Canterbury Heritage Museum
The Heritage Museum building dates from 1373 and is on Stour Street just off Canterbury High Street. It is quite large, well worth a visit and, for me, second only to Canterbury Cathedral ⇐. The museum is child friendly but there is a charge for adults and it is not open all year round, so please see the website ⇒
For a closer view of an image please left-click once and then again.
First a little history.
The following two artists impression are really from the Roman Museum (a few minutes walk away on Butchery St), but help to complete the picture.
Roman Canterbury AD 150
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Roman Canterbury AD 300
And, back to the Heritage Museum.
Anglo-Saxon Canterbury AD 700
It seems the new locals put aside bijou for hairy Saxon style, although it looks like the early cathedral can be seen in the distance.
Just a few of the items on display:-
6th Century Anglo-Saxon Bronze Brooch
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The Normans came along in the the 11th Century and had a preference for stone.
Medieval Mazer
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And armour.
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Elizabethan Soldier – A “Buffs” Pikeman 1572
The Buffs are a long-standing regiment originating in Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. Once known as the 3rd Light Foot but now known as the Royal East Kent Regiment. Referred to as the Buffs because of the buff colouring of their sleeves.
In 1858 whilst stationed at Malta, Lieutenant John Cotter, Adjutant of the 2nd Buffs, would shout “Steady, The Buffs!”, a shout which was popularised by Rudyard Kipling and entered common use.
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Invicta Steam Locomotive
Invicta was built at the Stephensons Works, delivered and driven by Edward Fletcher and opened the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway in 1830.
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Mary Tourtel who Created Rupert the Bear in 1920.
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Bagpus and Friends
Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin created Bagpus, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, the Clangers, Tottie: The Story of a Dolls House and The Pogles family in a converted cowshed in Blean near Canterbury using the company name Smallfilms ⇒.
There are more of these exhibits at this museum and at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood ⇐ (East London).
Tottie: The Story of a Dolls House
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Oliver Postgate’s Canterbury Chronicle
And more from amazing Canterbury later.
Canterbury Cathedral
17 Pics. Canterbury Cathedral ⇒ was founded in 597 by Augustine and enlarged during the 11th and 12th centuries. The cathedral became notable when archbishop Thomas Becket ⇒ was murdered there by followers of Henry II. Becket was later cannonised as a martyr and Canterbury became a place of pilgrimage.
Canterbury became yet more famous when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales ⇒ in 1386.
The cathedral is not so greatly ornate as St Paul’s Cathedral ⇐ but it is an extraordinary sight. There is a charge for entry so please see the website ⇒.
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The gate to the cathedral precincts.
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Cathedral Entrance
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The entrance leads into the Nave and one is struck by the huge size and antiquity of the cathedral. The ability to construct on this scale without the assistance of modern technology is awe inspiring.
Looking back from the far end of the Nave.
Continuing further there is the entrance to the Quire and Trinity Chapel.
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Some of the stained glass along the way.
The Quire and Trinity Chapel.
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The tomb of Archbishop Chichelle. There are many tombs in the cathedral including Henry IV and Edward the Black Prince. Archbishop Chicelle is the most ornate. Thomas Becket was buried beneath Trinity Chapel but his bones were destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII .
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It seems that graffiti is nothing new, although it is always worth taking a close look in old churches and buildings for Witch Marks ⇒, which are not quite as they sound.
AND don’t miss out on the Cloisters with their extraordinary ceilings (I did). They are at the back of the cathedral. Here are some Google pictures ⇒ .
Thanks for visiting Freed From Time and there are a lot venues at About Canterbury ⇐.
Covent Garden Market, London
The area was first settled in the 7th century, although abandoned by the 9th century it was eventually walled off by Westminster Abbey in 1201 for use as arable land and orchards. The area was referred to as the “Garden of the Abbey and Convent”, and then later the “Covent Garden”. By 1654 a small fruit and vegetable market had developed. By 1974 the market had become substantial and moved to New Covent Garden Market near Nine Elms.
These days the market houses outlets for arts, crafts, fashion and a number of eateries. Whilst it can be expensive the entertainment is free. A large, interesting and not necessarily expensive market can be found at Old Spitalfields Market⇒ which has some speciality days.
Covent Garden:-.
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A little opera (A Capella of course) with ones luncheon.
Or a string quartet.
Or perhaps a little bondage.
Maybe watch someone juggle with sharp stuff.
They do make an effort at Christmas.
- Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
- Please to put a penny in the old man’s hat
- If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do
- If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!
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Crossness Pumping Station
18 pics. The Crossness Pumping Station ⇒ , just east of London, together with 82 miles of brick intercepting sewers, 450 miles of main sewers and 13,000 miles of local sewers were connected and officially opened in 1865. Visiting ⇒ sometimes steaming but not always open so please check the link.
This was to solve :-
The Great Stink
At that time they believed that a miasma (odour) was the cause of diseases, such as cholera which killed thousands. Indeed a city could not grow or prosper without solving the problem. The solution, of a well designed sewage system, was a major part of resolving the actual cause of such diseases, infected water.
Another important contribution was a clean water supply system. An example of this and the great engines can be found at the London Water and Steam Museum ⇐.
The London sewage system was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette who also designed many other Victorian London buildings and mustaches. 🙂
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The pumping station continued in use until the 1950’s, abandoned until 2003 when one of the four engines and most of the ornate ironwork were restored.
Visitors get hard hats.
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Each engine was of the triple expansion type where; a high pressure steam cylinder (the lower here) received high pressure steam (lots of pounds per square inch) over a small number of square inches, an intermediate pressure cylinder received lower pressure exhaust from the high pressure cylinder over more square inches and the intermediate cylinder exhaust was passed to the largest low pressure cylinder. An efficient way to use all of the pressure provided by a boiler.
The high pressure cylinder in the basement.
The intermediate and low pressure cylinders on the ground floor.
A chap with a proper hat is always reassuring. 🙂
One of the main beams (the refurbished one) on the first floor.
And, from underneath. The shaft on the left operates one of the pumps and the one on the right leads to :-
.. the crank and wheel which simply maintain a steady impetus.
The governor (or regulator) is attached to the engine so that it spins. The faster it spins the more the weights are forced outward by centrifugal force. As the weights are forced outward they depress the central plunger which reduces the flow of steam and slows the engine achieving a regulated speed.
And, outside on a wet day..
I hope you enjoyed your visit.
Tower Bridge
North Approach to Tower Bridge
London’s Tower Bridge ⇒ was built and ready for use by 1894. The centre section still opens to allow tall vessels to pass. The bridge lift schedule ⇒.
A little history:-
1912 – during an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules (lifting sections) and the high-level walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident.
1952 – a London bus driven by Albert Gunter had to leap from one bascule to the other when the bridge began to rise with the number 78 bus still on it. – Harry Potter would have been proud.
The bridge is next to The Tower of London ⇐ and both are very close to Tower Hill Underground rail station.
Entrance to the bridge interior is from the either the north or south tower. Entrance from the north tower is easier because it means that one goes down the only section of stairs. I do prefer stairs that go downward. 🙂
Do keep your ticket for later entrance to the old engine rooms.
At the base of the north tower there is a lift which leads to a small exhibition/film area.
Then to the two walkways. Each walkway has a section of glass floor..
One small step for man.
One giant leap ~ these boots need a clean.
Younger feet seemed to have less apprehension doing this. Perhaps because when I was young glass was more fragile.
View to the East and Canary Wharf
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View to the West including HMS Belfast ⇒
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At the top of the South Tower and then down the stairs to the next lift.
Then out of the South Tower.
. . and follow the blue line on the pavement to the old engine rooms.
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Coal fired steam was used to drive an hydraulic pressure pump.
Accumulators
Pressure in the system was accumulated under weights.
These are the engines which pumped water under the accumulators.
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When there was sufficient accumulated water pressure it was used to power the bascules (central raising section) drive engines. Since 1974 an electrical driven hydraulic system has been used. Tours ⇒ of the less accessible interior are available.
Now on the South Bank there is access to HMS Belfast, a number of eateries and the extensive South Bank attractions ⇐ .
Greenwich Royal Observatory
The Greenwich Royal Observatory includes Flamsteed House and the Harrison Timekeepers ⇐. In the midst is a small garden with this very impressive Dolphin Sun Dial.
The sun-dial is self-adjusting. As the height of the sun changes with the time of the year, the shadow position changes its height and so indicates a corrected time..
The Greenwich Royal Observatory and Flamsteed House.
Inside the onion dome is the largest refracting telescope in the UK. First used in 1893, it remains one of the largest refracting telescopes ever built. Entry is free except the night sky observation evening. For more and to find out about night sky observation evenings please click here ⇒ .
The Planetarium ⇒for which there is a charge.
The Astronomy Center ⇒ is mostly educational and is free to enter.
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Astrolabes and Armillary Spheres were used to predict/exhibit planet and moon positions..
Visitors to the Astronomy Center can touch part of the Gibeon Meteorite ⇒. At 4.5 billion years old it is the oldest thing that a mere earthling might touch.
An early spectroscope. Spectroscopy ⇒.
Outside the Meridian Courtyard ⇐ is a 24 hour electric clock. The use of roman numerals means that it is actually indicates 2 pm.
And, there is a lot more to see and do at Wonderful Greenwich⇐.
Flamsteed House, The Greenwich Meridian and The Harrison Timekeepers
Statue of General Wolfe, the Great Equatorial Telescope, Flamsteed House and the Time Ball at Maritime Greenwich
All about Wonderful Greenwich and its many attractions is here ⇐.
One of the and most significant and greatest endeavours of human history has been the pursuit of navigational method at sea. It required the accurate measurement of astronomical observations and the development of a marine chronometer. The later being particularly difficult.
The Meridian Courtyard
The Meridian Courtyard is just in front of Flamsteed House, with the The Time Ball ⇒ on top. Here you can stand on the worlds east/west divide at 0 degrees longitude. Admission to Royal Observatory, Flamsteed House and the Meridian Courtyard is here ⇒.
However you can stand on the meridian for free where the red meridian line crosses an intersection in the paths in the park on the tourist map here ⇒.
The Meridian Line
There is usually a queue to stand astride the Meridian Line. This where the journey to east or west begins.
Inside Flamsteed House
Initially ones position, to the east or west of a starting point, could only be determined by dead-reckoning. That is, by measuring the distance traveled. At sea that meant measuring ones speed through the water. It was done by throwing a log overboard attached to a rope. The rope had knots at fixed intervals and the number of knots that were drawn out were counted for a fixed period of time using a sand glass. It was contrived so that one Knot was equal to one nautical mile per hour. A term that is still used today.
The dead reckoning method was woefully inadequate for long distances, no use for creating accurate charts and led to many disasters.
A better method required an accurate seagoing timekeeper. Such a timekeeper could be set to keep the time at a meridian. Greenwich was adopted and the time as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Wherever the ship was it would have the time at Greenwich. Therefore if at local noon the GMT timekeeper showed one o’clock the ship must be 1/24 of the way around the world. If the clock showed two o’clock then the ship must be 2/24 around the world etc and with every second that passed a smaller division. A fuller explanation and an extensive history of navigation can be found here ⇐.
After many years of effort John Harrison created the first maritime chronometer that would keep accurate time even on board a rolling ship.
Harrison Timekeeper H1
The project began with H1 which was not accurate enough.
Harrison Timekeeper H2
Neither was H2.
Harrison Timekeeper H3
Neither was H3.
Harrison Timekeeper H4
In 1759, after near 30 years of effort, Harrison created H4. This device had the advantage of advances in metallurgy, temperature compensation and the important realisation that a smaller/faster movement would be less effected by a ships movement.
There are more Antique Timepieces at the London Science Museum⇐.
And then:-
Marine Chronometer
Mechanical Marine Chronometers can be as accurate as 5 secs gain or loss in fifteen days.
Electric Clock
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Early Quartz Clock
The first quartz clock was created in 1927 and worked by counting the electrically induced vibration of a piece of quartz. By 1969 a miniature version could be worn on ones wrist. Quartz chronometers can be as accurate as 0.7 seconds gain of or loss in 15 days.
Atomic Clock
A cesium (atomic) clock operates by exposing cesium atoms to microwaves until they vibrate at one of their resonant frequencies. They are accurate to within one second in 1,400,000 years.
The next generation of atomic clocks will keep time to one second in 15 billion years. At last the perfect boiled egg.
Back to some of the artifacts in Flamsteed House.
Freedom casket (contains the Freedom of London Scroll) presented to Sir George Biddell Airy (1801-92) Astronomer Royal, by the City of London in 1875
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A Wooden Telescope
If you would like to know more about the development of navigation and its importance to our evolution it is here ⇐.
And, thank you for visiting Freed From Time (which isn’t as much of an anomaly as it sounds, probably 🙂 ).
Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic (for healing) Garden ⇒ was established in 1673 and is the second oldest botanic garden in the UK after the Oxford University Botanic Garden ⇒. The garden has approximately 5,000 plants including those with exotic scents. It is a very peaceful and pleasant walled garden hidden away in west London.
There are some free tours upon entry but there is an entry fee and charges for the workshops, courses and special tours. Please see the website link above.
The easiest approach is by the 170 bus (bound for Roehampton) from Victoria Station to Chelsea Physic Garden. On alighting, just outside the gardens educational center, walk back a short way along the bus route to Swan Walk and the main entrance is little way down that road. Map of the Garden ⇐.
The garden is next to the the Royal Hospital Chelsea ⇒ (home of the Chelsea Pensioners).
Chelsea Physic Gardens Views and Flowers
In the Greenhouses
Pelargonium Rosa
Pelargonium Milfield Gem
Pelargonium Bute
Pelargonium Copthorne
Around the Gardens and Outdoor Flowers
Statue of Sir Hans Sloane
Helienthus Annuus – Ring of Fire Sunflower
Sweet Pea
London Water and Steam Museum, Express Tavern and Kew
London Water and Steam Museum Garden
14 pics. Cities could not grow beyond a few tens of thousands and civilisation could not flourish without a plentiful supply of clean water. Otherwise epidemics of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid would devastate the population. The development of filtration and pumping by steam engine was vital to progress.
The London Water and Steam Museum ⇒ (there is an entrance fee) explains the advances in water cleanliness and houses a number of steam-driven pumps, including some truly massive devices. On designated days some of the engines can be seen working.
The other essential was the disposal of waste and an ornate example of this can be found in east London at the renovated Crossness Pumping Station ⇐.
To get to the Water and Steam Museum: On Leaving Kew Bridge station, turn right, pass the very pleasant Express Tavern ⇒, and turn into Green Dragon Lane. The tall chimney is an easy landmark.
Alternatively Kew Gardens ⇐ which includes Kew Palace is just over the nearby bridge..
There is more about our use of steam and the role of fossil fuels at the Science Museum ⇐.
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The above Boulton and Watt 64 inch (piston/cylinder diameter of 64 inches) has a beam weighing 15 tons and delivered 2.5 million gallons of water per day and was last used in 1944.
This is the 90 inch Cornish engine with a beam weighing 32 tons and delivered 6.4 million gallons of water per day. It was last used in 1943. The steam cylinder is the massive dark object at the far end. The nearer cylinder is the water pump.
This monster is the 100 inch Cornish engine. The 100 inch (8 foot and 4 inches wide) steam cylinder is the dark object the distance. The beam weighs a staggering 54 tons and it once delivered 7.5 million gallons of water per day. Built in 1869 it remained in service until 1958.
More :-
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The above is the Waddon steam pumping engine. It was the last steam driven water pump used in the UK and remained in service until 1983.
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Above is a triple expansion engine. Designed to be more efficient as most of the steam pressure is used by passing the output of one cylinder to the next.
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On designated days (website ⇒) a small steam locomotive provides rides, although the track is very short.
On the way back is the Express Tavern ⇒ which has a very pleasant menu and a broad range of beers. Across the nearby bridge is Kew Gardens ⇐.
St Dunstans in the East
Along Great Tower Street, west of the Tower of London ⇐, past All Hallows by the Tower (AD 675)⇐, there is St Dunstans Hill and the church garden. The church was Originally built around 1100 AD, destroyed by the Great Fire of London (AD 1666) ⇒, rebuilt and then severely damaged during WWII. The garden is now a quiet oasis in a busy part of London.
More ⇒ and more (wiki) ⇒.
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The Blackfriars Pub
The Blackfriars Public House is where Queen Victoria Street meets the northern approach to Blackfriars Bridge and is very near to Blackfriars underground rail station in central London.
The bridge has recently been covered with solar panels. This makes it the largest solar power providing bridge in the world. Across the bridge is the South Bank ⇐ with its many attractions.
The Blackfriars region of London gained its name in 1317 from the black capes (capa) used by the brothers (frere) of the priory. More ⇒.
The public house was built in 1905 on the site of an old Dominican Friary. More and menus ⇒.
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Don’t Advertise It. Tell A Gossip. By Henry Poole
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Ham House and the Oak Tree with an Eye
If you got redirected by Google Images, Kew Place is here ⇐
19 pics. I didn’t notice the eye (right in the middle) whilst I was taking the photograph at the back of Ham House. It hasn’t been meddled with and probably has a rational explanation. There is probably a rational response like aaaargh.
The Ham House website ⇒ and about haunted Ham House ⇒.
You can get to Ham House using the 371 bus to Sandy Lane from near Richmond rail station or via York Gardens ⇐ (please check the post for bus and ferry travel) and then visit Ham House and return to Richmond rail using the 371 from Sandy Lane.
Ham House
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Charlotte Countess of Dysart by Joshua Reynolds 1775
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Tollemache Earl of Dysart
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The above is a bath. It has a stool inside to sit on and get bathed.
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Cafe Garden
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Whimsical Dairy
The peeping Oak tree is just outside the dairy.
Sir Lionel Tollemache
The 4th Baronet, Sir Lyonel Tollemache, who kindly gave Ham House to the National Trust in 1948.
Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood: Ancient and Modern and Clangers
22 pics. These Chinese Rock Gardens were gifts from the Chia Ch’ing Emperor of China (1796-1820) to the French Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. It is said that the ship carrying these gifts was captured by an English warship. The English offer to return the rock gardens to the French, after the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, was declined.
It is recorded that gardens arrived at the East India Company’s Museum in 1809 and passed to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in 1880 and now displayed at the V & A Museum of Childhood.
They are in remarkably good condition and worth looking at the detail (click on the image and then again to magnify).
For more about the Museum and pictures of the more vintage toys, dolls houses and other items, please click here ⇐. For their website, events and services please click here ⇒.
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Dolls and Soft Toys
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Paddington Bear
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The Snowman, Dogtanian, Sooty, Sweep and Soo
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Bagpus
And, the singing mice.
The mice liked to sing so much that they would not work otherwise, not nohow.
They also like to play tricks on Professor Yaffle.
Professor Yaffle
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The Pogles
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AND THE :-.
The Clangers live on their own small planet, communicate in mellifluous whistles and eat blue string pudding.
Soup Dragon, Clangers and Froglets
They also like soup from the soup wells tended by the friendly Soup Dragon.
Small Clanger and Tiny Clanger
There are many characters in the Clangers, these are just a few.
A fuller understanding of British consanguineous eccentricity (i.e. as mad as knitting fog) might be obtained from taking a look at Bagpus, Clangers, Portland Bill, Dangermouse, Magic Roundabout (original version) and Shaun the Sheep (especially) on YouTube .
So, it’s goodnight from him,
..and it’s goodnight from ‘im.
Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood – Vintage toys
24 pics. The V & A Toy Museum is in Bethnal Green just a little north of Bethnal Green Underground station on Cambridge Heath Road. There are numerous events and workshops for children including schools groups. It is worth seeing their website ⇒.
The museum is free to enter and photography is allowed but difficult due the lighting and reflections from the glass cases. Nevertheless it is worth a visit, especially since their stock keeps being replenished from a large archive.
There is a second post with Chinese Rock Gardens, more toys and favourites from television here ⇐. 🙂
The V & A Museum of design in South Kensington is even larger and can be found here ⇐.
Dolls Houses
This just a sample.
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Toy Cooker and Tea Sets
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Toy Theatres
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Mechanical Puppet
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Johnny the Dunce is an early clockwork toy (circa 1850) with music and a swinging leg.
Vintage Models
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Steam Locomotives
The first two of these models have small spirit burners underneath which raise steam and result in locomotion. A good way to set your carpet on fire.
There are more model steam engines/locomotives here ⇐.
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Rocking Horse
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Teddy Bears
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Painting
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“We used to make our own amusement in the old days”.
London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum⇒ is at the eastern corner of Covent Garden. Entry is a little expensive at £17 (in 2016) for a single adult but there are a variety of concessions, group tickets and under 18’s go free. The Acton Depot⇒ is much larger but only accessible as part of a tour or on an open day.
Vintage steam engines can be found at the Science Museum⇐ (free entry) and a classic/vintage vehicles race can be seen once a year at Crystal Palace Motorsport⇐.
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Horse drawn coaches developed into horse drawn trams (on rails).
Then trams powered by electricity from overhead power lines.
There were also motorised omnibuses.
Then underground powered by electricity. Although there were three oil fired steam locomotives used during construction of the underground.
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This locomotive was used on an overground line but passed through several small tunnels, hence its minimal height.
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Sprung upholstery. More comfortable than modern day but heavier.
Some of the underground trains remained like this into the 1960’s and even 1970’s. It is a testament to how well they were built.
The Routemaster bus⇐ also lasted well, the basic design being in use from 1956 to 2005.
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As luck would have it, I ran into one of these just outside the museum.
Burgh House and Hampstead Museum Interior
Hampstead Museum A Child of Africa by Christine Gregory
Burgh House contains the Hampstead Museum⇒ which, although small, is quite pleasant and useful to those with an interest in the locality and its history. The house also provides an indoor/outdoor café (The Buttery) with some well kept flora⇐, is very near to Fenton House⇐ and not far from Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House⇐.
The Artwork
Hampstead Museum Peggy Jay Gallery
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Hampstead Museum George Charlton Portrait
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Hampstead Museum Viaduct on Hampstead Heath by Rea Stavropoulos
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The History
A sample of Hampstead history exhibits, spanning from the Mesolithic period to the present day. The exhibits include items from WWII.
Hampstead Museum Flint Artifacts
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Hampstead Museum Mayor’s Chair
St Mary’s Church in Stoke Newington
A view of the stunning St Mary’s Church⇒, designed by George Gilbert Scott, as seen from just inside Clissold Park⇐ at the eastern end. The church dates from 1858 and was built when the “Old” church (further down this page) was no longer adequate. Inside the “New” church ⇓.
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And, from the street ⇑. Just to the left, on the nearer side of the street, is the old church ⇓.
The old church site dates back to the early 14th century but was rebuilt during the 16th century. This makes it the oldest Elizabethan church still in use in London. It is also a venue for community events, artwork, music and for hire. The website is here⇐.
Thanks for the visit and perhaps you would like the Clissold Park Goslings⇐.
30+ Attractions on London’s South Bank
Here there are more than 30 places to visit on London’s South Bank and more than 40 additional places to visit, in and around London, shown in this sites Gallery ⇐, most of which can be photographed.
South Bank Attractions
This ⇐ indicates a click-on link to a photographic article with a further link to the location’s website.
This ⇒ indicates a direct link to the location’s website.
Locations can be found on this Google Map where one can enter the name of a location in the Search box and/or click-on + to magnify.
Several Miles East of Bankside
Fabulous Maritime Greenwich ⇐ includes extensive parklands,
several free venues, numerous photographic opportunities, the Fan Museum, the Naval College Painted Hall and Chapel, the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Planetarium, the Cutty Sark, craft market, a comedy club, theatre, picturehouse, numerous eateries and a notable history.
The most straightforward travel route is by use of the Docklands Light Railway to the “Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich” station. Alternatively the DLR to Deptford then the No 53 bus to the top gardens (saves walking up the hill)
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Just East of Bankside
Tower Bridge Exhibition ⇐ 
⇒. Visit inside to see the architecture, machinery and high level views including the glass floor.
Nearest station is Tower Hill.
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and the The Tower of London ⇐ ⇒. on the North Bank, includes 
walking the battlements, the White Tower (armaments and armour) The Fusiliers Museum, Royal Chapel and Crown Jewels. You can photograph for non-commercial purposes everything except the last two.
Nearest station is Tower Hill.
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Back to the South Bank and the nearest station to the following venues is London Bridge.
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HMS Belfast ⇒. Access is from the 
South Bank. The easiest way to get there is the walkway at the corner Morgan’s Lane (see Google map) near London Bridge station.
View what life was like on board for the crew at war and at sea from WW2 to 1963. Best to check the website/contact for photographic opportunity inside the ship.
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London Bridge City Pier ⇒. Boat trips to/from North Greenwich (east) and Embankment (west).
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The Shard Viewing Platform ⇒. At the top of the tallest building
in the European Union. It can be expensive but, according to their website there is “no time restriction on your stay”.
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London Bridge Experience ⇒. Billed as the UK’s scariest year round attraction, complete with tombs.
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Southwark Cathedral ⇐ ⇒. A site of worship for more than a
thousand years, it has some extraordinary stained glass and a curious legend attached. It is free to enter and an amateur photographer’s permit can be obtained from the cathedral shop for £2.50. The cathedral is in continuous use, so do check the link (and on to the website) for the times of services.
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The Clink Prison Museum ⇒. Built upon the original site of the Clink
Prison (1144) and gave all other prisons their pseudonym. Do see the link for opening times.
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Along Bankside
The Golden Hinde II ⇒. A replica of Sir Frances Drake’s ship. The 
original was used to circumnavigate the globe between 1577 and 1580. Available for fun and interactive tours.
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Anchor Pub ⇒. From where you can get a first view of St Paul’s 
Cathedral across the Thames. A tavern has been on this site for more than 800 years and was rebuilt in 1676 after being destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
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The Rose Playhouse ⇒. The first Elizabethan theatre on Bankside and 
continues to entertain audiences today. Please see the website link for “Whats on” .
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The Globe Theatre ⇒. A replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre just
a few hundred yards from where the original stood. The theatre provides tours, exhibitions and plays. Please see the website link for opening times, available options and “Whats on”.
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Millennium Bridge ⇒(Wiki). That’s the one that, as soon as it was 
opened, had to be closed for two years to fix the alarming swaying motion and was known to Londoner’s as the “wobbly bridge”. It is now used extensively by pedestrians and is a convenient means of passage between the South Bank and St Paul’s Cathedral.
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St Paul’s Cathedral ⇐ ⇒. Although this is on the North Bank, it is
but a short walk across the footbridge. There is a charge for admission and there are only a few days each year when photography is allowed. It does have some extraordinary architecture and decor, There are many more photographs attached to the above link.
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South Bank Street Performers mostly in the vicinity of the footbridge.
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and often includes a Bubbleer more pictures ⇐. 
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The Tate Modern ⇐ ⇒. is a large modern art gallery very close to the
footbridge on the South Bank. There are a great variety of works including some of political history and ideology. It is free to enter and you may photograph for non-commercial purposes.
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Near to The Tate Modern and Millenium Footbridge ⇓.
Bankside Gallery ⇒. An educational charity of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Artwork is also for sale.
Purdy Hicks⇒. Art Dealers .
Nearer to The London Eye (Giant Ferrris Wheel) and nearest underground station is Waterloo ⇓
National Theatre ⇒. Whats on.
Hayward Gallery⇒ . Closed for two years from October 2015 for essential repairs..
Queen Elizabeth Hall⇒. Closed for two years from October 2015 for essential repairs.
South Bank Centre⇒ , A variety of events and festivals dedicated to the arts.
London Wonderground⇒ . Circus, cabaret, fairground and family entertainment.
London Eye ⇒. Giant Ferris Wheel (as seen from St James Park 
on the north side of the Thames).
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Between the London Eye and Westminster Bridge ⇓
The London Dungeon⇒ . “We are a thrill-filled journey through London’s murky past. You get 110 minutes of laughs, scares, theatre, shocks, rides, special effects, characters, jokes, mazes and storytelling”.
Shrek’s Adventure ⇒. “Join Donkey on his magical 4D flying bus before journeying through 10 interactive live shows in a walk and ride madcap adventure”.
Westminster Palace ⇐ ⇒. As seen from the South Bank across 
Westminster Bridge. The link leads to information about tours inside the Palace.
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West of Westminster Bridge on the South Bank ⇓
Florence Nightingale Museum ⇒.
Garden Museum ⇒. at Lambeth.
Tate Britain ⇐ ⇒. On the North Bank but only a short walk over Vauxhall Bridge. The Tate Britain houses a quite large collection of classical works and modern pieces.
Fenton House, Porcelain, Instruments, Views, Hampstead
20 pics. Fenton House is not spectacular but it is very charming with a large collection of porcelain (including Meissen) together with several musical instruments and paintings. Its website is here (it isn’t open every day and there is a charge but there are occasional concerts) and some of its history here.
The above view of the gardens is from the third floor balcony and in the distance can be seen The Admirals House (where the origins of Mary Poppins was written) which has its own history here.
One can photograph everywhere except the harpsichord in the dining room (it belongs to the Queen) and the large framed pictures on the third floor.
Unfortunately there is no café but there several places for refreshment near the corner of Mount Square and Heath Street and along New End there is The Duke of Hamilton and The Buttery of Burgh House (they are all on Google Maps).
Not far away, just to the north of Hampstead Heath, is Kenwood House which is free to enter.
The Meissen.
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Another view from the third floor balcony showing the Shard of Glass in the distance.
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Southwark Cathedral Interiors, Stained Glass and Legend
21 pics. Southwark Cathedral has some of the finest stained glass that I’ve seen anywhere. It is free to enter and a non-commercial photographers permit/sticker can be purchased from the shop for £2.50. The Wiki hiistory is here and the cathedral’s website is here.
The site of Southwark Cathedral has been a place of worship for more than a 1000 years and has a curious legend attached to its origins (see below). It is is very close to London Bridge Station and near to Bankside, The South Bank, The New Globe Theatre, The Tate Modern and many other venues of interest (South Bank Attractions »).
Beside the cathedral is the Borough food market where one can purchase almost anything from Falafel to Thai food.
For a closer view please click on an image and then again to magnify.
Southwark Cathedral End of Nave and Font
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Southwark Cathedral Choir and Sanctuary
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Southwark Cathedral Sanctuary
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Stained Glass
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Restored by Harvard Alumni after WWII bomb damage
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Artifacts
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The site of the original Globe Theatre is nearby and William Shakepeare lived in the parish for several years.
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This is the cathedral’s present owner. Well, he thinks he is and that he put the cat in cathedral. 🙂 .
“Everybody else is having a lie down so why not me”. 🙂
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The Legend of Mary Ovarie
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Not far from the cathedral, on Bankside, there is a replica of Drake’s ship the Golden Hinde. Beside the ship is a stone tablet with the strange legend of Mary Ovarie and the origins of Southwark Cathedral.
You can click on the image to expand and magnify, but some of the writing is a little faded so it is reproduced below.
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“Legend suggests that before the construction of London Bridge in the tenth century a ferry existed here. Ferrying passengers across the River Thames was a lucrative trade. John Overs who, with his watermen and apprentices, kept the “traverse ferrie over the Thames”, made such a good living that he was able to acquire a considerable estate on the south bank of the river.
John Overs was a notorious miser and devised a plan to save money. He would feign death believing that his family and servants would fast out of respect and thereby save a day’s provisions. However, when he carried out the plan, the servants were so overjoyed at his death that they began to feast and make merry. In a rage the old man leapt out of bed to the horror of his servants, one of whom picked up a broken oar and “thinking to kill the Devil at the first blow, actually struck out his brains”.
The ferryman’s distressed daughter Mary sent for her lover, who in haste to claim the inheritance fell from his horse and broke his neck. Mary was so overcome by these misfortunes that she devoted her inheritance to founding a convent into which she retreated.
This became the priory of Saint Mary Overie, Mary having been made a saint on account of her charity. During the Reformation the church of St Mary Overie was renamed St Saviour’s Church. In 1905 it became Southwark Cathedral and the collegiate church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie.”
Well, would you Adam and Eve it.
In All Their Glory
Saints Genevieve and Appollonia and Saints Christina and Ottilia by Lucas Cranach the Elder at the National Gallery
11 pics. Paintings on this blog have been enhanced a little to compensate for lighting/age, but not so much that a visitor to the venue would be disappointed by the original. However, the camera can show what time has hidden. In turn, that shows why some of these works began with such renown. A renown that they carried forward into the present, even as they lost their original appearance.
Here is an attempt to show each of these pictures at their best. Mostly by extraction of detail from darkened areas together with a little colour enhancement.
To view the detail, please click on an image and then again to magnify.
Elizabeth I by Steven van Herwijck at the Tate Britain
This one particularly caught my eye because the artist had managed to capture the texture and shading of a velvet dress. We take for granted that such can be shown in a photograph, but to do so with paint is a marvelous achievement.
The Fighting Temeraire by Joseph Mallord William Turner at the National Gallery
Turner’s work is more evocative than detailed, but it does capture one’s senses.
Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba by Claude at the National Gallery
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The Decline of Carthage by Turner at the Tate Britain
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Market Scene by Night by Petrus van Schendel at the Queen’s Gallery
I chose this one because the candle flare, the glow on the faces and shadowy figures in the background all add to a sense of being there.
A Village Revel by Jan Steen at the Queen’s Gallery
Every face has an expression that could tell a tale. Especially ‘im with the cheeky grin at the bottom.
The Horses of Achilles in the style of Anthony van Dyke at the National Gallery
A mythical horse followed by a mythical lady. Both may attune to our extra senses.
The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse at the Tate Britain
The Lady of Shalott has been brought out just enough to see the depth of paint used for the texture of the background trees. Perhaps what is so striking about this work is how Waterhouse used variations of colour intensity to draw one’s eye to the central scene then more to the lady and then yet more to her face. A face and expression which well suits the story in the poem ⇒ .
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Carnival Masks at the Winter Wonderland Hyde Park
The designer of these will probably never know such acclaim as those above. But I think, in good company with all those who care about their work and try to create something for the enjoyment of others.
Thanks for the visit and I hope you found it pleasing to your eye.
More artwork (all free to visit) at the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Wallace Collection and Kenwood House. There is also the Queen’s Gallery which does charge for entry.
The Lady of Shalott
The Lady of Shalott poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson was the inspiration for the painting of the same name by John William Waterhouse here ⇒. The poem was loosely based upon the tragic Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat ⇒. There is an 1833 version and an 1842 version of the poem. This is the latter.
The poem includes the phrase “The mirror crack’d from side to side” which was used for the title of a Miss Marple murder mystery by Agatha Christie.
The Tate Britain Art Gallery
20 pics. The Tate Britain contains a wide range of artwork ranging from the classical to modern. It includes the Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse, which was inspired by the poem of Alfred Lord Tennyson (here ⇒) and worth reading. The Tate Britain’s Website ⇒
I’ve introduced a little enhancement to compensate for the loss of colour/detail over time, but not so much as to lose the sense of age. More advanced digital restoration of these pictures and a few more from other galleries can be found at In All Their Glory ⇒ .
There are several works by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood ⇒ which I particularly like for there vibrancy and detail which requires a patience born of dedication.
Edward Coley Burne-Jones
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Edward Coley Burne-Jones
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The Wedding of St George and Princess Sabra by Rossetti
And, more historical works.
Elizabeth I by Steven van Herwijck
There are more paintings of Elizabeth I, together with their subtle meanings, at Hatfield House.
The Tate includes an entire wing dedicated to Turner. Here are just a few.
Turner Self Portrait
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Palestrina – Composition by Turner
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The Decline of the Carthage by Turner
And, a good many items of classical appearance.
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George Bernard Shaw
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“What do you think of all this modern art then”. “Don’t ask me, I prefer heavy-metal, although I suppose Cranach the Elder wasn’t bad”.
“Some days one wonders if it’s worth getting out of bed”.
“Ow, my eye”.
“Last time I take you down the pub”.
Peace.
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And the dark shape just below is ~.
Thank you for coming and a drum roll for our next visit.
Wallace Collection Armoury
14 pics. Part of the Wallace Collection which also contains many notable works of art.
The armoury is on the ground floor. I suppose, for the gentry, such items were as much a statement of status as utilitarian. There purpose may not be so admirable to a more enlightened world but the workmanship, its alternate uses and the attendant history are best not forgotten.
There is more of this past and extraordinary workmanhip at the Tower of London/White Tower.
Henry IV’s Parrying Dagger
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Freed From Time 