Berkeley Sqare Gardens

Berkeley Square Gardens is a green space in Mayfair, London, which dates back to the 1740’s. It houses different sculptures which are rotated to different pieces yearly. The garden has come quite a way from its hey-day.

In 1727, Berkeley Square Garden was built as an enclosed space. It had a water meadow that ran off the River Tyburn which was situated just south of the square. The Vestry minutes referred to meadow as the “the Common Sewer”.

 

Arrangements were made through an agreement between the 4th Lord Berkeley, his son and two carpenters Cook and Hilliard, who developed the square. 3 ½ acres were enclosed on the south and west end by “dwarf wall and wooden rails and pallisadoes set thereon.”

Emily Young - Earth/Cassandra II (2014)

There was no upkeeping of the garden of laying it out and keeping the garden tidy, as no one took responsibility of the garden. It was then enclosed for strict access during the mid-1740s.

 

During the 1760s, the railings and walls of the garden were taken down and by 1766, the garden “had gone to ruin”. An Act of Parliament was granted to enclose and adorn the square as proposed by residents who took it into their own hands to plan for fencing and laying of the garden. In the same year of 1766, the act gave residents the power to “raise money to pave, light and adorn the space”, which caused the rates to rise for the maintenance of the square.

“The plan approved at Gwynn’s Tavern in Berkeley Square. There is a grass plot in the middle, a gravel walk around, and iron pallisadoes; but there is no statue or bason in the middle. The undertaker of the work has engaged to finish it completely for £7,000.”

 

The following year, fences were up and the grounds laid with the layout kept to the original. A report from 1767 says that the square became “a handsome green walk next the railing, then a terras walk, and the rest laid out as a grass plot”. London Plane trees were later planted in 1789 by Edward Bourverie and is said to be the oldest Plane trees in London.

A statue of George III was erected but was taken down and replaced by a pump house/gazebo, which still stands there today. The statue was an equestrian sculpture cast in lead made by French sculptor Beaupre. But due to weather conditions and the weight of the rider, the legs of the horse snapped off, consequently causing it to be removed in 1827.

31 years later, Henry (3rd Marquess of Lansdowne) commissioned a nympy statue created by Alexander Munro in 1858, which was created of Carrara marble. It was located on the south side outside of the park offering water to any passer-by. It was later relocated inside the square when a path was laid leading up to the pump house. The water feature was restored in 1994.

During the World War II in 1941, the railings were removed and the square used for armaments manufacture for the units of the US army. After the war, the City Council reinstated it back as a garden, removing any air-raid shelters and replanting the lawns.  

In 1977, the Berkeley Square Ball was held in commemoration of the Queen Silvere Jubilee, which ran through the 1980’s and raised £800,000. The square is reference in Eric Maschwitz’s wartime ballad A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

Boadicea and Her Daughters

Boadicea and Her Daughters is a bronze sculpture statue gleaming at the western side of Westminster Bridge. The artist behind the statue Thomas Thornycroft with some assistance from his son William Hamo Thornycroft. It was conceived from 1856 to 1853 and erected in June 1902.

It can get very busy around Boudicca and is not always bridled with the best things around it. 

The sculpture features Boudica, Queen of the Iceni tribe of Britons, who led a rebellion in bringing down the Romans. She stands valiantly with arms raised and a spear in the right hand as she commands her horses forth. Her two daughters crouch on either side of her. The chariot that they ride on is of a Roman build as scythes are built into the wheels. No armour to speak of, Boudica dons a gown that drapes across her body while her daughters are clothed from the waist down.

The piece was commissioned in the 1850s when Queen Victoria as well as Prince Albert were impressed by an equestrian statue of Queen Victoria shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851. They became very much involved in the project. Albert’s aim was to have the statue erected at Hyde Park of the central arch of Decimus Burtun’s entrance. Thornycroft reflected Queen Victoria in the design of the statue and Albert allowed two horses to be modelled on as the ones for the statue.

A full size model came about in 1885 before the time of death of Thornycroft but there were no funds left for it to be cast in bronze. It was suggested by his son to erect it on the north side of Parliament Hill and yet again, there were no £6,000 in sight to cast the statue in bronze. Following this, a committee was set up to bring up the funds and ultimately raised the required amount in 1898 to which JW Slinger and Sons cast the statue in bronze for £2,000.

It was mounted on a plinth in June 1902. Inscriptions were added later and another inscription of William Cowper’s poem Boadicea an ode was added to another side. In 1958, the statue was listed as Grade II.

 

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).

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a world-renown institute for public and global health dealing with dealings in research and education. It has a history of movement around London where it now resides at the Keppel Street Building, where it has gone through various internal renovations and improvements. The building was listed as Grade II which was granted in the 1980s.

The London School of Tropical Medicine was founded by Sir Patrick Manson on the London Docks in 1899, who wanted all the doctors to be trained in tropical diseases. The school and hospital for tropical diseases to Endsleigh Gardens in West London 1920. The Athlone Committee as proposed by the Rockafeller Foundation, came up with the institute of state of medicine that will lead the world to promote public health and tropical medicine.

In 1922, the Rockafeller Foundation funded the school $2m to take up residence in the Keppel Street Building. The building was previously bought out by the National Theatre Committee for £52,000 in 1913 to create a Shakespeare memorial theatre to celebrate the tercentenary of the artist, but did not come to light following the World War in 1914. 

The school came to be known as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as it is now known as today, and was granted the Royal Charter in 1924. The foundation stone was laid down by Neville Chamberlain on 7 July 1926 and the building opened on 18 July 1929, by HRH the Prince of Wales. 

The building is built of a steel frame, which is the first in Europe of this type of building, and a Portland stone encased out from front and around the building in a stripped classical style. Another interesting design feature to the building is that it is built in a shape of a capital “A”.

The entrance to the building has the logo of the school which was formed from a coin found from Sicily featuring Pestilence as well as Apollo (god of music and medicine) and Artemis (goddess of hunting and child birth).

Adjourned to the balcony of the windows contain bronze pieces of animals that carry and relate to diseases such as mosquitos, fleas, serpents, ticks and louses.

On the reams found surrounding the building are names of men with pioneering significance to the field of medicine and Florence Nightingale was considered, but her last name was considered too long, even though one of the men’s name was the same length as hers.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine takes on many different researches and responding to combat diseases. Some of the research include Ebola and Malaria. They also cover a range of other topics outside this spectrum which include study of streetlights in relation to crimes and car incidences to human trafficking. The vaults of the school houses the area for insect breeding to carry out further research on diseases.

The John Snow Lecture Theatre can hold up to 300 people and can be split in the middle with a partitioned wall to create two lecture halls holding 145 people on each side. It was named after the epidemiologist Jon Snow (not after the GOT character – ah ha!), who came down to live in Soho, London in the 19th century. His studies were vital in recognising the cholera outbreak in London. As people collected there water from pipelines dotted around, he investigated if this was the cause of the outbreak. He went from door-to-door around Soho asking sick people of their symptoms and where they got their water from. Putting two and two together and found the source of the outbreak was caused by a water pump in Broad Street (near Broadwick Street). He fought until the pump was removed. “The Pump” can be found along the walkway outside the theatre on loan from the John Snow Society.

Two courtyards were designed so that it brought air and light into surrounding rooms. The North Courtyard was opened in February 2004 by Desmond Tutu. The 7-storey building is built into a glass atrium providing office and research space for over 100 staff. The South Courtyard was opened by HRH The Princess Royal in May 2009. The 5-storey building contains space for lectures, teaching, research and a social space for staff and students. The south utilises energy efficient technologies.

Just above the library entrance is a sculpture created by Eric Kennington with initial reactions was that it was far too rude. It features a man, a woman and a baby, all in nude. It has since had some cracks appear but they were painted over. Inside the library, the architects came to a decision that the furniture should be kept to the design of the original. The floor is made of cork with the walls kept to the original oak.

St Helen's Bishopsgate

St Helen Bishopsgate is a church that sits just around the corner from the Gherkin. It has a rich history of reconstructions and is very different today to what it was structured originally. Asides from the history, the church holds services on Sunday with up to 1,200 people. There are also regular meetings held during the week with lunchtime and evening sessions.

The church’s name comes from the mother of Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor. St Helen’s Church was mentioned in the middle of the 12th century as one of the churches in the jurisdiction of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Around 1210, Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s gave permission to a certain William to establish a nunnery at the north side of the church as well as a new church for nuns to use alongside the old church. The nun’s church named the Nuns’ Quire was 4 foot wider than the old church so the parish church was made longer to match the size of the Nuns’ Quire. That is what gives the present church the double-nave shape it now has. The arches and screen is very much the original of the 1480 build, except the timber is of more recent.

In 1538, the nunnery was surrendered to Henry VIII with the rest of the religious houses in England. By 1543, the Leathersellers’ Company acquired the Covent buildings and the land north of the church. During this time in the 16th century, the monasteries dissolved and alters within removed. There were no seats so everyone is expected to stand, which included the sick and elderly. The last Covent buildings were demolished in 1799 along with the Nuns’ Quire being assimilated into the parish church becoming what the church is now seen as today.

In 1874, St Martin Outwich, founded in the 14th century and rebuilt in 1796, was pulled down. 2 parishes were combined with 18 monuments brought in the church. The Merchant Taylors’ Company became the patron of the United Benefice. In 1922, excavations were carried out into the extensive foundations uncovering traces of the previous apse.

2 bombs within 2 years were set off affecting some of the infrastructure to the interior of the church. In April 10, 1992, an IRA bomb was set off outside the Baltic Exchange at St Mary Axe around 60 yards away, killing 3 people in the church. All the windows were shattered, the roof was lifted, the monuments were badly damaged and the organ was severely damaged. In April 20, 1993, another bomb was set off causing further devastation. These bombs were intended for the City but the church was in the path of its intentions. This proved a challenge for the Rector and Church Wardens, giving them an opportunity to re-arrange the building. Architect Quinlan Terry restored the flooring to its original medieval level. Modern lighting, a public address system were installed as well as a new gallery put into place of the old parish nave and Nuns’ Quire in the west end of the church.

Just above the balcony found just above the entrance inside, has a great view of the length and design of the church. You can definitely see the change of is restructure history as you see no alters, no hues, no pillars, very little stained glass (now only three 19th century windows remain) and the shape that is not based on a traditional church. The balcony also houses the Organ and its case, which were both built by Thomas Griffin in 1743, which was moved back to this original spot after the restructuring of the church following the IRA bombs.

This monument shows Sir John Spencer, his wife and daughter. He was a citizen and cloth worker who was Lord Mayor from 1594 to 1595. It was restored as much as possible to the original colours in 1950. Standing over the railings to the monument, you can see the preceding floor level before the restoration.

The covered Baptistry

In front of the dais is the total immersion baptistery which is covered by wooden planks. Many from different backgrounds (including ones from different religions) have immersed themselves in this pool as they pledged their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Nuns’ Squint are where all the misbehaving nuns or nuns suffering from an infectious disease would be kept for a duration. The slits allow the nuns to gaze into the church to view the high alter which once stood there.

The South Transept of the church was built in 1250 and are divided by two arches of the late 14th century. Following the IRA bomb in 1992, the glass of the Chantry Chapel windows were destroyed. The eastern section used to be called the Chapel of the Holy Ghost. In this section resides brasses etched into the floor with missing inscriptions. A log was made into the parish accounts in 1644 where an engraver was paid £1 and two shillings for “defacing the superstitious inscriptions”. This could be a reason of the prevention of further damage to the church in the midst of the Civil War or that the Church Wardens truly believed that the inscriptions were superstitious. Communion tables, remembering those who sacrificed themselves.

Communion Table

The church holds regular weekly talks, focus groups and studies during some days of the week from lunchtime to afternoon to evening sessions. Services are held on Sunday with a varied mix throughout the whole day. You can visit the church on any day from Monday to Friday morning or you can check the website to find a programme of sessions to attend.

Tower Bridge Chimney

The Tower Bridge Chimney is one of Tower Bridge's most overlooked feature as it is most easily missed when walking by. It's been painted over as to blend in with the colour of the bridge but can be distinguished from the lamps by being much thicker than the lamps with no visible light source atop.

It used to be a former chimney to the Royal Fusilier's Room used by the guards as they stood on duty. It is believed that the use of it ceased when the London Clean Air Act was introduced in Britain in 1956.