Braidwood Passage – Nicely reinvented with hand-made tiles

The scaffold has been removed and Braidwood Passage is again available as a link between Aldersgate Street and Cloth Street. It's a delight – and really uplifting to see some attractive new architecture, employing unusual bespoke decorative elements. 

This teal blue tiled wall with splashes of colour beckoned me to investigate its full length. The V-shape or zig-zag tiles form a lattice effect and are randomly interspersed with unique hand-painted designs in pinks, yellows and red by Alexis Teplin. It's a delight.

I wonder if these patterns depict something specific, or perhaps they form a whole image or design when placed together. 

The next two pics show the Cloth Street end (left) and then half-way back to Aldersgate Street looking across to The Barbican complex (right):

Nice. More about the project can me found on Fletcher Priest Architects site here. 

As I write this, I've just noticed that the City of London bollards that have been installed at both ends are not the same as the one that was at the Barbican end before the reconstruction of this site – the 'new' ones are a different shape and don't sport the coat of arms – see previous year here.

Here's the main entrance of the building which echoes the lattice zig-zag effect as panels set at an angle across the façade:

Here's hoping that the Museum of London building on the opposite side of the street (a sad loss imho) will be replaced with something similarly attractive. 

Update on the horrid revamp of Willen House, Bath Street, Moorfields, EC1– a unique example of architecture from the 1940s

Almost two and a half years ago I wrote this piece about the proposals for the overhaul of Willen House, an unusual 'art Deco' style building in Moorfields. Since then I often take a detour if I am in the area to see what's happening, approaching the building with trepidation, scared at what I might find. With so much time having elapsed, I wondered if, perhaps, the plans had changed.

Here's the building looking fab on Google Streetview in August 2022:

And here's mosaic of some of my photos showing how marvellous it looks when the sun is shing

Earlier this week, I wandered eastwards from Central Street along Lever Street towards Bath Street. The rear of Willen House appeared to be as was (phew!) and the Lever Street side seemed OK:

But, as I turned the corner into Bath Street, I was horrified to see that they've hacked away at the tiles on the corner, for what purpose I do not know. The commemorative plaque stating that this building was opened in 1948 surely meaning very little to today's property developers (see more about this further down). I hope they, at least, keep the plaque in situ.

Moving round into Bath Street, scaffolding was being erected on the Galway Street side: 

I noticed that the interiors were gutted and the ugly secondary glazing has already been removed. Sections of tiles have been chipped away in strips along the front of the building. I wondered why. But what I couldn't find a board or panel showing the plans and contact details for the contractors and architects as is normal in situations like this. 

A bit of sleuthing online and I discover that tp bennett architects is no longer listing this as a project on their site. Instead, Infrasture Investments has instructed Beachrock to create a 208-bedroom scheme at a cost of £60million, due to be completed in 2025 – a scheme that could have been slightly cheaper had they not budgeted so much money on unnecessary paint. A brochure here tells the full story. Whilst I am all for a much-needed upgrade of the interior spaces, I cannot fathom how and why Islington Council's planning department approved the alterations to the main façade.  

I am upset, disappointed, bordering on furious, at the rape of this very unusual building, constructed in the 1940s, a decade when barely anything interesting was built, let alone something of this quality, due to austerity after after WW2. Indeed, I am only aware of a couple of other developments that were constructed in the 1940s, also special in their own way:

1940 – The Coronet PH, Holloway Road, N7, was originally opened as The Savoy Cinema. Stayed open during WW2. The date 1940 can also be seen on the hoppers on Senate House (on the Russell Square side), but these are later additions being as the building was completed in 1937.

1941 – I'm pretty sure that Russell Square House, at the corner of Woburn Place, was completed in 1941. These government offices were under construction when WW2 broke out. There are some interesting ventilation grilles at low level that, to me, look like Union Jack flags.

1942–1945 – I am not aware of any buildings constructed in these years. However, in 1943, the County Plan For London was implemented.

1946 – The New River Company's Claremont Close housing development, Islington, accessed from Claremont Square.

1947 – Wall Court, Stroud Green Road, N4. This well-designed housing development was quickly followed by similar schemes in 1948 at nearby Lawson Court, Wiltshire Court and Marquis Court as well as houses in Osbourne Rd.   

1949–1950 – Nothing in my files. But, surely, there must be other residential schemes in other parts of London that I am not aware of, as well as municipal buildings, such as school, libraries, police stations and town halls...? Hmm, I wonder if they were all too busy planning exciting things for 1951's Festival of Britain. 

I am struggling to find any other examples from this decade. Please do let me know if you can add to the list. 

As I have said before, if Willen House had been constructed for/by a well-known name such as M&S there would have been a public outcry, as per the proposals that were overturned in Oxford Street. 

Let me know your thoughts.

It's a wrap! Marvellous metal in Greville Street by Groupwork + Amin Taha

I was wandering along Leather Lane becoming a bit despondent, thinking how this previously vibrant street market had completley lost its proper 'anything and everything you need' vibe as it was when I worked in the area in the early 1980s. I mused that it was still possible to buy a wide range of products here until the early 2000s. Then Covid-19 hit our street markets hard* and these days all you are likely to find here is street food, although I'd counter that buying a meal in a box that you need to sit down and eat with cutlery on a flat surface doesn't constitute street food. For instance, there are no stalls selling, bacon butties, bite-sized snacks, pretzels or pasties, never mind fried locusts on sticks. Anyway... I digress.

Memories of Leather Lane market got me thinking about the places and businesses that were in the Hatton Garden area in the early 1980s when I used to work for a small advertising agency in Bleeding Hart Yard – a name that almost people thought I'd made up – no need to swear love! I can't recall anyone back then talking about the bloody legend of the spurned lady which I only ever saw on a panel outside the wine bar in the corner of the yard. Today you can find a fuller explanation of that legend written on the windows of the pub at the corner of BHYard and Greville Street, as shown in pic above which is is a screen grab from Google dated 2020. It certainly wasn't a pub in the 1980s or else I'd have used it! A friend tells me it was a café back then, but I don't recall that. 

These days I am more interested in the building on the left side of that pic which, being a few years ago, shows a sample of what was to happen here, attached to the corner as a test piece. 

Here's what it looks like now... Well, it's marvellous. Amin Taha, the man who gave us these delights in Clerkenwell Green and Upper Street, has done it again!  

From a distance it looks like brick/stone. But on closer inspection, you'll see it's a mesh surround that allows light through to the main construction. So clever. Venture into BHYd to see how the details continue around the building. I'll leave it at that. Go see for yourself, or find out more here. 

I used to work in the building that's partially visible in the first picture, although these windows were part of my boss's office (I recall looking at lovely sunsets from here) – my drawing board/desk was on the room on the other side of the building, facing east.

*Markets – In 2011 I wrote about how London street markets were gradually diminishing. The big supermarkets offering a one-stop-shop, trollies and car parking, have been a major factor here, and I hear that youngsters are not keen to continue a stall-holding businesses when their costermonger parents retire. It's a shame. A someone who grew up in Romford with its huge bustling market, selling everything from apples and pears to records and puppies, I have fondness for stall-based shopping. 

The Terraces and Textures of Thamesmead

Last month I ventured to Abbey Wood where I attended a guided walk in Thamesmead looking at the architecture and topography of this vast residential area as well as its use as a location for many films and TV dramas. 

It was a grey day. I took a these snaps and made a mental note to return and investigate on a warmer day.

I was saddened to discover that there's nothing left of the lakeside area once trodden by The Droogs which would have been to the left of the orange signage in the pic bottom right, above. And I was amazed/confused that there seemed to be no pubs or cafés or corner shops anywhere, meaning everyone, children, old ladies etc, has to hike all the way to the shops near Abbey Wood station or use one of the mega stores that surround this zone, each one larger than an average sports hall. Mind you, considering the amount of properties here, we hardly saw any other humans at all, except for few dog walkers. I considered that everyone might be at work, but no, it was a Saturday. Perhaps the were all that the mega malls and leisure centres, or simply indoors watching TV or playing computer games?

A few weeks later I went to the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park. I was some admiring some paintings and prints of brutalist architecture (ooh the patterns, ooh the grids and lines and geometrics) and began talking to the lady next to one of the pieces only to discover that she was the artist! It's hard to fathom how I'd never discovered Mandy Payne or her work before. To cut a long story short, we got chatting and discovered that we have lots of common interests. We swopped Instagram accounts and within a few days we'd arranged to go to Thamesmead together on Monday 25th March.

Mandy had also been to this part of Thamesmead before but she hadn't seen or known about some of the places that she'd admired in my photos taken in February which I had posted on my Instagram @janeslondon account. She was enthused and clearly enthralled when we reached the raised walkways. As I'd expected, she took hundreds of photos. I took little more than the three above and the ones shown below which are mostly of some retaining walls near the lake that Mandy was also keen to see. They have an amazing crackle-glaze effect, caused where modern paint applied over un-prepped surfaces has shrivelled and peeled to create marvellous textural patterns. 

However, we are concerned that this accidental abstract art won't be visible for much longer. It looks like Bexley Council is planning to paint these walls a boring shade of mid grey, evidenced by a few test squares here and there, as shown below. This shade of grey is light absorbing rather than light reflecting and I've written before about the overuse of this ubiquitous shade of dull here. 

We also noticed that paint peeling from handrails and metalwork revealed colours of past decades, starting with peach and then blue and green, most recently overpainted in black, Black. BLACK! What's this obsession with monotone? But, on the plus side, the subtle pastel effect created by what I think is different shades white paint is lovely, especially when contrasted with the vibrant natural greens of the healthy moss and lichen that is growing in the cracks and along the tops of the walls.

And then Mandy took me to see something that I'd somehow missed when I had visited the first time. A raised terrace above the convenience store has seating and what I guess could have originally been constructed as structures for basketball hoops. One of them is painted a gorgeous vibrant red (much more exhilarating than black or grey) and the metal seats show a palimpsest of colours throughout the decades

My last two pics, are of some windows above one of the many rows of garages there, designed for cars that were much smaller back in the 1960s and 70s. I was thinking, as I watched the pigeons walk along the roof, that these buildings resembled bird lofts. And then I noticed my initials JP on the glass!

Back to London central on the Elizabeth Line. I returned to Islington and Mandy went to do something in Paddington. As I write this she is on another train heading back to her home and studio in Sheffield. Thanks Mandy, and see you again soon for another brutalist appreciation session!

Devils, Demons and Dragons

Oh how my eyes roll when I hear that daft story about why these delightful demons leer down over Cornhill in the City of London. If you don't know what I talking about, go google. I mean, really, eh?! If true, why did the clergy leave them in place? They are indeed unique in form, possibly one-offs, but they aren't the only sculptures of this type in London – you need only to look up and around you to see that London is splattered with fabulously devilish embellishments akin to these fellas. And I'm not here talking about gargoyles and grotesques on churches and the like.

To illustrate my point, I've put together here a selection of some of my favourites, starting a few minutes' walk from these little demons. And I'll start at the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Cannon Street where there are lots of strange lumpy lizards:

At first glance the building resembles a triangular wedding cake, but look closer and see that between the windows on the upper floors there are many different dragon-like beasts, each one totally unique as if made by a different person. 

From here, continue along Queen Victoria St to The Blackfriars public house where you'll find these two spooky fellas in amongst all the other marvellous embellishments there:

Next, to another public house, and probably my favourite London demons. Every time I am near Paddington Station I have to make a detour to check that this old Truman's pub with its its unusual adornments is still intact:

 

Many residential properties built in the late Victorian to Edwardian era feature baying dragons above the front windows. These, I think, would have been available from the equivalent of today's Wickes or Travis Perkins builders supplies store:

And then there are serpents and mythological beasts on door knobs in Marylebone, under windows in Kensington and climbing up many different kinds of buildings, such as here in Chancery Lane:

You'll find them on tiled shop fronts in Kensington, splattered liberally across the exterior of St Pancras Hotel, or lurking within panels and friezes as per here (below) on a Fulham pub, or sitting atop other watering holes in Earls Court and Clapton: 

Aren't they fabulous?! Fantastically fabulous!

A new architectural style in Spitalfields, E1 - Revivialist Pasticheism

Walking from Aldgate to Old Street last weekend via Spitalfields market, I cut across Wentworth Street and into Toynbee Street. Ahead of me, on the right, I saw an Art Deco style building. I stopped in my tracks – this definitely wasn't there a few years ago and I recalled a ramshackle mess of low-level buildings along that north side, covered in posters and graffiti, as shown below, top left, and here on retrospective streetview. This new building is quite clearly a modern take on the late 1930's style of architecture complete with geometric motifs. Indeed, on the front of it proudy shows 2021. How bizarre.

I contunued along the street to find more pastiche structures in the form of late Georgian workshops, and Victorian warehouses, all with strangely colourful windows frames, and another 1930s-style building in grey tones at the far end. 

I went to investigate the other side of the block in Commercial Street and found that a Jazz Age façade now replaces some derelict low level buildings at the rear/front of the black-tiled building in Toynbee Street. 

What is going on here? If these were reconstructions of the buildings previously demolished here I'd kind of understand the point of it. But that's clearly not the case. This appears to be some kind of showcase of the kinds of buildings you might have found in the area sometime in the past. A bit touristy and cheesy in my view. Sort of like the set of a cartoon movie.

Is it that today's architects run out of new ideas?

What do you think? Do you have any further info?

Next week I will post about two lost Art Deco gems in this area.

Criminal loss of curved Art Deco windows at Balenciaga, New Bond Street

I am often to be heard talking about how surprising it is that many of the marvellously constructed and well-embellished buildings along Old/New Bond Street are not listed at least Grade II. This, I assumed/hoped was because the kind of companies who trade here are aware and proud of the beautiful buildings in which their products were being sold and they simply look after the heritage they inherit. Indeed, one only has to look at the excellent revamp by Victoria's Secret at the northern end of New Bond Street, where many of the modern shopfittings installed a decade ago were cleverly created with modern products to appear as if they have been there since the 1930s. The outside of that building is stunning, never mind the gorgeous glass staircase inside.  

But this post is about what I believe is criminal damage/wanton destruction at 24-25 New Bond St, on the corner of Conduit Street, where beautiful, possibly unique, curved windows at ground level that meandered in and out of the supporting columns as a wavy curtain of glass, shown above (Google Streetview screengrab) are no longer there.  

Form the late 1930s, this building used to be home to C. J. Lytle Ltd, as shown by this marvellously evocative pic from 1948. More recently, until 2020, it was a branch of Russell & Bromley who made excellent use of the undulating glass as shown in the Google streetview pic above. When R&B moved out, the windows were individually covered, as shown in my pic below from Feb2021. Phew, I thought, the are being protected, they'll be fine.

When Balenciaga took over the building they installed big bright green hoardings around the curtilage (I love that word!) as shown here in June2021. I continued to naively assume that this was to protect the lovely windows, that they were simply performing a bit of TLC behind there. I mean, who would remove what surely must be some of the best curved glass in London? 

But last Easter weekend, whilst walking past, leading a guided tour, I stopped in my tracks, exclaimed, "No!" and then had to explain to the group why I was so shocked, even though this was not the subject of the walk on that day.

The gorgeous curves and undulations have been removed and replaced. The windows are now flat plate glass and the columns have been boxed in. Balenciaga are so proud of their new boxy space that on their website here they call this 'a treat' – I call it a 'blandification' and I think Villanelle, that character in BBC's Killing Eve who has been pictured sporting Balenciaga's expensive boots, would call this renovation "BORE-RING!"

It's amazing that Balenciaga didn't go the whole hog and install chickenshop-style UPVC doors and windows as this is barely a step up from that. I am so upset. But you understood that paragraphs ago(!).

It occurred to be that the gorgeous glass curves were very similar to other excellent shop fronts created and installed by Pollards such as here and I was hoping that when those green hoardings came down I might be able to find one of Pollards' patent marks embedded in the metal edges. But now that's not possible. And, to add insult to injury, I was convinced that I had taken some good close-up photos of those curved windows a while back when R&B was still trading here, and was hoping that I could include those images as slides for one of my online talks about Art Deco buildings, but now, frustratingly, I now cannot find them. Let's hope they show up and it's just because I simply didn't get around to naming the files. 

Update March2026– I still haven't found those pics. But here's a curve-ball... I have found evidence of the corner of Conduit Street in 1948 here on RIBA pix, which clearly shows that the curved windows were not a pre-war concoction. It shows that Russell & Bromley were already there at that time and they must have installed the undulating glass at a later date, I know not when. 

It's a huge loss when cleverly-designed bespoke elements are renovated or removed. A similar example can be found at No.1 New Bond Street at the Ralph Lauren flagship store, a building that resembles a Byzantine-style palace which, in 1939, was home to The National Provincial Bank, F.W.Woolworths, CondeNast publishing, and offices of the aforementioned C.J.Lytle advertising before they moved to the Balenciaga site later that year. Today the Ralph Lauren store sports plate glass at street level but here's a link to how it used to look in 1955. I do not know when the ground floor windows were altered, although many buildings of this type suffered blandifications in the 1960s and 1970s in an attempt to remove what was then seen as fussy embellishments. A similar thing occurred at the Louis Vuitton store, on the corner of Clifford Street but, on the plus side, LV must be commended for a revamp a few years ago when they altered the lower external façade to echo the designs within the upper floors, which is marvellous.

Let's hope that the curved glass windows have been repurposed elsewhere. If I find out more, I will add to this post.

The Balenciaga and the Ralph Lauren buildings feature on my Burlington Deco guided walk which is all about the shops, clubs and designer goods of the Jazz Age and 1930s. 

Please help to save the unusual 'Art Deco' style façade of Willen House, Bath Street

If you have been on my 'Art Deco Shoreditch' walking tour you will know that a popular and provocative stop along the route is Willen House at 8-26, Bath St, London EC1V 9DX. 

It is such an unusual building because it looks to be 1930s, yet it was constructed soon after WWII, opening in December 1948 as shown within a plaque on the Lever Street corner. For the past few decades the building has been student accommodation and has suffered from a lack of care, the secondary double-glazing being particularly shabby.

Earlier this month, whilst out walking with some like-minded friends, I noticed seven information sheets in the windows of Willen House to the left of the main Bath Street entrance outlining tp bennett LLP's proposed changes for an upgrade to the building. Keen to keep up with my friends, I took some quick phone snaps so that I could read the info at a later date. And a good job I did that otherwise I would have been moaning about it for the rest of that day. The planned changes will effectively make it look like a new structure rather than a carefully-restored and adapted building. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. 

Having checked the 'work' section of tp bennett's website I can find no mention of this project to provide a link for you, so I have included my photos of the info sheets below (scroll down to the end) which, incidentally, were affixed L-R in reverse order which is itself sloppy.

I can also find no reference of these proposals on Buildington, which suggests to me that this is considered a cosmetic change, being that planning permission might not be needed here.

I have written a letter of complaint to the architects (see below) which I have cc'd to other parties who I think should be alerted to this insensitive shambles. 

Please note that it is the original exterior of the building that is worth saving here due to the quality of the products used. The interior was merely open spaces used as offices, storage and showrooms and, as such, would not have been in any way as impressive as the street-facing elements apart from, perhaps, the managing director's office which might have had some of-the-period interior design, but this would surely have been removed or altered when the building was converted for use a student accommodation. 

If you are also concerned about these proposals, please do write a letter of complaint yourself and make this issue known to any other parties you think could assist in preserving this unique and unusual building. 

For an idea of how the grey-washing of this will look, see what has happened to nearby Gilray House

..........................................

tp bennett LLP
One America Street
London SE1 0NE
willenhouse@tpbennett.com
Date: 12th January 2022
Re: Willen House Consultation / Revamp of Willen House, 8-26, Bath St, London EC1V 9DX 

I lead guided walks across London and have a keen interest in architecture, especially the ‘Art Deco' era. One of the most popular stops along my Shoreditch and Finsbury route has always been Willen House, especially when I explain to the group that this is not a 1930s building; that it was actually constructed just a few years after WWII and is therefore very unusual, not only for its lovely warm tones and quality of products used, but also because very few buildings were built at this time and certainly not to this excellent standard using quality products.
Earlier this month, whilst walking past the building, I noticed in the windows some information sheets that illustrate how tp bennett, a company who I have until this point respected and promoted, in the main for the excellent work created and overseen by Thomas Bennett back in the 1930s (such as, for instance, well-designed residential blocks in St John’s Wood and Westminster), is here planning to disguise almost all the original features which make Willen House so special and worthy of preservation.
Willen House is very unusual. There were only a handful of buildings constructed in the 1940s in London. This building has distinct ‘Art Deco’ styling yet, as the plaque on the Lever Street corner shows, it was completed in 1948 and opened on 7th December by W. Barrie, J. P., the then Mayor of Finsbury, hinting at how important an achievement this was to the borough and to the Willen Key Company at that time.
I have long been of the opinion that the Willien Key Company, which was founded in Battersea by James Walker in 1903, and moved to this area in 1923, had already planned and prepared for this building just prior to WWII, hence the quality of the products which would have been sourced or produced beforehand and the speed with which they were able to construct showroom, offices and warehouse. With much of the area devasted by bombs, the company, with their well-made locks and other property protection devices, would have been a business that was much-needed post-war, the products needed to secure homes and businesses in the surrounding area, indeed beyond.
The fabric of the building has indeed suffered since the Willen Key Company moved out and certainly now needs some attention, especially the interior, the windows, and rear of the building. However, the Bath Street façade with its tiled elements surely just need a good clean up. The tiles are now almost 75 years old and have stood the test of time well. The soft warm tone of the building is both delightful and unusual.
What appears to be proposed here is that the Bath Street façade is to be re-modelled and re-coloured to better tie in with the products used for the new build at the rear, effectively adapting the old to visually match modern cheap-to-install products, rather than making the new additions tie in with the quality and colour of the existing structure.
I am appalled and very disappointed to see that the plan is to cover, and therefore eradicate, the lovely warm beige tones that evoke a Mediterranean sunset, as well as the soft fluted tiles and the unusual chocolate brown double-stripe detail that frames those areas, in dull shades of monochrome that will over time become even more grey and dull, especially on dark or cooler days.
The integrity of Willen’s original building will be lost of these changes are implemented. A reference is made to the changes being “a nod to the past” and that the aim is “to refresh and enhance” yet it is evident that what we see here, is not a sympathetic renovation but a complete makeover that will make the building look like a pastiche of the streamline-moderne, such as in nearby Bunhill Row.
I have been advised that the proposed renovation has an approximate life of 10 years and that pale-coloured renders on north/east-facing walls are prone to patches of green mould during the first winter, producing an on-going suede effect. Application of this unnecessary coating will require damaging the surface of the tiles to make a key, whether by sand-blasting or abrasion, thus ruining them forever. This is irresponsible and far from eco-friendly in many respects. We need only to look many reclaimed pub and shop façades to clearly see how the scars made by paint application and its subsequent indelicate removal processes have caused irreparable damage.
As regards changes, additions and renovations to the rest of the Willen building, I agree that the windows are indeed in need of replacement. However, there are many good quality double-glazed units available these days with fine, thin, profiles/frames, both Crittall-style metal or UPV.
I am keen to know if the plaque on the Lever Street corner will be retained in these renovation plans, as surely it should be. A similar unsympathetic ‘white-washing’ of the past can be found in nearby City Road where Buckley Gray Yeoman’s external renovation of The Epworth Press building uses a too-bright iridescent white coating over the original soft ivory/natural-coloured faience tiles. It is ironic here that the iridescence does not sit well with the natural colour employed by the architects for the additional upper floors.
Conversely, for a reference of how renovations of this kind can be sympathetically achieved, please see this example at The Drapery, by Brooks Murray Architects where a once messy site has been cleverly adapted and repurposed to marvellous effect.
I look forward to your reply, or at least an acknowledgment of this letter

Jane Parker / www.janeslondonwalks.com / jane@janeslondon.com / @janeslondon

I had no idea 'materiality' was a word until I read this – try saying it out loud – it's almost impossible!