Open House 2014

Do all nosey Londoners know about Open House?  Here is our story.

The house is now open and we rush to the queue,
Avoiding all eye contact, excited by the new.

Returning at four, we ascend the back of  'elephant and calf',
To view a vista of construction, corporate law firms making room for more staff,

Packed into the square mile, we notice 'Adult Ed.' runs rife,
See you next year, if you're tired of London you're tired of ......

What we did

Saturday
Gresham College.  Moved to Barnard's Inn Hall in 1991, a small medieval hall on High Holborn.  A centre of delivery of free adult lectures.

Gresham College- Barnard's Inn Hall

Dr Johnson's House

Dr Johnson's House.  A four story Georgian town house )1/2 price to NT members.)  Full of Johnson memorabilia including a replica dictionary.  The house is in a curious fragment of old London set amongst the mass of modern city buildings.

The Haberdashers Hall.  A bit of old London, set in modern London.  I enjoyed talking to the architects.


 St Mary Le Bow.  The rector, George Bush, author on an authoritative book on the church, gave us a talk for two to three hours. (I exaggerate, he told us about the good old times when sermons had to be long, as they often are in Africa.)

 The crypt (or undercroft) has roots going back to Lanfranc, the first Norman Archbishop.  We learnt that the bow in question related to the norman arches which we suggested to be symbolic of Norman domination in the city, much like British architecture in India.  The restored Wren church moved the tower to Cheapside with a balcony, an illusion to royal observation of jousting tournaments taken place below in Cheapside.

1 New Change, a new shopping centre with public access to it's roof.  Here a fine view of St Pauls exists for free.  I also noticed for the first time that the top of dome is cut away to reveal small windows.  Also a number of imperfections are made apparent from the new perspective.

we then crossed the Millenium Bridge and joined the throngs of people promenading along the South Bank, past the New Globe, Southwark Cathedral, and the Shard.

Sunday
Christchurch Spitalfields-  8.30 service in the chancel.  I met Derrick Stride again after 29 years.  His wife Tej is a headteacher now.

We abandoned Finsbury Circus after being warned of at least one hours wait.  We moved on to the Piper Model of the City in the Guildhall.  This is a beautifully constructed 1.500 model of the City, with explanations from the model maker himself.

The Piper's Model of London

Then on to the Bishopsgate Institute.  This is another place of Adult Education.

Bishopsgate Inititute Libary 

Next a journey across London to see the Friends Meeting House in Hampstead.

We then returned to the city via a Gilbert Scoot (office) designed water tower for St Pancras steam trains.

Our final building was 20 Crown Place (Pinsent Masons HQ).   Two stylish glass towers, a mother Elephant and calf (?),  We were taken by Simon (young lawyer with big heart, giving up his Sunday for the public) to the 15th floor roof garden for a view across the tower cranes of the city.  We mused that London was on an eternal cycle of destroying and rebuilding office blocks to house the lawyers needed to conduct such complex financial options.

Tension built as the city filled with queuing people and
manic racers furtively examining maps, and street signs