Bishopsgate Institute

Bishopsgate Institute boasts a library that is independent, public and free as well as hosts cultural events and courses for adults held at the institute. Opening in 1895, it has since then become a tour de force in opening minds and challenging perceptions. It is not only known for its collections and programmes but it has a rich history to it. The institute was built ‘for the benefit of the public to promote lectures, exhibitions and otherwise the advancement of literature, science and the fine arts’ are met from the initial concepts to this present day.

In 1891, a scheme was green lit for a library to be opened by the Charity Commissioners, using funds from donations covering 500 years to the parish of St Botolph without Bishopsgate. In 1893, the plans for the institute were laid down and the charity set up. Interests piqued as they set up a marquee outside the site in 1893. In 1894, the institute was completed and opened up by Prime Minister, Lord Roseberry. 

Reverend William Rogers headbust statue in the Boardroom

A key figure in the development was Reverend William Rogers, who pushed for educational reform and free libraries. He saw through the whole development and made sure that the goals for the original charitable intentions of the build were met. He believed that intellectual wellbeing succeeded spiritual wellbeing and hung theology and religion. Reverend William Rogers wanted to create a scheme for the poor and to further educate young people to continue on their learning past 11 years of age. For the grand opening of the institute, Reverend Rogers held a ceremony which included a ball, floral displays and a live band. The platform was open for anyone to attend. 

"BI" branding on stairwell

Through a design competition, Charles Harrison Townsend designs was chosen to represent the architecture of the building. The competition was kept anonymous as the choice was done as to not get in a well-known architect. He employed Art Nouveau and from his interests, arts and crafts influences from Romanesque and Byzantine architecture, which is apparent in the building from the arch entrance, mosaic floor, and twin roof turrets. Townsend affections towards the “Tree of Life” themes of fruit and flower motifs are carried throughout the designs. The design flows and is very organic showing off the maturity of the institute. In other aspects of the institute’s design was that they became early adopters of branding at a time when it was ever conceived as you’ll notice the initials “BI” sprawled in some places in the institute and most notably on the stairs from the hallway leading up to the upper levels of the boardroom.

The Great Hall is also referred to as the oyster room having found many pots of oyster shells during refurbishments. During the Elizabethan times, oysters were cheaply obtained and highly available. Townsend design of the hall was to allow natural skylight and floor light to come through. Because many of a lecture was held in the halls with lanterns, Townsend planned and located exits all around the hall for quick evacuations in case a fire broke out. The floor was made with solid oak that was fireproof.

By the early 20th century, interest activities started to spring up with from hobby horse combat to Christmas parties. During the First World War, changes started to come in with introductions to a whole new wave of activities such as social dances, fundraising, treasure hunts, table tennis and badminton. A pipe organ was built in by Townsend for music concerts.

There was once a newsroom and reading room at the institute where there were big stands to hold the enormous newspapers that were printed on large sheets of papers. Because newspapers were so expensive then and the newspaper was free to read in the institute, it became a popular destination to get the latest fix on news so much so that a time was required to be imposed for each person that wanted to read it.

Not only that, the institute became a hub for information in the corridors to the library, which held statistical information regarding gains and losses much like the exchange. It also held job board advertisements.

The library’s lamps were replaced and replicated to the originals and the shelves are all of the originals in the library. The bookcases still retains the step at the bottom and handles to the side so as to reach books on the higher shelves. This proved a problem at an earlier time, when ladies didn’t want peeing toms to be eyeing her up so the reading room was split between males and females. The problem was further addressed when a catalogue of the books and archives were implemented. One noticeable feature of the library is the dome glass roof which is of the Nouveau style. The glass pane was damaged when an IRA bomb exploded at St Mary Axe causing great damage to the vicinity which included St Helen’s Bishopsgate.

The archives holds donated items from charities such as Stonewall and Shelter, which show the sheer volume in the institute’s social and radical collection. The basement to the archives is where some of their collections are held, where books are also binded and restored in a temperature controlled environment.

George Howell’s desk resides in the library/archives, which was restored in 2002. In 1848, George Howell started himself off in Chartism and later, he got involved with the bricklayers strike having become involved in trade unionism in 1861. He also successfully campaigned for urban male household suffrage with the Reform Act which was passed in 1867. He was elected as secretary to the TUC’s Parliamentary Committee in 1871 and then Liberal MP for Bethnal Green from 1885 to 1895. He was the first labour historian. In 1906, His collection of books and pamplets that covered 19th century political and economic issues were acquired by the governers of the Bishopsgate Institute.

Ronald Heaton was chief of Lewisham Library until he moved to Bishopsgate Institute to work as the librarian there. He was heavily involved in running concerts for the institute. He kept on working for the institute and has become a permanent fixture of the institute. A portrait of him can be found in the library.


Courtyard Room

Refurbishments took place in 1994 which saw an 18th century house Brushfield Street added into Bishopsgate Institute. In 1997, light fittings and a colour scheme were both added in the library. From 2009 to 2011, a £7.2 million renewal programme to bring the institute to the highest standards helmed by Charles Sheppard Architects.

Upper Hall

Boardroom

Bishopsgate Institute holds programmes ranging from talks and discussions to social dances and concerts. On Friday lunchtime, they hold music concerts in partnership with the City Music Society. They do a range of courses for adults which centred on language, performing arts and culture. The library there is free and open to all to use, with a massive collection on London and political history including archives of Freedom Press and the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA).

The Barbican Muse

The Barbican Muse is a sculpture suspended near the entrance to the Barbican Centre. Commissioned by Theo Crosby in 1993, the 6.1 metres long sculpture created by Matthew Spender, features a woman holding tragedy and comedy masks. It was installed in 1994 as to “float, glow and point the way” for visitors to get to the Barbican from the walkway from Moorgate Station. It was cast in fibreglass and gilded after.

#BarbicanMuse

Heartbeat - Charles Pétillon

10,000 balloons float in Covent Garden Piazza as Charles Pétillon brings his Heartbeat art installation to the Square. The installation was unveiled on 27 August and will be there until 27 September 2015.

The installation is inspired by Covent Garden’s heritage, pioneer in being the first public space as well as the liveliness of the West End. The white light that pulsates from the balloons represent the history, change and energy of the area. The installation took 25 people over 5 nights to install which measures at 54 metre long and 12 metre wide.

“The balloon invasions I create are metaphors. Their goal is to change the way in which we see the things we live alongside each day without really noticing them. With Heartbeat I wanted to represent the Market Building as the beating hear of London’s lie. Each balloon has its own dimensions and yet is part of a giant but fragile composition that creates a floating cloud above the energy of the market below. This fragility is represented by contrasting materials and also the whiteness of the balloons that move and pulse appearing as alive and vibrant as the area itself.” – Charles Pétillon

Around the corner in Unit 5 of the Royal Opera House Arcade is a pop-up gallery of Charles Pétillon showcasing photographs and other works.

#CoventGardenBalloons

Society of Antiquaries of London - Magna Carta Through the Ages

Magna Carta Through the Ages is an exhibition at the Society of Antiquaries of London held on 26 May to 31 July 2015. Conservations work were done on the 1215 draft and 1225 reissue of the Magna Carta by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Art Conservation Project, which is shown in this exhibition. The exhibition showcases three lots of Magna Carta and its reiterations, giving the history behind them.

Magna Carta Through the Ages

In January 1215, key members of the Baronial Elites demanded the reissue of the Coronation Charter that was created by Henry I which aimed to “abolish evil customs by which the kingdom of England has been unjustly oppressed”. King John at the time tried to find a leeway so said to them that he would make a decision on “Law Sunday” on 26 April (first Monday after Easter). King John and those that opposed him approached Pope Innocent to seek support from the Pope. The Pope, however, got behind King John which caused a rift between the King and Barons.

On 5 May 1215, the Barons performed the ceremony of diffidatio thus cutting ties with the king. A siege of sorts occurred when the citizens of London open the gates to the Barons with the latter declaring that they will not make peace until both parties came to an agreement. King John finding no way out agreed to the reissue of the charter.

In May 1215, the Barons were no longer happy with the reissue as well as growing demands wanted charters to be created for the Barons. Their demands were recorded first in the Unknown Charter (mid-late May) and the Articles of the Barons (10 June). In them, further changes were made with particular grievances addressed such as service in the King’s army in Poitou and raising of the war tax (also known as scutage). They Barons wanted to limit the King’s power so that he can rule accordingly to the law so the security clause was introduced (C. 49 in Articles of the Barons and C. 61 in the Magna Carta). The clause states that the King must follow the terms of the agreement even if he is reluctant to do so. Final terms of agreement were done during, what was known as Runnymede, which ran from 15 to 19 June.

The Black Book of Peterborough

A discarded draft of the Magna Carta was sent to Peterborough Abbey. The text was reproduced to become the Cartulary, which also contained information relating to the Abbey’s land. Upon the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538, a lot of the land was seized by ther King. Some of the land was given to William Cecil, who also obtained the Black Book of Peterborough, and some others were given to Baron Burley, who established the fist most famous and politically influential dynasty.

In 1778, Brownlow Cecil, ninth Earl of Exeter, donated the Black Book of Peterborough to the Society of Antiquaries of London as well as the English translation of the book. The Black Book has remained with the society ever since then. The society expressed the gratitude for his generosity saying Cecil “expressed their most respectful acknowledgements and thanks to his Lordship for his very curious and valuable present.

The Great Seal of the Magna Carta

King John did not sign any of the Charters, instead authrorised his Chancellor to mark it with the Great Seal so as to officiate the documents. 1 of 4 1215 Magna Carta with the Great Seal survived but was horrendously damaged in a fire in 1731.

In 1733, John Pine engraved the writing of the original Magna Carta in a readable format so that the text itself was preserved. He created a depiction of the seal and recreated the 25 coats of arms of King John’s Batons which encased the text. This was obtained by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1842. The exhibition only contained later copies so they would not have been stamped.

Halesowen Abbey Scroll

The 1215 Magna Carta was almost annulled by the Pope but a reissue by the minority government of King John’s son Henry III in 1216 and 1217. In 1225, Henry III come of age and was able to issue a definitive Magna Carta. He issued a contemporary which is believed to have come from the Halesowen Abbey. It became a companion to the 1217 Magna Carta which included the Charter of the Forest which included the government of royal forests. The Halesowen Abbey was founded by Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, who formed the early foundation for the basis of Henry III. The monks created their own Magna Carta which could be somehow connected to Henry III’s connection to the Bishop.

In 1558, the scroll was acquired by the Lyttelton family. Bishop Charles Lyttelton was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and became president in 1765 until death. He left the scroll to the society upon his death.

A Debate between Fellows

William Blackstone, who was a lawyer, wrote The Great Charter and Charter of the Forest which differentiated all the different Magna Cartas. This eventually led to his recommendation for election as a Fellow of the Society and his recommendation said that he was “particularly skilful in the legal and historical Antiquaries of our country”.

Bishop Lyttelton allowed Blackstone to view the Halesowen Abbey Scroll and then his private collection. Their relationship was not always rosy as Blackstone accused the scroll as not of the original. In January 1761, he wrote a paper defending his decision.

In 1762, he was elected as a Fellow of the society and yet again presented a paper that the scroll was not the original saying he had “decisive proof, or at least a violent presumption, that this Roll never passed the Great Seal”.

The Hart Book of Statutes

The 14th century volume is a collection of statutes of written laws brought together by the country’s legislative body but it is not known who commissioned this piece. It was compiled for use by the lawyers and administrator. Henry III’s 1225 Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest is incorporated in the Hart Book of Statutes showing the importance and how accepted the Charter was. It was exhibited and presented by Wulliam Henry Hart to the Society on 6 March 1862.

Presented on the side of the book are two examples of 16th Century printed editions of the Magna Carta. One from 1508, which is the first printed edition of the Magna Carta created by Richard Pynson and is possibly donated by John Bruce. The other is of Richard Pynson’s rival Robert Redman who created the first English translated edition of the Magna Carta with the copy in the exhibition possibly donated by Dr Edwin Freshfield.

#MagnaCarta

Royal Academy of Arts - Summer Exhibition 2015

The Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition was held this year from 8 June to 16 August 2015 and was curated by Michael Craig-Martin. From 12,000 submissions, it was whittled down to 1,100 showcasing a spectrum of artwork ranging from prints, paintings photography to installations, showing off a summer worth of vibrant art. Some of the artworks will be sold off to fund for RA’s free tuitions which has been offered for nearly 250 years.
The artworks able to viewed and admired in person, but the artworks are available online which can be viewed individually or done as a digital tour of the gallery. Not only that, this exhibition is has a sense of inclusiveness where visitors can immediately experience the exhibition even without a ticket to the event such as Conrad Shawcross’s The Dappled Light of the Sun which was situated on the outside in the courtyard of RA. Visitors are then dazzled and enticed by the colours of Jim Lambie’s Kaleidoscope Staircase as it leads up to the exhibition’s main doors.

The exhibition as a whole as it plays every detail of placements and colours combined with different art that plays on the tip of the tongue. This is apparent in the vision of Michael Craig-Martin as he has complete visuals and control as he plays on the use of space through different mediums. An example is of the Lecture Room, where I find that too much sculptures in one room can power over each other sometimes, but the use of sky blue-coated rooms in the room create space for each sculpture to breath and truly be appreciated individually.

Below are some works that were featured in the exhibition:

Matthew Darby Shire - Captcha No. 11 (Doryphoros)

Nigel O'Neill - 5 Colour Painting 4 and 5

Michael Craig-Martin - Untitled (Watch)

Gumuchdjian Architects - Lake Spa & Garden Pool

Liam Gillick - Applied Projection Rig

 #SummerExhibition

 

DNA Trail

Cancer Research have come up with 21 giant DNA sculptures inspired by the DNA double helix form, which are designed by artists, designers and sculptors around the world. They form a trail around London to raise aware and funds to put forwards in constructing the Francis Crick Institute in King’s Cross to carry out research and make breakthroughs. The trail is being held from 29 June to 6 September 2015 (10 weeks) with the Auction taking place in September.

I found that it was much more preferable to go during the weekday when the offices and galleries are open, which I found the hard way when I approached some complexes to only find out that it was closed. If you want to get up close and see the sculptures directly in front of you, then the best shot would be the weekdays. Even more to the fact I mainly chose the wrong times to go searching for these sculptures (peak lunchtime!) and having to tell a lot of people to hop off so I can point my camera and snap. It’s also a far-reaching opportunity to visit sites such as the Royal Opera House, head down to South Kensington for a trio of museums or even do some shopping in the West End. Along the trail, there are facts about the DNA found on each sculpture plaque.

Changes were made to Ted's Helix of Haberdashery by Ted Baker, which had a cat and mouse pieces affixed on it, but were sadly removed until they are replaced on auction due to the mouse sustaining damage (I suspect foul play).

1. The Journey by Guy Portelli - Royal Albert Hall, South Steps, SW7 2AP

2. Untitled 1 by Ai Weiwei - Christie’s window, 85 Old Brompton Rd, SW7 3LD

3. Colours Through Speed by Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar - South Kensington Station, Pelham Street, SW7 2NB

4. Growing Stem by Orla Kiely - Dovehouse Green, King's Road, SW3 5UF

5. Double Helix Noir by Thierry Noir - Duke of York Square, King's Road, SW3 4LY

6. Double Dutch Delft Blue DNA by Chris & Xand van Tulleken - Victoria Station, near WH Smith, SW1E 5ND

7. Soul by Aston Martin - Cardinal Place window, 80 Victoria Street, SW1E 5JL

8. Mayoral Helix by Mayor of Westminster - Great George Street, outside No. 10, SW1P 3AE

9. Ted's Helix of Haberdashery by Ted Baker - Broadwick Street near Carnaby Street, W1F 9PE

10. Silver by Michael Howells - Top of South Molton Street, Bond Street, W1K 5RG

11. Untitled 2 by Ai Weiwei - Darren Baker Gallery window, 81 Charlotte Street, W1T 4PP

12. Life by Darren Baker - Trafalgar Square, WC2H 0HE

13. Creativity for Survival by Pilar Enrich - Trafalgar Square, WC2H 0HE

14. Enigma by Jane Morgan - Coutts window, The Strand, WC2R 0Q

15. Helix by Zaha Hadid - Stamp Staircase Basement, South Wing, Somerset House, WC2R 1LA

16. Chromo by Tim Ashley - Waterloo Station, outside M&S, SE1 8SW

17. Birth of the Universe by Andrew Logan - Festival Gardens, St Paul's, EC4M 8AD

18. After The Race by Ross Brawn - Peter's Hill, St Paul's, EC4V 5EY

19. Bios by Nick Gentry - Barbican Centre, Foyer of Cinema 2 & 3, Beech Street, EC2Y 8AE

20. Orange Tree by Leyla Aliyeva - King's Cross Station, near Leon, N1C 4T

21. Ascension - Twisted Ladder in Wood by Benjamin Shine - St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston 

#DNAtrail