The architect Sir John Soane’s house, museum and library at No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields has been a public museum since the early 19th century. Soane demolished and rebuilt three houses in succession on the north...
READ MORE »The Sir John Soane’s Museum
St John the Baptist, Hoxton
By 1801, the population of the whole of Shoreditch (of which Hoxton was a part) had grown to 34,766, doubled to 68,564 by 1831 and in 1861 was 129,364. As the population grew the parish of Shoreditch was divided...
READ MORE »Limewash versus Paint – An Urban View
Limewash: Yes! Softened by the sun, grappa and holiday spirit it seemed such a good idea to use limewash on returning from the Mediterranean. Limewash has several winning features but a universal coating it...
READ MORE »Civil Service Rifles’ War Memorial
The early history of the regiment was a complex one. The 21st Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps were formed in 1861. They became the 12th in 1880. The 50th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps was raised in 1875. ...
READ MORE »Norland House, Clifton
I was asked to provide advice on appropriate paint colours for this Regency villa in Clifton, Bristol. The house was built in the Greek Revival style in 1826, possibly by Charles Dyer (1794-1848). It appears to...
READ MORE »Spa Green Estate
The Spa Green Estate is a public housing estate in London, designed by Berthold Lubetkin. It was listed Grade II* in 1998 and is widely viewed as being the finest example of public housing of its type. I was...
READ MORE »Clifton Lodge, Twickenham
Clifton Lodge, Twickenham, is a detached two storey brick-built villa built between 1852 and 1865 in Italianate style and incorporating an earlier orangery. The service wing was extended soon after 1894. It is...
READ MORE »Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house in Eltham, South East London. It is currently owned by English Heritage and open to the public. It has been said that the Art Deco house is a "masterpiece of modern design". The...
READ MORE »Pollok House, Glasgow
Pollok House was built in 1752 and designed by William Adam. It was gifted to the City of Glasgow in 1966 by Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald, whose family had owned the estate for almost 700 years. I was...
READ MORE »Threave House, Castle Douglas
Threave House was designed in 1871 for Liverpool merchant, William Gordon. It was the creation of architect Charles G H Kinnear (1830-1894), who formed half of one of Scotland's most prominent architectural...
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