tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91100844404640062792024-03-18T13:42:23.183+00:00Jane's LondonThe wonderful details on, around and above London's streetsJanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comBlogger1056125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-56409714438905735152024-03-07T10:50:00.006+00:002024-03-07T11:06:17.527+00:00Gabriel von Max and Rene Magritte – 'Jesus Christus' on my wall and at Christie's London<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizeUJtll3xTeAWhm5_1-4gsXY_rUC12Ap4258tu8p49O8b4YvmDiK0xVk24iNN4lnhbJXZB_vYrJHO-1RbFdaPjYMsVPyu6Cy4AcZqjN5shwnEz6-tSU4YyNfeTp3lv5zSerTTwAjDbBXle8goCdMhGIIfQDcC01AruHm1YnCci1MTSFPhUmtobniYbWo/s4032/JaneP_GabrielVonMax.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizeUJtll3xTeAWhm5_1-4gsXY_rUC12Ap4258tu8p49O8b4YvmDiK0xVk24iNN4lnhbJXZB_vYrJHO-1RbFdaPjYMsVPyu6Cy4AcZqjN5shwnEz6-tSU4YyNfeTp3lv5zSerTTwAjDbBXle8goCdMhGIIfQDcC01AruHm1YnCci1MTSFPhUmtobniYbWo/s320/JaneP_GabrielVonMax.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>A couple of weeks ago I bought this old framed print “<i>Jesus Christus</i>” from a local second hand shop. It's behind glass and hard to photograph. Even though I’m an atheist, I'm a sucker for a beautiful religious piece, and I was drawn to this dark brooding version of Christ. I immediately hung it the wall when I got home that day. <p></p><p>Ten days later, yesterday, walking down Duke Street, St James's, heading to <a href="https://www.christies.com/calendar?mode=1&sc_lang=en&lid=1" target="_blank">Christie’s to see the latest auction (wow! fab)</a>. This street offers a view into some of the sale rooms. I stopped in my tracks when I saw what I assumed to be the original painting of my new Jesus acquisition! We whizzed inside and discovered the painting is by <a href="https://www.renemagritte.org/" target="_blank">Rene Magritte</a>, completed in 1918 when he was only 20 years old, long before he was seduced by surrealism (theres's a lot of that stuff in the other rooms).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-utcEtQQrA6UspgZowwRoOcTrli1q43jaFJFSLBghY6Z4scArpsEn4eG2rj7hLF-ixA_F8v_FqGv4MT-0LDDeNG1p6g2xHf0emTJOKkSO82rgzLQWNG_1l25AoHxrKwcN1OUt7wunOz2NnVTzG4dskru4Ekpd8_8hDI1ZkI7Xnw8s75D4FWw6g4hQDE/s4032/Janeslondon_ChristiesMagritte.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-utcEtQQrA6UspgZowwRoOcTrli1q43jaFJFSLBghY6Z4scArpsEn4eG2rj7hLF-ixA_F8v_FqGv4MT-0LDDeNG1p6g2xHf0emTJOKkSO82rgzLQWNG_1l25AoHxrKwcN1OUt7wunOz2NnVTzG4dskru4Ekpd8_8hDI1ZkI7Xnw8s75D4FWw6g4hQDE/s320/Janeslondon_ChristiesMagritte.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>It’s a beautiful painting, signed clearly by the Magritte at top right. Hmm, I thought, I don’t recall seeing that sig on my print. And then I noticed other things about that didn’t seem ‘right’ as I was sure my print was of a painting that was more delicate/fine. I took some photos and decided to delve further at a later date.<p></p><p>When I got home, I studied my print and discovered it’s not the same work. A bit of quick online research makes it clear that Magritte's work is a copy of an 1885 painting by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_von_Max" target="_blank">Gabriel von Max</a>, his version of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_of_Veronica" target="_blank">The Veil of Veronica</a>. </p><p>Indeed, I looked at my snap of the Christie's info card at the side of the Magritte work and noticed that it does indeed show 'After Gab Max' on it – that hadn't meant anything to me at the time.</p><p><a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/gabriel-von-max" target="_blank">Max's art was popular</a> during his lifetime and his image of Jesus quickly became available as lithographic prints, such as mine. He appears to have been a rather interesting man – amongst other things, he kept a ‘herd of monkeys’ in his garden house!</p>As these comparisons show (not taken at the exact same angle), Max's 1885 painting (L) and Magritte's 1918 painting (R) differ in many places: <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SEr8g32mHBUd9_TPrbB8RHur78iJDghvd5ijJG8JB9wyJb0Hsk2TX9ls_jwzd6uygb4C4_q62Lq8NWs9MHrCuCU4CAR_35oJ9WslnKQfNxLYcm9RsefQXXV7OLwOOmdkyx45ZM4FfZ86Ckz0iLKUu9jWg4UzeVUShKbWWUsYVpEnPH4tTm53HWLdIFU/s1211/Janeslondon_MaxMagritteComparison.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1211" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SEr8g32mHBUd9_TPrbB8RHur78iJDghvd5ijJG8JB9wyJb0Hsk2TX9ls_jwzd6uygb4C4_q62Lq8NWs9MHrCuCU4CAR_35oJ9WslnKQfNxLYcm9RsefQXXV7OLwOOmdkyx45ZM4FfZ86Ckz0iLKUu9jWg4UzeVUShKbWWUsYVpEnPH4tTm53HWLdIFU/w400-h260/Janeslondon_MaxMagritteComparison.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Magritte’s version is more about the paint, which I love. Well, I love them both. Although Magritte has taken pains to copy some of Max's delicate red marks, he loses subtlety in the face especially around the eyes (which can be viewed as open or closed). Magritte has also enhanced the edges of the cloth (a fabrication by Max) and altered the position of the title at the bottom (see the framed versions above). And the signature – on close inspection, I can see on my print that there is a hint of a signature at top left (not visible here) that Magritte has chosen to replace with his own. </p><p>It's all a lovely coincidence, seeing as I had no idea about this image until ten days ago and would have been entranced by the Magritte version had I never see the Max one. I am now buzzing with questions: </p><p>Why did Magritte paint a copy of another man’s painting? Was it simply a training piece? </p><p>Where was Max's painting hanging at that time? Is that where Magritte made the copy? Or did he copy one of the many lithographic copies?</p><p>What other paintings did Magritte copy at this time?</p><p>Would Magritte's painting be worth Christie's estimated auction price of £70-100K had not later become famous for gravity-defying apples and pipes? </p><p>In comparison, how much is Max’s painting today? And where is it? </p><p><a href="https://www.christies.com/calendar?mode=1&sc_lang=en&lid=1" target="_blank">Christie’s sale rooms</a> are always worth visiting. Ditto all other auction rooms. They are free to view and often it’s the only way to see beautiful works that will end up in private collections.</p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-87308066297118237782024-02-27T00:08:00.005+00:002024-02-27T11:13:02.542+00:00Cobbles, congestion and woodblocks <p>They are resurfacing Holloway Road at the moment. Changing junction hierarchies, altering bus lanes, installing temporary traffic lights. It’s tedious to say the least. </p><p>Last year it was tiresome on any bus heading north from Hi&Is as it took aaaages getting from there to Holloway Rd tube station – it was quicker to get out and walk (made even more frustrating by having to suffer that stupid conglomeration of traffic lights around Highbury corner – it's faster to walk from Union Chapel to the next stop outside Highbury Magistrates Court). And now they are slowing up the eastern side of HollowayRoad as they make further changes to the road and junctions, meaning that heading south takes aaaages, especially in the mornings and exacerbated by a stupid bit of replanning opposite Holloway Rd station. Let me elaborate... </p><p>A yellow box partially restricts access. That’s usually great, as it ought to stop traffic from clogging that junction. But cars come out of Hornsey Rd and turn left (southwards) and subsequently block the way for traffic from the north which cannot move forward because those cars turning left obstruct the access, specifically to the bus lane on the other side. Aaaagh. Often it takes three changes of the traffic lights before an opportunity to move becomes available. And lots of bibbing and parping and sighing and swearing. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQUjdGemtP5spIP9SYq5UuG2cV_NjBuYtKuv3r77baaTDshjJ3vBh7mNBcdPdB1KQ1V6w379TprWcuZqCvbLPmFWpPuZLXGP3IBTtuYzgFMcQlCx2nfAmk7bqqIcUzXY8nyvEb5i9phP4AUSNNlhFwUkEywTxF7vaBOiZzZbJvs0kG5GdyRlgVvz-ckg/s3024/B89D217D-135B-4EFD-9407-9A289A5CC446.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQUjdGemtP5spIP9SYq5UuG2cV_NjBuYtKuv3r77baaTDshjJ3vBh7mNBcdPdB1KQ1V6w379TprWcuZqCvbLPmFWpPuZLXGP3IBTtuYzgFMcQlCx2nfAmk7bqqIcUzXY8nyvEb5i9phP4AUSNNlhFwUkEywTxF7vaBOiZzZbJvs0kG5GdyRlgVvz-ckg/s320/B89D217D-135B-4EFD-9407-9A289A5CC446.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Perhaps the only good thing about this for history nerds like me, is that from the front seat of a southbound bus (this is from a No21 to Lewisham) I can get a good view of how the modern road surface has been scraped away to reveal the old cobbled street (yeah yeah; setts). A layer of Holloway history uncovered – it must have been an even noisier road in the past. <p></p><p>I’ve written before how this road must’ve been completely woodblocks as there are a few old man hole covers in the vicinity that still contain woodblock infills (see the A-Z listing at the top of this site). I’m not sure if the woodblocks predate or follow the cobbles/setts (advice please)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3hYEwI2LMSZEHDZtd5BWyPOarGhJdcbEKFQwRxTdpX8dzP_jz1ch42O7z4x2IsP-hvdxEkRtBd-dFPLsfV6sBX2t4ymwnGCJJtNdI5EQMXDB_5meiJ6nksjmAXFdUi5G59FqcswUrkeBPZkU7AEB3zPKYFhp-BuFC-pJ6wudv8173EOOhurGLqtK8WE/s3024/C1152CA4-ACD6-4E43-BECC-E8D01751906B.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3hYEwI2LMSZEHDZtd5BWyPOarGhJdcbEKFQwRxTdpX8dzP_jz1ch42O7z4x2IsP-hvdxEkRtBd-dFPLsfV6sBX2t4ymwnGCJJtNdI5EQMXDB_5meiJ6nksjmAXFdUi5G59FqcswUrkeBPZkU7AEB3zPKYFhp-BuFC-pJ6wudv8173EOOhurGLqtK8WE/s320/C1152CA4-ACD6-4E43-BECC-E8D01751906B.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />And, further along the route 21, just before Essex Road, I looked down to see a man hole cover on the left side within an accessway that would have led to the rear of the terrace. Two of the outer segments look to have remnants of wood within them. I need to go and poke it with a stick of some kind to be sure before I add it to the list. I will update you soon.<p></p><p><br /></p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-68758347008262152312024-01-30T18:14:00.006+00:002024-01-31T12:14:51.027+00:00R.I.P. Stamford Trading ghostsign, Hoxton<div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; transition-property: none;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This enormous ghostsign for Stamford Veneers, high up on a Kingsland Road stables building </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">facing the Overground Line at Hoxton has recently been overpainted. </span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27KeBYqogM8-f-V2c2kQ1hMkdb3GgxiImkFnLNwLVIMW1Y9Xv92znOYb4oe_taW4VDSOraWHx5pXoptn55-T4DaRN-k-i5CXt_KmdjdTwYM1w3SF_CUOiUtVMvS2jD49dwIxwsyOsZ6xFKt4CVgnm_t-o68GZVPC9D-Tc8TjqA5uInWjPUck3RG2m8Zs/s1140/JanesLonOn_StockCarPete_SHO5537.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="1140" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27KeBYqogM8-f-V2c2kQ1hMkdb3GgxiImkFnLNwLVIMW1Y9Xv92znOYb4oe_taW4VDSOraWHx5pXoptn55-T4DaRN-k-i5CXt_KmdjdTwYM1w3SF_CUOiUtVMvS2jD49dwIxwsyOsZ6xFKt4CVgnm_t-o68GZVPC9D-Tc8TjqA5uInWjPUck3RG2m8Zs/w400-h121/JanesLonOn_StockCarPete_SHO5537.png" width="400" /></a></div></span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; text-align: center; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pic credit: by StockCarPete – <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stockcarpete/32388791525" target="_blank">see his full image here</a></span></i></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;">It had been visible since the mid-1940s. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My pics below, taken from the railway track,</span> show the sign in October 2019 and <span style="font-family: inherit;">earlier this month (Jan2024):</span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevdRvYNO6dMmgI5UalqOQcBgMAkEeZ8PEpgBtBJe92yxZ0TqFtDfeNfGvBhHv8N1918FFZtYxVuEoGNqgs2EeNoxQek8g8YmTpGVIHkViwfCmyuAElGK3k3y-_GVE_393OUsIaGF9Tw59CQ1ba_Tyq5mQ0kF1sqvN9cy7ss3cY14UmafgGdHDTYpI8Vk/s1240/Janeslondon_StamfordVeneers.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1240" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevdRvYNO6dMmgI5UalqOQcBgMAkEeZ8PEpgBtBJe92yxZ0TqFtDfeNfGvBhHv8N1918FFZtYxVuEoGNqgs2EeNoxQek8g8YmTpGVIHkViwfCmyuAElGK3k3y-_GVE_393OUsIaGF9Tw59CQ1ba_Tyq5mQ0kF1sqvN9cy7ss3cY14UmafgGdHDTYpI8Vk/w400-h161/Janeslondon_StamfordVeneers.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></span>It’s beyond me why whoever did this wasted so much time and effort on this shoddy obliteration, especially as<span style="color: black; white-space-collapse: collapse;"> it doesn't appear that they spent much time and effort on it. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">By which I mean, </span>it's not even been painted out properly – it's patchy – there are varying sections of thin and thick paint and roller marks are clearly visible. I suggest this has been achieved at speed involving long ladders or ropes, possibly at night time, rather than using a reliable contractor and scaffolding. </div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sign featured a great example of the old Shoreditch telephone code and formed one of the first stops on my Hoxton and Shoreditch ghostsigns guided walk. I'll still include it on the walk though as a case study. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh well, the modern paint will fade away over time. The old sign will gradually re-emerge. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2011/02/old-london-telephone-exchanges.html" target="_blank">More telephone codes here.</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; transition-property: none; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-67754364515403318342023-12-22T10:30:00.005+00:002023-12-22T13:50:10.913+00:00Youth by William Dudeney – a lovely statue near Gough Square<p>Outside the door of Pemberton House, 6 East Harding Street, between <a href="https://carolineld.blogspot.com/2020/12/gunpowder-square.html">Gunpowder Square</a> and Gough Square, there is a lovely sculptural piece of a young man casually perched on one knee.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3dh7LjT7Cvh536Y-huP1JoDMztn3RGxpMZvGhROHL0uAgu4-Xa_8SbZLCggB1ZW0-mm5qGjRo1FTz4UqyzzMeNaFiTa-TJDlKdpHrxjrPsAuL7_b6-JguXIgzUTSoIsx-ceIqmFnHDfX6tW82Q9ZGh1feiVCKc9vBMfjDdZA8qnsr9W2tuJVd2KIF2Q/s553/JanesLondon_EHardingSt1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="553" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3dh7LjT7Cvh536Y-huP1JoDMztn3RGxpMZvGhROHL0uAgu4-Xa_8SbZLCggB1ZW0-mm5qGjRo1FTz4UqyzzMeNaFiTa-TJDlKdpHrxjrPsAuL7_b6-JguXIgzUTSoIsx-ceIqmFnHDfX6tW82Q9ZGh1feiVCKc9vBMfjDdZA8qnsr9W2tuJVd2KIF2Q/w400-h400/JanesLondon_EHardingSt1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I can find no marks on it at all; no date, no signature. The chunky athletic build is typical of the 1930s – rather Eric Gill-ish or Edward Bainbridge Copnall-like, or he might even be a Jacob Epstein creation. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6NOsCOmMMITbgabZ-dCLdURrgeQK-ftogLY8CSWFBNQG_RiWN3-dB7t_QZvCXG6Q_zPPBFawodjzvBCIWU7SPiGSU8pq1N345kE2WGfAjLS60qH7kGgUI98ZRctY9lT0Z5IJawrJqvG-b5CQf-fzWJVcnIfD2q949WgNc24HJr5fNXeJqW2i-WMdtWY/s555/JanesLondon_EHardingSt2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="554" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6NOsCOmMMITbgabZ-dCLdURrgeQK-ftogLY8CSWFBNQG_RiWN3-dB7t_QZvCXG6Q_zPPBFawodjzvBCIWU7SPiGSU8pq1N345kE2WGfAjLS60qH7kGgUI98ZRctY9lT0Z5IJawrJqvG-b5CQf-fzWJVcnIfD2q949WgNc24HJr5fNXeJqW2i-WMdtWY/w399-h400/JanesLondon_EHardingSt2.png" width="399" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcMNlFH1OKy51yNXMTjO3glA3UPvlt5IvTPmtOHgHkRq_UW7aF_GWfcf2CkqMvo3601r3IahWKuN0ruf27DGEbaIbZZoR7Ji54kFDPkKnrAfV4H_ISB6Et5UmuJi1BM-CDxpNhQRUNmGwio87RvVhhCBHFhh9tsm0LEeUtO8SJXy5-dFh2FE0hJ-VxQ4/s435/EHardingSt_1939.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="435" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcMNlFH1OKy51yNXMTjO3glA3UPvlt5IvTPmtOHgHkRq_UW7aF_GWfcf2CkqMvo3601r3IahWKuN0ruf27DGEbaIbZZoR7Ji54kFDPkKnrAfV4H_ISB6Et5UmuJi1BM-CDxpNhQRUNmGwio87RvVhhCBHFhh9tsm0LEeUtO8SJXy5-dFh2FE0hJ-VxQ4/w256-h190/EHardingSt_1939.png" width="256" /></a></div><div>I had occasionally made attempts to find out more, specifically to ascertain who sculpted this piece and to clarify whether this building was constructed in the 1930s or the 1950s, made all the more confusing seeing as there is no mention of 'Pemberton' House' in the 1939 directory shown here, although it might have already been a whole block by then and perhaps the name of Pemberton House might have been later applied when it was converted and repurposed to recognise Pemberton Row at the end of E Harding St. </div><div><div>A sculpted panel at the top of the building showing a representation of the printing industry bears the dates 1476-1956, though this doesn't actually confirm that 1956 is the date of the building – especially as the strip containing those dates looks to be a later addition. </div><div>I wondered if it the building might have been constructed by Eyre & Spottiswoode, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyre_%26_Spottiswoode" target="_blank">an interesting18th century printing company</a> that, as you can see, also had a club in the same block/building. Whether the club was for all members of staff of just for the directors, I don't know. It might well have been a sports facility and this would tie in with this young man's athletic features. </div><div><br /></div><div>So back to the young man – it turns out that until today, I hade been searching using the wrong keywords, not using the name 'Pemberton' – basically, I hadn't looked very hard because all the info I needed is on <a href="https://ornamentalpassions.blogspot.com/2012/08/pemberton-house-pemberton-row-ec4.html" target="_blank">Chris's excellent Ornamental Passions</a> and has been there since 2012! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1brxB2WnGkM4Z6bVYsnHEabHT4YIsn001RSJ7icmkLOYulDdI-39nqhvRNEWijcM0X0CtpOk_KrWENGHl2BwOOzs_Ggl40eRoP74fvO-Sl4IO40CnFZpCY_ges0hr9D4k5NgkzwRY2Ui1bP8GwPjA4gqVzb_gs5730V2Kr3WrUOKvLVTYL4sBykPSe2M/s555/JanesLondon_EHardingSt3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="555" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1brxB2WnGkM4Z6bVYsnHEabHT4YIsn001RSJ7icmkLOYulDdI-39nqhvRNEWijcM0X0CtpOk_KrWENGHl2BwOOzs_Ggl40eRoP74fvO-Sl4IO40CnFZpCY_ges0hr9D4k5NgkzwRY2Ui1bP8GwPjA4gqVzb_gs5730V2Kr3WrUOKvLVTYL4sBykPSe2M/w400-h400/JanesLondon_EHardingSt3.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>He is called <i>'Youth' </i>and was carved by William Dudeney, commissioned in 1955 by The Starmer Group, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Starmer" target="_blank">a company started by this man</a>, that by the mid-1950s had acquired this site as their HQ, though this doesn't clarify when the building was constructed or when the name Pemberton was applied to it.</div><div>I am therefore assuming the name change happened quite recently when the block was converted to residential use. Any further info welcome. Incidentally, a furnished one bedroom flat starts at about £530 per week, which seems cheap to me considering the location. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvrsYDEdl041uti7Qt9nokwD6SyA2ZhQcpHDZo_tJJd9BRvpuPfVRpEW2lzDVeFd6HpuY3JSYFgywX_B35ubL8CKBz_PdDRlyxSA0m-Gl2YQIqY9BYD5SfjeT9q3wVrYKFuR1w5z37-8SqXh-9HJcg7Z_oZyOrAK-zB34x2EYJVcGOiT3H43KGYfm2OI/s533/JanesLondon_EHardingSt4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="532" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvrsYDEdl041uti7Qt9nokwD6SyA2ZhQcpHDZo_tJJd9BRvpuPfVRpEW2lzDVeFd6HpuY3JSYFgywX_B35ubL8CKBz_PdDRlyxSA0m-Gl2YQIqY9BYD5SfjeT9q3wVrYKFuR1w5z37-8SqXh-9HJcg7Z_oZyOrAK-zB34x2EYJVcGOiT3H43KGYfm2OI/w399-h400/JanesLondon_EHardingSt4.png" width="399" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.christopherwilson.info/wilfred.htm" target="_blank">Read about another of William Dudeney's printer-related sculptures here </a> – and notice how one of the figures in that group is holding a printing block that containing Dudeney's name (with letters reversed) – clever. </div></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-24074273743860711752023-12-20T10:30:00.014+00:002023-12-20T10:30:00.129+00:00Theobald's Road ghostsign – a family business?<p>On the East-facing wall at the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.521357,-0.113718,3a,75y,309.87h,100.66t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sp46jDqBh4HTJKT72oiqAbQ!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-GB&entry=ttu" target="_blank">corner of King's Mews on the side of No.12 Theobald's Road</a>, there are remnants of a painted advertisement.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztdQ5ETVf2QE31zDc7WArkhZJcrC34DiRrBigzQJymL7AnAjL3lD4KNE_umi5NtLRTvnINdTYPq9TNPGTwuMCuKBrf-u1YSTHNRWUVNxUlblBVkTHPYkXS4t6OAmW6Ty2A7YMArjDuAD6Nw9sPBL7GnOtniA49-KOanz47xC7wpqnono7brulzdIqRkc/s1630/TheobaldsRd_Ghostsign_FamilyB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1630" data-original-width="1630" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztdQ5ETVf2QE31zDc7WArkhZJcrC34DiRrBigzQJymL7AnAjL3lD4KNE_umi5NtLRTvnINdTYPq9TNPGTwuMCuKBrf-u1YSTHNRWUVNxUlblBVkTHPYkXS4t6OAmW6Ty2A7YMArjDuAD6Nw9sPBL7GnOtniA49-KOanz47xC7wpqnono7brulzdIqRkc/s320/TheobaldsRd_Ghostsign_FamilyB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It's clear that this wall was once completely slathered in lettering, but thus far, all I have managed to decipher is the word FAMILY (at the extreme left, directly above the horizontal) followed by another word starting with a small cap S. The sign is tough one to photograph. It's not always visible, by which I mean, on most days it's barely noticeable at all. I have tried messing about in Photoshop but no matter which way I blast it, I can't make it any clearer: <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFR3TsPR3f-qzzzhkRN_VBR6hKMghsPCpHrq9IJFgU_0tpPWziFqqPOqLAjfn5OP74lSHIY0l4sS1OxCUiHUhR5nIk7RhRdWEw99lVu3-JikPwDgh2KCZdshL1Kjp-ZktlPJpRrOdxkoTPlhHeASeOgrKDsGISO7WpfvEYu-wd9lIqoOANgweASmEm3I/s3732/TheobaldsRd_Ghostsign_FamilyCrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="3732" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFR3TsPR3f-qzzzhkRN_VBR6hKMghsPCpHrq9IJFgU_0tpPWziFqqPOqLAjfn5OP74lSHIY0l4sS1OxCUiHUhR5nIk7RhRdWEw99lVu3-JikPwDgh2KCZdshL1Kjp-ZktlPJpRrOdxkoTPlhHeASeOgrKDsGISO7WpfvEYu-wd9lIqoOANgweASmEm3I/w400-h109/TheobaldsRd_Ghostsign_FamilyCrop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I had an idea that the old postal directories might help and give me a 'ping' moment. But I am still flummoxed. Also, signs on walls do not necessarily advertise the services available in that particular property and I think this might be an example of an adjacent business paying to advertise on this prime site. </p><p>To illustrate my point, I'm here including three excerpts that show this stretch of Theobald's Road in 1899, 1915 and 1939:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvEStYYAiFOFx7FHYsVno05OtKBuUb0cT0lVOX_6NE7qsGQcEwLAg8RheMfQlryhrS0hsh8QFGASnYHxRGpIitUwNercQqOn7dzM6Xk-ZFOZqgmZn7vtNZA-WNui0IIYGj4iR_-AhgfPIwGIwfS78zZHoLX1M92vUtjluNDyg4XkwxV4300UB9H2st60/s1117/TheobaldsRd_1889_1915_1939.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="1117" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvEStYYAiFOFx7FHYsVno05OtKBuUb0cT0lVOX_6NE7qsGQcEwLAg8RheMfQlryhrS0hsh8QFGASnYHxRGpIitUwNercQqOn7dzM6Xk-ZFOZqgmZn7vtNZA-WNui0IIYGj4iR_-AhgfPIwGIwfS78zZHoLX1M92vUtjluNDyg4XkwxV4300UB9H2st60/w400-h173/TheobaldsRd_1889_1915_1939.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Perhaps this was an ad for one the many solicitors along that terrace who specialised in family law? Or the sign could well have advertised the corner shop opposite; the 1915 confectioner or the 1939 Italian refreshment rooms? By the way, look how many businesses are listed with offices at No.12 in 1939.</p><p>Another idea is that this advertisement directed the reader to a business at the other end of Kings Mews in Northington Street, previously Little James Street. Again, I'm showing listings for 1899, 1915 and 1939:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKWa9SXJbg9NYjjHvOAyF4uNdL_S3jItDoHAotCIJG1AE2rn4hnoU_fwXd4ZQmuU61EJ2cDNmtIFB3dMET2UEakLVZoLcoNLyJ2-rPzM8PgF0yY-8AThPvzPYTsEJsSkU-kFVu31cQfHDTfIVrCZc8Xl2FRyEKKg_NJQUfOqkf4az-V4F-3mMdZ4Va20/s899/NorthingtonSt_1889_1915_1939.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="899" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKWa9SXJbg9NYjjHvOAyF4uNdL_S3jItDoHAotCIJG1AE2rn4hnoU_fwXd4ZQmuU61EJ2cDNmtIFB3dMET2UEakLVZoLcoNLyJ2-rPzM8PgF0yY-8AThPvzPYTsEJsSkU-kFVu31cQfHDTfIVrCZc8Xl2FRyEKKg_NJQUfOqkf4az-V4F-3mMdZ4Va20/w400-h281/NorthingtonSt_1889_1915_1939.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>As you can see, this back street has been an ever-changing mix of small shops, tradesmen and manufactories. I can get lost in listings like this especially when I see names or businesses that I recognise from elsewhere, and I particularly like how in this 40-year period we see horse-powered transport and coach-building evolve into the era of motor cars. </p><p>If you do manage to decipher anything else on that wall, please do let me know.</p><p>Northington Street is still today an interesting little street. The motor garages and public houses are still evident albeit converted for residential use and Cockpit Yard is today <a href="https://cockpitstudios.org/" target="_blank">Cockpit Studios</a>, a hub for designer makers. Well worth a detour if you are visiting the nearby <a href="https://dickensmuseum.com/" target="_blank">Charles Dickens Museum</a>. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-84392829293991985472023-12-15T20:30:00.005+00:002023-12-15T20:30:55.407+00:00The Imperial Hotel Russell Square – James Bond-tastic <p>There's a 1960's era hotel facing Russell Square that I absolutely Love love love. I've been concerned about it for decades now. It's in that 'too new to be treasured, not old enough to be saved' zone especially as many people jump on the bandwagon about on about awful it is and how it replaced a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Hotel,_London" target="_blank">huge bit of Edwardian OTT</a>. Indeed that 'To The Turkish Baths' sign in the pavement harks back to that long-gone previous building. Oh yawn. People just don't use their eyes! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GKj3QIHHcO7gPpv_6pBv4udvbxMoxLHBs-SWn9V_p3ews8W5sIqeRlW8bmXfnGgXW587WWFH3PmkVVBkwykICzlN4kmh3uqBmGx24iOa9aWbkNUT1-ODv2i_eiy09cJG0BFMKNyngtViKzPk5yZBYt4pwaW6iy-9EpZsyJmdcWhUecJIuqhpYigfacM/s1088/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="1088" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GKj3QIHHcO7gPpv_6pBv4udvbxMoxLHBs-SWn9V_p3ews8W5sIqeRlW8bmXfnGgXW587WWFH3PmkVVBkwykICzlN4kmh3uqBmGx24iOa9aWbkNUT1-ODv2i_eiy09cJG0BFMKNyngtViKzPk5yZBYt4pwaW6iy-9EpZsyJmdcWhUecJIuqhpYigfacM/w400-h198/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Well, I love it. Check out the extended orange letters (Microgramma? Eurostile?) the vertical stripes of gold mosaic interspersed with fine pebbled concrete, the windows that let in extra light due to being angled, how the design continues through the drive-way and into the courtyard at the rear which leads to a fountain in the same design and an enclosed area containing elements saved from the old hotel.</p><p>Bloomsbury has a few other hotels like this, but The Imperial is the King of them all. Yet trying to find info online about this 1960's James Bond gem is proving to be an uphill struggle. I can't even find the name of architect. Instead, all I find is moans and groans and violins about what's gone before. </p><p>Last year, June 2022, when I checked in on the building, there was no sign of the statues said to be saved from the old building and arranged around a wall at the rear. However, the galleon weather vane, the clock and bells were still there, and the sign for the closed casino. I took some photos and a uniformed man came out and told me to stop. I'd assumed the hotel was empty but it seems it was being used as temporary homes for Ukranian refugees. That's nice.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlYGWuWbmff0xGltwVAY7le9yO1S3hcjWPoRGJBJ_-QncxHEWdRKTfotgL1F-b9QKbpdWXNAaA4CVeIPPewRKuuuwsKhRNzQGGR5YcHMviIuK9_TIE5ndOGgFnbq8jZTD1BzlKL5LcL8z0Fo22BuVIw2ihd4RuMjIytFW_A6VhSbN22mPHhLz-fb3o9o/s1085/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="1085" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlYGWuWbmff0xGltwVAY7le9yO1S3hcjWPoRGJBJ_-QncxHEWdRKTfotgL1F-b9QKbpdWXNAaA4CVeIPPewRKuuuwsKhRNzQGGR5YcHMviIuK9_TIE5ndOGgFnbq8jZTD1BzlKL5LcL8z0Fo22BuVIw2ihd4RuMjIytFW_A6VhSbN22mPHhLz-fb3o9o/w400-h198/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq3.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Earlier this month, Dec2023, I was ambling past when I noticed that new hoardings were around the hotel at ground level announcing renovations were underway, to be revealed in Spring 2025. Eek! That's a long way off and who knows what blandification could occur here seeing as what happened behind Debenhams when a <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2017/08/10/welbeck-street-car-park-brutalist-era-demolition-eric-parry-architects-news-london-uk/" target="_blank">totally unique car park from this era was completely destroyed</a>. Where is façadism when you really need it?</p><p>I raced round the the back of The Imperial and found the main building was fenced off and looked to be empty. The pic above right shows a small grey quadrant at the bottom left. I'm sad to report that was where the fountain was. And here's how it looked in June:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW7xE9x8F4TpORJrvhb7Hnxi3nlYEOVK_ktxGkhlE1QU1cBVajY0eSGG13vpcdSGm2KOkDLRNXHLOVQGvh-wZtS3-E7e_3U_kQHETkCDooo1TOo5NGwAb3hj5jl433pb1M6fGjQOmjx6QlTPW0Klj3VssfRWIHWnrmHf9B4bnvppKbsQdGkvwS__Ek7w/s4032/IMG_5623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW7xE9x8F4TpORJrvhb7Hnxi3nlYEOVK_ktxGkhlE1QU1cBVajY0eSGG13vpcdSGm2KOkDLRNXHLOVQGvh-wZtS3-E7e_3U_kQHETkCDooo1TOo5NGwAb3hj5jl433pb1M6fGjQOmjx6QlTPW0Klj3VssfRWIHWnrmHf9B4bnvppKbsQdGkvwS__Ek7w/w400-h300/IMG_5623.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtm7nW_k8ixfoxWYcu8dzJ8r1kMfCHI6QcTltDy3DHtrvBwBhEEkkWz5lUnebWjbQZhYQT1pXFjYNNWpDHdvZbMsKdU2cWz7QVLFqgjBrfqs5AarsYLUBVaTQYuSm1lo7ORdWgXQAFI3n7LtRJWCy56dfL-DSNUyFl6OGku5HV3mBbUGH0pB62K4HySsk/s1087/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1087" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtm7nW_k8ixfoxWYcu8dzJ8r1kMfCHI6QcTltDy3DHtrvBwBhEEkkWz5lUnebWjbQZhYQT1pXFjYNNWpDHdvZbMsKdU2cWz7QVLFqgjBrfqs5AarsYLUBVaTQYuSm1lo7ORdWgXQAFI3n7LtRJWCy56dfL-DSNUyFl6OGku5HV3mBbUGH0pB62K4HySsk/w400-h196/JanesLondon_ImperialHotel_RussellSq4.png" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkSsIWkGP1SJgHXWkK0qKkyXuuoTnEKOVp9udoBeWKfSZowH4j-BXoV3b6w73n_4o8mT0kKfi11jkL4ABjEoPOrgvlUVKmoeVIeRcXft1Jdv8_LD8uDcLkvT2dg4Q5U38t2iZHktTBFlGYTFEdwv-8GxNmg7AMDHbfJpFO6VGSrqw3_fpIlYpJg7273Y/s4032/IMG_5624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkSsIWkGP1SJgHXWkK0qKkyXuuoTnEKOVp9udoBeWKfSZowH4j-BXoV3b6w73n_4o8mT0kKfi11jkL4ABjEoPOrgvlUVKmoeVIeRcXft1Jdv8_LD8uDcLkvT2dg4Q5U38t2iZHktTBFlGYTFEdwv-8GxNmg7AMDHbfJpFO6VGSrqw3_fpIlYpJg7273Y/w400-h300/IMG_5624.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>And looking back out to the street, towards Russell Square:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyNUtuUYGVeZwycexPq391bLBcS0YOTLM0TcVbsH6b9zibx3mzlV2nI_Nn8QPAPxkC739zeUq7h5UD0kzrKMXb0NzSRX6OR_1fEAl9E0kw1Iq_anYjl1Fdjdl5b2_svVrli8gYknAkZHkPOCBQgJNje3VN3nJNj34zrFF4jsHqL-iAwQAp2Jrg2L1shw/s3024/IMG_5630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyNUtuUYGVeZwycexPq391bLBcS0YOTLM0TcVbsH6b9zibx3mzlV2nI_Nn8QPAPxkC739zeUq7h5UD0kzrKMXb0NzSRX6OR_1fEAl9E0kw1Iq_anYjl1Fdjdl5b2_svVrli8gYknAkZHkPOCBQgJNje3VN3nJNj34zrFF4jsHqL-iAwQAp2Jrg2L1shw/w400-h400/IMG_5630.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Some lovely, simple but effective, blue tiles are visible just above that traffic cone. They arestill there. I say are in the sense of three weeks ago. I hope they get saved or, at least, repurposed:<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccPkcqaKv7DGvtvPDm7vEvCq6P_6eSdrNtzaT-lItV0Ha1hCDQSHJSHETbQyW9yAE0aIQryTia1rWpmaQvjjwPfEsXCcd2u_PDQBQyjaQ_VJhCsIRik_H4i3XxrdawyrWodKS99LisybFPKIyjWsmhYidF67y_G9CYNK0ViQfPSjCnCVz8OaY2yL-ZKA/s1059/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2020.03.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="1059" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccPkcqaKv7DGvtvPDm7vEvCq6P_6eSdrNtzaT-lItV0Ha1hCDQSHJSHETbQyW9yAE0aIQryTia1rWpmaQvjjwPfEsXCcd2u_PDQBQyjaQ_VJhCsIRik_H4i3XxrdawyrWodKS99LisybFPKIyjWsmhYidF67y_G9CYNK0ViQfPSjCnCVz8OaY2yL-ZKA/w400-h196/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2020.03.59.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I need to find out what's happening at this site. I really hope they are going to make something of this zigzag magnificence rather than just destroy it and replace it with another faceless, uninteresting glass blob. OK, so people might miss the old Gothic pile, but there are plenty of similar hotels of that era still standing, and at least here the old fusty spires were replaced with something innovative and of it's time. And groovy too. There really is nothing comparable I can think of, except perhaps the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwL7A0LzJg9BIsTs1MSy0qUUgsSs7ILElNLgEAipwJ7Q&q=seifert+architect&oq=seifert&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgEEC4YgAQyCQgAEEUYORiABDIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQLhiABDIQCAUQLhivARjHARiABBiOBTIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCDc4MTRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Seifert towers</a> and the Hilton Hotel.</p><p>Do let me know if you have any further info.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX58c62tKlZtZlgEUmYWew7pDNUz7v81L22Cy0rVhraSYjQuV_lzynwT5C7WFZS4f2SrmuTFo_pSk7WzEPHyYNACC5K_XG0FnAAEUO5amF1-D-qLczfMajRqFjKhVU1i60p4ch6petxq7pISnaDqmcb2WOUwEJVK8F7Y_2e7b9_XFQKY6WCekvAzWeENc/s4032/IMG_5615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX58c62tKlZtZlgEUmYWew7pDNUz7v81L22Cy0rVhraSYjQuV_lzynwT5C7WFZS4f2SrmuTFo_pSk7WzEPHyYNACC5K_XG0FnAAEUO5amF1-D-qLczfMajRqFjKhVU1i60p4ch6petxq7pISnaDqmcb2WOUwEJVK8F7Y_2e7b9_XFQKY6WCekvAzWeENc/w400-h300/IMG_5615.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-17480423293100517332023-12-07T16:05:00.004+00:002023-12-07T16:05:50.542+00:00Lyndie Wright's puppets – until Sunday December 10th<p>Whoops – I should have done this days ago but I have been knocked sideways by a horrible bug. Cough, sniff, snort! But enough about me – this is to let you know that the wonderfully creative Lyndie Wright has, for a short period, turned her workshop into a museum to showcase the delightful puppets she has made since moving into this space in the 1960s. <a href="http://lyndiesworkshop.co.uk/news.html" target="_blank">Find out more here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9OkNGXLmVnwPxVVWvXtb46MvJBtnVJOmmecxX_BoOal0kQfWkjhcancKSleWRtoyj9vq5YjgZcDRLGu7Y-lDbZHAKb2ACZ0XrJeEWURusOA4_7q13g9tj1MbLX_yNWIAnk3sKxu_J6puh63JOl2zD5cK9vm6zXenZVUHgpAFxwE29c3SKU8ux48Nq7g/s1063/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="1063" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9OkNGXLmVnwPxVVWvXtb46MvJBtnVJOmmecxX_BoOal0kQfWkjhcancKSleWRtoyj9vq5YjgZcDRLGu7Y-lDbZHAKb2ACZ0XrJeEWURusOA4_7q13g9tj1MbLX_yNWIAnk3sKxu_J6puh63JOl2zD5cK9vm6zXenZVUHgpAFxwE29c3SKU8ux48Nq7g/w400-h196/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When I visited last Sunday afternoon, I was entranced by the little people and animals all around me. I kept thinking I was ready to leave but then, I'd spot something I hadn't previously noticed, such as a cat under a table, a demon on a high shelf, a beautifully sewn leather hand or a finely painted face. The whole place is a delight. Yes a delight. Shall I say 'delight' again?! <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K6F-9XUr6jSOJRnYkD_dypdhW9ln1YW9CBdtFUeGVgJx_vb-3z4O0fAWBzEjqnjO7AYd8SOJfj27DcGGAwdCRwljiGc_S7yWJUgtSZ3-aP4BJjauEpZJ8i9_t504dYNNdGQoE3IksYxaOh-RF0f8cJygO7eIVZIe5nGnQAvxP8zSsIznzWj7vRN7-hs/s1062/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="1062" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K6F-9XUr6jSOJRnYkD_dypdhW9ln1YW9CBdtFUeGVgJx_vb-3z4O0fAWBzEjqnjO7AYd8SOJfj27DcGGAwdCRwljiGc_S7yWJUgtSZ3-aP4BJjauEpZJ8i9_t504dYNNdGQoE3IksYxaOh-RF0f8cJygO7eIVZIe5nGnQAvxP8zSsIznzWj7vRN7-hs/w400-h198/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets2.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Many of the pieces <a href="http://lyndiesworkshop.co.uk/gallery.html" target="_blank">you might recognise from movies or similar</a>. And then there's the workshop itself. I do love a creative/shed environment and Lyndie's workspace shows its ever-evolving history in well-worn wood, benches, vices and clamps, and little drawers full of useful things. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk-CoTQ33aMR-sKHUltemTvMUmWpbujZyzJFIetSV3hhW_2vQ0SwMcq99HhilI_y1zFMYaAy8O1DZHJwPR84X0i-4eLhTMEGy7XwF2zrCr0u90G7btmpanBXuCPkKOnvjEZhcfGcjtlfZxIawiUimd3M9bD-fKK2UppDWizSteNsDJTqTzI4jbs0xR6M/s1063/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="1063" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk-CoTQ33aMR-sKHUltemTvMUmWpbujZyzJFIetSV3hhW_2vQ0SwMcq99HhilI_y1zFMYaAy8O1DZHJwPR84X0i-4eLhTMEGy7XwF2zrCr0u90G7btmpanBXuCPkKOnvjEZhcfGcjtlfZxIawiUimd3M9bD-fKK2UppDWizSteNsDJTqTzI4jbs0xR6M/w400-h196/JanesLondon_LyndieWrightPuppets3.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I urge you to pop in and say hello. <a href="http://lyndiesworkshop.co.uk/news.html" target="_blank">It's open Noon–7pm until Sunday 10th</a>. You'll find it next to The Little Angel Theatre in Dagmar Passage behind St Mary's Islington. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><br /></p></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-27194444811100871182023-12-04T13:48:00.010+00:002023-12-25T17:56:25.433+00:00Sad loss of Lidstone butchers ghostsign at South Woodford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEZumYpL_Ro5VXMSrUuQzXKGbMb6rIwi5WXyfgY6DorJRCi48i0EBy7513AQEVJUc7k6E3dM7oTMrq-fmWbo-X0m4krxpivz4l9aBtVe9Oyn0tRK96v0eQZe0JpW0jUb0wykuzYVZWCc5aw0glTkf3NyaaMCIuiwLSotyIDONJxfxovBTG4NzTuNqKhs/s1022/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2011.26.23.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1022" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEZumYpL_Ro5VXMSrUuQzXKGbMb6rIwi5WXyfgY6DorJRCi48i0EBy7513AQEVJUc7k6E3dM7oTMrq-fmWbo-X0m4krxpivz4l9aBtVe9Oyn0tRK96v0eQZe0JpW0jUb0wykuzYVZWCc5aw0glTkf3NyaaMCIuiwLSotyIDONJxfxovBTG4NzTuNqKhs/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2011.26.23.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>I have only just found out about the overpainting of the lovely hand-painted sign that advertised Lidstone Ltd's chain of butchers, a few minutes from South Woodford tube station, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5926142,0.0284499,3a,75y,183.72h,84.24t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sX97SkwVX28A7ly0Ot-EQXA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">here on the corner of Daisy Road</a>. The pic here is a screenshot from that link.</p><p>The dry cleaner shown in the pic has gone and the new owners have been renovating the premises, converting it into a café – like we need more of those! Hence, a hand-painted sign that was uncovered back in 2015, having been <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5925059,0.0285746,3a,75y,226.95h,83.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seZeOmy2eQtjyNYz1rpOgeA!2e0!5s20140701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">previously been protected by a boxed ad</a>, preserved for multiple decades, has been obliterated in a matter of hours by a business that will struggle to compete in a bean-soaked saturated market and may well be gone in a year. </p><p>Heathens! The Lidstone sign had, for the past eight years become a much-loved local treasure. Indeed, my friend who lives near here insisted on taking me to see it. It's very doubtful that the locals will be using or even promoting this new café – the new proprietors have clearly shot themselves in the foot. If they really needed to conceal the old sign, could they not have installed a boxed panel over the top of it? This would have again preserved the old sign whilst providing a flat surface on which they could have painted their own branding. Today, if you go there, you will find the whole wall has been painted brick red. <a href="https://swvg.co.uk/2023/12/01/council-statement-following-destruction-of-historic-ghost-sign-in-south-woodford/" target="_blank">The local paper has written about it</a>, but, as per at that article makes clear, the sign was not a historically listed item. The new owners are simply making use of a space that is now theirs. And this is the nature of these things. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVJeOePxzChFVdeXwfGf5HSdVMnaVbdGZDErcIYPLeK_HcYK3_T5x3poLX0SBZNcQ_GW2btSbAdKHmtyfe2wqDOCO9vzgmWePgt_AMAQEpObD1PGIaHuOP_KjHZNDXREj8-j47j73SXCz5OF-S9Jha_3GdL5HW1Crx-icFyzXoNkGflOPs8FbcJtidR0/s852/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.19.34.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="852" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVJeOePxzChFVdeXwfGf5HSdVMnaVbdGZDErcIYPLeK_HcYK3_T5x3poLX0SBZNcQ_GW2btSbAdKHmtyfe2wqDOCO9vzgmWePgt_AMAQEpObD1PGIaHuOP_KjHZNDXREj8-j47j73SXCz5OF-S9Jha_3GdL5HW1Crx-icFyzXoNkGflOPs8FbcJtidR0/w400-h270/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.19.34.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Consider, for instance, that if you look closely at the image above, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5924825,0.0285993,3a,75y,236.7h,91.34t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_Ot7OgdqL7noRGuwz4BCOg!2e0!5s20150601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">a screengrab from google</a> from just after the sign was uncovered, it's clear that the Lidstone sign had already been overpainted with another sign that had larger letter forms within a blue border (hints at the bottom right). I can make out the words LARGEST at middle left, but not much more. Although this might well have been a subsequent Lidstone ad.<p></p><p>So what have we lost? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAL-1HDmyuv4wNjih8gCp01ujdrRFkfiYyte1okm6xJ2rYOQRFaJJF9pfFU28KhTZJXyHa8NGXBPBCei58qKRferidOfvqNVkG-5WGBgn0q6Lu-713C7mhG1K-fJcO7c80JnN6OnjbwSNLgnjC__eD5d4Uh5kYfZCVGDzpAYVIaLCTVA-U0EdcKEeBBs/s1210/Janeslondon_Lidstone_ghostsign.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1210" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAL-1HDmyuv4wNjih8gCp01ujdrRFkfiYyte1okm6xJ2rYOQRFaJJF9pfFU28KhTZJXyHa8NGXBPBCei58qKRferidOfvqNVkG-5WGBgn0q6Lu-713C7mhG1K-fJcO7c80JnN6OnjbwSNLgnjC__eD5d4Uh5kYfZCVGDzpAYVIaLCTVA-U0EdcKEeBBs/w400-h200/Janeslondon_Lidstone_ghostsign.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>The sign appears to date from the period 1910-14 when Lidstone's had a shop at this location and the branches shown on the ad were also listed within the Kelly's Post Office directory of that time. It shows their head office at 75&76 Park Street, Regents Park, NW1 (having moved the office from Bucklersbury in The City of London), with outlets across London, listed in lovely script letterform within three panels at the bottom, the first two panels shown above. The third panel right listed outlets in Highgate Rd, Finchley Rd, Mill Hill and Chislehurst in Kent. The London directory for 1914, shows not only these Lidstone Ltd addresses, but also other butcher shops in the name of Lidstone, so it's fair to assume that these others were probably part of the wider Lidstone family.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Gg9ZH-VEhjR-3AC26wPX2fr9Z6ddNxx1I2GNwIn7v6ZiN_oMHb3EtMjf_p0y_jo-qMfwdWmKCoKOFKFDGYlnrSKxnM7cB0VvY_80aNxd__0KkiD2EdAg3hYN7yKJ0ZxvcmDA7n6oPOup9fuQD-PPhuw-Q2Em15Fq9AuFYNJ4O8FegQevrxxAcrbdgPg/s760/LidstoneButchers_1914a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="760" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Gg9ZH-VEhjR-3AC26wPX2fr9Z6ddNxx1I2GNwIn7v6ZiN_oMHb3EtMjf_p0y_jo-qMfwdWmKCoKOFKFDGYlnrSKxnM7cB0VvY_80aNxd__0KkiD2EdAg3hYN7yKJ0ZxvcmDA7n6oPOup9fuQD-PPhuw-Q2Em15Fq9AuFYNJ4O8FegQevrxxAcrbdgPg/s320/LidstoneButchers_1914a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfzfaGl-4ppIwFpYqaiMsQX7Rj8qJRKOOmDDmGal0V6vcYekBc-8aypy1mPXt_XNsBofC7TN1pjsLExDCND0AtRRLUMDsqFO0l6mFr7CdukCofX61nH3OCrGwuOABOGi7LjuLSLwpwT2m1SRose1zlREBjC68O_zSaSUolaOhGmdK4k7GEWBRUjT9gc8/s767/LidstoneButchers_1914b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="767" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfzfaGl-4ppIwFpYqaiMsQX7Rj8qJRKOOmDDmGal0V6vcYekBc-8aypy1mPXt_XNsBofC7TN1pjsLExDCND0AtRRLUMDsqFO0l6mFr7CdukCofX61nH3OCrGwuOABOGi7LjuLSLwpwT2m1SRose1zlREBjC68O_zSaSUolaOhGmdK4k7GEWBRUjT9gc8/s320/LidstoneButchers_1914b.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>I have also discovered a butcher by the name of Lidstone trading at 70 Fore Street, Kingsbridge, Devon, since the 1830s. The shop closed in 2017 but t<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x486cdfd609b057d1%3A0x65e042c9545da240!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2FLidstones%2BKingsbridge%2F%4050.2861645%2C-3.7778872%2C3a%2C75y%2C232.76h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211s3IaDtOm3NhqDLAIKMZWC-Q*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x486cdfd609b057d1%3A0x65e042c9545da240%3Fsa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjao-Ke7PWCAxU5wQIHHUWECjoQpx96BAgTEAA!5sLidstones%20Kingsbridge%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2s3IaDtOm3NhqDLAIKMZWC-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjao-Ke7PWCAxU5wQIHHUWECjoQpx96BAhAEAU" target="_blank">he company name can be seen forged in metal above the shop</a>. This might be the same family, some of whom later relocated to the bright lights and deep pockets of London – the earliest reference I have yet found of Lidstone butchers here in London is in the 1891 directory which shows their shops in the very well-to-do areas around Kensington:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ODCVOpMbaev8cS0SkqG7s0RMcfMLIhXg5G2Q78qwJqwo7z4qPR9_JCkZleZFpcDn4BYqlJScOzdCV9e2ppZshquHxp0hwSnXRT-p_NL-KHSgJuXplATKPlUb7oRrzJfVITFX092Fh57ZSBQfmg4_wv4oLIN-8MHjytdlE5AsQ3YJwYAi7tncMsofl8E/s524/LidstoneButchers_1891.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="524" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ODCVOpMbaev8cS0SkqG7s0RMcfMLIhXg5G2Q78qwJqwo7z4qPR9_JCkZleZFpcDn4BYqlJScOzdCV9e2ppZshquHxp0hwSnXRT-p_NL-KHSgJuXplATKPlUb7oRrzJfVITFX092Fh57ZSBQfmg4_wv4oLIN-8MHjytdlE5AsQ3YJwYAi7tncMsofl8E/s320/LidstoneButchers_1891.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Today, you can find, what I believe to be the (now) only remaining physical reference of this company in London, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4949159,-0.1741315,3a,75y,29h,97.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQFEq-3qt1qbUX5gg6OkAYQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DQFEq-3qt1qbUX5gg6OkAYQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D82.61229%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">here above their 1890's Thurloe Place shop</a>, a stone's throw from South Kensington station.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wAW1wW8CR8e6IrwsivBeT7uxyAwVvMrirKkrScDCpuDTx8EJ_omZW3PMY3P-O3kp-Xr6TIIdSwgskBZ37r9vT_nec9b9_DdAJeV_YngCHQ774Rx-lJX23H3kcpEPyqB5lqRdAJXALI9cvisMkhUnghX5szc1vvgO5vEydrc-LJwXLs5ncXmsWgQYu28/s1600/BF19C066-5E7F-4580-BCA1-B686CE027040.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wAW1wW8CR8e6IrwsivBeT7uxyAwVvMrirKkrScDCpuDTx8EJ_omZW3PMY3P-O3kp-Xr6TIIdSwgskBZ37r9vT_nec9b9_DdAJeV_YngCHQ774Rx-lJX23H3kcpEPyqB5lqRdAJXALI9cvisMkhUnghX5szc1vvgO5vEydrc-LJwXLs5ncXmsWgQYu28/w150-h200/BF19C066-5E7F-4580-BCA1-B686CE027040.png" width="150" /></a></div><b>UPDATE 20Dec2023: </b></div><div>My aforementioned friend who lives round the corner from this sign has sent me this pic showing that the Lidstone ad has be reinstated. By which I mean it’s been repainted and this now makes it a pastiche of the original. Sorry to sound like a moaning Minnie but I don’t like it when signs are touched up or repainted as this loses all the other layers. It makes it no longer a ghost(ed) sign. We’ve now completely lost the hints of large letters that I make ref to above and, unless an information panel is installed to explain the relevance of this new version, then I really cannot see the point. I’d have preferred it if the new tenants had created a new sign for their own company at this site. <br /><p></p><p><b>There are other ghost signs to admire at South Woodford </b>– let's hope we don't lose these too...</p><p>At the other end of the terrace to the Lidstone sign, there's <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5922741,0.0279642,3a,75y,94.7h,100.06t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIurrZk7gJz7_2A9AkbHnJA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">a multi-layered sign that was also uncovered in 2015</a>. Today, it's easy to see 'J. S. Soundy's / drapery & millinery' but, if you look closely, you'll see that there's another name in larger letters across the top of those two lines. For a very short time back in 2007 when the boxed ad that covered it was being revised, it showed that A. C. Pain had taken over this business with the bottom line reading 'drapery & millinery establishment'. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTmXx8SZvVEr0YMOAovSiUsarOAS0ztl-seC9G7lFzFZXnitUjTH5bQYu1l9VcN5uA91nqJm6yneRzEOd8gK_xs8g8uQOW29s7Dp_vvYEAkc-zfsfnK9pYmUxtyyPLreYKgLvX7QcELe_lXtGgY9M4Jnzj9EOBcrL3mtpJ3HI0o3m8Inf_9qPgoszuHE/s805/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2013.15.21.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="805" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTmXx8SZvVEr0YMOAovSiUsarOAS0ztl-seC9G7lFzFZXnitUjTH5bQYu1l9VcN5uA91nqJm6yneRzEOd8gK_xs8g8uQOW29s7Dp_vvYEAkc-zfsfnK9pYmUxtyyPLreYKgLvX7QcELe_lXtGgY9M4Jnzj9EOBcrL3mtpJ3HI0o3m8Inf_9qPgoszuHE/w400-h178/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2013.15.21.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Plus, there is a vertical panel on the left/street side that also has multiple layers of paint which could at some point be lost to us being as it is easily reached, but it's doubtful that the wide sign will be overpainted any time soon as it is too high up to access without the aid of costly scaffolding. <p></p><p>And, finally, there's the lovely low relief sign that's only visible for the station platform – THE RAILWAY COFFEE TAVERN can be seen on the side of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5918556,0.02784,3a,75y,263.86h,100.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sg7fUjgCEihLmE_fNeTimZg!2e0!5s20210701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">this Victorian building</a> which now offers yoga and face treatments, but no coffee. But hey, you'll be able to get a hot drink just up the road where Lidstone's used to be – don't you dare!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK-VUG3Tp4oRKDeJCRig9jvxB-vWSKeyyyszTMUa1_O_JauUt5G6PlpEGrBJxQoJkfUMzv36kvjr6JhqcEMlO3JvRfnLlf5V_E-1HiZLArDtJgPNIX1aCSPARDp10TawIN3heFJ2ntDsrdDS3IZhS_J0EgwgAI7VZYmGW3V0kk6xTjbZjT1h67M5_FkM/s886/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2013.27.23.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="886" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK-VUG3Tp4oRKDeJCRig9jvxB-vWSKeyyyszTMUa1_O_JauUt5G6PlpEGrBJxQoJkfUMzv36kvjr6JhqcEMlO3JvRfnLlf5V_E-1HiZLArDtJgPNIX1aCSPARDp10TawIN3heFJ2ntDsrdDS3IZhS_J0EgwgAI7VZYmGW3V0kk6xTjbZjT1h67M5_FkM/w400-h279/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2013.27.23.png" width="400" /></a></div></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-84897295992245107332023-12-01T10:30:00.039+00:002023-12-01T10:30:00.148+00:00If Not Now, When at The Saatchi Gallery<p>Those of you know me well will know I roll my eyes and sigh every time I hear there's a women's thing on. Hence why I wasn't going to bother with <a href="https://www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/if-not-now-when" target="_blank">this show at the Saatchi until 22 Jan 2024</a>. Ah, but I'm always up for a free tour, so I went along and was pleasantly surprised by the content of this show. By which I mean the quality of the work, the ideas, the execution, not the 'what it is to be a woman' stuff, which I can never understand unless you also have had experience of being a man and can compare the two!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJeFq7EvUqMKaDCbkMT0LtSUzolSxXs6oSidjIJ_5eaKMsQxOByjfqZX8ZJ9FpOprqM1AXTddBmW_VMW8xNncnCQvWXx7CapzjbfkJVn_FJCCV0JmR4qPTlU1m20igAXJ_u6zvjT7JLSLyId9-3kcTOdK08WFynr-CvVbyjUpkcooFhM9fqt6iRXZyc4/s1127/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1127" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJeFq7EvUqMKaDCbkMT0LtSUzolSxXs6oSidjIJ_5eaKMsQxOByjfqZX8ZJ9FpOprqM1AXTddBmW_VMW8xNncnCQvWXx7CapzjbfkJVn_FJCCV0JmR4qPTlU1m20igAXJ_u6zvjT7JLSLyId9-3kcTOdK08WFynr-CvVbyjUpkcooFhM9fqt6iRXZyc4/w400-h265/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">The show emphasises how women have struggled to be seen and heard in the art world throughout the decades, specifically since the 1960s. As you can see from my pics here, there's an emphasis on childbirth, body parts and restrictive clothing. I am still confused as to whether these women are boasting or complaining (a question I often ask when someone tells me they have a hangover after a big night or had to do [paid] overtime!). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">I probably find it hard to empathise because I have always worked in a male-dominated world, first for my father at his upholstery shop, dealing directly with sometimes stroppy customers as well as his boisterous friends in the pub, and then in the world of advertising and print where the air was often blue – if you didn't give back as good as you were given, or manage the situation there and then, then you'd simply fail. Don't be a mouse etc. </span><span>I recall one print rep who was particularly colourful with his language. He was asked by my male colleague to tone it down. The fella assumed the reason was because I was there. He looked at me and said "oh yeah, mustn't swear, there's C*** here" – Unbelievable! </span>Nobody laughed. We were all gobsmacked by him. He certainly didn't win any work for his company.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You might think idiots like that rep are made up creations for 1980's movies and dramas, but no, these characters were common and banter like that was considered amusing, if only to their peer group. I used to sometimes deliver items for print to the newspaper offices on Fleet Street and the uncouth things that were said to me because I was an 18-yr old blue-eyed blonde, beggared belief. Even at the time I thought these men were pathetic, all trying to outdo each other to be the biggest, rudest, puffed shirt. I wondered if there was a prize for who could say the F-word the most times in one sentence. Bless em! It must be hard being a man sometimes; competing with other men, jostling for attention, rutting and strutting and guzzling pints. here's an idea – the Saatchi could put on a show for men who feel they aren't powerful in today's world; my wife doesn't understand me; she thinks I'm an idiot, etc</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC8aaTufgnfSbgdLqLKPMk6eRy2p3nag-AMKKgmbWnyGHBljwq_od20JsOAzd1FISwNZu20w8wuPhr9m17JNdkdmnPzYa7P1yGqftbN0-7RSjNzbFzxka3eM1Yy_tWgZp-GNItlx1jYJJ2YyBG_YC1yq_eEv0a4Nf4orWNRaYmPOkNnCmqLDeZseYO1I/s1128/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1128" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC8aaTufgnfSbgdLqLKPMk6eRy2p3nag-AMKKgmbWnyGHBljwq_od20JsOAzd1FISwNZu20w8wuPhr9m17JNdkdmnPzYa7P1yGqftbN0-7RSjNzbFzxka3eM1Yy_tWgZp-GNItlx1jYJJ2YyBG_YC1yq_eEv0a4Nf4orWNRaYmPOkNnCmqLDeZseYO1I/w400-h265/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>But back to the ladies. I researched this females in art thing early last year whilst pulling together an online talk about women who are commemorated by statues in London; Nightingale, Seacole, Pankhurst, Cavell etc. I noticed that most of the memorials were created by male artists which seemed odd, and rather ironic. So I started 'collecting' women sculptors across London, expecting there to be a just a handful, and the list keeps getting longer. It's worth considering that many of the female artists whose work adorns our streets were active well before WW2 and I'm not sure they'd like to be considered as hampered by their sex. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJm38_Lho2ON_F0l8-17kJe5MHWxQWyROF9B3iNAnizjBy2bLHdFM-okUVDtz6T4s1NPSB4cTPmQuOrXlMep7LzMrCDbiE6EjXpiClJ26_5ddsQdwVZ9RLLuoJZaH5kSwSM2Xsh3oSrhirdqzcpL8xtmddVczIR6ZLfGc5otIDYm2U86w82wnfMiVIyg/s1128/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1128" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJm38_Lho2ON_F0l8-17kJe5MHWxQWyROF9B3iNAnizjBy2bLHdFM-okUVDtz6T4s1NPSB4cTPmQuOrXlMep7LzMrCDbiE6EjXpiClJ26_5ddsQdwVZ9RLLuoJZaH5kSwSM2Xsh3oSrhirdqzcpL8xtmddVczIR6ZLfGc5otIDYm2U86w82wnfMiVIyg/w400-h265/JanesLondon_Saatchi_IfNotNowWhen3.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>For example, and just picking a few ladies that come immediately to mind, we have Kathleen Scott near Carlton Terrace, Liz Frink and Irene Sedlecka in Mayfair, Karin Jonzen and Cristina Iglesias in The City, Barbara Hepworth in Oxford Street, Gillian Wearing in Parliament Square, Maggi Hambling in Charing Cross and Emily Young all over the place! </p><p>I really should reinstate that talk, but I still need to work out how to condense it into one hour. Ditto the walking tours designed as three distinct routes, but I keep getting distracted. For instance, it's taken me ages just to write this blog post. I often say that I need about seven parallel universes just to finish all the stuff I've started, let alone walk the walks, read the books, and see other things myself.</p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-55522126040331218512023-11-28T10:30:00.003+00:002023-11-28T10:30:00.144+00:00Ghostsign for Hackney Empire in Dalston<p>Out for a wander up Kingsland Road and Dalston High Street this past weekend and I checked up on a few old friends. Specifically, a couple of ghostsigns that face each other near the junction with Englefield Rd. </p><p>The palimpsest on the side of No.474 is well known, shown here as screen grab from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5433898,-0.0761733,3a,75y,125.65h,93.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shzmG_TpIA5xmoJzcLl9LfA!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">Google Streetview</a>. It shows ads for Gillette safety razors, the Sunday Illustrated newspaper, a cafe, and more as yet undeciphered.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylUjUxX9awg574trGZIw5egdLpwqm11_ntCNQW98roWXlpnEkxK8iyG3m-GVRGJjRFux-tPuYyaxYBwnVctCXuZm8XDRJZXpEJOTOdFSomrcVPhZCXVoaCPR2cAOmNP-xOyR5Cqrb7UUiOuyWHommfjRc40JJC_a7tNePz2q6ov_OkmH9pkL6al-5U20/s668/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2011.41.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="668" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylUjUxX9awg574trGZIw5egdLpwqm11_ntCNQW98roWXlpnEkxK8iyG3m-GVRGJjRFux-tPuYyaxYBwnVctCXuZm8XDRJZXpEJOTOdFSomrcVPhZCXVoaCPR2cAOmNP-xOyR5Cqrb7UUiOuyWHommfjRc40JJC_a7tNePz2q6ov_OkmH9pkL6al-5U20/w400-h316/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2011.41.38.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>But there's another sign on the other side of the road that has intrigued me since I first started taking photos of these things. It's on the north side of the KTS's corner shop at No.415-417, a joy in itself! The hand-painted sign here often goes unnoticed being as a marvellous tree obscures it for most of the year (Google snapshot below is <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5423572,-0.0762727,3a,75y,314.03h,95.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVVWs2dubbshc8mFJdR0cuQ!2e0!5s20170501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">from here</a>).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlEGDAnqHPf0mliXIFj0AqnyRIl8mLtux6lNnJtNH8rv3HZbuoD6z62PXns_ipKHauv81_YQcXXTMUpQaztCYbaKHLRmFqsgYG58IzeSIl17BL1q4NTrA-pzpkUTidyIABweUE0FiD-U4ESkgz5NYqXs9B4cH93NYnwmyHusTGo8U2LJ6JeaPJFWeSWQ/s892/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2016.18.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="892" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlEGDAnqHPf0mliXIFj0AqnyRIl8mLtux6lNnJtNH8rv3HZbuoD6z62PXns_ipKHauv81_YQcXXTMUpQaztCYbaKHLRmFqsgYG58IzeSIl17BL1q4NTrA-pzpkUTidyIABweUE0FiD-U4ESkgz5NYqXs9B4cH93NYnwmyHusTGo8U2LJ6JeaPJFWeSWQ/w400-h259/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2016.18.43.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Being north-facing, only the very top of the sign has been affected by the weather, leaving blue letters at the middle and bottom that were always to me intriguing but difficult to decipher. I'd often assumed that the sign was simply an ad for a bygone business at that corner. I'd take some snaps and say to myself, "I must get the old directories out and look into this one when I get home"... but then I'd get distracted by something else. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zsVO06kixwKtZxCQahnn5IZc-6vdCCqmBSTims6pga5Qzdfuh2GxyV_e63cNBMiI2sPPpMTntm34aJ9bCZVoCr4SmNZqeGoS-Avue15GY7UYNzYD-3YiwRH9scuZZLFxCJCWvTuN3h2g02ED-gWWkQ8VocPx8-kJbJaRb_50bj1JL2f9yBnBVK9kZvo/s1094/JanesLondon_Gsign_DalstonEmpire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="1094" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zsVO06kixwKtZxCQahnn5IZc-6vdCCqmBSTims6pga5Qzdfuh2GxyV_e63cNBMiI2sPPpMTntm34aJ9bCZVoCr4SmNZqeGoS-Avue15GY7UYNzYD-3YiwRH9scuZZLFxCJCWvTuN3h2g02ED-gWWkQ8VocPx8-kJbJaRb_50bj1JL2f9yBnBVK9kZvo/w400-h198/JanesLondon_Gsign_DalstonEmpire.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Well, ta-da! – I've finally had a better look at it. The first pic shows a fair representation of the light available from the street on Saturday at approx 3pm 25th Nov 2023, and the pic on the right, taken by standing on the front path of one of the houses adjacent to the sign gives a straight-on view. My original pic was dark and gloomy, but with a simple but of photo enhancement, beefing up the contrast and colour balance (whilst on the bus home, no less! duh! why had this taken me song long?!) it's now clear that the signs reads:</p><p>EMPIRE<br />TWICE<br />NIGHTLY</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6xjUFRI_w-BA_QonP8I9pLgpj-RFt1LQDlx3NF58QMxoHaxjaX4P_aocqs3kdFn1rTfQuX8wREUeI70AJrpoYhVuHK67KtimIQ0jT927BFQl8GZHpiucHoDrIiVIvspW576GUulz7KxadoYQ6DO2SRTkaxTCye_QCXxNFKCF3N7Q-yy8cW7MpLa_qe4/s538/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2016.35.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="538" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6xjUFRI_w-BA_QonP8I9pLgpj-RFt1LQDlx3NF58QMxoHaxjaX4P_aocqs3kdFn1rTfQuX8wREUeI70AJrpoYhVuHK67KtimIQ0jT927BFQl8GZHpiucHoDrIiVIvspW576GUulz7KxadoYQ6DO2SRTkaxTCye_QCXxNFKCF3N7Q-yy8cW7MpLa_qe4/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2016.35.20.png" width="320" /></a></div>I am pretty sure that the top faded part alluded to the Hackney Empire, about a mile away due east in Mare Street quickly accessible via Richmond Rd. Indeed, <a href="https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/" target="_blank">the Our History part of the theatre's website shows this old pic of the building</a> with a similar sign on the side.<p></p><p>If only all ghostsign sleuthing was this easy!</p><p>Other signs for </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-46660575358929760252023-11-27T11:30:00.006+00:002023-12-04T18:02:45.517+00:00More remnants of wood blocks – Old Street and Woolwich<p>Here are two more roads where I have seen woodblocks in man hole covers within the street.</p><p>First to Old Street. There is one outside No.1 on the north side at the junction with Goswell Road. There's only a teensy tiny bit of wood visible but, if the Islington ones are indicative of hoe today's road surfaces will erode, we'll hopefully see more of this one in due course:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdT2wVk6b_s1L23q9wmLzlu7qqTg6GKjdyKSjjmfQzxSkhyKfIRdwUpB_JJ7XvwOeuK41uDYlNT29f2DRqLOwRLQR5xG-kyYMa1P5m2LGSjWoZviD-am2BPI3ke7_YxlxCk5tAAKNBqAwHti33TkmbMq6g638FUhRBcevXCHxFE1I2QXYG2fTTDNQYPW8/s1076/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1076" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdT2wVk6b_s1L23q9wmLzlu7qqTg6GKjdyKSjjmfQzxSkhyKfIRdwUpB_JJ7XvwOeuK41uDYlNT29f2DRqLOwRLQR5xG-kyYMa1P5m2LGSjWoZviD-am2BPI3ke7_YxlxCk5tAAKNBqAwHti33TkmbMq6g638FUhRBcevXCHxFE1I2QXYG2fTTDNQYPW8/w400-h201/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>And there's another one east of there. You'll find it on the other side of the road within the bus lane outdide No.134. Tho this one doesn't look like it will be there much longer – the road is in a poor state and the man hole is sunken, so I rather assume that the next re-surfacing may well see this man hole disappear:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpvRJ0_sYqvngTE43g8hEOZv4m4IdBXKM8uV20p2YQXoM4iuaNA56Hv3heOGpaGdNp5H87pFuvGXFEZQ8B3dBPgU5RfbCgEBDc5EH_a6oztxezucyG8jwuaKHkl-elanSHKuGNqd2TfwesF0p7ZlWqQE3GrA6Jh-wAaUd87dVNUxYxRNQPpozGMP1dfk/s1099/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt134a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="1099" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpvRJ0_sYqvngTE43g8hEOZv4m4IdBXKM8uV20p2YQXoM4iuaNA56Hv3heOGpaGdNp5H87pFuvGXFEZQ8B3dBPgU5RfbCgEBDc5EH_a6oztxezucyG8jwuaKHkl-elanSHKuGNqd2TfwesF0p7ZlWqQE3GrA6Jh-wAaUd87dVNUxYxRNQPpozGMP1dfk/w400-h196/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt134a.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP54WVahWBxVwoRAz-_4e3vThMFyp1O7wvcBkvIg0f9RnrfZA7oiTSSUrGwEa8gXxOQ_z_mXhH_uJRpfWi6Bp6mK0codClrpiQvq9rWSsdYtyR_bp16xayfcL-nAryMYSZolMUVt0xreZfT3Dl5MueliLPMIYT7nWojP78u0fFgrSj_5F6C2twgP1h9Q/s1099/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt134b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1099" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP54WVahWBxVwoRAz-_4e3vThMFyp1O7wvcBkvIg0f9RnrfZA7oiTSSUrGwEa8gXxOQ_z_mXhH_uJRpfWi6Bp6mK0codClrpiQvq9rWSsdYtyR_bp16xayfcL-nAryMYSZolMUVt0xreZfT3Dl5MueliLPMIYT7nWojP78u0fFgrSj_5F6C2twgP1h9Q/w400-h196/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksOldSt134b.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>My pics are the ones where the wood blocks are wet. Top left pic shows the view looking west past St Lukes (you can just see its spire above the trees). The fourth image, bottom right, was sent to me by Dave Brown who alerted me to this in 2021, and shows the blocks dry. </p><p>Next, across the river to Woolwich. I was strolling along Powis Street, the main shopping thoroughfare, when I spotted this one outside No.29-31:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDF8n5cUv3cVgWgfi9JVByhnWY3pby3NrTkSAY7lLV9elBYm0mVdMMexhYRO61551whVOhj2qgHI7nngSwiO8gA8K0WnmOz8Uhzz1-FOscxCzWtYLSZ1zR5E6SGTVkKiKKYI-sDUvTdmM58yuHsh5rXkV-AccoQ642o0UEV3i4xQjNeN5KLfJu7ZsSAlk/s1121/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksWoolwich.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1121" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDF8n5cUv3cVgWgfi9JVByhnWY3pby3NrTkSAY7lLV9elBYm0mVdMMexhYRO61551whVOhj2qgHI7nngSwiO8gA8K0WnmOz8Uhzz1-FOscxCzWtYLSZ1zR5E6SGTVkKiKKYI-sDUvTdmM58yuHsh5rXkV-AccoQ642o0UEV3i4xQjNeN5KLfJu7ZsSAlk/w400-h194/JanesLondon_WoodBlocksWoolwich.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />There are bound to be others in the Woolwich area, so I will be back on a wood blocks hunt there soon. <p></p><p>Do let me know if you've seen others – <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/p/a-z-of-woodblocks.html" target="_blank">my A-Z of London wood blocks can be found here</a>. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-11563846467339893222023-11-07T10:30:00.003+00:002023-11-07T10:30:00.128+00:00Patterns in the pavement<p>This can be filed in the box called 'little things that please me'.</p><p>Walking along Lower Thames Street, at the junction with St Mary-at-Hill, I noticed some markings in the pavement that, at first perplexed me:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTpkXAHlvPStTOEkF8CuFu8yqlErjFbFGkjn3lBzKD7AHwpOC9Z8a5YM5geD93Q3wOYt9uI2u5PP_G1yhj-T7tSrDvjIUu9ltijOI1BuLHNWJzgu583yzDJrXXstpXTRXJLXpWktDg6A5h34uVKwbFfSAqlQP2mCPPFIYbLZ7C8ifFbRpxH9_b7v6P98/s3252/Janeslondon_scaffoldfeet1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2150" data-original-width="3252" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTpkXAHlvPStTOEkF8CuFu8yqlErjFbFGkjn3lBzKD7AHwpOC9Z8a5YM5geD93Q3wOYt9uI2u5PP_G1yhj-T7tSrDvjIUu9ltijOI1BuLHNWJzgu583yzDJrXXstpXTRXJLXpWktDg6A5h34uVKwbFfSAqlQP2mCPPFIYbLZ7C8ifFbRpxH9_b7v6P98/w400-h265/Janeslondon_scaffoldfeet1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Ooh – circles and squares in patterns – my kind of thing, here in what looked at fisrt glance to be a variety of designs, some with borders, some with alternating circles, some more grid-like.</p><p>And then it dawned on me that these are simply the marks left by the bottom of scaffold poles where the soft surface, possibly warmed in the summer sunshine, this being south-facing, has taken on the pattern of the bottoms of the square footers, or whatever they are called as there's probably a specific name for these things.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJggsP2Q6__vBU4n1VbHnP5wwKtbxt4Jds5xE-YKX2zRR7b1-HY8-dILs7GB4TFoVYQzuBd5emu61YRdafFX3piuKLKQgIbPgiSTfjxXL5cKrC4qlsKoDwODVPJWuHRZZWx8AMrhB9iB_t6fteh0gSeqjzayNnX7difHDrdFxLiDBu41fdnGhSSau1BA/s3024/Janeslondon_scaffoldfeet2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJggsP2Q6__vBU4n1VbHnP5wwKtbxt4Jds5xE-YKX2zRR7b1-HY8-dILs7GB4TFoVYQzuBd5emu61YRdafFX3piuKLKQgIbPgiSTfjxXL5cKrC4qlsKoDwODVPJWuHRZZWx8AMrhB9iB_t6fteh0gSeqjzayNnX7difHDrdFxLiDBu41fdnGhSSau1BA/w400-h400/Janeslondon_scaffoldfeet2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-70446054917264173512023-10-12T13:00:00.003+01:002024-03-18T13:41:50.909+00:00Fashion City at Museum of London Docklands – How Jewish Londoners shaped global style<p>There is a marvellous exhibition <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/fashion-city" target="_blank">at MoLD</a> about the world of fashion and tailoring, couture and the Swinging Sixties. This museum, within an old warehouse that abuts one of the docks is somewhere you'd usually go to find out about the history of shipping and trade in this area, and fascinating it is too, told chronologically within the upper floors of the building.</p><p>Yet this latest exhibition about the garment making industry. It fills the ground floor space previously occupied by their marvellous Executions show, and it is certainly up to that same high standard – packed full of information about the innovative and skilful tailors, designers and makers who created beautiful clothing and accessories adjacent to this part of the River Thames.</p><p>One only has to walk around the nearby Spitalfields area to get a sense of the clothing-related trades that once thrived in the area. I noticed whilst researching my ghostsigns and Art Deco walks that many of its streets, such as Hanbury Street and Fournier Street, were in the 1880s occupied by tailors, trimmers, furriers, outfitters, hatters, leatherworkers etc, and approximately 80% of them listed with Jewish names. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWVx8fO9e82VugCyoXfaqNsa83CWtYs6fh4GYOQ0JBVo1MlAkXNQ4QkMb-arz9M1Cgeh0C08bu0LxTlIFfy2RkNdCX6nq3aNY6sA6wx5pTwwkYBKPNXKesthZaaZ60lqIP6a-uIEAb8NK_VgTlds2fEqaYCFr1s7RH49Xho68nq0hwh1tderyERn7Ot8/s1328/JanesLondon_MoLDfashioCity.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="1328" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWVx8fO9e82VugCyoXfaqNsa83CWtYs6fh4GYOQ0JBVo1MlAkXNQ4QkMb-arz9M1Cgeh0C08bu0LxTlIFfy2RkNdCX6nq3aNY6sA6wx5pTwwkYBKPNXKesthZaaZ60lqIP6a-uIEAb8NK_VgTlds2fEqaYCFr1s7RH49Xho68nq0hwh1tderyERn7Ot8/w400-h130/JanesLondon_MoLDfashioCity.png" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>1940s: Monica coat by Koupy / 1970s: bra by M&S / 1960s: shirt by Mr Fish</i></span></p><p>This engaging exhibition echoes that manufacturing history and, just like the main museum, it is a chronological journey, starting with the Jewish immigrants as they arrived via boat, seeing how and where they lived and were schooled, with rooms laid out as evocations of shops and a tailor's workshop. The East End is then linked to Bond Street via Central Line corridor, the construction of that tube line better enabling these talented people to get their wares to West End. </p><p>There are some beautiful handmade pieces on show both by unknown tailors and by well-known names such Cecil Gee, Chelsea Girl, Moss Bros, M&S, Mr Fish, Irvine Sellars and David Sassoon. Plus lovely leather luggage, some fabulous hats by Otto Lucas, and a stunning wedding dress by Neymar (Netty Spiegel). There are references to, and examples of, clothing worn by celebrities from the worlds of film, music, sport and royalty, as well as actual garments worn by Princess Diana and Dot Cotton. Oh, and the music and soundtracks in every room is cleverly designed to echo each era or district. </p><p>It's really very good. I was so engrossed that I spent many hours in there reading every panel and assessing every sequin such that I forgot to take any more pics than the three shown above. I do love a well-made fitted coat, especially a red one, the bra with its interchangeable straps and evocative lace pattern reminded me of my mum, and I was blown away by the teeny tiny stitching on that Mr Fish shirt!</p><p>Museum of London Docklands (free)<br />This exhibition – 13th October until 7th July 2024 – <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/whats-on/event-detail?id=327808" target="_blank">Various prices – find out more here</a>. </p><p><br /></p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-17148327095481572412023-10-02T19:22:00.000+01:002023-10-02T19:22:04.265+01:00George Carter & Sons of Maida Hill – glovers, hosiers and shirtmakers <p> A few months ago, within a post about bygone <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2023/09/keeping-it-in-family.html" target="_blank">company names that display <i>'& Sons'</i> </a>I included a business by the name of Carter, based in Old Kent Road, with many more shops across London.</p><p>Well, this afternoon I had one of those 'ping' moments when I recalled that earlier this year after a wander in the Kensal Green area, I was ambling eastwards along Harrow Road when I stumbled across a shop that still sports some of its original Victorian shop fittings including a beautiful threshold mosaic, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5245698,-0.2022766,3a,75y,225.02h,88.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-Wcbbh44HJb29RkNbnhauQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">here</a> at number 371.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3KV9EQVVjvlCbSrV5zg7wp5aBKEsgmN6XwWiNjchXLR8Ly2La0hG5B_LTbAPuzjbbgJjRCI6GsUZNy9xvS0SIfuHxSoFdjDAgCGrvnedqqfzRiEmqBt-F0ds4TLb9OXsrsoxSYKqUHWw-qOsnSjvBuG8Z4pknXi3Y_fP3GdDOAajCmiPLE3-I8lLFGHD/s982/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRda.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="982" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3KV9EQVVjvlCbSrV5zg7wp5aBKEsgmN6XwWiNjchXLR8Ly2La0hG5B_LTbAPuzjbbgJjRCI6GsUZNy9xvS0SIfuHxSoFdjDAgCGrvnedqqfzRiEmqBt-F0ds4TLb9OXsrsoxSYKqUHWw-qOsnSjvBuG8Z4pknXi3Y_fP3GdDOAajCmiPLE3-I8lLFGHD/w400-h278/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRda.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Not only does it have the marvellous mosaic, but it also retains the fine wooden spindle window frames above granite and metal on which the words GLOVERS, HOSIERS & SHIRTMAKERS are still perfectly visible. It's an absolute treat and an amazing example of the Art Nouveau shopping era that also included curved windows, polished brass and aproned staff. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffTGbYQw8bAaZFnxvU2MtETPD744622_3Wc5SfTeo87-PAjaQIv7NkcetM4_3AmSP2UAfQbRY0La2zp3-_mKnIinnmgOOPRL9vyuhng-3K1Hs3JobGD3dWxUvltJxgD69PaLIp192Qk5EksgJBBAHCeaBCOcMMYqDZcp0RZtPX2gzJfHpXoDd5rR9zyYT/s1236/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRdb.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1236" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffTGbYQw8bAaZFnxvU2MtETPD744622_3Wc5SfTeo87-PAjaQIv7NkcetM4_3AmSP2UAfQbRY0La2zp3-_mKnIinnmgOOPRL9vyuhng-3K1Hs3JobGD3dWxUvltJxgD69PaLIp192Qk5EksgJBBAHCeaBCOcMMYqDZcp0RZtPX2gzJfHpXoDd5rR9zyYT/w400-h190/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRdb.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>There is a mirrored wall to the left side as you enter from the street, designed to make the shop look bigger and bounce more light into the the shop (this being north-facing), and there are additional mirrors in the ceiling above this area. This next pair of pics shows the effect looking down and looking up: </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWhkPn-oESjSUAI9FOlq4LAcsObBt3qV9OauBL2yyfiitWc1y9i4G7xbInJvGUnOrQIs0MSb0oEMUtv0GwDOisxoUkj9741tjQQRrnvn5B1iwqDP_QO3Ztgf-wwQE8Uqmngvs9jysl9xyWNspio6HUUBVdxK1-t-wEXCj4WZgZzm41eUgA7HaJHdSooOC/s1203/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRdc.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="1203" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWhkPn-oESjSUAI9FOlq4LAcsObBt3qV9OauBL2yyfiitWc1y9i4G7xbInJvGUnOrQIs0MSb0oEMUtv0GwDOisxoUkj9741tjQQRrnvn5B1iwqDP_QO3Ztgf-wwQE8Uqmngvs9jysl9xyWNspio6HUUBVdxK1-t-wEXCj4WZgZzm41eUgA7HaJHdSooOC/w400-h146/JanesLondon_GeoGarter_371HarrowRdc.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>I have my fingers crossed that this old Carter & Sons shop is a listed/protected property. It's unusual, to say the least, especially with so many elements intact at one location. Retrospective Google streetview shows that it was hidden behind boards in the period <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5245644,-0.2023292,3a,75y,219.84h,78.28t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMpm11G8BC-z1Dc7_BHE1lw!2e0!5s20090901T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">2008-2012</a> before it reappeared as we see it today. I am interested to find out from anyone who lives in the area if they have any info about the shop pre-2008.</div><div><p></p><p>I have found other similar examples across London, but mostly on shops that originally sold jewellery or funeral services. And not all of those shops have survived; sadly modernised with plate glass within UPVC frames. </p><p>The description of 'Shirtmaker' can also be found on some outlets in the covered arcades either side of Piccadilly, as well as on the low curved corner of 67 Moorgate in the City of London, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.517083,-0.0888356,3a,75y,300.84h,86.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDJQqJMaL3tifi45DiQmG1g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">here</a>. </p></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-91333898894226743342023-09-18T10:30:00.014+01:002023-12-04T18:12:20.352+00:00Update on the three wood-filled LCC Tramways access plates in Angel, Islington<p>Here is an update on the manhole covers in Islington, all a short walk from Angel tube station. </p><p>From the station, heading north, keep to the right hand side and as you pass The York pub you will find the first of the three within in the bend of the road just before the junction with Duncan Street. Two years ago I had reported that this one <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2021/04/would-you-believe-it-wood-block.html" target="_blank">had been covered</a> in Tarmac and was, therefore, no longer visible <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.533967,-0.1049461,3a,75y,230.31h,84.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-RsAOacYQkln7JvZWsYT9g!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">as seen here</a>. But, good news, I noticed recently that the modern road surface is gradually eroding and quite a bit of the wood is now again visible. Hurrah!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmtmDxqVXZ2JpTgX8NcEguQj3l3URXBqGtMlGoVtwDdW-Te8HbQvl2cLF5qybM8tiJaytCYyYLVGM5F3MojpFgZYiFjsYxZEopMIPx9USoV8Gk2jXxgmGULe7ESZjyFWHqk4Wri-fMsBtg8yuijoO-Hjl7fRazrQS0I1BVsHnAno1BN4Nnj_7YnjBby8/s1149/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshed1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1149" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmtmDxqVXZ2JpTgX8NcEguQj3l3URXBqGtMlGoVtwDdW-Te8HbQvl2cLF5qybM8tiJaytCYyYLVGM5F3MojpFgZYiFjsYxZEopMIPx9USoV8Gk2jXxgmGULe7ESZjyFWHqk4Wri-fMsBtg8yuijoO-Hjl7fRazrQS0I1BVsHnAno1BN4Nnj_7YnjBby8/w400-h198/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshed1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTT7SYAdLxl-M00ZiR7bnzrZ3E-HVNxTBvlE49LG9yrqTPmr69MqEA7xCPmJYsCLrCFXYzpE4y_PkB9LTMHo7CTRbAlEt55ggjNnIQ8oDXTn3l_L8obGz2nh3UVy-e5KXpJFho-XeSh3QEq85CPnackkQvdh_W4OOoXlLq-VIyX2xm4VnI0_Vmckv5Ac/s1154/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshed2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="1154" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTT7SYAdLxl-M00ZiR7bnzrZ3E-HVNxTBvlE49LG9yrqTPmr69MqEA7xCPmJYsCLrCFXYzpE4y_PkB9LTMHo7CTRbAlEt55ggjNnIQ8oDXTn3l_L8obGz2nh3UVy-e5KXpJFho-XeSh3QEq85CPnackkQvdh_W4OOoXlLq-VIyX2xm4VnI0_Vmckv5Ac/w400-h198/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshed2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>From there, keep heading north along Islington High Street along keeping the tram station to your left and mid-way along the building there is another one, as shown below in a screenshot from Google streetview adjacent to the offside rear wheel of the Royal Mail van:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBJpDvWo3qCoQX4m11hyPa6gdPmf00CbavSH3yin07pHtm8k_SHKHzusAuCgDGxF3IRqoGAQZHIFaKPhTccAkqKqH4yDhUadTvoeje9fCK12pYvAQJj-Z3bvKFfAg2b_5NSAKxyqhm4PXiJ1ZabI_fX4q4YGOi7roeggDnltUtrWWk70PQ361l8BDsy8/s1149/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshedside.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1149" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBJpDvWo3qCoQX4m11hyPa6gdPmf00CbavSH3yin07pHtm8k_SHKHzusAuCgDGxF3IRqoGAQZHIFaKPhTccAkqKqH4yDhUadTvoeje9fCK12pYvAQJj-Z3bvKFfAg2b_5NSAKxyqhm4PXiJ1ZabI_fX4q4YGOi7roeggDnltUtrWWk70PQ361l8BDsy8/w400-h198/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLtramshedside.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Look closely to see that it shows more of the LCC TRAMWAYS mark along the centre bar, as would most of the others of similar design. This one, and the one shown above are less eroded due to being on a back street. </p><p>Finally, here is the third one, found by turning left at the end of the tram shed and then right in the main Road. The impressive circular plate is today set within the modern paving <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5353892,-0.1039774,3a,75y,113.22h,87.91t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s30_x3JoqKXhCzxNb6J3q8Q!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">just before Pizza Express</a>. It would have originally been in the road it but when the pavement was widened, the access holes were retained. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuWInqjoBxETfcObZG-FDsNb1BmMc2szFGNy62lXZXhw28KLilDoACjpoLmDiwBXR0Wt3l5du94jrxbV1cV4e_UoTv2bVS-NTjzrzE-MsZYS-du3ob4az4QGp4KQTapxvCPwGo4VC-IXbyut1tYRUf6c9Ld0JMreKUGnlwsdL7F1BUOqluVX5GjhOcvdI/s989/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLpizzaexpress.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="989" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuWInqjoBxETfcObZG-FDsNb1BmMc2szFGNy62lXZXhw28KLilDoACjpoLmDiwBXR0Wt3l5du94jrxbV1cV4e_UoTv2bVS-NTjzrzE-MsZYS-du3ob4az4QGp4KQTapxvCPwGo4VC-IXbyut1tYRUf6c9Ld0JMreKUGnlwsdL7F1BUOqluVX5GjhOcvdI/w400-h198/JanesLondon_WoodBlocks_ISLpizzaexpress.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I am here pairing it with its close neighbour, a lovely oblong of striated paving stone, though I very much doubt that this slab will remain here as long as the man hole cover – I suspect it will soon be replaced before it becomes a greater trip hazard.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you spot any more remnants of outdoor wood surfaces to add to <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">my </span><a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/p/a-z-of-woodblocks.html" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>London A-Z Directory of Woodblocks</b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> please leave a comment under this blog post or email me at jane@janeslondon.com</span></span></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-7181923040744785042023-09-12T10:30:00.247+01:002023-09-22T17:24:35.884+01:00Keeping it in the family <p>This is just a nice little collection of independent shop signs across London that feature "& Sons" within them. Some businesses are still trading, some are long gone but the signs remains in place, and others have disappeared completely since I took the photos. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3uwAUtv4ZnASm8OpeXYzah6DqW2QQZIlOZEPDALUml8IAcEGuKIy2jhWZfvGTdGvkxJ7JwSfus2mqa0nmQHOeuyUTvpLVaisr3llquPC4aGDTCcVY4dBSdz1YWndBA4YAwFodUZXy6G52VeuaMQ6N8-_eIBzbFdzd8-dTlONDN6KpSCnULGl9wIprZc/s988/JanesLondon_&sons.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="988" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3uwAUtv4ZnASm8OpeXYzah6DqW2QQZIlOZEPDALUml8IAcEGuKIy2jhWZfvGTdGvkxJ7JwSfus2mqa0nmQHOeuyUTvpLVaisr3llquPC4aGDTCcVY4dBSdz1YWndBA4YAwFodUZXy6G52VeuaMQ6N8-_eIBzbFdzd8-dTlONDN6KpSCnULGl9wIprZc/w400-h399/JanesLondon_&sons.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>TOP ROW:</p><p><b>Chard & Sons,</b> butcher, 101 Gloucester Road, SW7. I took the photo back in January 2009. More info about the old shop <a href="https://shopfrontelegy.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/chard-sons-hardware-homeware/" target="_blank">here</a>. Most of the marvellous Doulton tiles are still visible but the old name is <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4938617,-0.1820888,3a,75y,41.65h,97.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBcKM1akHV4a-c9EN-Knp3g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">today obscured</a>.</p><p><b>E. Price & Sons</b>, English & Foreign Fruiterers, 96-98 Golborne Rd, W10. Photo September <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5214797,-0.209005,3a,75y,303.68h,89.48t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s01QFvSTJsQg_bw0jJva9-g!2e0!5s20160501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">2016</a>. Lovely hand-painted exterior, with roll down shutters, very typical of greengrocers of old with one shop as the shop and the other used as storage. By 2019 these two shops were already being renovated and refitted, and this is how they look today. OK, so the name has gone, but it's really good to see that the lovely windows have retained, especially in a street that is known for antiques and bric-a-brac. </p><p><b>John Lovibond & Sons Ltd</b>, brewery. This lovely tiled sign for <a href="http://breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=John_Lovibond_%26_Sons_Ltd" target="_blank">this Greenwich and Salisbury company</a> can be found on the side of what used to be a beer retailer at the corner of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4804183,-0.114049,3a,75y,259.39h,95.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sX-rjuyT0ZgRvVl5J2owoUA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">28 Clapham Road, SW9</a>.</p><p>MIDDLE ROW:</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0pyEFgah0O-GbfbxqI6cbKmeT4wvIsE7lpldTQrYoERbk8jn7ZB8i_CjIOYhtSjqJRxf_caNpaXxsDYjO3MK92mRybWnGMN7B3VnqFy_zv_6lTJJBnj1JTIvhgib0dSZ8J0OlFRjCbo6rUt7U46Q8FiERCz1FOifQFWRglZ4scRRMTtoyN6rjEcKJak/s914/JanesLondon_WBurrowsFish.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="914" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0pyEFgah0O-GbfbxqI6cbKmeT4wvIsE7lpldTQrYoERbk8jn7ZB8i_CjIOYhtSjqJRxf_caNpaXxsDYjO3MK92mRybWnGMN7B3VnqFy_zv_6lTJJBnj1JTIvhgib0dSZ8J0OlFRjCbo6rUt7U46Q8FiERCz1FOifQFWRglZ4scRRMTtoyN6rjEcKJak/w200-h157/JanesLondon_WBurrowsFish.png" width="200" /></a></b></div><b>W. Burrows & Sons</b>, wet & dry fishmonger. This fabulous shop complete with its green tiled and gilded exterior was obliterated over seven years ago <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2016/09/shopicide-memories-of-old-fishmongers.html" target="_blank">as I wrote here.</a> However, a faded painted advertisement, a ghostign of the old business, still clings to the uppermost part of the north-facing side wall and would have been clearly visible from the Savoy Circus and the A40. The top two lines read W.BURROWS & SONS / FISH & CHIP RESTAURANT but I am still trying to decipher he bottom line which starts ALL C...<p></p><p><b>James Smith & Sons</b>, umbrella makers, 53 New Oxford Street, WC1. Smiths, founded in 1830 in Soho, is <a href="https://www.james-smith.co.uk/" target="_blank">still trading here</a> on the edge of Bloomsbury and, thanks to its olde worlde charm, appealing to tourists who want to buy a bit of English craftsmanship, the company continues to thrive within this Grade II* shop. Hurrah. Long may that continue. </p><p><b>White & Sons</b>, ironmonger, 207 Oxford Street, W1. No prizes for guessing that this shop, which was almost opposite Gt Titchfield Street, isn't there any more – <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5155994,-0.1396184,3a,75y,181.6h,110.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSqCxjKJY2CuBmLLRz55k4Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">today you'll find a TK Maxx within a modern building</a>. I spotted this <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/search/label/coal%20holes" target="_blank">coal hole cover plate</a> in nearby Harley Street. The shop would have been a general hardware shop, also selling ironmongery.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9VZQoF27r606eomBCwM-T4zyQZ4S01tFme6RqnBVcoJ91jkS-GlK_lsFf_4HO6QW2dh9_fSobeb04s5tF9T24EsCcMUlKIMXnQCZHQx5_eDyC52QQJlu__0YV4pRCIRD80anNooe99srulNw9Nrac8NTAjdMY0atJf_Qq1kh9HORtxj2f-d8vxiZqL0/s424/JanesLondon_CoalHole_Gibbons1847.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="424" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9VZQoF27r606eomBCwM-T4zyQZ4S01tFme6RqnBVcoJ91jkS-GlK_lsFf_4HO6QW2dh9_fSobeb04s5tF9T24EsCcMUlKIMXnQCZHQx5_eDyC52QQJlu__0YV4pRCIRD80anNooe99srulNw9Nrac8NTAjdMY0atJf_Qq1kh9HORtxj2f-d8vxiZqL0/w200-h197/JanesLondon_CoalHole_Gibbons1847.png" width="200" /></a></div>Mr White traded here from at least the 1850s as part of Gibbons, White, Smith & Son. Mr Gibbons was already here in the 1840s when it was 345 Oxford Street, the road at that time being consecutively numbered from St Giles westwards to Edgware Rd along the North side and then back eastwards along the South side. The Gibbons cover plate shown here is near Rutland Gate, Kensington. Mr Smith seems to have moved on by the 1870s when the business became simply Gibbons & White. He might have gone into business on his own elsewhere as there are a couple of possible candidates for ironmongers by the name of Smith in Kensington and Bloomsbury, so I am going to leave him be for now. <p></p><p>Mr Gibbons had also dropped out of the picture by 1882 when the shop is listed as White & Son (just the one son), then upgraded to White & Sons (plural) by 1891 with works at Nags Head Yard (where?). The Whites were still in Oxford Street in 1910 but by 1915 they had moved round the corner to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5149311,-0.1360482,3a,75y,89.97h,91.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqnTUYGRhzld3fulbp8wXcw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DqnTUYGRhzld3fulbp8wXcw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D98.746414%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">42 Berwick Street</a> as a limited company but I am not clear for how much longer they traded because there iare no listings for them by the late 1930s.</p><p>BOTTOM ROW:</p><p><b>L. Terroni & Sons</b>, Italian delicatessen and café, 138 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1. <a href="https://terroni.co.uk/" target="_blank">Still trading today</a> and claims to be the oldest of its type in London.</p><p><b>C. E. Norris & Sons</b>, 73 Whidborn Street, WC1, opposite the excellent McGlynn's (a proper pub). The style of the lettering looks 1950s to me and, although I have no conclusive evidence, judging by previous occupants here, I'd guess that the Norrises were also greengrocers . What's cool about <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5284167,-0.1234389,3a,75y,223.11h,87.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbPApM8Z5UxexLoYYungXPw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">the hand-painted sign here</a> is it shows the old telephone number; TER 4577. TER = Terminus which was the three letter code for the Kings Cross area equating to 837 in today's terms. <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2011/02/old-london-telephone-exchanges.html" target="_blank">More about the old phone codes here</a>.</p><p><b>G. Carter & Sons</b>, hat manufacturer and hosier, 162 Jamaica Road, SE1. Another doorway/threshold mosaic, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4982566,-0.0631091,3a,75y,197.23h,76.49t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBvFdmrzw_Z13r0S-BRbe6g!2e0!5s20190401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">a stone's throw from Bermondsey tube station</a>. George Carter established his hat making business in 1851. By 1882 he is listed here with a larger shop at 215-217 Old Kent Road and a hosiery shop at 249 Southwark Park Road, SE1, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4923379,-0.062714,3a,75y,326.64h,99.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8Cp_gNyQrv2xT31D7-2myQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">on the left corner of Blue Anchor Lane</a>, today a charity furniture shop. The company office was on the opposite corner at 251a within The Blue Anchor pub building. The Old Kent Road shop was later expanded to include men's clothing and the premises itself enlarged and rebuilt as an <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=george+carter+old+kent+road&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj10rTEu5mBAxWzmScCHarXBiIQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=george+carter+old+kent+road&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJzoGCAAQBxAeOggIABAFEAcQHjoICAAQCBAHEB5QvBBYpiVgrCdoAHAAeACAAXOIAfoGkgEEMTIuMpgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=gUP6ZLWOGLOznsEPqq-bkAI&bih=945&biw=1786#imgrc=XG_nmTteEU2Q5M" target="_blank">impressive and well-known establishment</a>. Sad to report that this was demolished in the 1970s and <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4902557,-0.0803656,3a,75y,33.08h,87.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st9ttv9VfyTPvLQZu5iOEQg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">today is a BHF furniture store</a>. </p><p>The Carter family continued to trade from the Jamaica Road shop until at least 1915, but they'd gone from there by 1939. Ah, but that's not the end of the story; quite the opposite. The 1939 Post Office directory shows that the family moved the company office to Surrey Square (just over the road from the OKRd store) and other shops were opened across London in Deptford, Shoreditch, Woolwich, Kensal Green (where a lot of the old shop front remains and I will write this up soon), also Brixton, Dalston, Tooting, Camden, Wandsworth and more. But no Islington shops, although it has to be said that Holloway Road and Upper Street were already saturated with men's outfitters. I understand that the Carter family also had stores further afield in the south in Chatham and Croydon.</p><p>The company continued trading until the later 1880s. However, I think I am going to have to stop now as I appear to have entered a G. Carter & Sons whirlpool. When I started writing this, having found the montage of nine pics that I made over a year ago, I thought <i>"I'll just do a quick short blog post on that, perhaps a line on each company" </i>– hmm that was many hours ago. I then got completely lost in research. No wonder my tummy was rumbling! If you want to delve further into Carter's history, there's lots of info online about the Carter company and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hats-Off-Story-George-Carter/dp/0955088747" target="_blank">this book by Diana Jones</a>. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-82595914924710339652023-09-10T10:30:00.002+01:002023-12-04T18:03:39.260+00:00More manholes with woodblock infills, hiding in plain view on London's main roads<p>This latest collection of manhole covers with remnants of wood blocks within them are specifically grouped together because they are all on streets I know well, so it's surprising it's taken me decades to notice them. </p><p>First, here is an excellent example in Holloway Road, ten minutes' walk from my home. I often lead guided tours here pointing out all the hints of late Victorian history when the street was often referred to as <i>The Oxford Street of the North</i>. Yet, although I often mention trams and old forms of transport, I hadn't actually spotted this fabulous example of wood blocks in the middle of the road. It can be found between The Coronet/Waitrose and Holloway tube station, slap bang in the middle of the road. Basically, I have been walking past it about three times a week for thirty years (doh!):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP8dwEL6t0WOdx--M_6yNp0lpC-k78Kiiqm0NWPd6F7PlA3vboEDbaDcjENFS3fA97002iRPp6FXpyeYegbn09x-F2Jowv_Gv6pq-csQP4Gb_WMyoowvxnW42lAVKQLx1Aw1H_QxZ49PeJ87JXIHsl0b0YjRxUIe7bdVICkjoNyHf9yrku7xTn_zz770/s2398/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_HollowayRd326.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2368" data-original-width="2398" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP8dwEL6t0WOdx--M_6yNp0lpC-k78Kiiqm0NWPd6F7PlA3vboEDbaDcjENFS3fA97002iRPp6FXpyeYegbn09x-F2Jowv_Gv6pq-csQP4Gb_WMyoowvxnW42lAVKQLx1Aw1H_QxZ49PeJ87JXIHsl0b0YjRxUIe7bdVICkjoNyHf9yrku7xTn_zz770/w400-h395/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_HollowayRd326.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>It's the second Holloway one I have discovered (<a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2022/11/more-wood-blocks-street-paving-in.html" target="_blank">see first entry in here</a>) and, convinced that there surely must be more in the vicinity, I am now often to be seen scouring the road like a demented idiot who has lost something. </p><p>Next, to Kentish Town. This is a short walk from Holloway and an area I also thought I knew well as regards little details etc, yet, although I'd found one wood-filled <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2023/03/more-wood-black-paving-kentish-town.html" target="_blank">manhole cover by a yellow line in the southern end of this street</a>, this one, almost opposite Islip Street, had eluded me until someone messaged me about it:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjic7djF4Y5A3hR52WBVWD33tKDhcQACxl4nybaxBm_ja9RSRu0215rZ1vN2PL8XNkSW1OZZxl0o4aUGlJYJNLf8xcUlPEm2LKCr4qKrLPMmPO3iMIE5HvBmB56ZsrWRdcoJEzILg1LuCS0HFSBQJc3hu99R1jlXfSkfBwLJdX_t-02j_dO7Rf4l_X4Ivo/s2396/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_KentishTown315.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="2396" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjic7djF4Y5A3hR52WBVWD33tKDhcQACxl4nybaxBm_ja9RSRu0215rZ1vN2PL8XNkSW1OZZxl0o4aUGlJYJNLf8xcUlPEm2LKCr4qKrLPMmPO3iMIE5HvBmB56ZsrWRdcoJEzILg1LuCS0HFSBQJc3hu99R1jlXfSkfBwLJdX_t-02j_dO7Rf4l_X4Ivo/w400-h195/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_KentishTown315.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>On Pentonville Road, outside Joseph Grimaldi Park, there is another one. I'd previously glimpsed it from the top deck of a number 73 bus, as this is what I do from buses now; I play a new game I have invented: <i>Manholehunter</i>. On the day I went to photograph this one, the street was extremely trafficated, as a friend used to say (and I like it) so I had to stop the slow-moving cars to be able to stand over it and get a decent shot. The driver of one car looked at me very quizzically then parked round the corner to come back and see what I was so interested in. He chatted for a while, and I told him to look up <i>Jane's London</i> but I haven't heard from him since. Perhaps he's reading this now. I hope so! Due to the traffic that day I am here accompanying my photo with a street view pic from Google (the name of the road isn't actually painted on the Tarmac!):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm91lkihk5Gr-ELvHr_ploaJRcM1hz6A2h8iPQOy7oKgKLk-KdPP_qW8o-IN6wTktpzEPJf12n_UpgQsKkO-8BOcTvc5POsUpr-48WQ9JAp5w_fQaXVJpiRPioriCG6p1MMxLZYBrJ2wNSjH-acQxWPRXh9llTxFE5DG6nwhKnnstzDSuzzrgCuTGaXpU/s2396/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_PentonvilleRdGrimaldi.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="2396" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm91lkihk5Gr-ELvHr_ploaJRcM1hz6A2h8iPQOy7oKgKLk-KdPP_qW8o-IN6wTktpzEPJf12n_UpgQsKkO-8BOcTvc5POsUpr-48WQ9JAp5w_fQaXVJpiRPioriCG6p1MMxLZYBrJ2wNSjH-acQxWPRXh9llTxFE5DG6nwhKnnstzDSuzzrgCuTGaXpU/w400-h196/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_PentonvilleRdGrimaldi.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>And so to Clerkenwell Rd. I wrote before about a fine example <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/search?q=leather+lane" target="_blank">at the end of Leather Lane</a>. Well, I'm sorry to report that since that stretch of road was resurfaced, it has completely gone. But, on the bright side, I found another one a little further east, almost at the junction of Hatton Garden, by the zebra crossing. At first glance it looks like it's all tarmac-filled. But that's not the case – the tarmac has eroded around the edges, and little glimpses of wood can be seen, though that might not be immediately evident here:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhF-TNPmEsmXTPCpBew5_tgTsnrrt-G3VXysnk2aO70To8tV67ksykgfu9GmPUY4o8svv57bb5L3no9l7z6rsX0_4z1CmIg_JJZ1psxpEw1Tvblft44LQxaF5TCAXKmAnJL9gz0ovQB1G_be_l77AstZ-f-9bvnCDn0oq5zpxTeW8BG97eh-0sTCZ51c/s2396/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_ClerkenwellRdHattonGdn.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="2396" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhF-TNPmEsmXTPCpBew5_tgTsnrrt-G3VXysnk2aO70To8tV67ksykgfu9GmPUY4o8svv57bb5L3no9l7z6rsX0_4z1CmIg_JJZ1psxpEw1Tvblft44LQxaF5TCAXKmAnJL9gz0ovQB1G_be_l77AstZ-f-9bvnCDn0oq5zpxTeW8BG97eh-0sTCZ51c/w400-h196/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_ClerkenwellRdHattonGdn.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>And finally (for this blog post only as there are sure to be more!), this next one is just south of Angel Islington, on the west side of St John Street by the pedestrian crossing, just before the junction with Rosebery Ave and Sadlers Wells:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs7ln9KNSRNJZAoZmo7JHInKA2qb2DERMr81XtRvuw_IUquf3V21CtUAn6oCz3jyTB8AvVKGbjnbtgJncJwDmx2Ff9rNVsiUYokxPv9QQU46dRG7D-H74T925JI61_gR0RUoLh4mjMa6Sd-_9qEczSkbVMOzyQVbxb8BiYJqzkJl1Um-PNt3B4lWngu0/s2398/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_StJohnSt377.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="2398" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs7ln9KNSRNJZAoZmo7JHInKA2qb2DERMr81XtRvuw_IUquf3V21CtUAn6oCz3jyTB8AvVKGbjnbtgJncJwDmx2Ff9rNVsiUYokxPv9QQU46dRG7D-H74T925JI61_gR0RUoLh4mjMa6Sd-_9qEczSkbVMOzyQVbxb8BiYJqzkJl1Um-PNt3B4lWngu0/w400-h195/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_StJohnSt377.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>See you with more of these soon, no doubt.</p><p>For the full list of all my sightings thus far, <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/p/a-z-of-woodblocks.html" target="_blank">please click here</a>. Do let me know if you find any more. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-19662084107664936322023-09-07T12:15:00.001+01:002023-09-07T12:15:08.795+01:00Baker Street station Hidden London tour into the non-public areas<p>Earlier this week I was lucky to be part of one of the test runs for one of the new tours run by <a href="https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london?gclid=CjwKCAjw6eWnBhAKEiwADpnw9j5QkPNPRiOd-8CxmvbG9AJSy2TO_0m61woPG2c2AzBfM36Zt7UYtRoCA-YQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Hidden London for London Transport Museum</a> which took us into the back rooms and disused passages behind, beneath and above Baker Street station's many platforms. Indeed, I understand that Baker Street, with its many interconnecting rail and tube lines, has the most platforms of any station on the network.</p><p>I'd already been on Hidden London's tours of the tunnels beneath Euston station and the disused station at Highgate (having searched my old blogposts, I cannot now fathom why I didn't write reviews of those) and, three months ago I went on their excellent tour of the <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2023/06/hidden-london-tours-of-kingsway-tram.html" target="_blank">Holborn Kingsway tram tunnel</a>, so I was intrigued to see what Baker Street station had to offer. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlB2IhIkZGul_G-B86VNjEQQtCKDNql-h9LnaS-lbKBIeLLzEcXlWCQuU4k96vwlzGron68q8mc04VUiL_EGvumTImqHL6sYhCgTqVdCibDf3jCe-Rq_8WSrYCwhZOMAKCTpd9RKhpfUBvNsfT6nY4RCTswAH1aSZitMQXmSL9j52y5b0FyDL3pGkDaU/s1489/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="1489" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlB2IhIkZGul_G-B86VNjEQQtCKDNql-h9LnaS-lbKBIeLLzEcXlWCQuU4k96vwlzGron68q8mc04VUiL_EGvumTImqHL6sYhCgTqVdCibDf3jCe-Rq_8WSrYCwhZOMAKCTpd9RKhpfUBvNsfT6nY4RCTswAH1aSZitMQXmSL9j52y5b0FyDL3pGkDaU/w400-h130/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I can confidently report that the tour is a diverse and fascinating delight, mainly due to the how the station has coped and evolved with the ever-expanding transport network and the need for customer connectivity. It was bizarre and fascinating to be looking down onto the curved roof of an escalator or standing almost hidden from view watching passengers (or is it customers, commuters or travellers?!) waiting for a Bakerloo line train. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx61T4e0h-l_s-pcR9bAzFHzo6HOrVhO_RCWsT91Oz6Nkvmr-rHZ1wdtbgFXL-oq5yshspUnTKEcLF8y2xgZq3vioUVcI85xjKy9-y6lgNexwqkMGAheBovXiY5108jHhu21_e5kx8ZTVBnzwe4RNwNoJqJTp4LQq3hRPgYAjZXc2zgY0_0cR6J9ogFQQ/s1490/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="1490" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx61T4e0h-l_s-pcR9bAzFHzo6HOrVhO_RCWsT91Oz6Nkvmr-rHZ1wdtbgFXL-oq5yshspUnTKEcLF8y2xgZq3vioUVcI85xjKy9-y6lgNexwqkMGAheBovXiY5108jHhu21_e5kx8ZTVBnzwe4RNwNoJqJTp4LQq3hRPgYAjZXc2zgY0_0cR6J9ogFQQ/w400-h130/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I especially liked seeing some lovely teal wall tiles in the disused sections that once housed the passenger lifts where there are also some remnants of old advertising posters, and I never before realised that there is tiled footbridge at the western end of the Circle and District line platforms which are available to use any day of the week. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PdM5JHKf3RAa9k6kpXspqjOjACCx_ApmGAtM3tup9H5BhUM_trDzY7XRpbadTLwVlw95Kg4pDKOCQLi5Cb9KRirN-O_o9iFeMfzs0_ZmQXM6jiLF35SjU1T5z3a6XAVpI_q7qQ1p1qhcprfQ-1SjN3ayht-cpwFdQQ_WlQMsgvz-wIIq5twlD4_x4Bk/s1490/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="1490" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PdM5JHKf3RAa9k6kpXspqjOjACCx_ApmGAtM3tup9H5BhUM_trDzY7XRpbadTLwVlw95Kg4pDKOCQLi5Cb9KRirN-O_o9iFeMfzs0_ZmQXM6jiLF35SjU1T5z3a6XAVpI_q7qQ1p1qhcprfQ-1SjN3ayht-cpwFdQQ_WlQMsgvz-wIIq5twlD4_x4Bk/w400-h130/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt3.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjVze76X-D7uH9Mk7LfqzDJv5LrBcqqxi8GoHODHOKhL_mlonpeWkyCareP7hHJXjxgK3CE3KjoHXqFAVGp8kM4kokv063FjTpbRjgLqdC6WN8u0coP-entWzSdm1Zw3k_iSO_c0ps5kNAnklLZbDBpZT_6ENjXnu9i6E_85fmFpYSQ_GHwkgWg8zujo/s1489/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="1489" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjVze76X-D7uH9Mk7LfqzDJv5LrBcqqxi8GoHODHOKhL_mlonpeWkyCareP7hHJXjxgK3CE3KjoHXqFAVGp8kM4kokv063FjTpbRjgLqdC6WN8u0coP-entWzSdm1Zw3k_iSO_c0ps5kNAnklLZbDBpZT_6ENjXnu9i6E_85fmFpYSQ_GHwkgWg8zujo/w400-h131/JanesLondon_HiddenLondonBakerSt4.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>See all the <a href="https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london?gclid=CjwKCAjw6eWnBhAKEiwADpnw9j5QkPNPRiOd-8CxmvbG9AJSy2TO_0m61woPG2c2AzBfM36Zt7UYtRoCA-YQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Hidden London tours here</a> – note that not all locations are available all the time, so it's well worth subscribing to be notified of updates to the schedule as these tours sell out fast. </p><p>I'd also recommend a visit to the <a href="https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/visit" target="_blank">London Transport Museum in Covent Garden</a> and the larger <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2018/04/london-transport-museum-acton-depot.html" target="_blank">Acton depot</a> where you'll find lots more fascinating exhibits from bygone eras, such that you are bound to be pointing and exclaiming, "Oh I remember these!"</p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-77448741015232294152023-09-01T15:24:00.002+01:002023-12-04T18:11:25.434+00:00More wood blocks – side streets and access roads<p>Here's the latest update on woodblock sightings. These are all in side streets or back alleys.</p><p><a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/p/a-z-of-woodblocks.html" target="_blank">Find the current list here.</a></p><p>First, here's one I spotted and photographed years ago but completely forgot abbot until recently. This unusual elliptical shaped man hole cover can be found just inside the side alley to the right of 169 Bermondsey Street, SE1: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj27ujOOWOfiHxDF_iPzjZjItkAiKK8zJUB2Duw25rEmhy-s55UykQfiYC42NKwDzOvqavj_rIRnt4aKKBioHyhOXeSNmMU-YO9DZ_Cw3agvGEwYA7PDaYjFiU8l5pxwtW82YZbb4lzCTJzV0vWBn5Wjywawm4vchXLACcEjRRyJa6mQZqqJjQObqlN8I/s2400/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_BermondseyHighSt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="2400" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj27ujOOWOfiHxDF_iPzjZjItkAiKK8zJUB2Duw25rEmhy-s55UykQfiYC42NKwDzOvqavj_rIRnt4aKKBioHyhOXeSNmMU-YO9DZ_Cw3agvGEwYA7PDaYjFiU8l5pxwtW82YZbb4lzCTJzV0vWBn5Wjywawm4vchXLACcEjRRyJa6mQZqqJjQObqlN8I/w400-h194/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_BermondseyHighSt.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Next, a regular circle-shaped man hole cover, jam-packed with lovely big chunks of wood. This can be found in Crooked Billet Lane, a narrow street under the Overground railway line at the southern end of Kingsland Rd, E1. I read in a 1930's London guidebook that this little street was [then] a wonderful evocation of a bygone Victorian age (or something like that). Not so today – a couple of 1880's buildings do remain on the right/north side but, apart from that, there's not much left except this marvellous example of the old road surface that would have covered the whole street 150 years ago: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcpZHtvAJ7jbPGcD_AAnlBKKUsJB0iGylYR_CJ3P2guUSt9PzkKdRe4eCCJvTqOAPq6UzgByIB91iwoOl1bMl4U5KJkJszHKFmd9MR3RaAp7_O6ZwpqqCOdi6g6RWyMalr6ebHeb36snuX9Q_SHRnpZSuiDbBdvHabXKDyOEoRt8dDdaEsT5yWrvrRAg/s2400/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_CrookedBilletLane.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="2400" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcpZHtvAJ7jbPGcD_AAnlBKKUsJB0iGylYR_CJ3P2guUSt9PzkKdRe4eCCJvTqOAPq6UzgByIB91iwoOl1bMl4U5KJkJszHKFmd9MR3RaAp7_O6ZwpqqCOdi6g6RWyMalr6ebHeb36snuX9Q_SHRnpZSuiDbBdvHabXKDyOEoRt8dDdaEsT5yWrvrRAg/w400-h195/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_CrookedBilletLane.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>A similar example can be found lurking in the little road parallel to West End Lane, West Hampstead, specifically behind Oddbins with access from Sumatra Road, NW6:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw4K8RJUX-MsNOUZknTaI_Pquuh46adL_IjNt0KA2wBTOJ47DGp-enFMQb7YdDa4zZN89DR69jfDxarpBrDIytH-Ct84keyX8DWcyb2REzyDI5kLTmqFUqtW9AoJE0uCkQ01JoIJ2f1CZcGUTacsm3cky1CmrqliBIpmGrKZm8fI4qJqFr_rA-1ASzSw/s2400/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_WestHampstead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="2400" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw4K8RJUX-MsNOUZknTaI_Pquuh46adL_IjNt0KA2wBTOJ47DGp-enFMQb7YdDa4zZN89DR69jfDxarpBrDIytH-Ct84keyX8DWcyb2REzyDI5kLTmqFUqtW9AoJE0uCkQ01JoIJ2f1CZcGUTacsm3cky1CmrqliBIpmGrKZm8fI4qJqFr_rA-1ASzSw/w400-h195/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_WestHampstead.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Finally, I mentioned earlier this year that I'd been on <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2023/06/hidden-london-tours-of-kingsway-tram.html" target="_blank">a tour of the Holborn Kingsway tram tunnel</a> and I'd noticed that many areas of its woodblock road surfaces were still intact. Here are some more pics: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnknJEGjCglFHUUAgFGn_51Sy1AEmGgHdPWSjAP6tdY84KekuR-2Jdfj3atDVKg4QEY4_jqVDkvH4gAlmt6M2n2I852LtwwMZfqorXuxwsPrHfDWxQxgpEMUbJQx6ruqnYilESpxc-5G6o4yICYPLVQ5-2AdzWeiaQc2zkAPhjWJ825HbSsWgKPXSqaOQ/s2400/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_KingswayTunnel.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2398" data-original-width="2400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnknJEGjCglFHUUAgFGn_51Sy1AEmGgHdPWSjAP6tdY84KekuR-2Jdfj3atDVKg4QEY4_jqVDkvH4gAlmt6M2n2I852LtwwMZfqorXuxwsPrHfDWxQxgpEMUbJQx6ruqnYilESpxc-5G6o4yICYPLVQ5-2AdzWeiaQc2zkAPhjWJ825HbSsWgKPXSqaOQ/w400-h400/Janeslondon_Woodblocks_KingswayTunnel.png" width="400" /></a></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-52907809476986628012023-08-27T10:30:00.079+01:002023-09-02T18:42:17.926+01:00Marvellous Marquetry at The Royal George, Euston<p>I do love an 1930's pub. By which I mean one of those Tudor Revival or Neo Georgian houses built by the big breweries at that time in an effort to keep up with new innovations in construction, design and facilities, whilst holding onto old comforts, like log fires, polished wood and deep-buttoned leather chairs. </p><p>I often stop at an example of one of these on my Art Deco guided walks, explaining that not everyone was keen on the new fangled Moderne and geometric or streamlined styling, hence the many public houses were rebuilt in a way that would entice new and younger customers yet wouldn't scare off the existing clientele. I have often been heard saying that a customer back then could be quaffing either a pint of stout or a gin cocktail whilst smoking a pipe or a dragging on a cork-tipped Craven-A. </p><p>Well, at the side of Euston Station, this is illustrated in wood within the walls around the fireplaces of <a href="https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/royal-george" target="_blank">The Royal George public house</a>, Grade II listed and for good reason. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPoZ1BzWwrNBWH09Sxgis-sbsjB8O4lu1s536EH_WigSe9079eqNcJeB3fmjQE81Rx5jMN388CP0iRA3vxi0SVpsYRI3QC15Mlx5X1FBaSRugGMia4ymjV4b20Inx-DHNAtjJLR4GT3mnZGz_e1qAC6GMs6mfNmKkkWEjk8YXC_zllliOzJ0dOHz8TB0/s750/Screenshot%202023-08-23%20at%2019.29.08.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="750" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPoZ1BzWwrNBWH09Sxgis-sbsjB8O4lu1s536EH_WigSe9079eqNcJeB3fmjQE81Rx5jMN388CP0iRA3vxi0SVpsYRI3QC15Mlx5X1FBaSRugGMia4ymjV4b20Inx-DHNAtjJLR4GT3mnZGz_e1qAC6GMs6mfNmKkkWEjk8YXC_zllliOzJ0dOHz8TB0/w200-h166/Screenshot%202023-08-23%20at%2019.29.08.png" width="200" /></a></div>There has been a pub here since 1877, named after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_George_(1756)" target="_blank">HMS Royal George</a>, a Royal Navy flagship vessel that sank in 1873 with the loss of 1,200 crew. In the late 1930s, Truman Hanbury & Buxton, the then owners (hence the those lovely eagles on the building) rebuilt the pub with its front designed to echo the stern of the boat. <p></p><p>The boat is depicted in its full glory inside the pub with sails a-billowing within a magnificent large marquetry panel, on the right hand side as you enter, above what would have been an open fireplace. It's hard to get a decent pic in there because the pub seems to constantly be showing sports on multiple TV screens and these are reflected in the wooden panel. However, we shouldn't really complain because in recent memory the marquetry panel was itself was covered by one of those TV screens, so we are lucky it wasn't removed, boarded or overpainted:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAQsl9tKGHrv8jGln-UoB3VfvPGS2n2GEnJVYx59Vm8isdWAVo7FfnoQst_NGxthYYEKlJVWsVPYAmd0YBeZPnNIzQO8JERN9Dw4rq-KPisnGuqqrmMHZcL4pjMMZ1vxidpJR9_HP5l7ARHlH_UmfG0Az6Bo1ITVYCwvKlckQmxEAm_YRsCMI9-LP4Zs/s3326/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1610" data-original-width="3326" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAQsl9tKGHrv8jGln-UoB3VfvPGS2n2GEnJVYx59Vm8isdWAVo7FfnoQst_NGxthYYEKlJVWsVPYAmd0YBeZPnNIzQO8JERN9Dw4rq-KPisnGuqqrmMHZcL4pjMMZ1vxidpJR9_HP5l7ARHlH_UmfG0Az6Bo1ITVYCwvKlckQmxEAm_YRsCMI9-LP4Zs/w400-h194/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>But that's not all. On the other side of the pub, in what would have originally been one of the other two bars, separated by walls or panels and accessible by its own street door, there is a non-functional angled fireplace in the far left corner with slim panels of marquetry either side. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0bAWIOX0Zf2MVjIIrasrsy7sbTpx8f42RegQK-nu9f2PeGEBqFuhW5fjdKaEf1WB5I_UboEfsNm41-vzTsjjh42ZUF5Itj5-_4aJsJmXDymvF-GGJdkJAj_uKBMZkXQrqRrFDH8TqM4y56U6SekEUgdscNUmgpv-3C_nkSTEhCAvdBjPkBZbMKm8P8k/s4020/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="4020" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0bAWIOX0Zf2MVjIIrasrsy7sbTpx8f42RegQK-nu9f2PeGEBqFuhW5fjdKaEf1WB5I_UboEfsNm41-vzTsjjh42ZUF5Itj5-_4aJsJmXDymvF-GGJdkJAj_uKBMZkXQrqRrFDH8TqM4y56U6SekEUgdscNUmgpv-3C_nkSTEhCAvdBjPkBZbMKm8P8k/w400-h129/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Within these panels, and again, hard to photograph due to the poor lighting conditions in there, hence I am only showing eight of them here, the age of steam and science is contrasted with the age of cocktails:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzy5sF6FpFlzryF8mjiqFSI0NLx7Q_UpRqCzhY-PsXeAa8b_wU-Papy7NZ31KKDH8zWz9DuQRwHsVXbVTQDQeJ35ZAecdT6ssqywcHdlYtec4Nj_dVoGWU1Y8fQZoBkZUD581QBgfdvrFfH8FJvybVfLvMruC0R5pLi5j8ZTgiFCqDibAJ_3F4zz_p-c/s3968/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1958" data-original-width="3968" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzy5sF6FpFlzryF8mjiqFSI0NLx7Q_UpRqCzhY-PsXeAa8b_wU-Papy7NZ31KKDH8zWz9DuQRwHsVXbVTQDQeJ35ZAecdT6ssqywcHdlYtec4Nj_dVoGWU1Y8fQZoBkZUD581QBgfdvrFfH8FJvybVfLvMruC0R5pLi5j8ZTgiFCqDibAJ_3F4zz_p-c/w400-h198/JanesLondon_RoyalGeorgeMarquetry3.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>As you can see, these graphics created from thin slivers of different woods, depict a range of subjects such as the brewing industry, bar games (skittles), science, engineering, transport and travel (luggage on a trolley). </p><p>I think these panels are absolutely marvellous. It amazes me when I take friends and fans of this sort of thing into The Royal George and other drinkers in there look at us quizzically as if we are the idiots! </p><p>Marquetry is a skilled and time-consuming craft that is dying out today. <a href="http://www.redbridgemarquetrygroup.org/faq/tutorials/the%20marquetry%20society.html" target="_blank">Find out more here</a>. I have only found a few other examples within other London public buildings, albeit nothing comparable to the illustrative quality shown above. I will endeavour to hunt out some more (any excuse for a pub crawl!) – there surely must be more out there, simply hiding in plain sight – please let me know if you can add to the collection. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-5763404569798806512023-08-24T10:30:00.001+01:002023-08-24T10:30:00.136+01:00Bermondsey Beach – little things mean a lot<p>I was recently in Bermondsey for a River Thames event and, as mudlarking guide, I was there to share a bit of local history and provide a kind of Show & Tell with the attendees, explaining to them the dos and don'ts of access to the foreshore and what we might hope to find on the surface in this area.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcjhp2riUbygOxK4lqJ9Gk3ho_Vnn0rmHLItu6sS0V2SNZFitcTId5G8zCMx6_ivtRbrt0YLnfjcxBPCT8MqnZpGaQ_2CYXAMF3A-dwrZF_9n6t1du3r7QjE58zX7vStr8HMf48Mjktdhfc4mmvC7y6mnnmA-mhtsBNLsqgTAA2AVumMcL7ricQgnEqM/s3028/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3028" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcjhp2riUbygOxK4lqJ9Gk3ho_Vnn0rmHLItu6sS0V2SNZFitcTId5G8zCMx6_ivtRbrt0YLnfjcxBPCT8MqnZpGaQ_2CYXAMF3A-dwrZF_9n6t1du3r7QjE58zX7vStr8HMf48Mjktdhfc4mmvC7y6mnnmA-mhtsBNLsqgTAA2AVumMcL7ricQgnEqM/w400-h264/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bottom left: a little bit of broken cardboard that happened to make the shape of J (for Jane)!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As I explained to the group, unless you have, like I do, a permit purchased from the <a href="http://www.pla.co.uk/" target="_blank">Port Of London Authority</a> which allows you to scratch the surface, you can do little more than walk the dog or enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. You cannot dig. Even if you do have a permit (and the PLA are not allocating any new ones at the moment) you can only disturb the very top couple of inches. But, quite frankly, you don't need to dig as it's simply a matter of getting your eye in and, if all you are picking up are broken bits of shell and pottery sherds, that's fine. But please be selective. Many people take bag loads of found items home with them and then don't know what to do with it all. Hence, it ends up in household rubbish and then in landfill which is a shame. Better for it to stay as part of the River Thames. Therefore, I always encourage people who join me for my foreshore forages to choose just three items to take home with them and leave the rest behind to be covered by the next tide. As with all unusual finds, if you do find something that you think might be an artefact of historical interest, simply contact the lovely people at <a href="https://finds.org.uk/" target="_blank">Portable Antiquities Scheme</a> who will advise you. </p><p>Here are some little gems that picked up at Bermondsey, some of pieces are tiny, less than 1cm across, and we found them simply sat on the higher drier parts of the beach looking carefully around our legs. All the blue and white crockery was in an area less than 2 metres square. It's not that someone dumped it there, it's because the tide dropped it there being as it was all of similar weight. This is evident on curved stretches as the tide copes with different obstacles and the beach changes from a swathe of sand to small shingles, then a heap of bricks and masonry, then a muddy section and back to shingle again. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxztSigM1DZhGfWzx2b31kFmbCjiN62fd3uVdRhFZzHgcpYy3naTxZRSF1sv0ct5W1kvEyrvbsJCBO8Gds9FRLXCH_I1ZvOokZqCEyGl9R6d85q2r3wces80qcI8eELeDKzPSS0qhcmuIOXmlwzHw9z7OJbQfTL4uJbAbNBcKG16KuWVHyzQGf0AdN6Q/s3026/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2002" data-original-width="3026" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxztSigM1DZhGfWzx2b31kFmbCjiN62fd3uVdRhFZzHgcpYy3naTxZRSF1sv0ct5W1kvEyrvbsJCBO8Gds9FRLXCH_I1ZvOokZqCEyGl9R6d85q2r3wces80qcI8eELeDKzPSS0qhcmuIOXmlwzHw9z7OJbQfTL4uJbAbNBcKG16KuWVHyzQGf0AdN6Q/w400-h265/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>The seven fragments top left are single-sided, late Georgian through to twentieth century as are the six little pieces in the top middle pic which are two-sided (the flip side shown top right). And I do love bit of tide-worn glass, or sea glass as some people call it. I don't know what that B stands for (it's probably from a beer bottle) but holding up the fragment to the light made it look like a cola ice lolly, especially against the beach!</p><p>I found quite a few bits of intriguing pottery, some glazed on both sides (top left and centre) plus some lovely little pieces of semi-precious stone, marble, flint some of which have holes worn within them or are pleasing shapes shuch as the ling tubular bit of flint and the Shard-shaped triangle which I had meant to hold up against the London skyline to replace the building on the Southbank, but completely forgot to do that!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qqo8eTmY_zdtXEHIe495nmKNErf1V6M1lzqJvnlHGedzmQl7LMPsjbGTc1WE26WqY8UR7k-q8bBF2d3klbxpskuOge5b-5khnUDm6fhezV2jxb4LHSICExeidbgL0MMw3XypuEYvrGKkkVlJHafry27YTOxgLsMeGCc4MAWYyLR4qnq7wa0ZYjWy-9g/s3022/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2004" data-original-width="3022" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qqo8eTmY_zdtXEHIe495nmKNErf1V6M1lzqJvnlHGedzmQl7LMPsjbGTc1WE26WqY8UR7k-q8bBF2d3klbxpskuOge5b-5khnUDm6fhezV2jxb4LHSICExeidbgL0MMw3XypuEYvrGKkkVlJHafry27YTOxgLsMeGCc4MAWYyLR4qnq7wa0ZYjWy-9g/w400-h265/JanesLondon_BermondseyBeach3.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Bottom left, above, shows a collection of stones with layered rocks and sediments some of which resemble fancy cakes or cuts of meat. As a gauge of size, the largest piece is approx 35mm long. A larger version of the 'roulade' is here to better illustrate the food idea. One of the pieces looks at first like it is glazed, especially as the pattern within the stone resembles a map of Cyprus! And the collection bottom right is simply about colours and textures; a selection of alabaster, coral, brick and stone. I also collected a few fragments of clay pipe (not shown here) which I will soon turn into <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RecycledLondon?section_id=14425377" target="_blank">items of wearable jewellery etc</a>. </p><p><b>Finally, some Health and Safety advice about accessing the foreshore</b> – despite any historical images you might have seen showing people paddling in the Thames or sitting on deckchairs on its beaches, the Thames is not akin to a day out the seaside. If you do venture down there be sure to wear sensible, preferably waterproof, shoes or boots and access only via staircases that are clearly managed and maintained. However, note that these steps can be very slippery due to algae or silt. And on the foreshore, if a surface looks dodgy or slippery then it probably is; don't stand on it or you might sink into soft ground. Be sure to stay close to the access steps because when the tide starts coming in again it will come in fast and you really don't want to get stranded or swept away in the current. And, if you do want to pick anything up, please remember that the water is not clean; wear gloves, use sanitiser. </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-18929073140011941542023-07-26T09:12:00.004+01:002023-08-02T23:44:54.156+01:00Kensington Coal Holes in the Rain<p>I was out for a wander on Saturday and happened to be following the Long Water from the Italian Gardens to the Serpentine Gallery via the Peter Pan statue. It started to rain so I tied back my hair and buttoned up my mac and headed into the streets behind Kensington Gore as it occurred to me that I'd never properly explored that zone. </p><p>Well, what a delight. Embassies and empty houses, cul-de-sacs, courtyards, mews and gardens, and hardly a human in sight. And I'm sure that wasn't due to the inclement weather on that day. I kept noticing how lovely some of the coal cover plates looked, highlighted by the rain. </p><p>I turned into Palace Gate and noticed some ironmongers' designs that were new to me so, of course, I had to start taking snaps. If you notice any strange rainbow effects in these images it is the reflection of my colourful stripy umbrella!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAESy0hYuuhYvAKw80JwQGwNYsd5oq5_d6avUyFFW_TZTqg8yV1JOWxJgVgDdhEXdqbJu8_SoSb0Orjo_U-mzazCnSInfwqmsK887od3b9SSPW4tVtGhVD7m2JjxGbAaXQjD4SusLRvUI3inRr8uA6HzLEVCt6milQKiF5XO7xFQ3nVY8vlHJaYbblBPkA/s2494/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.24.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2494" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAESy0hYuuhYvAKw80JwQGwNYsd5oq5_d6avUyFFW_TZTqg8yV1JOWxJgVgDdhEXdqbJu8_SoSb0Orjo_U-mzazCnSInfwqmsK887od3b9SSPW4tVtGhVD7m2JjxGbAaXQjD4SusLRvUI3inRr8uA6HzLEVCt6milQKiF5XO7xFQ3nVY8vlHJaYbblBPkA/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.24.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>First, above, two covers from distant locations – Lely's of Station Approach, London Bridge, with its four circular lenses sparkling in the rain, and a Luxfer Prisms of Clerkenwell cover, its centre section in-filled with cement. <div>Then, on the West side of the street, I found a very unusual nobbly self-locking plate, here contrasted with one of its neighbours, in the conventional flatter style, here made by Needham & Sons. I am at a loss where or who Stockport John is/was.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsoLCCDhGwH0kSn34iu8NJ7udmPnpaesBQ5IuQ9nXShXvMd2tmcYQiwmwITjFavApLVUIFBPKbTklq_s3tGgJOmnpopas1Or-KydRc8qoJFcMqn7pk5sNRzF87EgDHY-5ecOWVwN_7HBPpLxK7aTWFnSOGeiC8EpJCEQf5WJdgl7rv95iY6-SJC56cqhN/s2492/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="2492" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsoLCCDhGwH0kSn34iu8NJ7udmPnpaesBQ5IuQ9nXShXvMd2tmcYQiwmwITjFavApLVUIFBPKbTklq_s3tGgJOmnpopas1Or-KydRc8qoJFcMqn7pk5sNRzF87EgDHY-5ecOWVwN_7HBPpLxK7aTWFnSOGeiC8EpJCEQf5WJdgl7rv95iY6-SJC56cqhN/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.36.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>I turned into <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4995836,-0.183449,3a,75y,98.69h,83.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sauIs-TyK6u43wZiXCyvPOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu" target="_blank">Kensington Gate</a>, a lovely enclosed street with private gardens, and along its northern side I found lots of what I can only call 'pretty' plates. It's as if someone had filled or coloured in the holes within the discs. Or perhaps it was just the water highlighting their features: </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80k9ucskW1OlU_WOUQ_EK6oJzeURLtzdJGZvPfuhYBs_iJHBEmLgNG4Hbdb_vNtyYK9xvU48BaoQgI2jKhlXyn2i3BGGw2whnda6vwt3sWuID03GoOs1MmcnbS_21aMsQGRePaTtqmFKsYim_WHjafhBG1y4zYIKwQIPmqjAYtVREyPikTnupqusVhZVn/s2494/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.47.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="2494" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80k9ucskW1OlU_WOUQ_EK6oJzeURLtzdJGZvPfuhYBs_iJHBEmLgNG4Hbdb_vNtyYK9xvU48BaoQgI2jKhlXyn2i3BGGw2whnda6vwt3sWuID03GoOs1MmcnbS_21aMsQGRePaTtqmFKsYim_WHjafhBG1y4zYIKwQIPmqjAYtVREyPikTnupqusVhZVn/w400-h194/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.47.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>These are two almost identical Hayward's plates, yet the left one looks to have marble inserts in some of the holes, and the one on the right contains a variety of coloured mosses, making it looked like an artist's palette. </div><div>A James Bartle & Co plate further along looks like someone has been busy with a gold pen. And the holes in an adjacent Woodrow plate are filled with seeds etc, making it look like a little biology collection:</div><div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZNndOla09LUx_rJ0hyEKTgDe-wDKLNOb0byoqlqGiX33qVGS3CQNgUdy-UfZr3Gti2ItxhCGsYqIY7aXxJuTdfo0rsftFgpcB-zEBbSzf-tcj4i1WXFh7lDzJg-b9gx9hZF_VzrEA1NUlHym5YEizRxg8SJC2YZpZmehd4b1BNQQj0y8ET9du48W1hI1/s2494/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2494" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZNndOla09LUx_rJ0hyEKTgDe-wDKLNOb0byoqlqGiX33qVGS3CQNgUdy-UfZr3Gti2ItxhCGsYqIY7aXxJuTdfo0rsftFgpcB-zEBbSzf-tcj4i1WXFh7lDzJg-b9gx9hZF_VzrEA1NUlHym5YEizRxg8SJC2YZpZmehd4b1BNQQj0y8ET9du48W1hI1/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.35.57.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then two unbranded plates, each with four lightwells/lenses but clearly (opaquely?!) using different grades of glass as one is more blue than green:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULt-FoaEsQbj-BOXmjHqOFXWW0Fj0ti7owSq88t_9Ph0fiSdYaoCDOfFIdmLHWUPF6tU9WXtofcKSc3UmepiKke-eA5A7pGMVgVlwwTVMYISXxjTUmmjyRmkH_c57dRSKgWYa9z_HHpfMSlZrd6ZQ9aX5rYqCiqdoQyPbAPAbIoUngm55P4yS9cuMXkzU/s2494/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.22.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2494" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULt-FoaEsQbj-BOXmjHqOFXWW0Fj0ti7owSq88t_9Ph0fiSdYaoCDOfFIdmLHWUPF6tU9WXtofcKSc3UmepiKke-eA5A7pGMVgVlwwTVMYISXxjTUmmjyRmkH_c57dRSKgWYa9z_HHpfMSlZrd6ZQ9aX5rYqCiqdoQyPbAPAbIoUngm55P4yS9cuMXkzU/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.22.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>And here's another self-locking plate with little samples of grass within it alongside an earlier James Bartle design sporting five concentric circles:</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmQEOkO2pK6a84n1RqV2unjmLLm1qqoWdxjOhOKXwUVOjw_4qpPoWpABP7bDQ0Z4f1vok3nbqlE1s1sBaCQgbGOtmkRdRAZ_0SpZwSlrsslm6qDf6f0tekYhU_Zf67zLALHzz-5W10L5NWHeCke3hfnPu05KVs_wiB7ZjqiUz5opKVIdJ0MnCDxhnYc-Z/s2492/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="2492" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmQEOkO2pK6a84n1RqV2unjmLLm1qqoWdxjOhOKXwUVOjw_4qpPoWpABP7bDQ0Z4f1vok3nbqlE1s1sBaCQgbGOtmkRdRAZ_0SpZwSlrsslm6qDf6f0tekYhU_Zf67zLALHzz-5W10L5NWHeCke3hfnPu05KVs_wiB7ZjqiUz5opKVIdJ0MnCDxhnYc-Z/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.33.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Along the southern side of Kensington Gate I found some makers' names new to me including J. W. Benney & Co of Stepney in the East End (pic not included here because the photo's not very good) and two plates bearing the name of a local company J.W. Lawson of Kensington:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc99Y5p16bXYmvUcF5HnzKNKplWC5ULUNbNB6vgnPCBvnkQCa4eHHtZiHy6CoZSLCFKcGtih-xjlHrfdrs32IW1C48jQqgElJiV3t7TvBKPSZnTcV9fqaeKAZ1gxgvQAPNQwfDVic0PAEwSNoIKyRas1OUQ-S656NVu_j0SXFCseAx_8O5phxxHiw1Hlqr/s2490/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.47.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="2490" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc99Y5p16bXYmvUcF5HnzKNKplWC5ULUNbNB6vgnPCBvnkQCa4eHHtZiHy6CoZSLCFKcGtih-xjlHrfdrs32IW1C48jQqgElJiV3t7TvBKPSZnTcV9fqaeKAZ1gxgvQAPNQwfDVic0PAEwSNoIKyRas1OUQ-S656NVu_j0SXFCseAx_8O5phxxHiw1Hlqr/w400-h195/Screenshot%202023-07-24%20at%2016.36.47.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Both are floral, but I particularly like the unusual design on the one on the left. The one on the right shows a High Street Kensington address – a quick peek into the 1882 directory shows the business at No.108 as John Welch Lawson, builders' ironmonger which is directly opposite the tube station and it may well have been <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5011921,-0.1927855,3a,75y,328.67h,107.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgdsaZ1xit9uBU66CTp5NzQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu" target="_blank">inside this building</a>. </div><div>I hope you enjoyed looking at these as much as I did finding them. There are lots more streets I haven't investigated in this area of Kensington, so I am pretty sure there are more architectural gems to be found there.</div><div>To see more of my coal hole observations, <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/search/label/coal%20holes" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div></div></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-12272079752564632472023-07-07T09:28:00.003+01:002023-08-10T20:15:42.717+01:00Th Crucible at The Gielgud Theatre: numbing not electrifying <p>Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is one of those classics on my list of never read or seen. It was on the curriculum at school but not for my stream. I know the basic story, being as it’s based in fact, about the Salem witch trials, which Miller used to make a point about MacCarthyism. I hadn’t even seen the two movies made. So I bought a ticket.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAQ89Fm7nWJXHeDVO9ebNY82Lz2bJSCEBYgLDL5GaENewF8Me9xvyifUkxYvDik__OPBcQuyfSwybbVZAOFIQdtZK9-o7EDLHOKkmwvFft0ohxFX7Gzr43nIIsWPhh-s2Su1NsEAFAOi5-mDoNMrK9Yru6jAQfTp840eQFNrFRxnNiT-opXLtr4sWTUM/s225/0E35E939-EF77-4456-9070-E287C0BE37D0.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAQ89Fm7nWJXHeDVO9ebNY82Lz2bJSCEBYgLDL5GaENewF8Me9xvyifUkxYvDik__OPBcQuyfSwybbVZAOFIQdtZK9-o7EDLHOKkmwvFft0ohxFX7Gzr43nIIsWPhh-s2Su1NsEAFAOi5-mDoNMrK9Yru6jAQfTp840eQFNrFRxnNiT-opXLtr4sWTUM/w102-h102/0E35E939-EF77-4456-9070-E287C0BE37D0.jpeg" width="102" /></a></div>You may have read on here that I don’t like to find out too much about something before I go and experience it for myself. I had seen short promos online and headings to reviews in the press praising the way the show was staged and how the whole thing was a magnificent revival, or perfect as shown here on the Gielgud’s site. A word repeated used to describe it, used far too often which suggests a copy and paste job, was/is ‘electrifying’<p></p><p>Dear reader, it is soporific. It numbed me. I think I dozed off a couple of times! Everyone speaks at the same tone to the same beat with no break or pauses like a metronome hence the hypnotic rather than stimulating effect. It certainly didn’t give me sense of dread or foreboding as I later found out it was meant to do. </p><p style="direction: rtl;">Having subsequently read a synopsis of the play, I realise many poignant things that were said on stage were missed by me completely. I hadn’t grasped who was related to whom, who had done what when or who most of the characters were. Seems to me that this is a performance for people who have studied the play who are already in the know. Which was evident here and there when audience members laughed (laughed?) in that in-the-know way they do to prove how brilliant they are, whereas I was sat there questioning what had been said. Many of these loud chucklers looked to be young students who I guess are studying the play at the moment </p><p>I did like the look of it though. The rain effect, the costumes, the moodiness, the way people appeared like ghosts from the rear of the stage. But I also noted that the positioning of actors on the stage was often too equally spaced in the same way they that had been directed to deliver their lines - I’ll speak then you speak and he will speak then she will speak, all in the same tempo and in strange Bostonian(?) accents. Actually, here’s a thought… had that or any US regional accent set in by that time period? Surely these early settlers had all come from various places inc England and Europe and would not have yet had a common accent..?</p><p>Anyway. I sat for five mins of the interval and wondered whether to stick it out. I pondered how I’d seen quite a few people leave already during the performance. Perhaps 18 people of varying ages. I wondered if the second half would bring it all together for me. I Googled a synopsis and realised there was too much I hadn’t already understood and so I too left to read it properly on the bus home. I later looked up reviews of this show, a few of which also said they found it strangely paced and relentless as regards the dialogue. </p><p>A shame. Disappointed. Numbed not electrified.</p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-30697681338700158122023-07-04T10:30:00.001+01:002023-07-04T10:30:00.138+01:00Remnants of Rachel Whiteread's 'House' on Wennington Green, Grove Road, East London<p>Wandering westwards along Roman Road recently from its <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5341414,-0.026716,3a,75y,243.15h,96.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sViQ0__9TDkz1Mlfo_jm6QQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DViQ0__9TDkz1Mlfo_jm6QQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D261.69363%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu">welcoming arch at the Parnell Road</a> seeing how the road has evolved from the wonderfully scuzzy and diverse market street I used to know in the 1970s when my friend's family lived nearby, I arrived at the junction of Grove Road and pondered whether to carry on to Bethnal Green, head south to Mile End, or go for wander along the canal to Hackney. There's lots to see here. Instead, I entered the green space opposite the St Barnabas church and revisited a patch of art history. </p><p>Scrutinising the ground, I found what I was looking for. A couple terracotta bricks in an L shape were partially obscured by the grass so I scraped away at the area with the soles of my shoes to better reveal them, then repeated the process at other spots close by.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghM8tUe17bb9AsrhLESe_NwZDqoXIxug2ilhvxHWFN8WZUz--5fz6QnRfY6abj8dXiEz8w_7GRgKHGirZlXbDKgYEEIQ_sKDRXAa6rgAM8gfuDtXVmNf8QUUaG16-E9qGw6uSnMaOxhA2IYInLwML6l89-NIwJvwruucQQv_1Vt_9F5q3DHj62lx1iJlk/s3768/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadHouse1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2494" data-original-width="3768" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghM8tUe17bb9AsrhLESe_NwZDqoXIxug2ilhvxHWFN8WZUz--5fz6QnRfY6abj8dXiEz8w_7GRgKHGirZlXbDKgYEEIQ_sKDRXAa6rgAM8gfuDtXVmNf8QUUaG16-E9qGw6uSnMaOxhA2IYInLwML6l89-NIwJvwruucQQv_1Vt_9F5q3DHj62lx1iJlk/w400-h265/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadHouse1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>These are some of the bricks that indicate the outline of where Rachel Whiteread's <i>'House'</i> used to be, at what was No.193 Grove Rd. To see the original house and the artwork's construction see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVueGlKQTE8" target="_blank">this film on YouTube</a>. It was here in 1993, that this major artwork was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/18/traumatised-demolition-rachel-whiteread-house-saatchi" target="_blank">demolished as Rachel won the Turner Prize that year</a>. </p><p>For the life of me I still cannot fathom how that decision was made – the demolition, not the winner of the Turner Prize! It's akin to the destruction of the Art Deco Firestone Factory in West London. Had <i>'House' </i>been on land that was earmarked for development and reconstruction then I might understand that its removal was necessary. But today there's just a large expanse of mown grass mostly used by dog walkers. </p><p>30 years ago Rachel's star was in ascendance, yet a bad decision was made to remove her innovative and thought-provoking sculpture. It always seems to me in these situations that no-one wants the 'responsibility' to be the one who authorises a controversial decision that might rock the boat. No-one wants to be the person who instigates a U-turn. The powers that be, the pen pushers, the jobsworths, the complainers, the people unable to see further than their noses, the people who just do what they are told, the contractors, the "it's out of my control, I've got a bit of paper" people who justify themselves by carrying out orders and not being personally responsible for these things. All exacerbated by non-thinking fools who just repeat whet they see in the tabloids about an 'ugly lump of concrete' yet rarely do readers visit the project themselves or attempt to understand the rationale, the meaning, the relevance to local and social history that is being told. </p><p>People who did notice me taking pics and pacing out the ground simply looked at me like I was a bit bonkers. Which I'll accept! Had they known what I was doing I am sure they'd have come over for a chat as I was being rather obvious about it. Ah Well. What's gone is gone. All that's left, three decades later, is a few bricks in the grass, but there's no explanation for them. I had expected to find something of that kind attached to one the benches that sit in the long grass within the plot, but no. </p><p>Something else I noticed that day, which I thought was bizarre, was the nearby two picnic benches: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdmep3bMPR_NYRZ7FWweGxn7qVlFclKxEnKGdPuRC_stKl7-ZhzNvVp2f5aOZThJWa-HPL88BcV8ETPtK4GkLRQFOttxBL_IW0SFh4igRX2FS2S-FNKFJMnuBa-Ov0i8VCIteZy3zeXN0W0BOeQsUQE9qVJ9DdmqJs403ECKYIX1Ps_shSvxy_NOxaXw/s3990/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadTable1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="3990" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdmep3bMPR_NYRZ7FWweGxn7qVlFclKxEnKGdPuRC_stKl7-ZhzNvVp2f5aOZThJWa-HPL88BcV8ETPtK4GkLRQFOttxBL_IW0SFh4igRX2FS2S-FNKFJMnuBa-Ov0i8VCIteZy3zeXN0W0BOeQsUQE9qVJ9DdmqJs403ECKYIX1Ps_shSvxy_NOxaXw/w400-h148/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadTable1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>These both had small cushions on them at the corners (not fixed in place) and one had a briefcase at one edge and a clip board at the other. It looked a bit religious, as if some people had just had a meeting and then wandered off, leaving their stuff behind. Is it always like this? Or was it just on that Saturday?</p><p>Then I noticed, between the adjacent bushes, some remnants of cushions and other food-related rubbish, plus a discarded Tigger stuffed toy. Looks like a dog had attacked a family picnic! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUZN8k1THq5dqo90gQb-hV8mOPpEGDZF5tQ0VnMYpnC-0izqBexwRHe1tIPcCpOBS4FsUoFaES3NPbJkX1OwA7GUFSSHhzgepru3lMsUUADVfmqm3n5Sa8a-KYnBgZDzNjHaX02QCvcY6dVR7xjHCgCohVrmznFGw6D_51HJxrAEoJMcv5Z-R6bK5XPM/s3980/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadTable2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="3980" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUZN8k1THq5dqo90gQb-hV8mOPpEGDZF5tQ0VnMYpnC-0izqBexwRHe1tIPcCpOBS4FsUoFaES3NPbJkX1OwA7GUFSSHhzgepru3lMsUUADVfmqm3n5Sa8a-KYnBgZDzNjHaX02QCvcY6dVR7xjHCgCohVrmznFGw6D_51HJxrAEoJMcv5Z-R6bK5XPM/w400-h148/JanesLondon_RachelWhitereadTable2.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>What's that all about?!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-6907843539558129122023-06-30T10:30:00.005+01:002023-06-30T10:30:00.140+01:00After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art at The National Gallery – ooh lovely!!<p>Oh my, this is good. What a lovely surprise – an absolute delight.</p><p>Just like my last post about <a href="http://www.janeslondon.com/2023/06/making-sense-of-ai-weiwei-at-design.html" target="_blank">the Ai WeiWei show</a>, I had no idea about the content here until I entered the show. Immediately I saw some fabulous works of art, many of which I knew and had seen before elsewhere, others I had seen only in print or online, and quite a lot of pieces that I had never seen or heard of before. Breathe, breathe.</p><p>It's bloody good. It's got works by all the faves, Klimt, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas, Mondriaan (yes, I did spell that correctly), Seurat, Gaugin, Picasso, Matisse, et al, including many pieces new to me being as they are from private collections, the like of which we might never see again. Ooh. Lovely. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2p0WTjbQ9fUiRtt9NiVldwulXcKxYN0uNzCnuRzngAWgmhJ41rO87KB4-OHwu0f3-8ZJLfHYDnB6UuBj6zBM5YfoFNqFRkGg3G_YPbE9eRy8m1TZwqiY9JXdG_KFXumvJpCZ4MYdZagCntdN6I4b2f3FgglX2fadk_o-jTW5LhE8Y_I-yv2XIwgElCo/s3770/JanesLondon_NatGalleryPostImp1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2494" data-original-width="3770" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2p0WTjbQ9fUiRtt9NiVldwulXcKxYN0uNzCnuRzngAWgmhJ41rO87KB4-OHwu0f3-8ZJLfHYDnB6UuBj6zBM5YfoFNqFRkGg3G_YPbE9eRy8m1TZwqiY9JXdG_KFXumvJpCZ4MYdZagCntdN6I4b2f3FgglX2fadk_o-jTW5LhE8Y_I-yv2XIwgElCo/w400-h265/JanesLondon_NatGalleryPostImp1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4azB6BeC8PHLE3CFaMVdse-46sPJ8_DugFKw8j3F7Ws8tUwN-jhPIURE8eCK6ybOzCDvFce0K08-LA1NcPT2UgAJVNswxeAO59lAIk1HWGXPMvJHqx8-2v2Fmx_VEnIhPp_P8hslelmvEkxi3emhgBjZWPKajq9z5Noc2Yqdx3aBvqgApvh1mWLvMIw/s3774/JanesLondon_NatGalleryPostImp2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2492" data-original-width="3774" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4azB6BeC8PHLE3CFaMVdse-46sPJ8_DugFKw8j3F7Ws8tUwN-jhPIURE8eCK6ybOzCDvFce0K08-LA1NcPT2UgAJVNswxeAO59lAIk1HWGXPMvJHqx8-2v2Fmx_VEnIhPp_P8hslelmvEkxi3emhgBjZWPKajq9z5Noc2Yqdx3aBvqgApvh1mWLvMIw/w400-h264/JanesLondon_NatGalleryPostImp2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>I've put together a few details here – perhaps this could be a quiz – can you recognise the artists and/or the works? </i></span></div><p>I have been told that many critics gave bad reviews about this show... Eh? Were those critics blind or lazy? Have they actually been to the show? Or, as I see often, did they copy and paste from one idiot's experience at a packed preview where the works cannot be seen due to the amount of people blocking the view? </p><p>It's on until 13th August. Ignore the critics. Make up your own mind. Just show up, buy a ticket and walk in. I'm hoping my pics are temptation enough, but if you really need more info, <a href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/after-impressionism-inventing-modern-art" target="_blank">click here</a>. </p><p>I might go a second time. Did I say I liked this?! </p>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com0