I wish to rescind my recent Friday Five
...bah, autumn. I've a cold, and it sucks.
But I did yesterday get out to some buildings for London Open House. I've posted regularly about this in the past, and I'm really glad I managed one day of it this year, although spending today mostly in bed was also a very sound idea.
I started with a booked visit, to the small Linley Samborne House in Kensington. This is really near Leighton House, and symbolises many artist residences in the area. Samborne was a caricaturist, really, but he was a well connected artistic type and well able to participate in late 19th century Arts and Crafts living. The house is very little altered (it's actually not that small but so cluttered I understood why they were limiting visitors to 15 at a time), and a tad overpowering. But it does give a really good idea of a semi-gracious at home for your artist about town.
Then something much closer to my heart - I yomped right over to the City of London borders to Barnard's Inn Hall, these days part of the very interesting independent Gresham College (founded by Sir Thomas Gresham, of Royal Exchange fame, and still going strong on his legacy 450 years later). At its heart is a 15th century hall, too small for most modern lectures but very beautiful and well worth a visit. The Gresham College lectures and Gresham's grasshopper logo were also fascinating - I might well go to some, or at least pick them up online.
It's amazingly tucked away - just off Holborn, within 5 minutes of an old office of mine, but i had no idea it was there.
And then on to Bloomsbury, to see three Georgian houses all built around 1780-1800, and now in very different usage. Firstly Pushkin House, which is a Russian cultural centre and showing some modern art which I didn't really connect with. House is cool, though.
Then Swedenborg House, which celebrates the legacy of Emanuel Swedenborg, philosopher, theologian and much more. The Swedenborgians are very complicated despite their best efforts to explain, but the building is great - much developed to include a Hall for workship/lectures out the back, and a whole 1920s art deco refurb of the corridors which are wonderfully green.
Lastly, three connecting houses in Bedford Square, now occupied by a French lycee, Ecole Jeanine Moreau. We could ramble round half the building, see the different architectural quirks of the three houses, and enjoy how they are reflected in the school setup (red/blue/green carpet denotes the three original ground plans). These houses have a lot of history, especially no.44 which was a big society venue (Ottoline Morrell, then Margot Asquith) but I rather love their current use.
Not as much as I would usually do, but it was still nicely varied and really made me think about some institutions that were new to me.
This entry was originally posted at https://bruttimabuoni.dreamwidth.org/946466.html. You can comment here or there as you please!
But I did yesterday get out to some buildings for London Open House. I've posted regularly about this in the past, and I'm really glad I managed one day of it this year, although spending today mostly in bed was also a very sound idea.
I started with a booked visit, to the small Linley Samborne House in Kensington. This is really near Leighton House, and symbolises many artist residences in the area. Samborne was a caricaturist, really, but he was a well connected artistic type and well able to participate in late 19th century Arts and Crafts living. The house is very little altered (it's actually not that small but so cluttered I understood why they were limiting visitors to 15 at a time), and a tad overpowering. But it does give a really good idea of a semi-gracious at home for your artist about town.
Then something much closer to my heart - I yomped right over to the City of London borders to Barnard's Inn Hall, these days part of the very interesting independent Gresham College (founded by Sir Thomas Gresham, of Royal Exchange fame, and still going strong on his legacy 450 years later). At its heart is a 15th century hall, too small for most modern lectures but very beautiful and well worth a visit. The Gresham College lectures and Gresham's grasshopper logo were also fascinating - I might well go to some, or at least pick them up online.
It's amazingly tucked away - just off Holborn, within 5 minutes of an old office of mine, but i had no idea it was there.
And then on to Bloomsbury, to see three Georgian houses all built around 1780-1800, and now in very different usage. Firstly Pushkin House, which is a Russian cultural centre and showing some modern art which I didn't really connect with. House is cool, though.
Then Swedenborg House, which celebrates the legacy of Emanuel Swedenborg, philosopher, theologian and much more. The Swedenborgians are very complicated despite their best efforts to explain, but the building is great - much developed to include a Hall for workship/lectures out the back, and a whole 1920s art deco refurb of the corridors which are wonderfully green.
Lastly, three connecting houses in Bedford Square, now occupied by a French lycee, Ecole Jeanine Moreau. We could ramble round half the building, see the different architectural quirks of the three houses, and enjoy how they are reflected in the school setup (red/blue/green carpet denotes the three original ground plans). These houses have a lot of history, especially no.44 which was a big society venue (Ottoline Morrell, then Margot Asquith) but I rather love their current use.
Not as much as I would usually do, but it was still nicely varied and really made me think about some institutions that were new to me.
This entry was originally posted at https://bruttimabuoni.dreamwidth.org/946466.html. You can comment here or there as you please!