the British sculptor Simon Gudgeon. Further along, just
beyond the end of the Serpentine, is the Holocaust memorial erected in 1983,
and further still the “Achilles” statue of 1822 (a tribute to the Duke of
Wellington). North of this is the new 7 July memorial, unveiled in 2009. The
walk ended at the Queen Elizabeth Gate (1993) by the metal artist / sculptor
Giusseppe Lund.
Paddington Basin and Little Venice
Paddington Basin
was opened in 1801 to provide a link from London
to the rest of the country via the Grand Junction
Canal (now called the Grand Union
Canal). Later, Paddington
Station and the Great Western Railway were built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in
1837. Queen Victoria
made her first railway journey to Paddington in 1842. Paddington Basin
is over 400 metres long and about 30 metres wide. The building of the canal and
the railway changed Paddington from a small village on the edge of London to one of its main
industrial areas. It was surrounded by warehouses and industry, including
wharves for hay, salt, coal, china, glass, bricks, timber, manure and beer.
Rubbish from all over London
was brought here and taken by barge to be dumped at sea. By late Victorian
times, it was already a very unpleasant place!
By
the end of the 20th century the area had become an industrial ruin, rundown and
neglected. In January 2000, Paddington
Basin was drained for the
first time since 1909 at the start of a large building project to improve the
area. There are now many new offices, flats, shops and restaurants next to the
canal. There are new towpaths for walking, linking the basin to Little Venice
to the north.
Maida Avenue, Warwick Crescent and Blomfield Road, the
streets in the south of Maida Vale overlooking Browning's Pool, including the
section of Randolph Avenue south
of Clifton Gardens, are known as Little Venice. The
name is believed to have been coined by the English poet Robert Browning who
lived here from 1862 to 1887. Browning's Pool is named after the poet, and is
the junction of Regent's Canal and the Paddington arm of the Grand Union
Canal. This is one of London's prime residential areas, and it is also known for
its shops and restaurants, as well as the Canal Cafe Theatre, the Puppet
Theatre Barge, the Waterside Café and the Warwick Castle
pub, where the walk will end.
Bow & Stepney Green
Early
in the 12th century Bow was an isolated village, often cut off from the parish
church at Stepney by flood. Permission
was therefore granted to build a chapel at ease as a local place of worship.
(During the reign of Mary many people were brought by cart from Newgate to be
burnt at the stake in front of Bow
Church.) However it was not until the early 18th
century that the building became a parish church in its own right. In 1950 the church was locally listed as a
building of historic importance.
In
the 17th century Bow developed as a centre for the manufacture of fine bone
china, but manufacture ceased in 1770. Bow came again to industrial prominence
in the late 19th century when the match girls of the Bryant & May factory
went on strike. Subsequently, the area
became closely associated with both the Labour Party and the Suffragette movement. However the Tredegar Square Conservation area
boasts many fine Georgian town houses, which today command high prices.
Stepney
grew out of the medieval village surrounding St Dunstan’s church. In the 19th
century the area rapidly expanded, mainly to accommodate immigrant workers and
displaced London
poor, and developed a reputation for poverty, overcrowding, violence and
political dissent. It was severely damaged during the Blitz, with over a third
of housing totally destroyed; and then, in the 1960s, slum clearance and
development replaced most residential streets with tower blocks and modern
housing estates. Some Georgian architecture and Victorian era terraced housing
survive in patches; the eastern side of Stepney Green is particularly impressive..
The
walk explored the most attractive features of both Bow and Stepney, linked by
the Mile End linear park, and finished at the Half Moon pub.
Twickenham
While
it has been said that famous people never stay long in Twickers, the area is
still the base for a number of reasonably famous celebrities, such as Trevor
Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio, and Steve Hacket, former guitarist with
Genesis. However, despite this slur in
its character, Twickenham still has much to offer in terms of historically interesting
buildings, and of course an attractive riverside location. The walk centred on
the St Maragaret’s district, and included the impressive Marble Hill House,
York House (now the HQ of the London Borough of Richmond), the Octagon (all
that remains of Orleans House), as well a number of smaller but attractive
properties.
Crystal
Palace Park
The
Great Exhibition, in a building designed by Joseph Paxton, opened in May 1851
in Hyde Park and was a great success. The Crystal Palace, as it became known, was rebuilt
in Sydenham in 1852-4 where it was increased in size and set within a park
providing additional attractions. It had mixed fortunes until in November 1936
it was destroyed in a spectacular fire. The walk, which is about 3 miles in
length, looked at the legacy of the Crystal Palace.
Deptford (Surrey Quays to Greenwich)
Deptford
lies on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the
River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th
century to the late 19th was home
to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Dockyards. This was a major
shipbuilding dock and attracted Peter the Great to come and study shipbuilding.
Deptford and the docks are associated with the knighting of Sir Francis Drake
by Queen Elizabeth I aboard the Golden Hind, the legend of Sir Walter Raleigh
laying down his cape for Elizabeth,
Captain James Cook's third voyage aboard Resolution, and the mysterious murder
of Christopher Marlowe in a house along Deptford Strand.
Though
Deptford began as two small communities, one at the ford, and the other a
fishing village on The Thames, Deptford's history and population has been
mainly associated with the docks established by Henry VIII. The two communities
grew together and flourished while the docks were the main administrative
centre of the British Navy, and a few grand houses like Sayes Court, home to diarist John Evelyn,
and Stone House on Lewisham Way
were erected. The area declined as first the Royal Navy moved out, and then the
commercial docks themselves declined until the last dock, Convoys Wharf,
closed in 2000. A major regeneration
project for the area by the Richard Rogers Partnership has now been approved.
Pinner
“Pinner”. No name is more redolent of comfortable Home Counties
suburbia. Yet few of London’s
villages are more ancient and picturesque. Pinner’s chief glory is its
wonderful High Street, a broad sloping thoroughfare stretching uphill from the
River Pinn at one end to the parish church at the other. Lined with houses,
shops and pubs built over the last four centuries or so, it is a wonderful
lesson in architectural styles and building materials. Surrounding the old
village centre, many of the timber-framed cottages and farms that once lay
scattered among fields may now be embedded in modern housing developments, but
the best of them are still well worth seeing.
Perhaps
the most famous resident of Pinner was William Heath Robinson, the cartoonist
and illustrator, whose name is now synonymous with complex and implausible
contraptions. The house he occupied from
1913 to 1918 also featured on the walk.
Alexandra Palace to Highgate
Alexandra Palace
was built in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green in North London, England,
in 1873 as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment and as
North London's counterpart to the Crystal
Palace in South
London. The Great Hall and West Hall are used as an exhibition
centre and conference centre operated by the trading arm of the charitable
trust that owns the building and park on behalf of the public. There is also an
ice-skating rink. Since 1995 the palace has been a Grade II listed building.
Designed to be ‘The People’s Palace’ and later nicknamed "Ally Pally"
(allegedly by Gracie Fields), in 1936 it became the headquarters of the world's
first regular public 'high definition' television service, operated by the BBC.
The vast, tree-lined sloping hill has wide views over London. On a clear day, the Crystal Palace
Transmitter in the London Borough of Bromley is visible.
The
walk continued through Highgate Woods along part of the “London Loop”,
finishing near Highgate tube station, and passing en route the modernist
“Highpoint” development.
Tower Hill to Rotherhithe via Shad Thames
Shad
Thames, also known as Butler’s Wharf, was once
the largest warehouse complex on the Thames. During the 20th century the area went into
decline as congestion forced shipping to unload goods further east, and the
last warehouses closed in 1972. However, Shad Thames was regenerated in the
1980s and 1990s, and is now a bustling mix of expensive flats, restaurants,
bars, shops, etc. Rotherhithe was
originally a low-lying area known as Redriff, which became a tight-knit
community of shipbuilders and sailors until the closure of the docks in 1970.
The old village around the church is nevertheless attractive and has been
designated as a conservation area.
Richmond to Kew Bridge via Old Isleworth and Syon Park
Part
of this walk follows the Capital Ring, a network of walks which encircle London, and it therefore mainly encompasses the north bank
of the Thames (thereby complementing an early
walk which followed the south bank).
From Richmond Lock, it twists through the attractive village of Old Isleworth,
sometimes away from the river, before continuing through Syon Park,
passing the great mansion of the Dukes of Northumberland. The walk continues to Old Brentford, before
finishing at the Express Tavern by Kew
Bridge.
Nunhead Cemetery
Nunhead Cemetery
is perhaps the least known but most attractive as well as being the second
largest of London's
Victorian cemeteries. This pleasant
52-acre cemetery is a tranquil wilderness. Its formal avenue of towering limes
and the Gothic gloom of original Victorian planting give way to paths which recall
country lanes of a bygone era. An
Anglican chapel overlooks a large woodland area. Ash and sycamore conceal
headstones, angels and impressive gothic tombs.
Four hundred interesting personalities were laid to rest at Nunhead
between 1840 and 1998.
A Thames Walk- Richmond to Kew
along the south bank
Richmond, Surrey, takes its name from Richmond
Castle in Yorkshire,
the ancestral home of the Earl of Richmond, better known as Henry VII. Royal palaces had in fact existed here since
1383, when Richard II made Sheen his main residence. By 1649 Henry’s palace was no longer in
residential use; and by 1779 the bulk of it had decayed, yet there are a few
surviving structures which will form part of the walk. However, the walk principally runs along the
south bank of the River Thames, with the Old Deer Park and Kew Gardens
on the right and, looking across the river, Old Isleworth on its left. The walk finished at Kew Bridge.
Inns of Court
The
walk centred around London’s
four ancient Inns of Court where barristers first train and then practise. The four Inns are: Middle
Temple, Inner
Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. Apart from the inns and their old courts and
quiet gardens, features on the walk includd St Clement Danes Church, the law
courts in the Strand, Lincoln’s
Inn Fields, and Staple Inn.
Hammersmith to Chiswick
Chiswick
established itself on the north bank of the Thames a few miles west of London. Its one and only street – Church Street – led north away from the
river towards the main road heading west out of London.
The
village tended to regard the river as its main livelihood. The parish church was dedicated to the patron
saint of fishermen – Nicholas – and a ferry ran from the foot of Church Street until
1934, the year after Chiswick
Bridge opened.
From
as early as the mid 15th century Chiswick was known to city-dwellers as an
attractive and healthy place to live.
The Russell family, later Dukes of Bedford, lived to the west of the
village from 1542. In the late 17th and
early 18th centuries, people began to build fine houses in Church Street and along the riverside
lane, which eventually became Chiswick Mall, one of the finest riverside
promenades along the Thames.
The
walk in fact stretched from Hammersmith
Bridge all along the riverside as far
as Chiswick Wharf, before turning inland to see
Chiswick House, a fine Palladian style villa, Hogarth House, where the artist
lived from 1749 to his death in 1764. It
finished at the Tabord Pub, a grade 2 listed building near Turnham Green tube
station.
Highgate
Historically
Highgate adjoined the Bishop of London's hunting estate. The Bishop kept a tollhouse where one of the
main northward roads out of London
entered his land. A number of pubs sprang
up along the route, one of which, the Gatehouse, commemorates the
tollhouse. In the 1500s wealthy
merchants and lawyers from London
were attracted by its healthy position and fantastic views. One such resident was Sir Roger Cholmeley who
ideas for founding a grammar school eventually led to the public school now
known as Highgate
School.
The
walk provided an opportunity to see a vast range of architecture, ranging from
the red-brick Victorian school, through grand Georgian houses, half-timbered
mansion blocks built for “lady workers”, the gothic Holly Village development,
and the modernist Highpoint I and Highpoint II, designed by Berthold Lubetkin.
Harrow-on-the-Hill
Harrow-on-the-Hill must be the most conspicuous
village in London. Perched on the top of a high hill, largely
bare for three-quarters of its circumference, it is visible for miles
around. The 60-metre spire of St Mary’s
Church rising up above the trees further advertises its presence. When the trees lose their leaves previously
blocked vistas open out. This walk took
in some glorious panoramas of north-west London,
including one celebrated in verse by Lord Byron. The village itself consists of Georgian and
Regency buildings, nearly all catering to the needs of the famous Harrow Public
School.
Highgate Cemetery (East)
When burial conditions in London
became intolerable in the early 19th Century, Parliament authorised the
creation of seven private cemeteries (the so-called Magnificent Seven) within
the periphery of inner London. Of these Highgate was opened in 1839 (the West Cemetery)
and extended in 1854 (the East
Cemetery). Highgate, like the others, soon became a
fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. Today the cemetery's grounds are not only a
place of rest for the dead, but also provide a habitat for an abundance of wild
life, full of trees, shrubbery and wild flowers. Famous “residents” of the East Cemetery
include Douglas Adams (author of the “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy”), the
actor Sir Ralph Richardson, the comedian Max Wall, the writer George Eliot, the
investigative journalist Paul Foot, and of course Karl Marx.
Across the
City
This
walk snaked its way across the City, starting at Liverpool Street station and finishing
near Waterloo. Among the features en route are the Bevis
Mark Synagogue, the “Guerkin”, the Church of St Botolph (which survived the
Fire of London), Tower 42 (formerly NatWest Tower), St Margarets Lothbury
Church, the Guildhall and St Lawrence Jewry Church, No. 1 Poultry, St Mary-le-Bow
Church, the Stationers Hall and the Apothecaries Livery Hall, Blackfriar’s
Bridge, the OXO Tower, and the Bernie Spain Gardens.
Bow and Victoria Park
This walk began by exploring the Tredegar Square
Conservation Area of Bow, where there are many fine examples of Georgian
houses, as well as attractive public buildings.
We also learnt something of the history of the area, and the notable
persons associated with it. Leaving the Mile End Road, the
walk then followed the course of the Regent’s Canal to reach Victoria Park, a
Grade 2 listed open space. Though many
of the original architectural structures of the park, such as the lido, have
now been lost, it still contains some interesting features such as the Burdett-Coutts
fountain and the imposing “Dogs of Alcibiades”.
Upper Chelsea and Belgravia
This walk explored the Georgian and early Victorian
garden squares of upper Chelsea and Belgravia. Along
the way we met some of the notable characters who have lived there over the
years.
Putney and Fulham Walk
This was a circular walk, starting and finishing at Putney Bridge
tube station in Fulham, where there was an opportunity to visit Fulham Palace,
once the home of the bishops of London,
and the associated gardens. The walk
continued on the other side of the River Thames in the section famous for its
rowing connections. It then skirted the London Wetland Centre and the Barn Elms
area, before heading back towards Putney proper, and finally re-crossing the
river back to Fulham.
Regent’s Canal – Islington to Primrose Hill
The Regent's Canal was built to link the Grand Junction Canal's
Paddington Arm, which opened in 1801, with the Thames
at Limehouse. One of the directors of
the canal company was the famous architect John Nash. Nash was friendly with the Prince Regent,
later King George IV, who allowed the use of his name for the project. The Regents Canal
today is a mixture of commercial and residential living. You are as likely to see warehouses as
townhouses. This walk explored the
stretch from Islington to Regent's Park, finishing in fashionable Primrose
Hill.
Tower
Bridge to Limehouse
The River Thames has supported human activity from
its source to its mouth for thousands of years, providing habitation, water
power, food and drink. It has also acted as a major highway both for
international trade through the Port
of London. The river’s
strategic position has seen it at the centre of many events and fashions in
British history, earning it a description by John Burns as “Liquid History”.The
Port of London stretches along the tidal Thames, from Teddington Lock to the
North Sea, with many individual wharfs, docks, terminals and facilities built
incrementally over the centuries. As with many similar historic European ports
the bulk of activities has steadily moved downstream towards the open sea, as
ships have grown larger such that the docks and wharves closest to central London, predominantly to
the east, became increasingly redundant and run-down. Regeneration over the
past 20-30 years has however transformed the area with new housing and leisure
facilities. This walk explored the section from Tower
Bridge to the Limehouse Basin,
taking in Wapping on route.
Millennium
Bridge, Bankside and
Southwark
St Paul’s Cathedral epitomises the wealth and power of the City of London. Regulated for
centuries by the Corporation of London, the City was no place for the pursuit
of pleasure and licentiousness. It was for this reason that the south bank,
around Bankside, developed as a centre for theatres, drinking, and other
pleasures of the flesh. Starting at St Paul’s the historic buildings and sights
included the College of Arms, The Tate Modern, the Bankside Gallery, Hopton’s
Almshouses, the Jerwood Space, the Southwark Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre, the Anchor Pub (from which Samuel Peyps watched the destruction of
London by the Great Fire of 1666), a full-size replica of the Golden Hinde,
Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market,and finally the George Inn, London’s
only surviving coaching inn.
Bayswater
Bayswater is one of London's
most cosmopolitan areas, with the significant diversity of the local population
added to by having one of London's
highest concentration of hotels. Notably, there is a significant Arab
population towards Edgware Road,
a large number of Americans, a substantial Greek community attracted by London's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the area is also a
centre of London's
Brazilian community and a substantial local population. Architecturally, the
biggest part of the area is made up of Georgian stucco terraces and garden
squares, mostly, although not exclusively, divided up into flats. The property
ranges from very expensive apartments to small studio flats. There are also
purpose built apartment blocks dating from the inter-war period as well as more
recent developments, and a large Council Estate, the 650 flat Hallfield Estate,
designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and now largely sold off. Among the garden squares
is Connaught Square,
whose most famous resident is of course now former Prime Minister Tony Blai
Greenwich
Although
Greenwich was established as a fishing port long
before the Norman Conquest, its recorded history begins in the 9th century when
King Alfred and his daughter granted it to the Abbey of St Peter in Ghent. However Greenwich's real history
begins with its acquisition in 1427 by Henry VI's uncle Humphrey, Duke of
Gloucester. Humphrey built a mansion called Bella Court which was subsequently
enlarged by the Tudors into the great royal palace of Pacentia,
a favourite residence of Henry VIII and birthplace of Elizabeth I. In the 17th
century Pacentia was replaced by two new buildings: the early 17th century
Queen's House, the first classical domestic building in England, and
the later 17th century palace commissioned by Charles I after his restoration.
The Queen's House was returned to its former domestic glory in the 1980s, but a
subsequent so-called restoration has transformed it into a rather disappointing
naval picture gallery. On the other hand the transformation of Charles's palace,
into the Royal Hospital
for Seaman and Royal
Naval College
has left behind both the magnificent Painted Hall and a fine College Chapel. In
the late 18th and 19th centuries elegant streets were built to the west of the
original village, which itself was rebuilt in the 1830s in Regency style. The
walk provided an opportunity to visit both the Painted Hall and Naval Chapel,
as well as exploring many of the surrounding attractive streets.
Wimbledon
Wimbledon
has been one of London’s
most select suburbs for over two centuries, but its history goes back to
prehistoric times. For instance Caesar’s Camp on the Common is actually an Iron
Age hill fort. The village grew up to the east of the Common, on the edge of
high ground overlooking the valley of the River Wandle. The church and the
rectory stood, as they still do, on the lip of the plateau, enjoying fine views
to the north and east, now however obscured by trees and buildings. The manor
house joined them later. The two main roads of the village, Church Road and High Street, lay further
back between church and common land where the villagers grazed their animals
and gathered turf and firewood.
Although
over the years there have been four great manor houses built in Wimbledon, not one has survived. Nevertheless other fine
houses were built and well into the 19th century Wimbledon’s
shopkeepers and tradesmen relied on the custom from these for their living.
Then came the railway and with it the tide of building that eventually filled
in all the open land between the once-isolated village and central London. Luckily, however,
the railway was built in the valley bottom, about half a mile from the centre
of the village, so Wimbledon village was able
to preserve much of its individual identity.
Bloomsbury to Kings Cross/St
Pancras
Bloomsbury was developed by the Russell family in the 17th and 18th
centuries into a fashionable residential area. It is notable for its array of
gardened squares, its literary connections (exemplified by the Bloomsbury
Group), and its numerous hospitals and academic institutions.
The
King’s Cross area on the other hand once had a reputation for being a red light
district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration since the mid 1990s has
rendered this reputation largely out-of-date. Since November 2007 the area has
been the terminus of the international rail service at St. Pancras
International station where Eurostar trains now arrive and depart to and from France and Belgium. Regeneration continues
under the auspices of King's Cross Central which is a very major redevelopment
in the north of the area.
Today,
Kings Cross most famous export is children’s favourite Harry Potter. Harry’s
train to Hogwarts left from platform nine and three quarters.
Brompton
Cemetery
The
Brompton Cemetery is one of the finest cemeteries
in the country. Its listed buildings are set within a formal landscape crowded
with monuments and great historic interest. It is also a haven for wildlife
including birds, butterflies, foxes and squirrels. The graves of thirteen
Victoria Cross holders are to be found in the cemetery, together with many
other famous people such as Richard Tauber the Viennese tenor, and Emmeline
Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, as well as several members of the exiled
Russian Royal family. This was also the most popular cemetery for the Polish
community in exile in London,
with over three hundred buried here, including two Polish Prime Ministers.
There are over 35,000 memorials in Brompton
Cemetery, including a
monument to 2,625 Chelsea Pensioners who were interned here between 1854 and
1893.
The Secret
City
Hidden
away behind the busy streets and main thoroughfares of the old city of London there exists a
secret city of narrow alleyways, timber-framed buildings and hidden courtyards.
Behind the hustle and bustle of the 21st century there lies a bygone world of
places that have changed little in over a hundred years. The walk provided an
opportunity to learn of something of the events and people associated with
them.
Primrose Hill
Primrose
Hill is both a hill and the name for the surrounding district located on the
north side of Regent's Park. From the hill there is a clear view of Central
London to the south-east, as well as Belsize
Park and Hampstead to the
north-west.
Like
Regent's Park the area was once part of a great chase appropriated by Henry
VIII and became Crown property in 1841. In 1842 an Act of Parliament secured
the land as public open space. The built up part of Primrose Hill consists
mainly of Victorian terraces. It has always been one of the more fashionable
districts in the urban belt that lies between the core of London and the outer suburbs, and remains
expensive and prosperous. Notable residents have included the journalist and
broadcaster Joan Bakewell, the author Alan Bennett, the model Kate Moss, the
celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools, the horse racing pundit John
McCririck, the current Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the co-founder of
Communism Friedrich Engels as well as actors such as Simon Callow, Helena Bonham
Carter, Jude Law, Sean Pertwee, and Ewan Macgregor
The
Regent's Canal was built in the early 19th Century to link the River Thames at
Limehouse to the Grand
Union Canal
junction at Paddington.
The
walk started in Baker Street, passing through Regents Park and on up Primrose
Hill before descending to the Regent’s Canal and hence to Little Venice.
The Vanishing Jewish East End
(Part II)
This
walk explored the history of the Jewish community in the East End of London,
encompassing rabbis, radicals and Yiddish Theatre. It began with one of the
most beautiful houses in the East End, home to
elderly Jews from 1870 to 1913. Other places and buildings of historical
interest en route included the Stepney Green Jewish School, the East London
Synagogue (built as a great Cathedral Synagogue with a beautiful Byzantine
interior, but now flats), the Dunstan Dwellings (once virtually an anarchist
commune), Rinkoffs (the last Jewish bakery in the East End), Sidney Street (the
scene of London’s most notorious siege), the Fieldgate Street Synagogue (now
closed, but until October 2007 one of the few active synagogues left in the
area and today dwarfed by one of the largest mosques in Britain), the site of
the so-called Hatton Garden of the East End (where 18 jewellery shops were
until recently to be found), the site of “Gardiners” (the “Harrods of the
East”), ending at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Library.
Richmond
Walk
This
walk provided an opportunity spend a relaxing afternoon in one of the most
attractive outer London
boroughs. Richmond upon Thames
possesses a timeless charm, more akin to a village than a town. The name
however only goes back to 1501.
When
a fire accidentally destroyed the manor-house of Sheen (formerly Shene)
belonging to Henry VII, the king built a palace here and renamed it after Richmond in Yorkshire –
he was once Earl of Richmond. The gateway of his magnificent Palace, favoured
by Elizabeth I, and where she died in 1603, still remains. This can be found on
Richmond Green, once the scene of tournaments and pageants, and today
surrounded by elegant period houses. Henry VIII lived at Richmond
Palace until he moved to neighbouring Hampton Court Palace.
More recent residents of the town have included the actor John Mills and his
daughters Juliet and Hayley, as well as Mick Jager with his former wife Jerry
Hall.
The
view from the top of Richmond Hill, a source of inspiration for artists and
poets throughout the years, has been protected by an Act of Parliament since
1902, while Richmond Bridge, the oldest spanning the Thames, sits alongside a
riverside development which evokes memories of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Squares of Islington
This
walk explored some of Islington's many and varied squares and other garden
spaces. The 18th-century village of Islington was once a hub of dairy farming, supplying
much of London's
milk. It was a place of healthy recreation for city-dwellers, with its clean
air and the fresh water spas which developed around the New River, built 1609
to 1613 to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to London. In the early 19th century, as more
houses were needed, country estates were broken up and the second wave of London's great network of
residential garden squares took shape.
Vauxhall and Pimlico
As
well as facing each other on opposite sides of the River Thames, Vauxhall and
Pimlico are both characterised by a mix of upmarket private developments and
social housing. Moreover both have become popular residential areas for Members
of Parliament and civil servants because of their proximity to the Palace of Westminster
and Whitehall,
though the Thomas Cubitt houses built for the Grosvenor Estate in the early19th
century give Pimlico the distinct social edge.
The
area now called Vauxhall was, until the mid 18th century, flat and marshy, with
parts poorly drained by ditches, and provided market garden produce for the
nearby City of London.
Though the origins of the name Vauxhall go back to the time of King John the
area only became generally known by this name when the Vauxhall Pleasure
Gardens opened as a
public attraction. Though now a major transport hub within minutes of central London, Vauxhall was
neglected for many years. Many of its streets were destroyed during German
bombing in World War II or ravaged through poor city planning. However in
recent years, Vauxhall's riverside has undergone major redevelopment with the
construction of a number of modern residential and office blocks, most notably
the distinctive MI6 building at Vauxhall Cross
Development
of Pimlico began in the early 19th century, when Thomas Cubitt developed the
area in the form of a grid, with handsome white terraces (sometimes with mews
behind) and large garden squares. Yet as early as the latter half of the
century, Pimlico saw the construction of several Peabody Estates - charitable
housing projects designed to provide cheap, quality homes for the poor. In
addition, in the post-World War II period, several large public housing estates
were built in the area - on land cleared by German bombing - and many of the fine
Victorian houses were converted to other uses, e.g. bed and breakfast hotels.
This led to the area developing an interesting social mix, and an unusual
character combining exclusive restaurants and residences with Westminster City
Council run facilities and working-class shopping arcades. In 1950, embarrassed
by the slums and brothels with which Pimlico had become associated in the press
and criminal courts, the Second Duke of Westminster sold the part of the
Grosvenor estate on which it is built. Now, as in Central
London in general, Pimlico property prices are high, and the area
is again fashionable. A large number of houses have once again been put to new
use, being divided into one or two bedroom flats intended for young
professionals.
A Green Lambeth Walk
This
circular walk took in parks, garden squares, churchyards, community gardens and
other green spaces of historic interest in Lambeth and west Southwark. The
first stop was the church of St John the Evangelist, one of the so-called Waterloo churches built to commemorate Wellington’s victory over Napoleon. Other
gardens en route included the Bernie Spain Gardens,
named after a local campaigner Bernadette Spain, Christchurch Gardens
with its 1960 church built to replace the original destroyed in WWII, the
Hopton’s Almshouses complex with its two garden squares, the Gambia Street and Nelson Square community gardens, and the
Waterloo Millennium Green. In the Geraldine
Mary Harmsworth
Park (perhaps better known as the
setting for the Imperial War Museum)
was to be found a section of the Berlin Wall, a Soviet War memorial, and a tree
trail linking 34 native trees that colonised Britain after the last Ice Age. The
final section of the walk took in the Archbishop’s Park, and the gardens of St Thomas’s Hospital.
Mayfair
The
districts of Mayfair and Belgravia came into
the ownership of the Grosvenor family in 1677 when Sir Thomas Grosvenor married
Mat Davies, heiress to part of the ancient manor of Ebury. The northern part of
the manor takes its name from the fortnight-long May Fair, held annually until
well into the 1700s. In 1720 Sir Richard Grosvenor, the eldest son of Sir
Thomas and Mary Davies, started developing the area, beginning with Grosvenor Square.
Throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries
Mayfair, with the finest residential architecture in London, was the centre of Society. While much
this fine architecture remains to be seen in Mayfair,
almost all the original houses of Grosvenor
Square itself were demolished during the 20th
century, and replaced by blocks of flats in a neo-Georgian style, by hotels and
by embassies. The very obvious security measures surrounding the US embassy are a further blot on what was once
one of London’s
finest residential squares.
Famous
past residents have included the present monarch Queen Elizabeth II, John
Adams, 2nd American president (1735-1826), Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th
American president (1890-1969), Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, surgeon and mayor
(1836-1917), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (1806-1861), Robert Clive,
soldier & administrator (1725-1774), Earl Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister
(1804-1881), Sir Robert Peel, prime minister (1788-1850), Sir Henry Pelham,
prime minister (1695-1754), Charles James Fox, British statesman (1749-1806),
Jimi Hendrix, guitarist & songwriter (1942-1970), William Somerset Maugham,
novelist (1874-1965), and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist (1751-1816).
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell,
once also known as London's "Little Italy" - due to its extensive
Italian population from the 1850s to the 1960s - took its name from the Clerk's
Well in Farringdon Lane, where in the Middle Ages, the London Parish clerks
performed annual mystery plays, based on biblical themes. Later, the Monastic
Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem established its
English headquarters in the area. In the 17th century Clerkenwell became a
fashionable place of residence, but was also the location of three prisons. The
Industrial Revolution changed the area greatly, and it became a centre for breweries,
distilleries and the printing industry. Clerkenwell Green lies at the centre of
the old village, and has historically been associated with radicalism, from the
Lollards in the 16th century, the Chartists in the 19th century and communists
in the early 20th century. After the Second World War Clerkenwell suffered from
industrial decline, but a general revival and gentrification process began in
the 1990s, and the area is now known for loft-living young professionals,
nightclubs, restaurants and art galleries.
Kensal
Green Cemetery
The
General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, is one of Britain's oldest and most beautiful
public burial grounds. One of the world's first garden cemeteries, and doyen of
London's
Magnificent Seven, Kensal Green received its first funeral in January 1833, and
still conducts burials and cremations daily. The cemetery was innovative in
having most of the site consecrated by the Church of England, but reserving the
eastern spur for Dissenters and others to practise their own rites. Over
250,000 people have been laid to rest at the General Cemetery of All Souls,
Kensal Green, since 1833, as burials and cremated remains, in graves and
catacombs. Amongst princes and paupers, the great and the good, the famous and
the infamous, over 1500 notable personalities -- including over 550 with
entries in the Dictionary of
National Biography -- are buried at Kensal Green, from the children
of George III to the servants of Queen Victoria.
Engineers and artists, politicians and preachers, scientists and sportsmen,
writers and actors, doctors and lawyers, financiers and philanthropists,
explorers and wastrels, lie as neighbours in the aptly-named All Souls.
Hampstead
Garden Suburb
Hampstead
Garden Suburb was inspired by Dame Henrietta Barnett who was married to Samuel
Barnett, vicar of St Jude's Whitechapel and founder of Toynbee Hall. The
establishment of the suburb followed the campaign to preserve what is now the
Hampstead Heath extension. Mrs Barnett wrote an article proposing housing for working
classes and larger houses and shops in 1905. The Trust was formed in 1906 with
responsibility for house type and plan and street layout. Until 1914 Sir
Raymond Unwin was its chief architect. A number of other architects were
involved but the Trust's control ensured harmony of character. It is
internationally recognised as one of the finest examples of early twentieth
century domestic architecture and town planning and is home to approximately
13,000 people.
Exploring the vanishing Jewish East End
(Part I)
The
walk passed through some of East London’s most handsome Georgian streets, but
concentrated on the historic Jewish links with the area which go back to 1656
when Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews to return to England. The walk started outside
St Botolph’s, Aldgate, in the ward of Portsoken in the City of London. Situated within the ward is one of
the oldest synagogues in England,
Bevis Marks. The nearby Petticoat Lane Market was once almost entirely Jewish,
while in Brune Street
is to be found an expensive apartment block, which was originally the Jewish
Soup Kitchen for the Poor. The Jews Free School,
founded in the 19th century, was located in adjacent Bell Lane, while
the Sandy’s Row Synagogue is one of only four
synagogues still active in the East End –
there used to be 150! (It is estimated that 120,000 Jews lived in the Borough
of Stepney in 1910.)
Among
the most prominent members of the Jewish community associated with the area are
Bud Flanagan, a member of the Crazy Gang, and Arnold Wesker, the playwright,
and of course the Rothschild family, through their charitable support of the
Jewish community.
Canonbury to Newington
Green
This
route, often following the New River, passed
through two contrasting 19th century suburbs. Canonbury took its
late Georgian form in the early part of the century around a medieval manor.
Highbury New Town was developed on a more spacious scale in the later decades. Highbury New Park
was one of the two estates laid out in the 1850s, and consisted of large
detached and semi-detached houses, often in Italo-Romanesque style. Newington
Green, however, was a much earlier urban outpost, starting in the 15th
century as a forest clearing. Some of the earliest surviving terraced buildings
in London, dating to around 1650, are to be found on the west side of the
green. Newington Green was a haven for non-conformists, and the Unitarian
Chapel is the old non-conformist chapel still used for worship in the UK. In the late
18th century the minister Dr Richard Price was a friend of many
American revolutionaries, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John
Quincy Adams, David Hume and Tom Paine, several of whom visited him on the
green. Other famous personalities with links to the area are Daniel Defoe,
Samuel Wesley, Mary Wollstonecroft, and Edgar Allen Poe who went to school
nearby.
London’s Central Parks
This
walk extended from Westminster to Kensington
through green swathe made up of four Royal Parks: St James’s Park, Green Park,
Hyde Park and Kensington
Gardens. Places of interest
along the route included the Treasury and Foreign Office, the Cabinet War
Rooms, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Apsley House (the Wellington Museum)
at Hyde Park Corner, the Serpentine, the Peter Pan statue and Speke memorial in
Kensington Gardens, where the walk finished. From
here it was but a short distance to the pub in Moscow Road!
Rotherhithe &
Southwark Park
Rotherhithe
was originally a low-lying area known as Redriff. It became a tight-knit
community of shipbuilders and sailors until the closure of the docks in 1970.
The old village around the church has been designated as a conservation area.
The world's first tunnel under a major navigable river was constructed from
Rotherhithe. Finishing in Bermondsey, this walk started at the Canada Water
tube station and explored Southwark Park and the old riverside village of Rotherhithe
in which major restorations and improvements have recently taken place.
Riverside London
This
riverside walk started at St Paul’s Cathedral and
zigzagged its way back and forth along the north and south banks of the Thames, encompassing a wide range of buildings, young and
old. Many of the old warehouses and wharves, once derelict and a sad memorial
to the Port of London’s former prosperity, have in
recent years undergone a transformation into new offices, shops, restaurants
and expensive apartments. Among the buildings en route were the College of Arms,
Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, Billingsgate
Market, the Custom House, the GLA Headquarters, the Tower of London,
and St Katherine’s Dock. The walk finished at Butler’s
Wharf, now home of the Design
Museum.
Kensington and Holland Park
Kensington
is an historic village suburb in West London, close to Kensington
Palace and Kensington Gardens.
It is spread out on the south-facing slope of Campden Hill and bisected by its
fashionable High Street. While Kensington
Palace was in use gentry
and nobility dominated the area but when the court moved out, artists and writers
settled here. This circular walk started and finished in Kensington High Street
and included the parish church, Kensington’s two historic squares (one now 300
years old), Holland House and Park, the Melbury Road artists’ colony centred on
Leighton House Museum and Art Gallery, and many attractive streets and houses
in a rich variety of architectural styles.
Woolwich
“Woolwich, in
Kent, situated on the Thames, nine miles from London-bridge - Can be reached by
South-Eastern Railway or by the Great Eastern…….. There is no good hotel
accommodation in Woolwich, but on the other side of the river dinners are well
served at the North Woolwich Gardens Hotel. Woolwich is celebrated for its
arsenal. Visitors must be furnished with a ticket from the War Office, obtained
by personal application, or by letter to the “Secretary of State for War, War
Office, Pall Mall, S.W.,” stating names and addresses, and declaring that they
are British subjects. Visitors with tickets are admitted on Tuesday or Thursday
between the hours of 10 and 11.30 a.m. and 2 till 4.30 p.m. Foreigners must
have special tickets, obtained through their ambassador in London. The four principal departments of the
arsenal, which covers 350 acres of ground, are the “Gun” Factory the
“Laboratory” the “Carriage,” and “Control” Departments. A Torpedo Department,
not open to the public, has recently been added.”
So
wrote Charles Dickens in 1879. Things have of course somewhat changed since
then. Though many of the original buildings remain, they have found new uses,
and of course foreigners no longer need special tickets to visit the site.
Besides the Arsenal itself the walk took in buildings of interest in central
Woolwich. These are linked to the Royal Arsenal by a riverside walk which
includes a new park.
Little Venice
The
“Little Venice” district is a tiny exclusive area of about a square mile within
London’s Maida
Vale district. It comprises ten or so streets of beautiful white stucco
buildings, originally built in the 1860’s, plus two little streets of shops, Formosa Street and Clifton Gardens. They all cluster around the Regents Canal Basin,
originally constructed by engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel to link
with nearby Paddington Station. “Little Venice”
proper is so named because three canals meet here. The combination of peace,
grace and style together with convenient access to the West
End has made it both fashionable and expensive. The later stages
of the walk explored the new Paddington Waterside district, a major
regeneration project surrounding the Paddington
Basin.
Bedford
Park
This
walk explored a Victorian residential community (Bedford
Park) and a 21st century business
community (Chiswick
Park).
The
walk started at the Chiswick
Business Park
which occupies a 33 acre site that was formerly a London Transport depot.
Development by Stanhope began in the 1990s to a masterplan by Terry Farrell but
was halted in the recession. The present project by Richards Rogers features
buildings with concrete framing which can be customised by tenants. Extensive
sun-screening has been devised and parking is included in the undercrofts. The
buildings are set within a landscaped park with water features.
The
first houses in Bedford
Park were designed by E W
Godwin but these were criticised and he resigned to be replaced with Richard
Norman Shaw. Shaw's houses, in 'Queen Anne' style, featured red bricks &
tiles, tall chimneys, steep roofs & dormers, bay windows, balconies and
stained glass. Trees were retained and planted and gardens had wooden fences.
The houses were intended for the well-educated middle classes of moderate. A
few larger detached houses were built including Carr's own home Tower House
which had 16 rooms and a large garden with tennis and badminton courts. Bedford Park was popular with artists and
writers and supporters of the Arts & Crafts movement, as championed by John
Ruskin and William Morris.
Millwall
This
walk covered just under a three mile section of the Thames Path (which is a
national trail extending 180 miles from the river’s source in Gloucestershire
to the Thames Barrier in London).
The section runs on the north side of the Thames from Limekiln Dock to Island Gardens,
taking in some of the most interesting riverside in London. It skirts the Millwall Dock and Cubitt Town.
Cubitt Town was developed in the 1840s to 1850s
and was originally a relatively prosperous area, with two thirds of the
population being from the upper/middle and skilled classes, occupying a range
of housing, including large villas. However the nature of the area slowly
changed and by 1927 two thirds of the population was unskilled. The
redevelopment of the London
docks is again changing the nature of the area, with extensive, often upmarket,
private housing now being built. The walk ended at Island
Garden, with its Cannelletto view of Greenwich.
Highgate to Hampstead via Kenwood House
This
was a hilly walk across London’s Northern Heights. Starting from Archway tube
station the walk skirted Highgate Cemetery, before passing through Waterlow Park
in which is set Lauderdale House, once the summer retreat of Charles II’s
mistress Nell Gwyn, and now a centre for exhibitions and concerts. Along
Highgate Hill and Highgate High
Street there are fine views south towards the City
and east towards Hornsey. The Grove is Highgate’s finest street, with some
houses dating from the 1680s. The walk down from Highgate along West Hill lead
to Hampstead Heath and hence to Kenwood House. Until 1927 a private house,
Kenwood is now a public museum with fine 18th century Adam interiors
and a notable collection of paintings.
Victoria Street
(Westminster Cathedral to Westminster Abbey)
Victoria Street has some of the most banal
architecture built in the post war years. Yet to the south and north are many
attractive streets. This walk concentrated on the streets to the south and took
in a number of attractive and historic squares such as Eccleston, Warwick,
Vincent and Smith. Also on route was Westminster Cathedral and several 18th
century streets with strong political links, such as Cowley Street, where the headquarters of
the Liberal Democrats are to be found. Towards the end of the walk was the
Middlesex Guildhall and of course Westminster Abbey.
North Isle of Dogs and Canary
Wharf Walk
No
matter from which direction you come, the first glimpse of Canary Wharf rising
out of Docklands, like a breathtaking Manhattan skyline magically transported
to the East End, never fails to amaze and surprise. The estate now extends to
86 acres and rivals the City as a major financial centre. And yet amongst all
this modernity there are to be found many buildings from the area’s historic
past as an important part of the London
docks. These include the magnificent Grade I listed West India Quay Warehouses.
Starting at the West India Docks, the walk included the Poplar Dock and Blackwall Basin,
the tree-lined Cabot Square and of course No.1 Canada Square, popularly know as “Canary Wharf”.
As with some earlier walks the walk finished in the Limehouse Basin.
East
London Canal
Walk Part II
With
over 200 years of history, London’s canals were
originally built to connect the great docks on the River Thames to Birmingham and the industrial Midlands.
The walk started at the Bow Church DLR Station and explored the Hertford Union
Canal and Regent’s Canal section of
the East London canal network. This included
the Mile End
Park with its unique Green Bridge.
Limehouse Basin, where the walk ended, was the hub
of the canal system nationwide. Nowadays the canal banks are worlds apart from
their hectic past, instead providing a peaceful haven, while Limehouse Basin
has been transformed from a working dock to a charming marina.
Hoxton & Shoreditch
Hoxton
had begun as an area with large houses, fashionable squares and numerous
almshouses, but from the late 18th century was overwhelmed by
industrial development and the large number of people, many of them poor, who
came to live and work here. Much of the industry has now gone and the slum
housing cleared. Remnants of both its prosperous and hard times remain, but the
area is now undergoing a dramatic transformation.
The
Geffrye Museum towards the end of the walk has a
series of rooms set out in the attractive former ironmongers’ almshouses. There
is also a walled period and herb garden
East
London Canal
Walk Part I
With
over 200 years of history, London’s canals were
originally built to connect the great docks on the River Thames to Birmingham and the industrial Midlands.
The walk started at the Bow Church DLR Station and explored the Three Mills
Island area and the Limehouse
Cut. Limehouse Basin, where the walk ended, was the hub
of the canal system nationwide. Nowadays the canal banks are worlds apart from
their hectic past, instead providing a peaceful haven, while Limehouse Basin
has been transformed from a working dock to a charming marina.
Kennington
The
walk started at the Oval Tube Station and took in much of the property in
Kennington which has belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall since the time of James
I. Even earlier the Black Prince had a palace in the area. The Vauxhall
Pleasure Gardens were a major attraction from 1661-1859, but especially in the
18th century. The Lambeth riverfront changed dramatically with the
construction of the Albert Embankment. The walk finished at the Museum of Garden History which
is worthy of a visit in its own right.
Dulwich
Village
Edward
Alleyn, an actor and contemporary of Shakespeare, made a fortune as a
theatrical entrepreneur which enabled him to buy the Manor of Dulwich. He had built
a chapel, school and almshouses and dying childless in 1626 bequeathed the
manor to these establishments. The control held by the Estates Governors has
enabled the village to remain largely unspoilt. The walk included the Dulwich
Picture Gallery, England’s oldest public picture gallery, Dulwich
College, with its chapel and
almshouses, Dulwich
Park and Dulwich Common,
as well as a number of attractive domestic houses and cottages.
Westminster and St James’s
If
the City of London represents the heart of Britain’s
financial world, then the areas surrounding St James’s Park is where political
power is exercised and the establishment wines and dines. The walk starts in Green Park
and explores the streets to the north of The Mall where some of the most influential
dining clubs in the country are located. Heading towards Whitehall we shall pass through Carlton House
Terrace with its magnificent regency buildings reminiscent of those surrounding
Regent’s Park, before reaching Horse Guards Parade, surrounded by impressive
government buildings. Skirting St James’s Park the walk then takes in Queen
Anne’s Gate, architecturally one of London’s
finest streets, and the picturesque streets leading to Smith Square. The square is best known as
the location of the Conservative Party headquarters, but also has at its centre
the extraordinary baroque church
of St John’s. Heading
along Millbank and passing Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, the
walk finishes at Westminster
tube station.
Regent’s Park
At
the time of George becoming Prince Regent in the first quarter of the 19th
Century leases on farmland to the north of London expired and this provided the impetus
for Nash’s grand scheme of 50 detached villas in a parkland setting surrounded
by great terraces. Yet ironically had Nash’s plans been realised in their
entirety there would be no public park on this site to enjoy today. In fact
only 8 villas were actually built, and of these only two remain. Nevertheless
the palatial cream-stuccoed terraces which surround the Regent’s Park are still
an impressive sight. The walk started at Regents Park
tube station taking in the terraces in the east side of the park, then crossed
the park to see the two remaining original detached villas and reach the
western terraces. Other places of interest on route included the Diorama,
Regents College, and Wingfield House. The latter is the official residence of
the American Ambassador. The walk ended on the edge of St John’s Wood church yard (now a public
park).
London’s East
End (Old Street
to Shadwell)
The
exact parameters of London’s East
End are hotly debated. The walk started in the Bricklayers Arms,
which is not part of the official “East End”,
where Rivington Street
meets Charlotte Road,
just off Old Street.
However the walk included some of the best parts of the East
End – from Shoreditch to Limehouse. During the course of the walk
there were two of Hawksmoor’s six London
churches. A third is to be found not far from where the walk ended in
Limehouse. On route we passed the famous Spitalfields Market. Spitalfields was
the home of the first Huguenot immigrants, who were later followed by Irish
driven out of their land by the potato famine, by Jews driven out of
continental Europe by pogroms, and of course most recently by Bangladeshis. The
area around St George’s
Town Hall was the site of
clashes between local residents and Moseley supporters a few years before the
outbreak of WWII. The walk ended at the Prospect of Whitby pub in Limehouse.
This area has since the 1980s been extensively transformed with modern flats,
houses and commercial developments.
St John’s
Wood
As
the name implies, St John’s Wood this was once a wooded area owned by the
Knights of St John of Jerusalem. The area developed in the 19th century with
the formation of Regent's Park and the construction of the Canal. There are
attractive buildings in a wide variety of styles to be seen. Church Street is lined with stalls and
shops, including antiques shops. The former churchyard of St John's Wood
Church has been made into
a pleasant park. Marylebone Station was built in 1899 by H W Braddock for the
Great Central Railway on the Portman Nursery site. (An M&S food-store
occupies the old wood-panelled ticket office.) Octavia Hill, founder of the
National Trust, is also associated with the area, while parts for the Spitfire
aircraft were manufactured here during WWII. The London Central Mosque with its
copper dome and minaret was built in 1977. The area is however perhaps best
known as the site of Lords Cricket Ground and as the home of someone who never
existed, namely Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221B Baker Street with Dr Watson his friend
and Mrs Hudson his housekeeper.
Regent’s Canal – Kings Cross to Camden
Lock
Regent’s
Canal opened in 1820, linking the Grand Junction
Canal at Paddington to the Thames at Limehouse. The two canals merged in 1929 to
form the Grand Union Canal.
Commercial traffic was heavy until the 1940s but by 1960 it had all but
disappeared. Now used for leisure, you can still see the relics of the past all
along its course.
The
walk took in the picturesque Keystone
Crescent, the Maiden Lane
Bridge with its fine cast
iron work, and the St Pancras Basin which is a base for the St Pancras Cruising
club – not that type of cruising! The walk ended at Camden Lock.
Kew
Kew is thought to take its name from the old Anglo–Saxon word for
quay or landing place. This is plausible since the village grew up at the south
end of a ford across the Thames, the north
side of which gave its name to Brentford. However throughout most of its
existence it was of little importance. It was only the development of Richmond as a royal residence by Henry VIII that put Kew on the map. Kew became popular with courtiers because
of its easy accessibility to London.
In the 18th Century Kew as we know it today started to emerge, particularly
after George I moved into Richmond Lodge in what is now Kew Gardens.
Ironically all the royal residences and many of the other houses in the area
were eventually demolished, with the exception of Kew
Palace, in order to form what we now
know as Kew Gardens.
We
did not have time to explore the gardens. Rather the walk took in the
attractive 18th Century St Anne’s Church, with the graves of the painters
Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Zoffany. There is also a fine collection of
period houses, particularly around Kew Green. Directly across the river is Strand on the Green, a former fishing hamlet, where
Zoffany lived in a fine five-bay house.
Fleet Street and St Paul’s
(The City West)
Twenty
or more years ago the western part of the City of London
was the traditional centre of London’s
printing, publishing and newspaper industries. All that is now gone, but this
circular walk took in many places associated with the area’s literary past,
such as St Paul’s churchyard and Fleet Street, the printers’ church of St
Bride’s, Stationer’s Hall and Dr Johnson’s House. The walk’s other main
features included the Old Bailey courthouse together with Newgate and Bridewell
prisons, the College of Arms, the site of Blackfriars Monastery, St Paul’s
Cathedral and other Wren churches, and Playhouse Yard where Shakespeare was an
actor and partner in the Blackfriars Playhouse.
Belgravia
Belgravia takes its name from a small village in Leicestershire, Belgrave,
where the Dukes of Westminster once had a small estate. The same family still
owns much of Belgravia, and Mayfair too. This
aristocratic quarter was developed by the family between the 1820s and the
1850s, and centres on Belgrave and Eaton Squares. Eaton Hall in Cheshire is the duke’s
country house. Although Belgravia as a whole
is still largely residential, most of the houses in Belgrave Square are either embassies or
the headquarters of various organisations. The area is also dotted with mews,
once crowded with horses and carriages belonging to the big houses in the
square and adjoining streets. Starting and finishing at Apsley House, the former home of the
Duke of Wellington, the walk also took in one of the most attractive residential
areas of Knightsbridge.
Notting Hill
Notting
Hill is the scene of the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s
largest street carnival, and of the world-famous Portobello Road antiques market. However
the walk, which started at Notting Hill Gate, concentrated on the area’s
attractive residential developments. Though Notting Hill itself is the site of London’s finest Victorian
housing, the Notting Hill district later became associated with the practice
called Rachmanism, named after Peter Rachman, and defined by the Oxford English
Dictionary as “the exploitation and intimidation of tenants by unscrupulous
landlords”.
From
1957 onwards Peter Rachman bought run down houses in the area and to maximise
his profits forced out existing tenants to re-let the properties at much higher
rents. The new tenants were usually immigrant families from the West Indies who had nowhere else to go and had to pay
extortionate rents for tiny squalid rooms. Today of course Notting Hill one of
the most desirable and fashionable parts of London. The final part of the walk climbed
leafy Holland Park Avenue and crossed Campden
Hill Square to the top of Campden Hill, before
returning to Notting Hill.
Chelsea
This
small part of London, a slender triangle of land
sandwiched between the river Thames and the
borough of Kensington, can claim more fame to the acre than almost any other,
brimming with notable residents throughout six centuries. Chelsea originated as a Saxon settlement, and
later developed strong links with royalty. Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea in 1536 and the
future Queen Elizabeth I was a resident there for a time. James I founded a
theological college on a site later to be occupied by The Royal Hospital.
Founded by Charles II for the care of permanently disabled soldiers, the
Hospital is still there today and its uniformed residents have become known
worldwide as the Chelsea Pensioners. Among the later residents of this once
bohemian district were: George Eliot, James Whistler, Thomas Carlyle, Tobias
Smollett and Hilaire Belloc; and the area’s former MP is of course Michael
Portillo.
Bloomsbury
This
walk took us to an area of London
long associated with those who lived an alternative life style – the Bloomsbury
Group of artists and writers. The district was laid out between the late 17th
and early 19th centuries, mainly by the Dukes of Bedford, and became a highly
fashionable area. Among the six squares visited was Bedford Square, probably the finest
surviving Georgian Square
in London. Russell Square had
of course a certain attraction for some gays, and it will be interesting to see
whether the recent changes have any affect on its reputation. Other notable
buildings on route included the British
Museum, The Dickens House Museum and Great Ormond
Street Hospital
and London University Senate House.
Marylebone
Marylebone
is just north of Oxford Street
in the West End. It was one of the closest
villages to central London
until two landowners in the area began to lay out the regular grid of
impressive streets and squares for which the area is chiefly known today. Many
fine houses from that time (the 18th and 19th centuries)
still remain, although most have been converted to offices. Features on the
walk included the old High Street and parish church (grave of the hymn-writer
Charles Wesley), four squares (including Manchester Square where the Wallace
Collection is based), Harley Street, Madame Tussaud’s waxworks, Oxford Street, and
the award-winning shopping precinct St. Christopher’s Place. One of the area’s
special delights is the many and varied mews tucked behind its main streets.
London Walls
Almost
2000 years ago, the Romans were enjoying British hospitality. They were
enjoying it so much that they decided to build a wall around various cities so
that they were the only ones enjoying it. One such city was London. As you may realise, most of the London wall is no longer
in existence. So this walk traced the 4.5 kilometres that was the City of London wall. Along the
way, various historical sites and points of interest were pointed out, which
included everything from Roman times to modern times, plus the few remaining
bits of the original London Wall.
We also discovered such things as:
·
Why certain roads are called as they are, such as Houndsditch
·
Where some modern expressions have come from, such as 'It's Bedlam
in here!'
·
Where some famous London
residents lived
·
Where some of the gates within the Wall existed
·
Where some of the Jack the Ripper murders were committed
Old Chiswick
From
as early as the mid-15th century Chiswick was known to city-dwellers
as an attractive and healthy place to live. The Russell family, later Earls and
now Dukes of Bedford, lived at Corney House west of the village from 1542. In
the late 17th and early 18th centuries, people also began
to build fine houses in Church
Street and along the riverside lane leading from
the church to the manor house. In time the whole of this lane was built up to
form a one-sided street called Chiswick Mall, one of the finest riverside
promenades. Church Street,
though mutilated at its top end, is still one of London’s most picturesque streets, while
Chiswick House, which also featured on the walk, is one of the finest examples
of the Palladian style of architecture in the country. Unfortunately we did not
have time to visit the interior, but we were able to visit the little country
house, now called Hogarth House, once occupied by the painter and engraver
William Hogarth.
Mayfair
The
districts of Mayfair and Belgravia came into the
ownership of the Grosvenor family in 1677. The northern part takes its name
from the May Fair held annually into the 1770’s. In 1720 Sir Richard Grosvenor
started developing the area. Grosvenor
Square was the first square to have terraced
houses grouped behind a unified façade. With the finest residential
architecture in London, Mayfair
became the centre of Society in the 18th, 19th and 20th
centuries. In the 19th shops were built along Mount Street and Oxford Street, while in the 1930s
commercial pressure brought bigger shops to Oxford Street. Embassies and diplomatic
residences took other premises throughout the district, and along Park Lane luxury
hotels were developed. After the war Grosvenor
Square itself was largely rebuilt to a
neo-Georgian design.
The
walk through Mayfair offered views of typical Mayfair
houses and other buildings. These included 53 Davies Street, originally built in
the18th century, but with a 19th century front. This now houses the
offices of the Grosvenor Estate. Other interesting properties were Claridges
Hotel built in 1856, Bourdon House, with a pleasing Georgian façade, which was
once the home of the Duke of Westminster, the “Audley”, one of the few Mayfair
pubs to survive the Victorian purge on licensed premises, the Grosvenor Chapel
(St George’s), and John Adams’ House, the only original house left from the
original 18th century square.
Highgate
Back
in the Middle Ages the Bishop of London had a large hunting park, fenced to keep
the deer in, on top of the hills to the north of London. In the early 1300’s the then bishop
decided to start charging travellers using the roads across the park. He put up
three gates at various points and installed gatekeepers to collect the tolls and
to see to the maintenance of the roads. The most easterly gate was the most
important because it controlled the main road from London to the northern counties. Here the
gatekeeper and road-mender was a hermit. With pilgrims visiting the hermitage
chapel, and thirsty visitors requiring refreshment and accommodation, a
settlement soon grew up, centred on the road to the south of the gatehouse. In
time, being on a hilltop site, the settlement acquired the name of Highgate.
By
the 1500s the village had begun to grow significantly. Merchants and lawyers
from London were attracted by its healthy
position and fantastic views of London
a few miles away. By the 1660s Highgate had become the largest centre of
population in the area.
In
the 19th century Highgate’s hilltop position, and the fact that it
was always able to attract the wealthiest and most influential residents, saved
it from being engulfed by suburbia. The village benefited from the preservation
of both Hampstead Heath and the private estate centred on Kenwood as public
open spaces. To the north the Bishops of London continued to own land (now the
Highgate gold course) well into the 19th century, which also helped
limit development. And lastly the building of the Great North Road in 1867 provided the village
with a bypass. All these factors result in Highgate being one of the most
elegant and best-preserved villages in London.
The
walk featured a fine collection of 17th and 18th century
houses, Waterlow Park,
Hampstead Heath and Highgate ponds, combined with spectacular views of London.
Islington
The
walk explored Islington and Canonbury and covered the history of the area,
including historic buildings in the area and some of its gay residents over the
years.
Soho
The
tour covered the gay history of Soho, including the 17th century
molly trials, the gay scene of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, the haunts of its more
famous (or infamous) characters and the current gay scene.
Blackheath
Blackheath
takes its name from the Heath which divides it from Greenwich, its riverside neighbour to the
south. The first developments were in the 1690’s when the Earls of Dartmouth
built Dartford Row. Later in the 18th Century speculators built fine
houses on the south side of the heath. Tradesmen moved into the area to service
these houses and so the village gradually came into existence. Development
proceeded apace after the opening of Blackheath Station in 1849. Much of this
development took place on the largest single property in the area, the Cator
Estate. The first property built here in 1695 was a large almshouse for Turkey
Company merchants. This is still in existence today, and features in the walk.
In the late 18th Century and early 19th Century John
Cator, a self-made businessman from Beckenham, acquired the site and developed
what is now Montpelier
Row, South Row and The Paragon. Building on the interior of the estate started
in 1806 and continued over a long period of time.
Starting
at Blackheath Station, the walk took in the Cator Estate and other Georgian and
Victorian developments on the surrounding heights. It also of course included
the village centre and parts of the heath, but unfortunately not the Dartmouth
streets of the 1690’s which are a little too far away.
Greenwich
Greenwich was established as a little fishing port on the Thames
long before the Norman Conquest. However subsequently Greenwich
became famous for the old royal palace and park, the former Royal Greenwich
Observatory and the Greenwich meridian, as well
as the concentration of maritime history in the shape of the National Maritime
Museum and the Cutty
Sark and Gypsy Moth IV. From the steep hill behind the town there
are panoramic views of Greenwich, the Isle of
Dogs, the River Thames, and south London.
Kentish Town
to Hampstead
The
walk started in Kentish Town and explored some of the charming and picturesque
streets tucked away from the main Highgate Road, before turning east onto the
Heath towards Parliament Hill and Boadicea’s Burial Mound. In Hampstead the
first port of call was Keat’s House, en route to Downshire Hill, perhaps
Hampstead’s grandest street. From here Rossyln Hill leads to Hampstead High Street in which of course
the King William IV pub is be to found. Continuing towards Church Row, another
of Hampstead’s finest streets, St
John’s Church
and St Mary’s Church are close at hand, as is a house in which Robert Louise
Stevenson once stayed.
Clerkenwell
This
walk centred on the historic district of Clerkenwell, now the home to the
well-healed, whether gay or straight. The walk started at the Barbican Tube
Station and ended in Islington at the Edward VI in Bromfield Street. Smithfield was of
course the home to a famous meat market, while in the 15th and 16th
centuries, when cloth was the main source of England’s wealth, St Bartholomew’s
Fair was the country’s biggest cloth trade fair. The area around Clerkenwell
Green has links with variety of religious and radical movements, including the
Fenians, Lenin and the Knights Templar. Before reaching the Angel the walk
passed through the historic spa district in the vicinity of Sadler’s Wells.
Back to Home
Page