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donbrowndotlondon

Much of the narrative on the abolition of the slav

Much of the narrative on the abolition of the slave trade is told from the perspective of white British campaigners - Wilberforce, Wedgewood, Thornton etc - but this plaque in Pall Mall commemorates an African.

Ottobah Cugoano was captured in the Gold Coast and sold into slavery at the age of 13, he was shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772 he was purchased by a merchant who took him to England, where he learnt to read and write, and was freed. He later became acquainted with several British political and cultural figures. He joined the Sons of Africa, a group of African abolitionists in Britain and published ‘Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species (1787)’.
#london #pallmall #schomberghouse #ottobahcugoano #cugoano #blueplaque #slavery

Camels march through the desert and across the doo

“More Light, More Power” - the motto and coat

“More Light, More Power” - the motto and coat of arms of the old Shoreditch council.
Adopted in 1900, the motto expresses the civic pride in their ‘refuse destructor’ generated power from refuse. The energy from this powered the street lighting across Shoreditch and became a powerful symbol of the progressive Shoreditch policies.
#london #londonhistory #shoreditch #electricity #metropolitanhistory #morelightmorepower

Back in the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square. .

Back in the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square.
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#london #lovelondon #visitlondon #art #visitengland #londonisopen #nationalgallery #nationalgallerylondon #trafalgarsquare

Off Pall Mall, and nowhere near the current Royal

Off Pall Mall, and nowhere near the current Royal Opera House is London’s first shopping mall.
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The Royal Opera Arcade was a covered gallery of shops built by John Nash in around 1818 as he worked on improvements to the King’s Theatre (on the site of the present day Her Majesty’s).
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The Arcade - like its cousins such as the Burlington and Piccadilly arcades - allowed the quality to promenade safe from the elements as they shopped; consumerism as performance.
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#london #visitlondon #lovelondon #johnnash #royaloperaarcade #regency #regencyarchitecture #pallmall #nash

In 1501/2, Giovanni Bellini painted this portrait

In 1501/2, Giovanni Bellini painted this portrait of Leonardo Loredan, the Doge of Venice.

One can go into London’s @nationalgallery and look at this fabulous painting - and over 2,000 others - for free. It has reopened after COVID and is blissfully free of crowds.
#london #visitlondon #lovelondon #portrait #painting #nationalgallery #nationalgallerylondon #bellini #dogeloredan #renaissance #renaissanceart

Sculpture on the corner of Holland House in Bury S

Sculpture on the corner of Holland House in Bury Street in the City. It’s a steamship with its chimney pouring our smoke as it ploughs through the waves.

Holland House was built in 1916 as the London headquarters of Dutch Shipping Company William H Muller & Co. (hence the steamship motif).

The sculptor was Joseph Mendes da Costa (1863-1939), a Dutch sculptor from Amsterdam.
#london #lovelondon #cityoflondon #hollandhouse #burystreet #sculpture #publicart #publicsculpture #mendesdacosta #steamship

…and we’re back. . . After nearly 18 months, a

…and we’re back.
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After nearly 18 months, a stroll round the City of London and a refresher on the best view of @stpaulscathedrallondon
#london #lovelondon #visitlondon #stpaulscathedral #londoneye #summer #onenewchange

The Gherkin from above - St Mary Axe from the 40th

The Gherkin from above - St Mary Axe from the 40th Floor of the new 22 Bishopsgate tower.
#london #londonarchitecture #londonbuildings #thegherkin #22bishopsgate #skyscrapers

Single Form (Memorial) by Barbara #hepworth in Bat

Single Form (Memorial) by Barbara #hepworth in Battersea Park, SW London.
It’s a smaller version of the piece that stands outside the United Nations building in New York that is a memorial to former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld.
#london #publicart #sculpture #barbarahepworth #bronze #publicsculpture #battersea #batterseapark

From the Parthenon ("Elgin") Marbles in the Britis

From the Parthenon ("Elgin") Marbles in the British Museum, this sculptural head of a horse is from the group of statues that were in the pediment at the eastern end of the temple.

The horse has been pulling the chariot of the moon goddess Selene across the night sky, hence the flaring nostrils and bulging eye.

#london #visitlondon #britishmuseum #elginmarbles #parthenon #parthenonmarbles #horse #sculpture #selene

William Shakespeare - poet and playwright. Discove

William Shakespeare - poet and playwright.
Discover the story of his early life and virtually tour his birthplace and other sites in Stratford upon Avon in my online talk on Tuesday 20 July at 7pm.
Tap @uktoursonline and go to ‘forthcoming tours’.
#virtualtour #shakespeare #williamshakespeare #stratforduponavon #stratford #shakespearebirthplace #hamlet #virtuallearning #onlinetours #visitengland

The Frank Gehry blocks at Battersea Power Station

The Frank Gehry blocks at Battersea Power Station again.
#london #battersea #batterseapowerstation #gehry #frankgehry #gehrypartners

Battersea Power Station. #london #scaffolding #bui

Battersea Power Station.
#london #scaffolding #building #batterseapowerstation

“patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred

“patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone”
Executed by firing squad in October 1915, Edith Cavell has a statue in St Martin’s Lane, a memorial in Norwich Cathedral, and this plaque on the wall of St Leonard’s hospital on the Kingsland Road.
#london #nursing #edithcavell #cavell #hoxton #stleonardshospital #kingslandroad #plaque

Sculptural frieze on the wall of the old Telephone

Sculptural frieze on the wall of the old Telephone Exchange on Shoreditch High Street, possibly by Charles W Lewis of Kingston University.
It’s a god - or a telephone engineer - ringing the earth with telephone cables.
#london #shoreditch #publicart #sculpture #shoreditchhighstreet #charleswlewis

On safari. In St James’s Park. Part of the @elep

On safari. In St James’s Park.
Part of the @elephantfamily @coexistence.story herd of 100+ elephants trooping through the royal parks.
#london #lovelondon❤️ #coexistence #elephant #elephantfamily #royalparks #stjamesspark #publicart #elephantsculpture

Memorial to 16th century navigators on the Rotherh

Memorial to 16th century navigators on the Rotherhithe Tunnel ventilation shaft in the Edward VII Memorial Park, Wapping.
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#london #lovelondon❤️ #wapping #rotherhithe #memorial #edwardviipark

The plaque to Oscar Wilde on platform 10 of Clapha

The plaque to Oscar Wilde on platform 10 of Clapham Junction station.

From Wilde’s ‘de Profundis’:
“On November 13th, 1895, I was brought down here (Reading Gaol) from London. From two o’clock till half-past two on that day I had to stand on the centre platform of Clapham Junction in convict dress, and handcuffed, for the world to look at. I had been taken out of the hospital ward without a moment’s notice being given to me. Of all possible objects I was the most grotesque. When people saw me they laughed. Each train as it came up swelled the audience. Nothing could exceed their amusement. That was, of course, before they knew who I was. As soon as they had been informed they laughed still more. For half an hour I stood there in the grey November rain surrounded by a jeering mob.”
#london #lovelondon❤️ #oscarwilde #deprofundis #claphamjunction #blueplaque #rainbowplaque

No 1 Blackfriars . . #london #londonarchitecture #

No 1 Blackfriars
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#london #londonarchitecture #architecture #simpsonhaugh #thevaselondon #vasebuilding #boomerangbuilding #blackfriars

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Eastcheap’s Camels
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