South Kensington’s Michelin Man
Had you been motoring along the Fulham Road in the days before WW1 you could have pulled into number 81 and bought new tyres at […]
architecture
The Charing Cross: Victorian Medievalism
According to etymologists, the word ‘charing’ seems to come from the old English – “cerring”- meaning a bend, hence ‘charing’ appearing on many old maps, […]
Feeling Sorry for Marble Arch
If it’s possible to feel sorry for a pile of stones, the Marble Arch is probably deserving of sympathy. Like a Hollywood megastar now scratching […]
Spook Central – the MI6 Building at Vauxhall
Trains from Clapham Junction to Waterloo generally stop at Vauxhall, and whenever on the service I look at the passengers getting on or off at […]
The New London Model: Towering over the City
Should you want to feel godlike, the entire capital spread out beneath your glorious presence, then the place to go is The London Centre, in […]
Up on the roof (again): the ‘Beast’
At 278m (912’) and 63 storeys, the new(ish) office block at 22 Bishopsgate is the tallest building in the City of London, and second only […]
The London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park
In 1829 the Duke of Wellington, the then Prime Minister, fought a duel with the Earl of Winchelsea on Battersea Fields, an area of common […]
Victoria’s Campanile – the Western Pumping Station
As one rattles across the Thames in to Victoria station an elegant building appears on the Chelsea Embankment on one’s left. It’s a building on […]
Albert Bridge: “A temporary gangway flung across the river”
One of my all time great London moments was a late summer evening about 30 years ago when I was walking home from a meeting […]
The Blue Bridge in St James’s Park
It’s the platform for a trillion photos – to the west is Buckingham Palace, framed by trees, and look east to see Horseguards, the London […]