London politics
fromianVisits
20 hours agoLondon's Alleys: Park Place West, Paddington, W2
The passageway behind Edgware Road has historical significance, evolving from stables to a residential complex known as Park West.
Crews have begun shedding layers of scaffolding that kept the Flatiron Building covered since before the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing New Yorkers and visitors to once again bask in its glory.
Miller and Mars scoured lower Manhattan and Brooklyn for a brownstone that would meet their needs, but it wasn't until they discovered a gem nestled on a quiet Upper West Side block that they knew they'd found the one.
The new webpage, entitled 'How have objects come to be in the V&A?', points out that for some objects, their journeys have involved known histories of violence, coercion or injustice, while for others there remains uncertainty over exactly how they came to be here.
Twelve weeks after coming on the market, the Surrey house used to portray the home of actress Maggie Smith's character, Lady Violet Crawley, found a buyer and recently closed along with several adjacent properties for nearly $9 million. Known as Dower House on the TV series, it was built around 1686.
The Grade II listed building is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register and is currently recorded as being in poor condition. The national Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC), which held the lease, has confirmed that it can no longer meet the building's repair obligations and will surrender the lease so that restoration can be carried out by new occupants.
These days, brutalist buildings are among London's most celebrated works of architecture. But it hasn't always been this way. Back in 1967, the Southbank Centre, one of the city's most striking examples of the style, was voted Britain's ugliest building by readers of the Daily Mail. In the latest indicator of just how much times have changed, today (February 10) the Southbank Centre has been awarded listed status by the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
Despite its proximity to one of London's busiest tourist attractions, its back street location is remarkably quiet and peaceful. Leading off Stafford Place, it was originally, and unsurprisingly, called Stafford Mews, as it was built as stabling for houses on Buckingham Gate, facing the palace. Constructed around 1860, the stables were simple two-storey houses, built initially with stables at the ground and accommodation above.
It's not a house of outstanding art, being a self-taught carver whose skills evidently advanced over the years, as you can see the evolution from fairly rough carving on the stairs to the very skilled work in the living room. He also created the paintings on the walls - talented chap - but never finished the carving in the living room, as his time finally ran out.
If you're an art deco architecture geek, you'll no doubt know all about Ibex House. The shimmering pale office building, which you'll find on the east side of the Minories in the City, is renowned for its long streamline moderne curves and mesmerising black-framed windows. The vast H-shaped structure is Grade II-listed and one of London's most remarkable surviving art deco buildings.
So, this late 1970s block of flats was built on the site of the former estate office. So did the red corbel come from there? Looking at a photo of the corner of Risinghill Street and Penton Street, taken in 1956, doesn't seem to offer much help, as it shows a row of shops and behind a row of terraced houses.
A Victorian drinking fountain has been restored to its original location following conservation, but it is not fully functional and cannot dispense drinking water. The Princes Circus fountain was installed in 1879 to commemorate Queen Victoria's 60th year on the throne, but was originally in a different location. It used to be a bit further north, on the junction of New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, opposite Coptic Street. In 2003, it was moved to sit in a fenced-off island space outside the Shaftesbury Theatre.