Architecture – Page 4 – Stephen Liddell

The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel

Said by many to be the English equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. You might get some idea what awaits when you first arrive at the Cutty Sark station or as I prefer to… Continue reading The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel

The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

Whilst preparing for a tour tomorrow to the Natural History Museum in London, I thought I should do a reconnaisance sortie as well as a bit of research. The museum is a work of art and shows what value Victorians placed on education. Amethysts were used as charms by the ancient Greeks to… Continue reading The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

Rebuilding Battersea from the ground up.

A little bit of a different post today as I’m supremely busy as will become clear in the coming days! Last week I was in the unusual situation of visiting Battersea and the neighbouring Nine Elms neighbourhood. It isn’t very high in the tourist route and there aren’t many hotels there either. All of this… Continue reading Rebuilding Battersea from the ground up.

Humphrey Repton and the Bloomsbury Squares

One of my favourite areas of London and one which I have written on previously is Bloomsbury. Once the area was full of grand achitectural squares with lush green gardens as their centre piece. Even today, the area retains an air of quiet, gentle elegance though wartime bombing and construction have taken their toll on… Continue reading Humphrey Repton and the Bloomsbury Squares

The London Colosseum

We’re all familiar with the Coloseum in Rome, one of the architectural wonders of both the ancient world and Italy but though the Colosseum is by far the most iconic, there are actually Roman amphitheatres to be found across North Africa and the Middle East, much of Europe and also the British Isles. There is… Continue reading The London Colosseum

An ancient Roman road re-opens in London – Watling Street Revived

You might have seen my last post on the London Temple of Mithras or London Mithraeum. As part of the massive building project which has seen the creation of the new Bloomburg Headquarters and the painstakingly restored and relocated Temple of Mithras, a very ancient roadway has been re-opened that had been lost for much of… Continue reading An ancient Roman road re-opens in London – Watling Street Revived

King Edward III Manor House

This my second post resulting from my scouting out a new tour I have been wanting to start offering to my lovely tourists. As well as the regular tourist hotspots, I really enjoy taking people to the lesser visited parts and judging from the reactions of my tourists, the more authentic an experience, the greater… Continue reading King Edward III Manor House

Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London

I’ve known about the mice of Philpot Lane for a year when I started researching for a forthcoming London Attractions book which I am working on but it was only on Tuesday that I finally set my eyes upon it. I was out and about on a scouting mission through the narrow lanes of Roman… Continue reading Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London

The British who helped build The White House

In a recent interview Dr William Seale, author and historian, said that Scots in particular were sought out for the project given their expertise in stone masonry and that a group of men who had been working on Edinburgh New Town were hired for the job. They had been found through Edinburgh Lodge Number 1,… Continue reading The British who helped build The White House