Open House Festival 2023 is 6-17 September and there are hundreds of London's unusual and inspiring buildings to visit (some of which are only open to the public for Open House). As ever, there's so much to choose from and sift through so I've done the...
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence and office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. As well as medieval buildings and historic state rooms, it contains the oldest continually cultivated gardens in Central London. However, to be perfectly frank, it's incredibly difficult to get a look inside. One...
Last week I was invited to a preview of the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace. As you probably know, it’s the official London residence of the King and typically members of the public can book to see inside the State Rooms each summer. The Diamond Jubilee...
In early May 2023 a new basement on the eastern edge of the City opened to the public. Having previously written about the developments, I was keen to visit the Vine Street Roman Wall for a closer look. The free museum is inside Emperor House and...
Within the extensive grounds of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire you can find remnants of inspiration for one of London’s most extraordinary buildings, The Crystal Palace. It gave its name to an area of London (and a football team!) but thanks to a disastrous fire you won’t...
Have you admired this dolls house-esque building on Tower Hill? This is Trinity House, an institution whose history stretches back to 1514, based here since 1794. What is Trinity House? Today Trinity House is a charity and its primary concern is the safety of shipping and mariners. It...
I was recently invited to a preview of Sambourne House, the family home of Linley Sambourne. You can find it at 18 Stafford Terrace and by stepping inside you enter a Victorian Time Capsule. Morning Room, Sambourne House Meet Linley Sambourne Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) was an illustrator...
If there’s one certainty in the City of London, it's change. Historic fires and bombs coupled with modern development means the Square Mile is in a constant state of flux. But often this means that older history is revealed anew, like this chunk of Roman...
Open House Festival 2022 runs until 21 September this year so there's even more time to visit London's unusual and inspiring buildings (some of which are only open to the public for Open House). As ever, there's so much to choose from and sift through so...
Until 23 March 2023 The London Metropolitan Archives have a free exhibition of epic London maps. As if that wasn’t enough to pique my interest, they have on display the oldest surviving map of London. This is Civitas Londonium, a print dating from c.1633 but which depicts...